Forever Green

I remember this lovely little drama so well, from a time before we became embedded in smartphones and technology. Forever Green is unashamedly eco and forward thinking, capturing the majesty of the English countryside, it's people, it's wildlife, and the magic of nature. From night owls to wind rustling trees, it breathes fresh air through your lungs. Produced by the incomparable Brian Eastman and starring the perfect pairing of John Alderton and Pauline Collins as the Boult family, who leave behind the rat race and the city noise and lights for an old farm in Gloucestershire. They have a son, and a daughter who suffers from asthma whose lives are transformed by the change of air. A fine supporting cast includes Daisy Bates, Wendy Alison van der Plank and Paola Dionisotti. It's reappearance on network tv is long overdue. It's on YouTube. See it and you'll feel those healing vibes wash over you!

Absolutely adored this series when it was on but in intervening years, no one I mentioned it to admitted to remembering it. I did eventually get hold of a complete DVD set & watching again, it really is just as idyllic as I remember.

The underlying theme of ""natural" (& sometimes outright "woo") remedies are always better than modern medicine" needs to be taken with a pinch of salt, but it's a nice fairytale with gorgeous scenery and fabulous wildlife.

The characters made a lasting impression on me, especially Lady Broughall & Hilly, and the rural setting is just as packed with "individuals" as any of those books written about rural Provence or Spain. It really is pure escapism, regardless of any attempts by the writers to introduce plotlines with an edge. It's lovely.

I think this show set out to be what it was - an escape to the country - and did it perfectly.

In that great tradition of ITV dramas (think Inspector Morse and Midsomer Murders) you could watch this purely for the relaxation that the choice of scenes and photography brings. The actors aren't overbearing, all of them instantly likable and normal decent people. It's all a real antidote for our times when there is hardly a plot that isn't driven by people being at their worst, this is unashamed perfectly good natured life. It's a journey into a nicer world for a change, and one that still manages to avoid looking corny all these years later. In fact it's hardly aged at all, the scenery still looks the same of course and as they're either driving classic cars or the occasional Land Rover there is little to age it.

The theme tune is perfectly suited, by the end of it I'm tuned in to sit back for 60 minutes of pure relaxation.

John Alderton and Pauline Collins are just perfect for the roles and the roles really seem perfect for them, you can easily believe it's their real family. I thought the young Daisy Bates was also excellent in this, I wish we could see her more often these days.

Honestly for what it is, and I'm sure it was never meant to be anything else, I really can't fault this series. 10/10

Truly great series and lovely concept! Alderton and Collins were surely the greatest on screen actual man and wife pairing since Burton and Taylor. To that end,they convey so well in this,an escape to the rural idyll that so many of us urbanites desperately seek. A genuine life worth living. Beyond the mundane Rat Race and grind in which most of us today just survive in. This, along with certain other great series which also aired through the 80s and 90's, such as 'The Darling buds of May' and 'Lovejoy', certainly helped form what was a Golden age of family TV! All of these series superbly cast and equally well written. Overflowing with buckets of charm and sentimental nostalgia. Nowadays,certainly in my opinion at least, all totally deserving of a revamp and resurrection into Britains telly wasteland! Great stuff!!