The Good Life

In the seventies, television was good, and The Good Life (1975-1978) is no exception. It's a dry, pleasant and warm British situation comedy about an everyday man who decides on his 40th birthday to quit his job and become self-sufficient. The reason this comedy works better than most is down to its brilliant casting, all of the actors have such a believable chemistry. From Tom and Barbara Good (the fantastic Richard Briers and the lovely Felicity Kendall) to Jerry and Margot Ledbetter (the equally great coupling of Paul Eddington and Penelope Keith). The characters are so likeable, you can't help but warn to this show, it's funny, inoffensive and most of all happy, the kind of show that will lift you're spirits and put a smile on you're face. (Incidentally for a show that is so happy, the final episode is actually quite depressing and emotional a bit of a downer. But that aside you can still watch all the other episodes). This is great comedy with great actors that adds up to a true television classic...

This was my favorite BBC sitcom. Even though there was only 30 episodes, it ranks as my favorite among all comedies. I was so fortunate to have had access to public television growing up. Channel 13 in Dallas, Texas was the first public TV station to air "Monty Python's Flying Circus" in the U. S. (Three cheers to Eric Idle).

It was the "Good Neighbors" series that got me started in collecting and recording TV shows onto VHS tapes. One can not help but fall in love with the characters on this show. Tom and Barbara Good are the main characters who decide to live a life of total self-efficiency in the suburbs of London. It is their next door neighbors, Margo and Jerry Ledbetter, that bring in most of the laughs. They remain best of friends with the Good's even though their lifestyles become totally different.

I highly recommend this excellent British comedy. Everyone has a favorite and this show is mine. My favorite American TV sitcom is "The Bob Newhart Show". These two shows have nothing in common except that they make you laugh.

This is one of those series that give Britcoms such a good name! "Good Neighbors" (as we know it here in the states) is intelligent, funny, and extremely endearing. And who can beat the cast? Richard Briers is a very respected veteran now -- he was nominated for a Tony last year for "The Chairs" -- and he was just as talented when he was younger! Felicity Kendall is absolutely precious as his wife (I *love* her scratchy little voice!), and Paul Eddington and Penelope Keith are terrific as the snooty next-door neighbors. "Good Neighbors"/"The Good Life" is dry, but in a good way... You'll laugh out loud at this one! And it has a heart -- you'll fall in love with the Goods, and enjoy following them through their ups and downs! Do yourself a favor and check out this series!

When I heard of Good Neighbors, I didn't think much of it. Then when they began airing it after Waiting for God on WLIW Long Island last year. I became enchanted by a star cast, Richard Briers, Felicity Kendal, Penelope Keith, and the late Paul Eddington. Paul, Richard, and Felicity have been honoured with a C.B.E.(Commander of the British Empire). Richard and Penelope also received the O.B.E.(Officer of the British Empire) and now have C.B.E.'s as well. It's so amusing to watch these four talented actors at work. Richard and Felicity's roles as Tom and Barbara Good are wnderfully portrayed with such charm. Felicity has such a wonderful musing face to watch on screen. You can't take your eyes off her. No wonder Richard Briers is one of Kenneth Branagh's favorite actors. He is simply likable. Paul and Penelope's Margot play their neighbors who prefer offices and modern technology to Tom and Barbara's new lifestyle of pigs and crops. You wouldn't know it if you knew that Penelope actually is an avid gardener herself and lives in Surrey from her performance as the socialite, Margot Ledbetter. Good Neighbours actually had a command performance for the Royal Family who were big fans of the show. No wonder, it's a great show.

Neither as acerbic as FAWLTY TOWERS or ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS or as radical as THE YOUNG ONES, THE GOOD LIFE remains cosily stuck in a middle-class time-warp but happens to be blessed with terrific scripts (by Bob Larbey and John Esmonde) and extremely strong characters, played to perfection by the four principle actors. Originally airing 1975-1978, the series managed to maintain a very high standard despite a slight air of exhaustion that crept into the fourth final series. It was decided to quit while they were ahead, at the peak of the series popularity, with a final episode filmed in front of the Queen.

The basic set-up concerns Tom and Barbara Good (Richard Briers and Felicity Kendal) who decide to opt-out of the rat race and try self-sufficiency in Surbiton. On this slender premise hung all kinds of imaginative plots farmyard animals (and their excretory processes), generators, rotary cultivators (and contraptions of all kinds) as well as political machinations in the local music society headed up by the formidable Miss Mountshaft (often referred to, but never seen).

As the series progressed, the plots tended to depend upon situations guaranteed to cause maximum embarrassment to the Goods social-climbing fully paid-up member of the white middle-classes neighbour Margo Leadbetter (played marvellously by Penelope Keith). Margo's husband, Jerry (Paul Eddington) maintains just the right amount of total resigned bemusement throughout.

Stand-out episodes include 'The Windbreak War' (a feud erupts over the positioning of Margo's windbreak), 'A Tug Of The Forelock' (Tom and Barbara go into domestic service...for Margo), 'Silly...But It's Fun' (the Christmas 1977 episode in which Harrods fail to deliver Margo's Christmas), 'Mutiny' (in which Margo plays Maria in the local music society's production of The Sound Of Music) and 'The Thing In The Cellar' (Tom installs a methane generator which runs on something that comes out of pigs).

It's easy to forget the critical approval and the public appreciation the series gained during it's initial tenure, along with the fame that greeted the actors (especially Penelope Keith who memorably appeared on the Morecambe & Wise Christmas Show, the ultimate accolade at the time).

THE GOOD LIFE easily ranks up with the best TV comedies ever produced but, unfortunately, it is not remembered with quite the same fondness as DAD'S ARMY, STEPTOE & SON or the magnificent FAWLTY TOWERS. What is needed is some repeats to correct this shameful oversight.