The Good Life

My fiancee has a thing for 70s comedies, despite being born in 1985, and when I asked 'Whats 'The Good Life'?' she had the dvds whipped out like a flash. 'The Good Life' stars Felicity Kendal and Richard Bryers, and aired for four series from 1975 to 1978. Kendal plays Barbara and Bryers plays Tom, a married couple living in Surbiton. On Toms 40th birthday he undergoes a revellation of sorts, and in less than 24 hours him and Barbara have decided to give up their conventional existence and his 9 to 5 job, and become self sufficient. What sets them apart is that they do not plan to move to a smallholding to do it, they plan to be self sufficient in ...  Read the complete review

There must be more people out there now like Tom and Barbara Goode, trying to become self-sufficient in a world of rising prices and shortages. I know when I've lived in a house, my garden has always been well dug and planted with all manner of veggies ... but somehow I don't see me living in a built up area and trying to have a pig fattening up or chickens clucking around. Fine in the country but not in the suburbs. One can only imagine the full extent of Margot's horror, if she were indeed a real person. So prissy, wanting nothing more than her perfect little life and poor hen-pecked husband , Jerry, and to suddenly end up with Old Macdonald's farm next door. ...  Read the complete review

This is one of my favourite television programmes of all time and I am so pleased that every now and then we are lucky enough to get some episodes repeated on the BBC. Let me tell you more ... What's it called ? The Good Life Is that a play on words ? Yes and no. The main couple had the surname Good, but it was also a reference to the fact that they were self reliant. Who were the characters ? Tom Good played by Richard Briers Barbara Good played by Felicity Kendal Margo Leadbetter played by Penelope Keith Jerry Leadbetter played by Paul Eddington. When was the show broadcast ? In ...  Read the complete review

Oh how I loved this program as a kid! To quickly sum-up, it is about a couple (Tom and Barbara Good) who decide to give up middle-class suburban life, to live the 'Good Life' of self-sufficiency. They live next door to a rather uppity couple (Margo and Jerry Leadbetter). The programme is set in well-to-do Surbiton, so as you might imagine the sudden inclusion of a couple of overnight farmers dressed in shabby clothes, in the neighbourhood, along with a few farm animals, does not go down too well. Much of the humour in this show revolves around the clash between the Goods' new-found freedom from the "middle-class commuter-9 to 5 ...  Read the complete review

In my humble opinion one of the best, if not the best, sit com to come out of the BBC has to be The Good Life. Originally broadcast in the 1970's it has been repeated many times and I still find it funny no matter how many times I watch it! The basic premise of the plot is that Tom Good, on reaching his 40th birthday, decides that he has had enough of the rat race and wonders if he and his wife Barbara could become self sufficient. They discuss it and decide that it has to be worth a try. Initially they convert their front and back gardens into vegetable plots and then add a hen house, a pig sty and get a goat. Then they get an allotment and make ...  Read the complete review