The Good Life: The Complete Collection [DVD]

I have been living in the UK for only three years from the USA and one of my friends here suggested I look up The Good Life TV show from the 1070's. My wife has seen these when originally broadcast many years ago, but she and I both agree, these are timeless episodes filled with delightful stories about "dropping out". The writing is witty, loving, and funny is too tame a word to describe the situations. It is performed by a fantastic cast that obviously enjoy each other's company, and the comedic timing of Richard Briers is brilliant to say the least, and complimented by Felicity Kendal, Penelope Keith and Paul Eddington. I found the show to be delightful entertainment, and we look forward to viewing all the episodes in the order they were first broadcast, which I think this is the first and only boxed set that has been produced like this. Don't hesitate for a moment to make this purchase, even it you have seen the show when it was first aired. They are timeless enjoyment, and at this price, you will be getting a bargain for the funny bone.

Absolutely brilliant, as we knew it would be. Inventive and very amusing episodes with Tom and Barbara battling hopelessly against the impossibility of trying to exist on nothing other than the produce from a large suburban garden in the 1970's. Richard Briers (Tom) who was dissatisfied with, and escaped from, the rat-race, in which he occupied a meaningless artistic creation post in advertising, plays his usual role of the earnest, hubristic and somewhat inadequate male. Felicity Kendal is the cute, and often perceptive, little wife who, at some level, realises the hopelessness of the "Good Life" project, but loyally supports Tom throughout his blundering learning curve. Neighbours Jerry and Margot (Paul Eddington and Penelope Keith) are the well-heeled couple next door (Jerry being an erstwhile, and more successful, colleague from Tom's previous existence and Penelope Keith as Margot is in her characteristically insufferable snobbish woman role, here also being an extremely high-maintenance wife). Tom and Barbara sponge unashamedly on their rich neighbours. Tom teases Margot for her starchy, snobbish ways, while the worldly and cynical Jerry (Paul Eddington in some ways is the star of the show) keeps coming up with witty, dry one-liners and keeps under wraps (for most of the time!) the fact that secretly he fancies Barbara something rotten. Thoroughly entertaining throughout. Clever characterisations and plots. Could also represent a social comment of the time. Highly recommended. Chris Clough.

Absolutely brilliant, im 17 and love it which just goes to show how timeless these old comedies are. Watched all the episodes in 3 days. I was saddened to hear about the news of Richard Briers passing away yesterday. Just watching the chemistry between him and Felicity Kendal brings joy into my heart. In my eyes they were one of the most convincing onscreen couples to ever be on television. Of course, Margot and Jerry were also brilliant, Margot being my favourite character. They all contributed to the show in their own way and in my opinion, there are very few sitcoms around these days that have the same quality as the old greats such as this one. Wish i was around in the 70s to enjoy these the first time around but alas I was born too late.

I have reached the stage where contemporary 'sit-coms' leave me totally cold ! And so when I saw 'Ever Decreasing Circles' was available from Amazon I treated myself. Frankly,it was the best thing I could have done. From the opening sequence on Disc one (there are six discs),it is a sheer delight!! The cast is perfection; the story lines are quite superb,and the delivery and timing of the dialogue beggars belief!! In short,this complete set represents outstanding value,both in terms of value for money,and entertainment. I simply cannot recommend this enough for the discerning viewer who appreciates craftmanship of the highest standard guaranteed to entertain and delight. And no. It has not aged one jot...

I am old enough to have fond memories of the series when it was broadcast originally (in the mid-1970s on) and so I recently purchased the complete set at a time when I wanted the relaxation of simply watching something on the TV, but not from the mainstream TV channels. This is all about the trials and tribulations of a suburban London couple, Tom and Barbara, who go "sustainable" ... and their relationship with the very conventional couple next door, Margot and Jerry. My main reaction to it was that I felt that the humour developed as the series progressed, i.e., the first episode or two were not as funny as I had hoped or remembered. Maybe one needed to get used to the gentler humour (of yesteryear) that is contained within this series. However, as I continued to watch the episodes (and they are all conveniently just half an hour long) I found myself laughing more and more. The jewel in the crown of the series is the character, Margot, who is consummately conservative with both a little "c" and a big "C" - she values superficiality (for example, she makes derogatory comments on her sustainable neighbours' awful clothes), detests socialists, keeps in with the local Conservatives (several with wonderful names, like "Mountshaft") and abhors anything other than suburban convention. But fundamentally, she is friendly and the sort of person you could rely on in an emergency, and she has her little vulnerabilities. Jerry, her somewhat dominated husband, is also a great character in the series, tempering Margot's excesses with common sense and humour. While any review is highly personal, I found this series funny enough to want to re-watch it and would recommended it to anyone in the political middle ground, having a sense of humour and finding themselves in the autumn of their life.

Iv'e wanted this set for a while, but was put off because it was so expensive originally, also some reviews have said that picture quality is poor, to be honest I have found the quality just fine on our one year old 80cm HD TV, maybe there are quality issues when watching on very large TV's, but for most folks there should be no problem. Considering how much this show has earned the BBC over the years, and it's pop culture importance, I would have thought the BBC could have invested in digital remastering. If you want some nostalgic, classic British comedy, this is for you.

I have always wanted this collection, and have seen it advertised on this website before for an astronomical price of £300! so it was out of my price range, so I was delighted to see it re-packaged at a more reasonable price, The picture and sound quality is excellent. There are bonus material including interviews with Bob Larbey one of the writers and Richard Briers the star, all the episodes are here including the Royal Command Episode which was recorded in front of the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh, we see behind the scenes of that episode, with the Queen arriving at the studio's meeting and greeting before and after the show is recorded. Well worth the money!

Ah, this brings back memories of when we were first married and determined to grow as much of our own food as we could. Well worth watching again - the characters and acting are excellent. The quality of these DVDs is good, certainly no worse than the repeats shown on TV. Our neighbours are sophisticated and well dressed, just like Margot and Jerry and we are scruffy like Tom and Barbara and don't go out to work. Since those days back in the 1970's we have continued to grow our own fruit and veg, make our own beer, jams, preserves and wine. Incidentally, has anyone ever made any GOOD peapod wine? I haven't found anyone yet! But the hedgerow jam made from whatever we can pick from the local hedgerow is gorgeous!