The Good Life (1975 TV series)
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The Good Life | |
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BBC 1 | |
Release | 4 April 1975 10 June 1978 | –
Related | |
Life Beyond the Box |
The Good Life (known as Good Neighbors in the United States) is a British sitcom, produced by BBC television.
Background
John Esmonde and Bob Larbey wrote The Good Life for Richard Briers,[3] the only cast member who was well known before the series was broadcast. Larbey and Esmonde were inspired by Larbey's 40th birthday, which seemed to them a milestone in most people's lives.[3] Their story has the Goods' decision to pursue self-sufficiency conflicting sharply with the habits of the Leadbetters, who live next door. The conflict between the neighbours, balanced with an increasingly close friendship, creates comic tension as that friendship is tried to its limits.
Peter Bowles was originally cast to play Jerry but was unavailable.[3] (He later starred opposite Penelope Keith in To the Manor Born.) Hannah Gordon was considered for the role of Barbara but was ruled out, having recently played a similar role in the BBC sitcom My Wife Next Door. Esmonde and Larbey chose Felicity Kendal and Penelope Keith after seeing them on stage together in The Norman Conquests.
Outdoor filming took place in the northern Greater London suburb of Northwood, although the series was set in Surbiton, south-western Greater London. The producers searched extensively for a suitable pair of houses, eventually chancing on Kewferry Road, Northwood.[4][5] The grounds of the Goods' house were returned to their original state after the filming of each series' inserts, and all livestock removed at the end of each day's filming. Interior scenes were filmed at BBC Television Centre in front of a live audience.
The opening theme was composed by Burt Rhodes.[6]
Cast
- Richard Briers – Tom Good
- Felicity Kendal – Barbara Good
- Penelope Keith – Margo Leadbetter (née Sturgess)
- Paul Eddington – Jeremy "Jerry" Leadbetter
- Reginald Marsh – Andrew
- Moyra Fraser – Felicity, Sir's wife (series 1)
- Charmian May – Mrs Weaver (series 2)
Plot
On his 40th birthday, Tom Good is no longer able to take his job seriously and gives up work as a
Their actions horrify their kindly but conventional neighbours, Margo and Jerry Leadbetter. Margo and Jerry were intended to be minor characters, but their relationship with one another and the Goods became an essential element of the series. Under the influence of the Goods' homemade wine, called "
Characters
Tom Good
Tom's career has been as a draughtsman, a job he thoroughly dislikes. He feels his life is meaningless, nothing more than work and consumption. Becoming self-sufficient is his idea, but Barbara, after expressing concerns, supports him. Tom is determined to succeed at self-sufficiency, and is mostly cheerful about his new lifestyle. Despite being an eternal optimist most of the time, Tom can also be obstinate and pigheaded, often to Barbara's detriment or irritation. On the few occasions that he is pessimistic, Barbara becomes the optimist.
Barbara Good
Barbara is a normal, middle-class housewife when the series begins. While she sometimes wilts under Tom's determined and dominant nature, her sharp tongue puts her on an equal footing. She is the heart of the enterprise, while Tom's engineering brain designs and builds what they need. She occasionally misses the luxuries but her own determination to succeed, with Tom's single-minded persuasion, keeps her going.
Jerry Leadbetter
Jerry works for JJM, having joined the same day as Tom. (Jerry and Tom knew each other for at least two years before they went to work for JJM.) By his own account, Jerry has risen to senior management through cunning and self-promotion rather than talent – he tells Tom directly that he has only 10% of Tom's talent. As the series progresses, he moves within striking distance of the managing director's job. Jerry is convinced that the Goods' go-it-alone attempt will fail and on several occasions pleads with Tom to come back. But he grows to appreciate the character it has taken for Tom to leave the system. He is henpecked at home but has the strength to make his case.
Margo Leadbetter
Margo cannot understand her neighbours' lifestyle, but their friendship is important to her. As a child, she was bullied at school for having no sense of humour. A social climber, staunchly Conservative and unafraid to challenge anyone who gets on her nerves, Margo nevertheless reveals a heart of gold. She involves herself with organisations such as the Pony Club and the Music Society, always wishing to play the lead role, although frequently the Goods' activities frustrate her attempts to impress her social circle. Margo is occasionally made aware of her faults by others, including her husband, and is not too proud to apologise.
Andrew and Felicity
Andrew, "Andy" or "Sir", is managing director of JJM. He feigns ignorance of Tom's existence ("Mr Ummm of the Fourth Floor"), but once Tom leaves, Andy becomes desperate to bring him back. His wife, Felicity, is more relaxed. She is one of the few characters to support the Goods and finds their attempt at self-sufficiency exciting. She says, "I wanted to do something exciting when I was young, and then I met Andrew and that was the end of that." They have one son, unseen, called Martin. Andrew calls Tom and Barbara "Tim and Fatima", but in the episode "Anniversary" admits he has always known their names and pretends to forget – "an old executive ploy to put people at a disadvantage." Andrew appears alone after series 1 with one more reference to Felicity by Jerry and Margo in the episode "Mutiny".
Mrs Weaver
Mrs Weaver buys the house next door to Tom and Barbara in series 2, much to the relief of Margo, who approves of Mrs Weaver's conservative values as opposed to the two students boarding with the Goods who had initially threatened to purchase the house. Initially, the Goods and Mrs Weaver have an embarrassing introduction to each other, but when Mrs Weaver is impressed by the pottery skills of Tom, they become friendly. Mrs Weaver's enthusiasm for Tom's pottery encourages him to take up making ceramics, but he baulks at the idea of doing it professionally. Mrs Weaver continues to be mentioned, but is not seen again. In series 4 it is revealed she has moved away, leaving the house empty, but with a half-full tank of heating oil in the garden. The Goods telephone her and she agrees to them taking the oil, but they discover the leaking tank has destroyed their garden.
Unseen characters
Several characters are mentioned but unseen. Margo is at odds with Miss Dolly Mountshaft, dictatorial leading light of the Music Society. The overweight Mrs Dooms-Paterson is an equally dictatorial acquaintance and a fellow member of the Pony Club. Mr and Mrs Pearson, the Leadbetters' gardener and housekeeper, are mentioned in several episodes. Mr Weaver, the husband of Mrs Weaver, is mentioned but not met in episode 6 of season 2, when Margo speaks of Mr and Mrs Weaver.
Episodes
Series | Episodes | Originally aired | |||
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First aired | Last aired | Network | |||
BBC 1 | |||||
2 | 7 | 5 December 1975 | 23 January 1976 | ||
3 | 7 | 10 September 1976 | 22 October 1976 | ||
4 | 7 | 10 April 1977 | 22 May 1977 | ||
Christmas Special | 26 December 1977 | ||||
Royal Command Performance | 10 June 1978 |
The Good Life aired for four series and two specials from 4 April 1975 to 10 June 1978. The final one-off episode, "When I'm Sixty-Five", was a
Novelisations
Two novelisations of The Good Life were written, both by Esmonde and Larbey. The first, The Good Life, was published in 1976 by Penguin Books, and novelised the first series. The second, More of The Good Life, was published in 1977, also by Penguin, and featured three episodes from series two and four episodes from series three.
Other countries
The series broadcast in Australia on ABC and in Canada on CBC. It was also seen in South Africa, Zimbabwe, New Zealand and many other Commonwealth countries as well as Belgium[8] and the Netherlands.[9]
In the United States The Good Life was retitled Good Neighbors to avoid confusion with a short-lived American sitcom of the same name, and was shown by most
After The Good Life
After the success of The Good Life, the four cast members were given their own "vehicles" commissioned by the then Head of Comedy and producer of The Good Life,
In 2003, the BBC broadcast the mockumentary Life Beyond the Box: Margo Leadbetter, describing Margo's life since the series had finished, although the original actors appear only in archive footage. In 2007, Briers and Kendal were reunited on ITV1 series That's What I Call Television in a mockup of the Goods' kitchen.
In popular culture
The Good Life features in an episode of
Giles Coren and Sue Perkins worked together on a four-episode series Giles and Sue Live the Good Life, broadcast to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the original series. In the series, they recreated an attempt by two city-dwellers to adjust to country life, in ways such as raising their own barnyard animals, creating their own Christmas decorations and knitting their own clothing.
In late 2020, a podcast celebrating sitcoms of the 1970s – The Sitcom Archive Deep Dive Overdrive — was launched. The weekly show examines and celebrates every episode ever made of The Good Life made throughout its first series.[14]
Some have connected the increasing popularity of hobby farms to the success of TV shows like The Good Life.[15]
Home media
The complete series of The Good Life was made available in the US (Region 1) under the title Good Neighbors. Series 1–3 were released as a box set in 2005; Series 4 was released in 2006 and includes the Royal Command Performance.
The first UK (Region 2) DVD release omits two episodes (the first episode from series 1 and one from series 3). All four complete series were rereleased in their entirety on 29 March, 24 May, 19 July and 20 September 2010; the complete boxset has also been rereleased.
All four series have been released in their entirety in Australia (Region 4), albeit in NTSC format rather than the PAL format typical in Australia. The series 4 release (on two DVDs) also contains an interview with Briers as well as the Royal Command Performance episode.
Region 4 | |
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Series 1 | 1 October 2005[16] |
Series 2 | 6 April 2006[17] |
Series 3 | 7 September 2006[18] |
Series 4 | 4 April 2007[19] |
The Complete Collection | 9 August 2017[20] |
Stage adaptation
A stage adaptation of the sitcom premiered at the Theatre Royal, Bath, before embarking on a UK tour in October 2021. It was written and directed by Jeremy Sams and starred Rufus Hound as Tom Good.[21]
References
- ^ "BFI Screenonline: Good Life, The (1975–77)". screenonline.org.uk. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
- ^ "BBC – Britain's Best Sitcom – Vote". bbcattic.org. Archived from the original on 13 October 2014.
- ^ a b c d e Webber, Richard (2000). "A Celebration of The Good Life". Orion Books.
- ^ Google street view [1], the Leadbetters' house to the left. The Goods' house to the right.
- ^ "All About The Good Life (broadcast on BBC2 9.00 pm 28 December 2010)
- ^ Burt Rhodes obituary, The Times 11 July 2003
- ISBN 978-0340654019
- ^ "Acteur Richard Briers ('The Good Life') overleden". Retrieved 19 August 2016.
- ^ "Acteur serie The Good Life overleden". Retrieved 19 August 2016.
- ^ "Broadcast - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 11 November 1977.
- ^ "Broadcast - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 23 February 1979.
- ^ "Broadcast - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 30 September 1979.
- ^ Logan, Brian (3 March 2013). "Grieve for The Good Life? Not this Young One". The Observer. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
- ^ "Sitcom Archive Deep Dive Overdrive (SADDO) podcast". Sitcom Archive Deep Dive Overdrive (SADDO). 8 September 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
- ^ "Lifestyle block a nightmare for some". The New Zealand Herald. 13 February 2011. Retrieved 17 February 2011.
- ^ "Good Life, The – Series 01". Sanity. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
- ^ "Good Life, The – Series 02". Sanity. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
- ^ "Good Life, The – Series 03". Sanity. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
- ^ "Good Life – Series 4". Sanity. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
- ^ "Good Life | Series Collection, The". Sanity. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
- ^ "Rufus Hound To Star In Stage Version Of The Good Life". Beyond The Joke. 25 June 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
External links
- The Good Life at BBC Online
- The Good Life at IMDb
- The Good Life at British Comedy Guide
- The Good Life at the BFI's Screenonline
- Opening Titles at BBC Cult