Product Details

• Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 11
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: BBC Worldwide
• DVD Release Date: August 30, 2005
• Run Time: 1920 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (224 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0009S2SOY
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,780 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "As Time Goes By: Complete Original Series" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

As Time Goes By: The Complete Series, Vol. 5

It may be odd for Americans to imagine Dame Judi Dench, award-winning powerhouse British thespian, in a TV sitcom, but she and Geoffrey Palmer star in the wonderful As Time Goes By. As Jean and Lionel, they're a couple whose romance during the Korean War went awry due to a lost letter--then, 38 years later, they meet by accident and pick up where they left off. In Series 5, they are now a comfortable couple (though prone to spar and bicker), living with Jean's daughter Judith and her friend Sandy. The stories revolve around a house in the country, the long-delayed airing of a miniseries that Lionel wrote, and grappling with their troublesome in-laws--but the plots are secondary to the fantastically well-written and acted interplay between the richly drawn characters. Even if you haven't seen any earlier episodes, you'll quickly be drawn into their world. --Bret Fetzer


As Time Goes By: The Complete Series, Vol. 6

Every series of British sitcom As Time Goes By is an astonishing pleasure. Judi Dench and Geoffrey Palmer star as Jean and Lionel, two long-ago sweethearts who fell out of touch during the Korean War, then--due to a chance re-meeting--rekindled their romance in their late middle age. Series 6 mostly revolves around Jean's reluctantly retiring from her business, along with the stumbling romance of her daughter Judith (Moira Brooks) and their friend Alistair (Philip Bretherton, particularly strong this series). The plots of the show are often gossamer-thin--one entire episode revolves around circumventing the nosiness of Jean's sister--but it doesn't matter. The rapport between Dench and Palmer holds a treasure trove of alternating comfort and prickliness. It only takes a half-finished sentence and a disgruntled look to be screamingly funny. They're as attuned to each other as dancers; their waltz through As Time Goes By is a pleasure to behold. --Bret Fetzer


As Time Goes By: Complete Series 8 & 9

Judi Dench and Geoffrey Palmer continue their prickly but loving affair in the eighth and ninth series of As Time Goes By. Young lovers reunited 38 years after a lost letter ended their relationship, Jean (Dench, Shakespeare in Love, Iris) and Lionel (Palmer, He Knew He Was Right) have settled into cozy married life, but that doesn't stop Jean from meddling right and left with the lives of the younger folk around them--Jean's daughter Judy (Moira Brooker), her best friend Sandy (Jenny Funnell), and Lionel's wealthy and excitable publisher Alistair (Philip Bretherton). After eight years, you'd expect a sitcom to be played out, but As Time Goes By sustains its spark; it helps that British comedy-makers don't crank out dozens of mediocre episodes each season, but instead pour as much imagination and humanity as they can into a handful. The six episodes of Season eight are straightforward, with stories revolving around such tidbits as a lost dog or Jean's efforts to get on the Internet, but the simplicity of the plots only lets the rich rapport between Dench and Palmer be the show's true subject. The four-episode 9th and final season not only maintains quality but even picks up energy from bringing a satisfying resolution to the characters, with proposals and weddings skillfully managed by the man who wrote the entire series, Bob Larbey. He must have felt like he was bringing an enormous novel to a close, yet he avoided the temptation to go for some kind of spectacle, ending the show with the same basic pleasures of human foibles with which he began. This is obviously not the ideal starting point for a newcomer (though the show's tart but gentle humor is always accessible and enjoyable), but for any long-time fan, these final seasons will prove warmly satisfying. --Bret Fetzer

Product Description

Once upon a time, a dashing young British Army officer and a lovely student nurse fell deeply, magically in love. Then he was shipped off to Korea and they never heard from one another. Forty years later, fate brings them together again... with hilarious results. From the first moment Jean and Lionel meet again to the wedding of Alistair and Judith, all the classic moments are here for fans to enjoy.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

156 of 157 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Time Well Spent, December 6, 2006

By 

Smash B (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: As Time Goes By: Complete Original Series (DVD)

This is truly a series not to be missed. Rarely does a comedy come along with such gentle sweetness that it touches our hearts forever. And that is exactly what this series does. Join Lionel and Jean, who fell deeply in love once upon a time, and accidently rediscover one another 38 years later. The love and hilarity that follow will make you both laugh and cry. Follow the rocky love adventures of Judith, Jean's daughter, and her friend Sandy. And speaking of rocky, don't miss Lionel's hilarious, eccentric father, Rocky and his darling bride, Madge. There's also Mrs. Bales and her constant weather forecasts in the Channel, Alistair and his flash ways, and Jean's sister-in-law, Penny, and her husband, Stephen, all of whom provide much enjoyment and many delights along the way. The acting is so well done and the characters so well developed that they will become your friends and your family along this pleasant journey. This is truly a show that you will want to watch and watch and watch again... as time goes by.

This complete series is contained on eleven discs. If you buy this set, or season 8 and 9, you won't need the additional DVD entitled, "You Must Remember This," as it is contained in both these sets. This is a great price for the entire series at one pop. Also, don't miss the "Reunion Special" that was subsequently released.

So once again, if you're looking for a show with plenty of love, laughter, and charm, then this is definetly the one to try. Go out and get a copy today; you won't regret it.

Smash B

149 of 155 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Timeless Collection, October 23, 2005

By 

Judith A. Brodnicki (Omaha, Nebraska) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: As Time Goes By: Complete Original Series (DVD)

We could have purchased each of the seasons of "As Time Goes By" separately, but my husband and I waited until this complete collection was available so that we could have the entire set in one neat box. We've been watching the episodes from the beginning -- enjoying those we've seen before and discovering the ones we'd missed along the way -- and it has become a special part of our evenings together as we watch 2 or 3 at a time. It's so nice to have them on DVD to watch at our convenience. Public television plays them fairly regularly, but often at a time when we're not free to sit still and view the program.

Of course, we love this series. Even though we're younger than Jean and Lionel, we see ourselves in them. It's such refreshing writing for a comedy series as it finds something amusing in our human interactions as opposed to inventing impossible situations for the sake of a laugh, relying on bathroom jokes, or resorting to insults.

241 of 281 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great buy on a great series for those who waited, June 5, 2005

By 

Eric Pregosin (New Carrollton, Maryland United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: As Time Goes By: Complete Original Series (DVD)

Since ordering Series 8 and 9 (which was released the same day), have previously ordered 6 and 7 from here, and bought 1 through 5 on my first trip in years to Ohio a few years ago. I do not need this well priced collection (and it IS well priced). However I should include a review, as this is one of my favorite britcoms, else I wouldn't be buying it on disc. You get 11 discs (2 of which will be released as 1 set on the same day as this collection). From what I see on the picture of the "Series 8&9" 2 bagger just displayed today, the Series 9 will also contain the retrospective "You Must Remember This" which previously released separately (between the releases of series 5 and 6) and included 3 other episodes (1 of which was the finale of series 6 which at the time was not on DVD). Thus making the separate disc of "You Must Remember This" nothing but window dressing. Of course, until the 8&9 set was announced, there was no way to know, so most of us (me included) bought the other disc. Once I got my copy of 8&9, I gave the "12th disc" away. So if you have not gotten any of the series, buy this collection, and you will get it all at a great price. If you are only missing a few installments, buy the ones you are missing, but skip the separate "You Must Remember This" disc, as the episode will be included on the last disc. After you buy this set, if you haven't already done so, buy "Reunion" on the PBS label and OFFICIALLY complete the series.