Customer Reviews

Good Neighbors - Vol. 1 [VHS]

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Although originally aired in the mid-70's, "Good Neighbors" (originally titled "The Good Life") remains a timeless classic. Sadly, the episodes in this and subsequent volumes are random selections from the show, losing quite a bit from the experience of seeing the series in order and from the beginning. The series centers on Tom and Barbara Good, residents of the London suburb of Surbiton, who have forsaken the middle-class rat race to try their hand at independence and self-sufficiency. The episodes recount their attempts to raise crops and livestock and the reactions of their next-door neighbors, the social-climbing Jerry and Margo Ledbetter.

In "Backs to the Wall", Tom and Barbara's attempts to bring in their first harvest seemed doomed to failure when first Tom's sprained back and then a violent rainstorm conspire against them. With the Ledbetters on safari in Kenya, the fair-weather pub crowd deserting her, and only days to harvest the crops before they rot, Barbara must face the impossible challenge alone. Or does she?

In "The Windbreak War", the Goods' soft fruits cash crop are threatened by the shadow of a misplaced windbreak in Margo's arbor. Attempts to have Margo move the windbreak lead to one misunderstanding after another, resulting in a final confrontation and hilarious reconciliation.

In "Silly, But It's Fun" (a Christmas special not part of the original series airings), the Ledbetters face a bleak and lonely holiday when their Christmas order is not filled per Margo's expectations. It's the Goods to the rescue with a home-made celebration that fills them all with a good holiday dinner, real holiday cheer and spirit, and a renewed understanding of the true meaning of Christmas.

All in all, this series and video is a winner.

Good Neighbors (or The Good Life as it was known in the UK) is the story of Tom and Barbara Good, a middle-aged couple in the 1970s who decide to escape the rat race by living a life of complete self-sufficiency. They exchange their car for a cultivator, and turn their garden into a full-fledged (if rather small) farm. Their good friends and neighbors, the social climbing Gerry and Margot Leadbetter (played by Paul Eddington and Penelope Keith!) sometimes provide support, and other times disapproval. Through it all, the antics of the two mismatched set of neighbors produces laughs and good times for all!

Sadly, for some reason known only to the BBC, the episodes of this wonderful show have been released in a seemingly random order. Still, this show is so good that it is better to have them this way than not at all! This tape contains three, half-hour episodes.

Backs to the Wall - Series 1, episode 7 (May 16, 1975) - As the Goods prepare for their first harvest, the Leadbetters fly off for a vacation in Africa. But, disaster strikes when Tom injures his back, leaving him unable to work. To make matters worse, a sudden storm flattens the crop, which must now be gathered in a matter of a couple of days. The Goods need help, and need it fast!

The Wind-Break War - Series 3, episode 19 (October 8, 1976) - After having planted their new fruit trees, the Goods are shocked to learn that Margot is planning to place a windbreak in a location guaranteed to shade the new plants. This means war!

Silly, but It's Fun... - Post-show Christmas special (December 26, 1977) - As the Goods begin making the homemade goodies they need for their Christmas celebration, Margot orders hers from a department store. When the Leadbetter Christmas fails to be delivered, the Goods take them in, and show them how good a self-sufficient Christmas can be.

I know there were lots more episodes made than what's available on video, when in the world are they going to release them? I know there's lots of people out there wondering the same thing. So how about it Amazon.com if anyone can bring us aficionados more "Good Neighbors" I know it's you. Thanks.

I was delighted to see that GOOD NEIGHBORS is being made available, but I was surprised that volume 1 didn't start with the first three episodes of the series. It starts somewhere in the middle of the series. We loved this series back when it ran originally in the 70's. If you ever read the Mother Earth News and dreamed of self sufficency, you'll love this series. Backs To The Wall..is a great episode in which the Goods find themselves in dire need, of course Jerry and Margo come through for them. The Wind Break War..is another episode that was filmed about the same time. A memorable episode, as the Goods and Leadbetters become better friends. Silly, but it's fun..is an episode that I had never seen before. It is the Christmas episode that seems to compliment the other two episodes. We plan to add this to our list of Christmas viewing each year. I hope that the series is continued, I plan to buy them all.

Though showing it's age in many ways (especially Margo's fashions), this is still one of the best of the Britcoms. The entire series still delights and can many episodes send me into fits of laughter regardless of the number of times they've been viewed. This tape contains my all time favorite, Silly But It's Fun, the Christmas episode, which I watch every holiday. A comedic classic!

as the British. "Spin City" was the closest America came to this genre(Yes, Prime Minister). "The Good Neighbors" (first bradcast as "The Good Life" on BBC) was (and is) the funniest sitcom I have ever experienced. It's a little dated (clothing, etc...); but, the characters are believeable, as is the concept (being self sufficient in a HIGH class London suburb.

I saw this series when it came to US TV some years ago (thank you, forever, PBS). I loved it then. I love it now. I've got the whole collection, finally. And thank god, because these seem to go in and out of stock quite rapidly.

Stars: Tom & Barbara Good, played by Richard Briers and Felicity Kendal - whom I worship, and Margo & Jerry Leadbetter, played by Penelope Keith and Paul Eddington.

I also saw Felicity Kendal in a PBS replay of the BBC Shakespeare series with her starring as Viola in "Twelfth Night" and was so impressed that I named a daughter after her.

Felicity (and the other cast members) are believable, funny, and always in trouble, love, etc., with each other.

The setting... Tom & Barbara move to a ritzy neighborhood and start a farm... well, more like they decide to "live off the land." Try that in a swank neighborhood and I'm sure you'll end up with some of the problems they had.

Totally hysterical. Very funny. A must see. Own it if you can. Definitely for the whole family.

When I first saw the Good Life (the British name) in the 1970s as an impressionable kid, I immediately loved it. Everybody was so nice and civilized unlike the glue-sniffing, head-butting ruffians at my local Scottish comprehensive school. I was so charmed that I almost wanted to become English, middle-class, and 'awfully nice.' I also developed a raging crush on Felicity Kendall, although I have to say that Penelope Keith's snobbish Margot has now edged ahead.

This series was a product of the golden age of British TV when the BBC was more like a giant artists' collective than the faceless management bureau it has since become. The casting is incredible. The four main actors are hand-in-glove with their roles.Paul Eddington as the long-suffering but slyly rebellious Jerry is the perfect foil for Margot's innocent pomposity. Felicity Kendall's Barbara is both tomboyish and kittenish and serves as a welcome check on Richard Brier's naughty little boy act as the exuberant and mischievous Tom.

For those unfamiliar with the situation of this situation comedy, it concerns the efforts of Tom and Barbara Good to escape the 9-to-5, Monday-to-Friday, suburbs-to-city commuting rat race, by starting a commune in their own garden, and the effect this has on their relationship with their very strait-laced neighbors, Jerry and Margot.

The past is a country where we used to live, and, living here in my double exile in Japan, this excellent TV series is a little too nostalgic to be a wholly unmixed pleasure.

This is a collection I must have! And I plan to start today! Even though I have not yet purchased the first volume of this series I already know I will charish them forever!

I recorded the original series way back in 1984 from the PBS showings and have enjoyed them ever since. Though the recordings are showing their age, classics like this are timeless and do not grow old, they just get better!

Felicity Kendal does not seem to grow old either, she just gets better! I wonder why?

The price is right, the deal is honest and the memories pleasant; I remember watching the episodes in Wales as a young kid, at the time. It certainly brought back nice memories. I was surprised to see that i did not find it so very funny! Well, it si is not the British kind of humour I have been developing hitherto. HOWEVER, if you are American and SCEPTICAL about British comedy, this will definately serve you as a great introduction. It is the only tape from my collection that my American roommate probably enjoyed the MOST.