As an American, I didn't discover this series until the 1990s when it was on Alabama Public Television. But it sure didn't take long for me to get hooked! Right along with Are You Being Served? And To The Manor Born and of course Dads Army. I think the BBC comedies were like ours in the fact that they were just better back in the 1970s.
I remember these from the 70’s and 80’s on PBS in rural upstate NY. Somehow my parents believed young kids should watch Monty Python and The Goodies…….
R I p Richard Briers.Gone but not forgotten.The Good Life was essential viewing back in the day.It was one of the true very British comedies.This comedy didnt have one star but they were all stars who came together in a comedy of epic proportions.You will be missed Richard.
Oh my goodness! I thought this would be a quaint series I’ve never seen, but I recognise that little bird going around the flower!!! I recognise Barbara too! I was born in 1976 in Australia, so there’s no chance I remember the original run!
thank you so much for posting the entire series! very grateful! the good life is pure-gold! there's nothing horrid or nasty. priceless actors in a priceless show x
A wonderful human being, a great comic actor as exemplified by shows like THE GOOD LIFE, and in the past twenty odd years a wonderful Shakespearian and classics actor... Thankyou for enriching my life Richard... R.I.P.
one of the best sitcoms in its day,clean good fun and banter like dads army,no bad language this is what even children could watch,this is why I have a library of DVDs. better then the rubbish on TV now,makes me wonder what we pay our licence for.
Yes, it is! I watched this here in the U.S. as a young child (starting at about 9). And despite it being about adults who were White and from another country, it actually spoke to me and was funny. I keep hearing about Dad's Army. I have never seen that but I am going to buy DVDs. I have a multi-region player, too.
I started watching re-runs of this show when in college. I was sick & channel surfing when I came upon this on PBS one miserable night (it was the pig episode) and from then on was immediately hooked. My favorite show is "Silly, But It's Fun" but really I like all the episodes.
R.I.P Richard Briers. The Good Life was my families tv favourite in the 70's and continues to be so with my own children. We love watching the repeats on SKY. A sad day.
I forgot all about this show, I love it! PBS used to run it when I was a kid and PBS was the only channel we could get that came in clear with no snow - anyone else out there remember that?! Anyway, thanks so much for posting the series! Good memories.
Thanks Richard for the wonderful entertainment. I love The Good Life! It inspired me to move to the countryside. You were a star and made people smile which was a great gift. RIP Richard. xx
Around 1984, I answered an ad for a second hand wood stove. “You move, you fix.” The man selling it turned out to be the uncle of a dear friend! And guess what tv series he loved? Right! He had a small city lot and a big garden. I still have the stove.
Thank you so very much for posting this series. I remember watching this as a teenager at my aunt's house on Sunday nights on KERA Channel 13. Watching these episodes brings back so many happy and wonderful memories of Sunday nights at my aunt's place. My aunt is gone now, but this show still soldiers on. Again thank you for posting these!
The Good Life was also an American sitcom that ran for 15 episodes in 1971. It featured Larry Hagman and Donna Mills. ( Later of Dallas and Knot's Landing respectively.) When the British show of the same name was shown in North America it was retitled Good Neighbours to avoid confusion with the former.
Being that the only bit if this show I've ever seen is on The Young Ones every time I see the opening I expect Ade Amundson to come crashing thru the screen screaming "No! No!"
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING THESE!!!! I love this show, I’ve seen them all repeatedly but they are still funny and a delight to watch. I love British humor, particularly from this era.
Hahaaaa!!! We recently found a box full of old crockery and thought some of them looked quite nice in the cold light of 2010.... I've just realised they're using them in this episode!!! That's so strange!!!
Our station in the U.S. was the first to air an English comedy. I remember Monty Python but it was THIS ONE I watched, and sort of understood, as a kid. My parents were friends with a couple who were a bit like the Goodes, and I have definitely known people like Margo.
John Etheridge Here in Dallas, it is Channel 13, KERA and they air a great many Britcoms. Right now, they are airing Keeping Up Appearances, Are You Being Served?, Open All Hours, Mulberry, and Red Dwarf. But they have aired many beginning with Monty Python.
John Etheridge In addition to the ones I named, they have also shown Shelly, No Place Like Home, The Young Ones, My Hero, Father Ted, Black Books (I suppose the last 3 could be considered Irish), Hardware, Is it Legal?, The Thin Blue Line, all the incarnations of Black Adder, That's My Boy, The Last of the Summer Wine, Ever Increasing Circles, Fresh Fields & French Fields, Executive Stress, To the Manor Born, Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister, Preach, The Vicar of Dibley, uh I am trying to think of them all...
Also, As Time Goes By, Alexei Sayle's Stuff (Hilarious), Chef!, May to December, Goodnight Sweetheart, A Fine Romance, Lenny Henry Tonight & Lenny Henry Show, Fawlty Towers, The Benny Hill Show, Fry & Laurie, The Fall & Rise of Reginald Perrin (and briefly the newer remake), as well as whatever you call the newer version of Are You Being Served? Lots & lots, I am missing a few, but I have watched them all here on KERA Channel 13 over the span of like 30 years.
SO SO sorry to hear of the sad death of Richard Briers, we will miss you terribly. This si-com. was the best ever written, and will be fondly remembered by millions of devoted fans. They don't make 'em like this any more, because they CAN''T match the matchless cast in this. R.I.P. dear Richard Briers.
For you hardcore GOOD fans...the house used in the show is at 55 Kewberry Road, Northwood, Middlesex UK. Its visable on Google Earth street view virtually unchanged from the show.
The Good Life - A milestone birthday convinces Tom Good to make a change. He talks his wife, Barbara, into giving up the so-called rat race and joining him in a life of simplicity and self-sufficiency. They convert their suburban home into a farm, planting crops in the back garden and bringing in pigs and chickens (including a rooster they name Lenin). The new use of their property comes as something of a shock to their very proper neighbors, Margo and Jerry Leadbetter. A social climber of the first order, Margo can't bear having chickens roaming the back garden. She'll have to put up with it, though, since Tom, despite his desire for self-sufficiency, can't bring himself to kill the chickens. First episode date: April 4, 1975 - Final episode date: June 10, 1978 - Network: BBC One
Yeah, same here. Love PBS. It made me a fan of British sitcoms. I like "Solo" as well (the sitcom that Felicity Kendall was on after this show ended). The only problem was I kept half expecting Tom to pop up along with the Ledbetters--lol.
Vote this up to let folks know that part two is blocked by the BBC bastards. Thank you so much for giving me a taste of this though. Much appreciated. I've never seen the beginning episodes of this show, and it's not as if it will ever come on American tv.
Thnx4Posting this classic on here..Very much appreciated..Love this show..The husband is a right knob though..Exoecting his wife to go without for his wierd ideas..lol..I don't know any woman who'd go thru that kinda shite thesedays..
@Razieluk It's The Last Posh Frock episode, when Barbra asks him if he still loves her even though she's not "glammed up" ":..of course I do you silly bitch.". I laugh every time ;) I know you commented ages ago but I had to chime in.
@LittleOddMe This series has been on PBS stations in the states as The Good Neighbors. But its been some years since I've seen it there. I remember this one well, but still like seeing it all, so I miss part 2 as well. It's all about money don't ya know, that's life isnt it. You can find this series pretty cheap on ioffer. I love the old British shows, great writing and humor.
You all should record these while you can-just found out that The Good Life BBC channel has deleted all its videos within the last few days. What a shame-decent good humour not allowed anymore I guess.
