The Good Life

This show is a product of the 70s. A suburban couple decide to drop out and go back to the land. They will grow their own food, barter or sell what they produce to make their living, whatever they need to do to drop out of the rat race.

Their slightly stodgy friends next door remain in the rat race, providing a foil and a counterpoint for their shenanigans. If you had shown me a summary of the plot, I would have rolled my eyes, but they made it work. I especially like what they did with Margo. She is snooty, privileged and against what their neighbors are attempting. As a result, she is joked about and made fun of, but there is depth and warmth to her that comes out at various times during the shows run.

I am not a big fan of Richar...

I wonder just how many people in the mid 1970s - anywhere in the world - would have realised just how visionary writers John Esmonde and Bob Larbey were with this marvellous tale of a happily married suburban couple who decide to give up their daily grind and revert to a subsistence existence. Richard Briers and Felicity Kendall are great in the roles of the optimistic and naive "Tom" and his stoic and determined wife "Barbara" as they scrap, save, cannibalise, economise and basically do just about anything to avoid needing/earning/spending money - not an easy task. For me, the best parts come from their loyal and wealthy neighbours "Jerry" (Paul Eddington) and "Margo" (Penelope Keith). The former, the long suffering husband to the loving b...