Good Neighbors (1975–1978)
"The Good Life" (original title)

The perils of "escaping the rat race" and dropping out of society - to start a farm in Surbiton (and to drive Margo nuts).

Stars:

Richard Briers, Felicity Kendal, Penelope Keith

1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Richard Briers	...	Tom Good (30 episodes, 1975-1978)
Felicity Kendal	...	Barbara Good (30 episodes, 1975-1978)
Penelope Keith	...	Margo Leadbetter (30 episodes, 1975-1978)
Paul Eddington	...	Jerry Leadbetter (30 episodes, 1975-1978)

Storyline

Tom and Barbara Good's dream is to live completely self-sufficiently. This means, among other things, raising their own vegetables and animals for food. Trouble is, they live in the suburbs. Their very conservative neighbors, the Leadbetters, look on, horrified, at this bold experiment.

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Plot Keywords:

conservative | neighbor | farm | indian food | eccentric | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 April 1975 (UK)

Also Known As:

Good Neighbors

Filming Locations:

Kewferry Road, Northwood, Middlesex, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

28 min 28 min (30 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the US, this series was broadcast under the title "The Good Neighbors" to avoid confusion with the short-lived series The Good Life, even though that show was off the air almost three years before this one began. The opening titles were reworked by the BBC art department so that the title even includes the same flower, bird, and bee as the original. To make things even more confusing, when the series was released on US home video, the outer box had the "Good Neighbors" title, but the shows on the tape had the "Good Life" titles (they were from the BBC masters, simply re-encoded to NTSC video).

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Quotes

Barbara: [Barbara is visiting Tom in jail] Oh, Tom. I do miss you.
Tom: I miss you too, love. There's two-thousand of us in here but it's ever so lonely.

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Crazy Credits

The closing credits listed the actors' names but not the corresponding names of the characters that they played.

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Connections

Featured in Screenwipe: A Very Screenwipe Christmas (2006)

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Soundtracks

"The Bandolero"
Written by Leslie Stuart
Performed by Peter Dawson

User Reviews

Another Classic Britcom! 4 C.B.E.'s!

When I heard of Good Neighbors, I didn't think much of it. Then when they began airing it after Waiting for God on WLIW Long Island last year. I became enchanted by a star cast, Richard Briers, Felicity Kendal, Penelope Keith, and the late Paul Eddington. Paul, Richard, and Felicity have been honoured with a C.B.E.(Commander of the British Empire). Richard and Penelope also received the O.B.E.(Officer of the British Empire) and now have C.B.E.'s as well. It's so amusing to watch these four talented actors at work. Richard and Felicity's roles as Tom and Barbara Good are wnderfully portrayed with such charm. Felicity has such a wonderful musing face to watch on screen. You can't take your eyes off her. No wonder Richard Briers is one of Kenneth Branagh's favorite actors. He is simply likable. Paul and Penelope's Margot play their neighbors who prefer offices and modern technology to Tom and Barbara's new lifestyle of pigs and crops. You wouldn't know it if you knew that Penelope actually is an avid gardener herself and lives in Surrey from her performance as the socialite, Margot Ledbetter. Good Neighbours actually had a command performance for the Royal Family who were big fans of the show. No wonder, it's a great show.