Editorial Review:Amazon.com:Here are the final seven episodes of the 1970s British comedy series,
Good Neighbors (entitled
The Good Life in England), a show that brilliantly captures the Zeitgeist of the '70s. The Goods, who quit the rat race for a life of subsistence farming, are next-door neighbors to the Ledbetters, some of the fastest rat-race runners around. At first, Margot and Jerry Ledbetter are horrified to see Tom and Barbara Good turn their tiny yard into a series of animal pens and vegetable gardens. But by the final episodes, the two couples have learned how to tolerate their differences and are the best of friends. There's an endless source of humor in this classic dichotomy of rich versus poor, snooty versus earthy. 'Troglodytes!' the Ledbetters slam the Goods. 'Gracious livers!' the Goods retaliate. There is also an abundant supply of silly scenes involving the Goods' suburban menagerie. The episode in which their chicken boards a passing bus goes delightfully over the edge. The British have always had a wonderful knack for poking fun at themselves, and this knack reaches a pinnacle in statuesque comedienne Penelope Keith's indelible creation of the character Margot Ledbetter. She's the quintessential status-obsessed snob, so preposterously genteel that she can wring three syllables out of the word 'no.' Keith's performance, especially, keeps
Good Neighbors as fresh and funny as the day it was made.
--Laura Mirsky
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
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Quality Show but Film quality isn't the best
I grew up watching these on PBS. This show was one of the first things my parents recorded on their VCR twenty-five years ago. Our family loves the comedy. Many lines, eg "Dear sir, thank you for your splendid empty box . . . ", have become part of our dialogue. I would recommend this series to anyone--just not this particular release. The film quality is not up to par with what you would see on TV. There has been a never release by the BBC which has much better quality. If you are looking to add this show to your collection, try the newer release.
Rating: 
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Great comedy from an impractical lifestyle
I first saw "Good Neighbors" (1975-77) in the late 1970s on PBS, shortly after the show was completed. I was impressed with the wit and comic timing of the actors, and the subtle comedy which didn't hit you over the head to make a point. When they came on the market in VHS format, I decided to buy them in installments, and am very happy I did.
You likely know the story: Richard Briers plays Tom Good, a frustrated 40 year old draftsman who works for a plastics company. Good and his wife Barabara (Felicity Kendall) decide to "get back to basics" and thereby Tom quits his job, turns the yard into a huge garden, buys chickens and pigs for livestock and decides to become self sufficient, bartering for only what they need, etc. Not a practical life style for 1970s suburban London. Contrasting are their neighbors: Jerry and Margo Ledbetter, played by Paul Eddington and Penelope Keith. Mr. Ledbetter is an executive in the plastics company Tom Good used to work for; he crawls and grovels to the boss to keep his high paying job, which supports his expensive and well furnished home. Ledbetter is a slave to his work despite finanicial prosperity; Good doesn't answer to a boss or schedule, but faces obstacle after obstacle with his crops or livestock.
The chemistry and comic timing between all 4 principal actors is very fine, and the laughs are many and frequent. Despite the impractical plot - no one would get away with having livestock in a subdivision anywhere in the civilized world for long - this makes for wholesome entertainment. I haven't seen the DVD version for comparison, but the VHS tapes are very good quality: clear picture, great camera work.
Rating: -
The Best!
Whoops! I ment to enter this review on the full set "Good Neighbors - The Complete Series 1-3" which (hopefully) contains all episodes, not just the final year. Please read the following in that context...
This was a great and funny show! Other reviewers have already pointed out the things that made it so. I just want to add that I hope that the DVD includes all the episodes IN ORDER! The VHS tapes just threw various episodes together for no apparent reason. The episodes must be watched in order as the story and characters evolve as the show goes on. It even has a final episode of sorts (I don't want to give anything away). The only shows I found a little disappointing were the two 'extra episodes'. I believe one was a Christmas special and the other was a command performance of some sort. I felt that both were a little forced and not up to the quality of the regular season shows. The first time I saw Good Neighbors was when PBS aired it in the 1970s. At the time they were showing Good Neighbors and Faulty Towers back to back. A few years ago my (now adult) kids bought me the tapes of both because they still remembered how hard I laughed at those shows. Buy this DVD (and the Faulty Towers set) and you'll laugh too!
Rating: -
Good Neighbors....good fun!
Highly enjoyable British comedy made in the late 70's. The humor is engaging, and if you are a fan of such shows as "Are You Being Served?" no doubt you will enjoy this set. My main gripe is that why in the world did the BBC start DVD distribution with the final installments of the series? Paul Eddington is superb as is the rest of the cast. Enjoy!
Rating: 
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A poor transcription of an excellent comedy
Acorn Media has done the fans of Good Neighbors (known in the UK as The Good Life) a disservice with their transcription of the final series onto two DVDs. Please bear in mind when reading this review that this is my favorite British comedy, ahead even of Monty Python's Flying Circus.
The quality of the pictures is no better than fair. I could tolerate that, because my set of off-the-air VHS tapes has been played so much that the images are almost Impressionist pastels. I was irritated that the bonus material is of such paucity as to be not worth your time; you can find out more about the show and its players from the Internet Moive Database than you can from the DVD. But even this is bearable.
What roused my anger was the fact that these brand new disks arrived in their original shrinkwrap but will not play properly. Of the eight episodes provided, only three would play without trouble. Of the remaining five, none would play normally; you get a portion of an episode, and then for unknown reasons the disk starts skipping as if you were fast-forwarding at 16 time normal speed. One episode would not play at all. And in the case of the bonus material, one part plays only in skip mode while the other won't play at all.
I have waited a long time for a DVD set of Good Neighbors that could replace my worn-out VHS tapes. It now appears that I will have to wait until BBC America deigns to produce a complete set of DVDs of one of their most popular comedies ever, before I will be able to view Good Neighbors as it originally aired.
