PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
The Good Life-Complete Series 4 (1977)

The Good Life-Complete Series 4 (1977) (NTSC)

If you create a user account, you can add your own review of this DVD

Released 4-Apr-2007

Cover Art

This review is sponsored by
BUY IT

Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Comedy Main Menu Introduction
Main Menu Audio & Animation
Bonus Episode-When I'm 65 - 1978 Royal Command Performance
Interviews-Cast & Crew-Richard Briers
Biographies-Cast & Crew
Rating Rated PG
Year Of Production 1977
Running Time 203:21 (Case: 260)
RSDL / Flipper Dual Layered
Dual Disc Set
Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 4 Directed By None Given
Studio
Distributor

Roadshow Home Entertainment
Starring Richard Briers
Felicity Kendal
Penelope Keith
Paul Eddington
Case Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI $29.95 Music Burt Rhodes
Bill Harris
Ian McKendrick


Video (NTSC) Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame Full Frame English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio None
16x9 Enhancement No
Video Format 480i (NTSC)
Original Aspect Ratio 1.33:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles English for the Hearing Impaired Smoking Yes
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

    The Good Life stands the test of time as a classic English sit-com which began life in 1975 on the BBC. Despite including some obviously dated ideas, fashions and hairstyles the show is still funny more than 30 years later. This is the third series I have reviewed and I thought it was not quite as good as the first two. It originally ran for four seasons and was shown in the US as Good Neighbours.

    The series follows the lives of Tom Good (Richard Briers) and his wife Barbara (Felicity Kendal) who have decided to turn their backs on their normal day to day lives and become self sufficient by starting a farm in their own backyard in the suburbs of London. Tom is a bit of a smart ass in a lovable sort of way and Barbara encourages his eccentricities. Their neighbours and best friends, Jerry & Margo Leadbetter (Paul Eddington and Penelope Keith) think they are crazy but indulge them and help them out as they can. Jerry is a successful marketing executive and Margo is his snobby wife. This final series of the show was made in 1977 and features the last seven official episodes, although another not quite so official one is available in the extras. There are some excellent episodes here and the show was certainly not stopped due to any lack of quality in this final season. This set includes two discs. All the episodes are contained on the first disc and the extras are on disc 2.

    The episodes included here are:

  1. Away From It All (29:45) - Jerry & Margo offer to look after the animals so that Tom & Barbara can go away for a weekend. Tom & Barbara find it difficult to let go and relax. A classic episode.
  2. The Green Door (28:40) - Tom & Barbara want to get free manure from Margo's pony club, but she turns them down and seems very secretive about the reason why. Another classic episode.
  3. Our Speaker Today (26:31) - Margo needs a last minute speaker for her women's guild and ask Barbara to speak about self-sufficiency. She generates a large amount of interest.
  4. The Weaver's Tale (28:39) - Tom & Barbara get a windfall of money and after allocating it to expenses find they have ten pounds left. Without asking Barbara, Tom decides to by a loom.
  5. Suit Yourself  (29:50) - Tom & Barbara start collecting fleeces and nettles which intrigues Margo but they won't tell her what they are doing. Jerry is up from promotion to Managing Director.
  6. Sweet & Sour Charity (29:50) - Margo's musical society decide to put on a musical which Margo thinks is too racy. Disaster strikes for Tom & Barbara.
  7. Anniversary (30:06) - It's the 2 year anniversary of starting self-sufficiency but their future is threatened. The decision on Jerry's promotion comes through.

    To my mind the star here is Felicity Kendall who is very funny and very droll as the cheeky Barbara, although in this series she has been given a new and frizzy hairstyle. Richard Briers was considered to be the star in terms of billing. Interestingly, this particular series is rated PG for sexual references.

    Lots of laughs and it's certainly recommended for fans of British 1970s sitcoms.

Don't wish to see plot synopses in the future? Change your configuration.

Transfer Quality

Video

    The video quality is poor. Unfortunately, it is in NTSC, which is odd considering it comes from a PAL country. This probably adds to the significant colour artefacts to be seen. Ensure you television can reproduce NTSC before purchasing this disc. The video here is probably the best of the four series but still leaves a lot to be desired..

    The feature is presented in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio non 16x9 enhanced which is the original aspect ratio.

    The picture was reasonably clear and sharp throughout, as good as you could expect from 30 year old television. There was some minor low level noise. The shadow detail was pretty average. There was grain throughout and some mild macro-blocking.

    The colour was quite ordinary showing bleeding, chroma noise, flaring and comet trails in vivid greens and reds and bits of cross-colouration. Faces were quite blotchy as were some backgrounds for example a yellow backgrounds looked green in parts. Things are generally quite dull and somewhat washed out.

    In the non-colour artefacts there were some minor tape tracking issues and motion blur. There was also some mild aliasing and also some edge enhancement.

    There are no subtitles.

    The layer change must be between episodes.
    

Video Ratings Summary
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The audio quality is fine with no major issues to report.

    This DVD contains a English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono soundtrack encoded at 192 Kb/s.

    Dialogue was clear and easy to understand and there was no problem with audio sync.

    The music 'specially composed' by Burt Rhodes is fine, neither spectacular or annoying. It would have been quite a big thing for a BBC show to have had specially composed music at the time.

    The surround speakers and subwoofer were not used.

Audio Ratings Summary
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

    This is the first of the four series to include extras and they are definitely worth having.

Menu

    The menu included an intro, animation and music.

When I'm 65 - 1978 Royal Command Performance (44:01)

    This is a complete new episode filmed in front of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip. According to the very proper and serious voiceover it was the first time that she watched a sitcom recorded live. The first ten minutes or so are of the Queen arriving and then finding her seat in the box. The episode is introduced by floor manager, Brian Jones and then it plays out the same as any episode. It is a funny episode about Tom worrying about retirement and Jerry wanting to get fit. A great extra.

Interview with Richard Briers (18:08)

    Obviously made for US TV as it refers to the show by its US title, Good Neighbours. This was recorded recently and Briers discusses the show, acting, his career and what he has been doing recently. Well worth watching.

Cast Bios

    Text bios are included for all the main cast, Reginald Marsh who played Sir and the writers.

 

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

    This series is available in Region 2 under this title and in Region 1 as Good Neighbours. The Region 4 version of this disc misses out on;

    The Region 2 version of this disc misses out on;

    The Region 1 version is exactly the same as ours except for the title. I think the Region 2 would be the best bet due to the PAL transfer as that should avoid the colour issues in our local release.

Summary

    The final series of a classic English sit-com from the mid-1970s, which despite being a bit dated is still an amusing and entertaining viewing experience.

    The video quality is poor.

    The audio quality is fine.

    A good selection of extras including a Royal Command Performance.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Daniel Bruce (Do you need a bio break?)
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Review Equipment
DVDPioneer DV667A DVD-V DVD-A SACD, using Component output
DisplaySony FD Trinitron Wega KV-AR34M36 80cm. Calibrated with Digital Video Essentials (PAL). This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 576i (PAL)/480i (NTSC).
Audio DecoderBuilt in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials.
AmplificationPioneer VSX-511
SpeakersMonitor Audio Bronze 2 (Front), Bronze Centre & Bronze FX (Rears) + Yamaha YST SW90 subwoofer

Other Reviews NONE