Good Neighbors – The Complete Final Series
Plus The Royal Command Performance
Picture: C
Sound: C+ Extras: C Episodes: B-
Good Neighbors continues to be one of the
better light BritComs of the 1970s, and its last season is finally coming out
on DVD for the first time, with early season issued by Warner Home Video in
their series of BBC releases. Acorn
Media has paired with the BBC for this Complete Final Series set. The show focuses on the awkward relationship
between two couples, the Goods and the Leadbetters. The Goods are agricultural farming types who still have business
to run, while the Leadbetters are stuffy and snobby, the kind of people who
would be afraid to get their hands dirty.
The shows in this two-DVD set are as follows:
1) Away
From It All
2) The
Green Door
3) Our
Speaker Today
4) The
Weaver’s Tale
5) Suit
Yourself
6) Sweet
& Sour Charity
7) Anniversary (final
broadcast show)
8) When I’m
65 (Royal Command Performance)
The light comedy plays cleverly with class division, even
though both couples have some wealth and are white. Felicity Kendal, Richard Briers (the lead), Penelope Keith and
Paul Eddington are always convincing in their roles and the teleplays by John
Edmonde and creator Bob Larbey creates the kind of unique atmosphere that
distinguished such British productions from their U.S. counterparts and
imitators from other countries.
The full frame 1.33 X 1 image was shot in the analog PAL
format and while color is consistent, the copies here have a haze of digititis
throughout. Why this is the case here
and not on similar material form the time in other Acorn releases does not make
sense, unless someone made some odd error during the remastering process. Otherwise, the copies seem just fine. The Royal Commend version is clearer, and
not just because it was the last taping, as this was only in late 1978. The Dolby Digital 2.0 upgrades the original
monophonic sound just enough to be a simple stereo that is nice for a program
of its age. Burt Rhodes score and theme
song is amusing. Extras include text
cast/crew biography information, on camera video interview with
co-creator/writer Larbey (10/12/01) lasting under ten minutes on the creation
and success of the show, and that bonus show.
It should be noted that the 2001 interview is anamorphically enhanced at
1.78 X 1/16 X 9, but might play 1.33 X 1 on some players. Either way, this set does nicely conclude
the series on DVD.
- Nicholas Sheffo
