Product Description
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As Time Goes By: Complete Original Series (DVD)
Once upon a time, a dashing young British Army officer and a
lovely student nurse fell deeply, magically in love. Then he was
shipped off to Korea and they never heard from one another. Forty
years later, e brings them together again... with hilarious
results. From the first moment Jean and Lionel meet again to the
wedding of Alistair and Judith, all the classic moments are here
for fans to enjoy.
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As Time Goes By: The Complete Series, Vol. 5
It may be odd for Americans to imagine Dame Judi Dench,
award-winning powerhouse British thespian, in a TV sitcom, but
she and Geoffrey Palmer star in the wonderful As Time Goes By. As
Jean and Lionel, they're a couple whose romance during the Korean
War went awry due to a lost letter--then, 38 years later, they
meet by accident and pick up where they left off. In Series 5,
they are now a comfortable couple (though prone to spar and
bicker), living with Jean's daughter Judith and her friend Sandy.
The stories revolve around a house in the country, the
long-delayed airing of a miniseries that Lionel wrote, and
grappling with their troublesome in-laws--but the plots are
secondary to the fantastically well-written and acted interplay
between the richly drawn characters. Even if you haven't seen any
earlier episodes, you'll quickly be drawn into their world.
--Bret Fetzer
As Time Goes By: The Complete Series, Vol. 6
Every series of British sitcom As Time Goes By is an astonishing
pleasure. Judi Dench and Geoffrey Palmer star as Jean and Lionel,
two long-ago sweethearts who fell out of touch during the Korean
War, then--due to a chance re-meeting--rekindled their romance in
their late middle age. Series 6 mostly revolves around Jean's
reluctantly retiring from her business, along with the stumbling
romance of her daughter Judith (Moira Brooks) and their friend
Alistair (Philip Bretherton, particularly strong this series).
The plots of the show are often gossamer-thin--one entire episode
revolves around circumventing the nosiness of Jean's sister--but
it doesn't matter. The rapport between Dench and Palmer holds a
treasure trove of alternating comfort and prickliness. It only
takes a half-finished sentence and a disgruntled look to be
screamingly funny. They're as attuned to each other as dancers;
their waltz through As Time Goes By is a pleasure to behold.
--Bret Fetzer
As Time Goes By: Complete Series 8 & 9
Judi Dench and Geoffrey Palmer continue their prickly but loving
affair in the eighth and ninth series of As Time Goes By. Young
lovers reunited 38 years after a lost letter ended their
relationship, Jean (Dench, Shakespeare in Love, Iris) and Lionel
(Palmer, He Knew He Was Right) have settled into cozy married
life, but that doesn't stop Jean from meddling right and left
with the lives of the younger folk around them--Jean's daughter
Judy (Moira Brooker), her best friend Sandy (Jenny Funnell), and
Lionel's wealthy and excitable publisher Alistair (Philip
Bretherton). After eight years, you'd expect a sitcom to be
played out, but As Time Goes By sustains its spark; it helps that
British comedy-makers don't crank out dozens of mediocre episodes
each season, but instead pour as much imagination and humanity as
they can into a handful. The six episodes of Season eight are
straightforward, with stories revolving around such tidbits as a
lost dog or Jean's efforts to get on the Internet, but the
simplicity of the plots only lets the rich rapport between Dench
and Palmer be the show's true subject. The four-episode 9th and
final season not only maintains quality but even picks up energy
from bringing a satisfying resolution to the characters, with
proposals and weddings skillfully managed by the man who wrote
the entire series, Bob Larbey. He must have felt like he was
bringing an enormous novel to a close, yet he avoided the
temptation to go for some kind of spectacle, ending the show with
the same basic pleasures of human foibles with which he began.
This is obviously not the ideal starting point for a newcomer
(though the show's tart but gentle humor is always accessible and
enjoyable), but for any long-time fan, these final seasons will
prove warmly satisfying. --Bret Fetzer