Good Neighbors: Series 1 - 3

Enjoy the hilarious fruits of living off the land! When Tom and Barbara Good decide to turn their suburban yard into a small farm with pigs and a goat, their upwardly mobile neighbors, the Leadbetters, are less than pleased. Known as The Good Life in the UK, this enormously popular comedy series helped launch the TV careers of stars Penelope Keith (To the Manor Born), Paul Eddington (Yes Minister; Yes, Prime Minister) and Richard Briers (Monarch of the Glen).

Includes the episodes: Plow Your Own Furrow, Say Little Hen..., The Weaker Sex?, Pig's Lib, The Thing in the Cellar, The Pagan Rite, Backs to the Wall, Just My Bill, The Guru of Surbiton, Mr. Fix-It, The Day Peace Broke Out, Mutiny, Home Sweet Home, Going to Pot?, Early Birds, The Happy Event, A Tug of the Forelock, I Talk to the Trees, The Windbreak War, Whose Fleas Are These?, The Last Posh Frock, Silly, But It's Fun (1977 Christmas Special)

There must be more to life than communting into the office every day, year after year, thinks Tom Good (Richard Briers). Determined to do away with all the irritation and tedium of the rat race, he decides to become self-sufficient in this amusing and poignant comedy series.

Barabara, Tom's wife, agrees to his outlandish plan, and without a second thought he packs in his job as a draughtsman designing plastic toys to be given away in ceral boxes.

The first step in their new lifestyle is to dig up the well-laid lawn of their suburban yard and turn it into a vegetable plot. What will the neighbors think? Especially Margo Ledbetter, a complete snob who -- with her bridge classes and amateur dramatics -- likes to keep the right tone in this exclusive neighborhood.

As idyllic as the good life sounds, Tom and Barbara soon find it much harder work than they'd anticipated, but the hilarity still creeps in. Overcoming drought, flood and pestilence they celebrate their first harvest. From then on they take their battle for self-suffciently even further -- spinning wool, rearing chickens, designing a generator to make electricity from animal dung -- well, it all adds to the amusing, rich tapestry of life...

Series 1
Plow Your Own Furrow - Tom and Barbara Good decide to leave the rat race of every day life and become as nearly self-sufficient as possible without leaving their Surbiton home. Tom swaps his car for a cultivator and ploughs up his garden.

Say Little Hen... - The Goods continue to acquire animals, including some chickens they are trying to coax to lay. Their next door neighbors, Jerry and Margo Leadbetter, try to save the Goods from themselves.

The Weaker Sex - The first shoots are beginning to show in the Good’s new garden, but a cast iron stove nearly puts Barbara's fire out on the whole idea.

Pig's Lib - Tom now is making plans to keep some pigs. A horrified Margo Leadbetter draws the line and calls on the local residents association for help.

The Thing in the Cellar - The Goods have started a search for alternative sources of food. Tom has also rigged up a generator to make electricity from animal dung.

The Pagan Rite - Bills are piling up and the Goods need a holiday. The Leadbetters try to bring Tom and Barbara back to their senses and invite them to a dinner with Tom’s ex-boss.

Backs to the Wall - On the day before harvest, Tom hurts his back and the weather goes bad, leaving Barbara three days to bring in the harvest before it rots.

Series 2
Just My Bill - The harvest has been safely gathered in, proving Tom and Barbara’s mettle. But they must now face the really tough problem - selling the surplus at market.

The Guru of Surbiton - Two students arrive to help the Goods out, and in Tom they find their new messiah! Jerry and Margo have panicky visions of a commune.

Mr. Fix-It - The Goods are beginning to attract some favorable attention from Surbiton at large. A reporter arrives to do a story on them, and Margo schemes of ways to bask in their fame.

The Day Peace Broke Out - Someone has begun stealing Tom’s leeks. He decides that he will settle this matter in Frontiersman style.

Mutiny - Jerry must choose between obeying Sir or pleasing Margo by attending her musical. Tom and Barbara help Margo with her lines.

Home Sweet Home - After hearing about an ideal rural farm, Tom is all ready to leave Surbiton. Barbara doesn't want to go, but Margo might like the idea.

Going to Pot - The Goods decide to attend night classes to learn valuable skills while Margo schemes to outwit a new neighbor adept at painting by taking up pottery.

Series 3
The Early Birds - After the Leadbetters have enough of the Goods' crack-of-dawn activities, the Tom and Barbara search for new ways to design their schedule.

The Happy Event - A four hundred percent increase in their livestock population is a source of great joy for the Goods. Their enchantment is not shared by the Leadbetters.

A Tug of the Forelock - After Tom brainstorms an idea for revamping the cultivator into a transport vehicle, the Goods try their hand at becoming a housekeeping service to the Leadbetters to earn cash.

I Talk to the Trees - The Goods decide to experiment with talking to their plants to see if they'll grow more. Margo, meanwhile, plans to run for Music Society President.

The Wind-Break War - Miscommunication deteriorates into a family feud when Margo's windbreak puts the Goods' fruits in the shade.

Whose Fleas are These - It is embarrassing enough when Tom and Barbara find themselves with fleas. How can they stop these unwanted guests from catching on with Jerry and Margo?

The Last Posh Frock - Life as an urban farmer begins to get Barbara down, particularly when a passer-by mistakes her for a boy. When Barbara rips her last fancy dress, she reaches her limit.

Tom Good	---	Richard Briers
Barbara Good	---	Felicity Kendal
Margo Leadbetter	---	Penelope Keith
Jerry Leadbetter	---	Paul Eddington
Sir Andrew	---	Reginald Marsh

Written by John Esmonde and Bob Larbey
Produced by John Howard Davies
Original Music by Burt Rhodes
Film Editing by Ian McKendrick, Bill Harris
Costume Design by Marianne Ford, Sally Nieper, Janet Tharby

BAFTA® Awards
1977 – Best Actress - Penelope Keith

If you love As Time Goes By and A Fine Romance, chances are you'll love Good Neighbors. They're all by the same gifted comedy writer, Bob Larbey.