I was over at my parent’s house a few weeks ago. My dad was having trouble with his new computer (I told you he would) and asked if I couldn’t come look at it. We had some dinner and talked after – it was all very grown up.
At some point the conversation turned to TV. My parents admitted they don’t watch ‘conventional’ television anymore. They watch the news, “Wheel of Fortune”, “Jeopardy” and some shows on the History Channel that catch their eye. Most of their viewing habits concern the British comedies that are on PBS.
One of the shows they watched for many years, “As Time Goes By” they purchased on DVD so they could continue to watch – even though it still comes on PBS. I mentioned not having anything to watch since most of the ‘regular’ programming is in summer re-runs and they suggested I watch this series.
At the risk of sounding like my parents, it is actually a good show… I guess I should say ‘was’. It ran from 1992 to 2005, 10 seasons – or what the British call “series”. Each ‘series’ contained only 6 or 7 episodes with the longest series having 10 episodes.
The basic premise of the show is about Jean Pargeter (Dame Judi Dench) and Lionel Hardcastle (Geoffrey Palmer) who meet 38 years after originally falling in love. The story goes that they wrote to each other during the Korean War but their letters never reached one another so they both moved on.
Jean married a nice man and had a daughter, Judith (Moira Brooker) but then the husband later died. Jean took whatever money she had and started a service called “Type For You” where she had a staff of temporary secretaries who were sent on writing duties.
Meanwhile, Lionel found himself a coffee planter in Kenya and married to a most boring woman. After coming back to England he decided to write a book about it: “My Life In Kenya”. It was at this point his publisher, Alistair (Philip Bretherton) suggested he use a typing service to finish the manuscript. Jean sent her daughter Judith to the assignment.
An accidental meeting between Lionel and Jean put the rest of the show in motion. They deftly tip-toed around their early relationship – knowing that neither of them were ‘spring chickens’ – quietly dating, then moving in together and eventually marrying.
(Pictured - Back row, from left: Sandy, Lionel, Alistair, Judith; Front row, Jean)
Events mostly centered on the full household: Jean, Lionel, Judith and eventually Sandy (Jenny Funnell), Jean’s secretary. They dealt with subject matter in a fairly naïve way. There was no violence, racism or prejudice. Every subject that came up was discussed and carefully weighed before making a decision. Jean was a light-hearted, romantic spirit who only wanted the best for everyone while Lionel didn’t want to get involved with anything that didn’t directly affect him. If pressed, he would make the sober, levelheaded best of the situation.
Alistair, Lionel’s publisher, was the smooth-talking huckster of the bunch. To his credit, he could make most situations right with a quick phone call. Need restaurant reservations? “No prob” was his response. While everyone else ran at a slow to normal pace, Alistair was like a hyperactive child that had been given too much sugar.
Plus there were other characters like Jean's sister-in-law, Penny, and her dim-bulb husband Stephen. Penny was one of those people who elevated herself by putting others down. Stephen was a dentist who grated on Penny's nerves by blathering on about the most banal subjects.
The writing of the show was solid. The laughs were comfortable, easy and believable. The only problem I had was with the British portrayal of Americans. At some point in the show, Lionel was asked to write a mini-series for American television about his and Jean’s early romance during the war. They were flown to the US to meet with the production team and it was then that the writing of characters seemed a bit empty. Up to then the characters all made sense. Maybe that’s what the writer of the show was trying to say… that American’s were empty. Never thought of that.
It’s not often that I take to things as well as this. I really enjoyed my time watching the show and am a bit sad that there are not more episodes to watch. Hopefully I’ll find something to replace it – soon.
At some point the conversation turned to TV. My parents admitted they don’t watch ‘conventional’ television anymore. They watch the news, “Wheel of Fortune”, “Jeopardy” and some shows on the History Channel that catch their eye. Most of their viewing habits concern the British comedies that are on PBS.
One of the shows they watched for many years, “As Time Goes By” they purchased on DVD so they could continue to watch – even though it still comes on PBS. I mentioned not having anything to watch since most of the ‘regular’ programming is in summer re-runs and they suggested I watch this series.
At the risk of sounding like my parents, it is actually a good show… I guess I should say ‘was’. It ran from 1992 to 2005, 10 seasons – or what the British call “series”. Each ‘series’ contained only 6 or 7 episodes with the longest series having 10 episodes.The basic premise of the show is about Jean Pargeter (Dame Judi Dench) and Lionel Hardcastle (Geoffrey Palmer) who meet 38 years after originally falling in love. The story goes that they wrote to each other during the Korean War but their letters never reached one another so they both moved on.
Jean married a nice man and had a daughter, Judith (Moira Brooker) but then the husband later died. Jean took whatever money she had and started a service called “Type For You” where she had a staff of temporary secretaries who were sent on writing duties.
Meanwhile, Lionel found himself a coffee planter in Kenya and married to a most boring woman. After coming back to England he decided to write a book about it: “My Life In Kenya”. It was at this point his publisher, Alistair (Philip Bretherton) suggested he use a typing service to finish the manuscript. Jean sent her daughter Judith to the assignment.
An accidental meeting between Lionel and Jean put the rest of the show in motion. They deftly tip-toed around their early relationship – knowing that neither of them were ‘spring chickens’ – quietly dating, then moving in together and eventually marrying.(Pictured - Back row, from left: Sandy, Lionel, Alistair, Judith; Front row, Jean)
Events mostly centered on the full household: Jean, Lionel, Judith and eventually Sandy (Jenny Funnell), Jean’s secretary. They dealt with subject matter in a fairly naïve way. There was no violence, racism or prejudice. Every subject that came up was discussed and carefully weighed before making a decision. Jean was a light-hearted, romantic spirit who only wanted the best for everyone while Lionel didn’t want to get involved with anything that didn’t directly affect him. If pressed, he would make the sober, levelheaded best of the situation.
Alistair, Lionel’s publisher, was the smooth-talking huckster of the bunch. To his credit, he could make most situations right with a quick phone call. Need restaurant reservations? “No prob” was his response. While everyone else ran at a slow to normal pace, Alistair was like a hyperactive child that had been given too much sugar.
Plus there were other characters like Jean's sister-in-law, Penny, and her dim-bulb husband Stephen. Penny was one of those people who elevated herself by putting others down. Stephen was a dentist who grated on Penny's nerves by blathering on about the most banal subjects.
The writing of the show was solid. The laughs were comfortable, easy and believable. The only problem I had was with the British portrayal of Americans. At some point in the show, Lionel was asked to write a mini-series for American television about his and Jean’s early romance during the war. They were flown to the US to meet with the production team and it was then that the writing of characters seemed a bit empty. Up to then the characters all made sense. Maybe that’s what the writer of the show was trying to say… that American’s were empty. Never thought of that.
It’s not often that I take to things as well as this. I really enjoyed my time watching the show and am a bit sad that there are not more episodes to watch. Hopefully I’ll find something to replace it – soon.