As Time Goes By with Judi Dench

Fucking hell, the series ran from 1992-2005. I would have said the better part of a decade earlier.

I despised the series and was a fairly long time coming around to like Dench -- but only in other work.

The scrappiness between the two characters was irksome and without point, except of course to set up the same routine episode after episode after episode. It was fucking inescapable; if you dared turned on a TV, there that fucking show with its maudlin tone and horrible characters. The first episode should have been a suicide of one of the principals; only then would there be done small excuse for the stench of sour milk years on end.

I liked how the other characters considered the milk-pale, scrawny-chested Alistair a heartthrob. So British.

Has anyone ever referred to you as a curmudgeon, R1?

R2 He looked 45 at 35 as well.

R1 = Hyacinth Bouquet

Loved it. Still watch it over and over. Comfort food TV.

Continuing with my off-kilter taste, I would have done Alistair in a heartbeat. (Though shirtless, he looks like a 10 year old.). I think Philip Bretherton was tremendous in the role, and should have had more work.

Since YMMV, I'll not sing the praises of the show.

Mrs. Bale -- now she was a looker!

I loved it, too, R6, especially Sandy's rugby playing copper boyfriend (both actors were cute), Mrs. Bale. Rocky, Madge, Aunt Penny and Uncle Steven!

R7 Dunner will be ready at 7:13.

Err dinner.

How come those '70s-'90s British sitcoms like "ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS," " KEEPING UP APPEARANCES," "ARE YOU BEING SERVED," "VICAR OF DIBLEY," and "AS TIME GOES BY" employed an obvious laugh track instead of being shot in front of a studio audience like American sitcoms of the same era?

In the US, you could go watch a taping of "ALL IN THE FAMILY," "CHEERS," "COSBY SHOW," "GOLDEN GIRLS," "FRIENDS," or "FRASIER" and be in the audience.

But they didn't do that in the UK. They just opted for a laugh track instead.

Geoffrey Lewis and Geoffrey Palmer could have been brothers.

R11, you might as well ask why the credits of this show were somebody singing a standard over stock footage and a still life of framed photos. They had no money for anything else.

Geoffrey Palmer was a very good character and there was nice chemistry between him and Dench. The eccentric parents could be grating, but Mrs. Bale was a hoot. Like most sitcoms it stayed around a little too long.

I love the episode where they retrace their first dating rituals and get confused about where the Copper Kettle location used to be. They then transverse through an overgrown field and lo and behold, there it is!

Alistair was the great wanker of his day.

The episode when Palmer found out he had chlamydia was poignant. It really laid bare the perils of careless tourism in Thailand.

Funny, I never got to see Vicar of Dibley.

I liked As Time Goes By. It wasn't appointment viewing by any stretch of the imagination but it was comfort food. It seemed to have a good sense of when things were getting a little sickly sweet and would self-correct. There were legitimate (if minor) complications in the romantic relationships.

Both the Harrys were hot, and I sort of fancied Alistair when he wasn't an asshole.

Penny was such a CUNT!

And those two older relatives were a hoot. I forget who they were related to......

I find their quiet, comfortable nineties British middle class lifestyle enviable.

Penny was a hoot. Uncle Steven was hot. Flawless acting as those odd characters.

i think the two older relatives you're thinking of were Lionel's father and stepmother, Rocky Hardcastle (Frank Middlemass) and Madge (Joan Sims).

Harry (David Michaels) still looks great.

R3- He forgot to say- and by the way

GET OFF MY LAWN!

R5 = Hyacinth Bucket

The problems in this show for me were the dreary homely daughter and her dull best friend, who both worked for Jean. They could not compare to Judi Dench.

To be honest, not many actors could compare to Judi Dench.

R25 = Judi Dench.

R13- here is the opening credits.

Was David Michaels Harry #1 or Harry #2?

Harry #1

I thought both Harrys were hot but #1 seemed a wee bit hotter to me.

For me, this show was like ASMR before ASMR was a thing. It was very calming and soothing for me. Same with Barefoot Contessa with Ina Garten.

R27, fun fact -- in the opening credits, the photo of young Jean in the nurse's cap is actually Judi Dench's daughter. Not sure about young Lyle in the uniform though.

[quote] One criticism with the character of Jean is that she is always primed to go on the defense. Lighten up, Jean!

OP, have you ever watched the sitcom that Dame Judi did previously with her husband, Michael Williams (“A Fine Romance”)? Her character in that show made Jean seem easygoing by comparison.

^ Dat true.