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"As Time Goes By" (1992) More at IMDbPro »

As Time Goes By 3 (vhs):

Amazon.com video review: The fundamental things--engaging characters, impeccable performances, and witty, literate scripts--apply in As Time Goes By, the beloved 1992 British comedy series starring Dame Judi Dench and Geoffrey Palmer as Jean and Lionel, former lovers reunited after 38 years. He is a divorced ex-army officer. She is a widow who runs the Type for You secretarial agency. They had "a great romance" during the Korean War, but they lost communication ("A lost letter... as ridiculously simple as that?"). This volume contains the first four episodes of the series' second season. Lionel has written a dry memoir, My Life in Kenya, and reluctantly prepares for the book launch. Dressing up in safari gear and posing for the book's cover holding a rifle with a buxom model hugging his leg--as his "boy publisher" Alistair encourages him to do--are hilariously out of character for the dour and terse Lionel.

Meanwhile, the tentative couple, encouraged by Jean's daughter Judith, poignantly tries to navigate the difference between "There we were and here we are now." Lionel and Jean have no counterpart on American television. They are mature characters in every sense of the word. With self-deprecating wit, they acknowledge somewhat their advancing years and awkwardly grapple with the advancement of their rekindled relationship. There are priceless moments, but while Lionel does, in Alistair's words, "pull some funny cherries out of the bag sometimes," As Time Goes By does not live and die by the joke. This is character-driven human comedy that will charm viewers of almost any age. --Donald Liebenson

As Time Goes By 4 (vhs):

Amazon.com video review: Like the song says, the world will always welcome lovers As Time Goes By. Oscar winner Dame Judi Dench and Geoffrey Palmer star in this beloved British series as Jean and Lionel, former lovers who are reunited after 38 years. This volume contains the last three episodes of the second season. As the launch date for Lionel's autobiography approaches, the tentative couple have a too-close encounter with Penny, Jean's former sister-in-law, who invites them to spend the weekend at her country home. Hoping to conceal that they knew each other before she was married, Jean and Lionel are forced to concoct an escalating series of lies about how they met. In the next episode, Jean and Lionel's private life (they platonically shared a bed at Penny's) is Topic 1, but it's hardly "love in the afternoon" after Lionel angers Jean by inviting her on a free promotional cruise. Finally, My Life in Kenya is published and Lionel steels himself for the book signing, while an anxious Jean buys up 140 copies of the book herself. Lionel vehemently protests when "boy publisher" Alistair suggests goosing interest in the book by exploiting Jean as the "mystery woman" in Lionel's life.

At the heart of As Time Goes By is Jean and Lionel's wariness at rekindling their relationship. These episodes bring the second season to a touching and satisfying conclusion. Sometimes, Jean tells Lionel, they feel like complete strangers and at others like they've never been apart. She wonders what will happen to them. --Donald Liebenson

As Time Goes By - Vol. 2 (vhs):

Amazon.com video review: Forty years after being separated by war and circumstance, a couple meet again and stubbornly resist their feelings for each other, thus forming the premise of this early '90s BBC comedy. Judi Dench and Geoffrey Palmer are marvelously deadpan in this trio of 27-minute episodes infused with humor by turns tart and gentle. Writer Bob Larbey deliciously skewers youth, old age, and the publishing industry, beginning with the first episode of this volume, in which some misinformed picketers dub Lionel an elephant killer as he attempts to lecture on his African experiences. Jean and her daughter Judith make a surprise appearance, only to meet Lionel's "date" for the evening, inspiring a miffed Jean to accept the attentions of Lionel's much-younger publisher, Alistair. The complications continue in the second episode, with Alistair courting Jean and twice-divorced Judith making a play for her mother's former love. The love quadrangle busts apart in the final episode when Jean and Lionel--tiring of their young admirers--dream up a picnic for the foursome with the hopes of boring Alistair and Judith into each other's arms. --Kimberly Heinrichs

As Time Goes By, Vol. 1 (vhs):

Amazon.com video review: Starring the multifaceted Judi Dench and Geoffrey Palmer, the BBC's charming comedy As Time Goes By is a refreshing change of pace from the bland Gen-X comedies of network TV. In the early 1950s, Jean and Lionel shared a short but passionate love affair, before Lionel was shipped out to Korea. Thirty-eight years later, the two run into each other again, only to rekindle what had been started so long ago. This series follows the two, plus Jean's twice-divorced daughter Judith (Moira Brooker), Jean's assistant Sandy (Jenny Funnell), and Lionel's young trendy publisher Alastair (Philip Bretherton), and takes a wry look at love among the youth and the more "mature" (when Judith originally plans a date with Lionel, not knowing that he and her mother have a past, Jean tries to discover the gentleman's age: "Old?" Jean asks. "Mature," Judy says. Jean smirks and says, "Old." Judith replies, "About your age," to which Jean responds, "Oh, mature"). The first three episodes of the series, included on volume 1, introduce the slightly cantankerous yet vibrant characters, set up their history, and lay the groundwork for Jean and Lionel to tentatively circle around each other, trying to decide at what level they should continue their friendship, that is, if they should even continue being friends at all. Mixing modern romance with nostalgia for yesteryear, writer Bob Larbey and director Sydney Lotterby create a delightful comedy and a touching love story. --Jenny Brown