behind the success of As Time Goes By
IMAGINE transatlantic airliners filled with scores of passengers
crossing the Pond purely to see a studio recording of their favourite
sitcom.
What show would tempt them?
Friends maybe? Malcolm In The Middle? Well, no, the fans have been making pilgrimages from the US to England to see the final episodes of As Time Goes By. Geoffrey Palmer and Dame Judi Dench star in this quintessential English comedy about two lovers whose romance ended by mistake, only to be rekindled 38 years later. At least that was the premise when Bob Larbey wrote series one, based on an idea by Colin Bostock-Smith and broadcast in 1992.
Ten years and nine series later, the current run is definitely the last.
The reunited couple, Jean Pargetter and Lionel Hardcastle, were married in 1995, but the show's high ratings and hugely appreciative audience kept demanding more, on both sides of the Atlantic.
"We had a few Americans in for the final live recording, but there was half a plane load in the week before that, " says Geoffrey Palmer. "We had 80 Americans in and they came over just to see the show. Fifty or 60 came over for the previous series as well. It is hugely popular there, increasingly so. It's quite extraordinary really."
Palmer, 74, attributes the show's appeal to three key factors, starting with the spare, witty scripts by Bob Larbey who also co-wrote Please Sir, The Good Life, Ever Decreasing Circles and A Fine Romance: "You can find hundreds of actors, but you don't get many writers like Bob Larbey." Second comes veteran producer Sydney Lotterby (who worked with Palmer on Butterflies). "And the third big ingredient is Judi, obviously, " says Palmer, modestly omitting his own deadpan contribution, but harrumphing only mildly when I add it to the list.
Two years have gone by since series eight, mainly because of Dame Judi's newly acquired status as an international film actress and Broadway star which have put her in constant demand: "But they wanted us to do more and we all love doing it. They would have loved to have had seven episodes in the series, but we could only do four."
There will, however, be one extra hour-long special to be shown later in the series, in which Jean and Lionel look back on their lives. Lionel, like many of Palmer's comic characters, is reticent when it comes to showing emotion, but saying goodbye to cast and crew revealed another side to the actor.
"The last few days have been extremely emotional. The whole crew have been with us from the beginning, and you realise you may never see some of them again.
"Yet, sad as Judi and I are, we both think this series should be the last. You see so many things go on and gradually decline. It is better to stop while it's still good."
Thanks so much to Maree Wilson for sending me this article from the Daily Express (UK) -- Inside Television column.Return