Bob Larbey

Comfort classic: The Good Life

A show that gently sends up the English middle class is built on a sharp script and consummate acting.

Reflections on Bob Larbey

As a chronicler of the human condition he was a leading member of that great pantheon of 'light entertainment' writers who - during an extraordinary period - created a true National Theatre of Britain.

Lunch With Bob Larbey

A few years back, I decided I owed Bob Larbey a pint. I've long thought Ever Decreasing Circles is the best there is, and with John Esmonde having died in 2008, there was only Bob left to thank.

When Richard Briers died recently aged 79, there was a huge outpouring of affection for one of our great comic actors. Audiences felt as if they'd lost a favourite uncle.

It was John Esmonde and Bob Larbey's 1975 sitcom, which ran on BBC1 for three years, that cemented Briers's place in our hearts. He played Tom Good, an ex-City man who turned his back on his old life to set up a smallholding with wife Barbara in the London suburb of Surbiton.

As a tribute, G.O.L.D. is broadcasting back-to-back episodes, starting with episode seven of series one, followed by all of series two and ending with the final episode of series four. Age hasn't wearied a minute of it.

Good Life writer slams TV commissioning structure

Acclaimed sitcom writer Bob Larbey, whose credits include The Good Life and As Time Goes By, has criticised television's commissioning structure, claiming writers have to deal with too many executives and "jump through hoops" to get a commission.

But this is, I suspect, the magic of As Time Goes By: its unwillingness to fill every cranny with one-liners. The world is too full of wisecracks, these days. In the 21st century, everyone does zingy little sceneenders -- from newsreaders ("Fireworks night -- now what bright spark came up with that?") to the man in PC World in Solihull who sold me my lap-top ("And good news if you're scared of mice -- this one just has a touch-pad, instead!")

More's the pity that The Darling Buds Of May is only a so-so series. It may be that the book sets every sense singing, particularly touch, taste and smell, while TV rations us to two. I did smell new baked bread on TV once but that [must] have been a magical production. You can say this for The Darling Buds Of May, nobody gets murdered and that is downright unique for a Sunday.

How different from the Command Performance of The Good Life before Her Majesty at the BBC's TV centre. This was a charming instance of impromptu, informal, pop in and see us some time, pot luck entertainment. Apart from filming for two days instead of one and rehearsing all day before the performance, it was just like any ordinary Good Life (tonight BBC1).