Search - As Time Goes By - Reunion Special on DVD

For Fans Only

takingadayoff | Las Vegas, Nevada | 12/20/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If you were to watch the As Time Goes By Reunion Specials without having seen the series up until now, you would probably not take to the characters. Jean and Lionel are a prickly old couple, with Jean an over-the-top ditzy mum, Lionel the long-suffering husband, and the middle-aged "kids" finally beginning their lives away from the nest. Alistair has become an insufferable caricature, Rocky and Mrs. Bale are just bizarre, and Penny and Steven possibly the most realistic, but not terribly likable.

On the other hand, if you have been following the series, this is a visit from old friends and you'll forgive their eccentricities. The stories are unlikely, with Jean anticipating both Sandy and Judith having babies soon, though as far as she knows, neither is planning a family. Alistair is freaking out because Judith isn't pregnant and she thinks he's to blame. Sandy and Harry are back from Canada and Harry is applying for a dangerous post with the police, to Sandy's dismay. A character from Kenya turns up to visit Lionel. Hilarity ensues.

Fans of the series will enjoy catching up with the gang and the story is almost secondary to seeing how they look since the "final" series."

Wonderful return of a great series

Eric Pregosin | New Carrollton, Maryland United States | 12/25/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Having watched most of this series on my PBS station, and bought half the dvds here at Amazon, and the other half on vacation, I can tell you this was a welcome change to my PBS lineup one Saturday Night (they actually showed it at least 4 times already), and a welcome addition to my never ending library to start 2006. It's done as a 2 part 45 minutes each story, with both young couples Alistair and Judith and Harry and Sandy returning to the Hardcastle home with the usually newlywed worries, the former worried that they can't have a baby, and the latter about to have one while Harry looks for a promotion. With their usually humor, the old 50s vintage couple of Lionel and Jean set them both right. The climax comes at the end of part 1 when a handsome young Kenyan comes calling to see "his father". This gets resolved right away in part 2 as it turns out he's part of a large family that looked to Lionel as a father for putting up money for them to live while living there. Now he's an intern at the local London hospital. Eventually, Steven and Penny (Jean's first husband's sibling and in-law), Rocky (Lionel's father) and Mrs. Bale (Rocky's housekeeper) show up to had more fun to this warm hearted return to a series that ran a decade on BBC and PBS and continues to rerun in many cities here. Definitely a must add to your box set (or individual installments) of the original series."

Once more with feeling . . .

Ronald Scheer | Los Angeles | 07/28/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This 2-hour reunion special of "As Time Goes By" is strictly for ATGB fans. The light-hearted quirkiness of the half-hour show tends to embrace and forgive the more far-fetched elements of many episodes, but it gets strained a bit when extended over two hours.

Alistair seems more than a little caricatured as he worries about his sperm count, and Jean seems a self parody as she installs baby cribs in the townhouse, long before even a promise of forthcoming babies. Meanwhile, the rest of the regualrs make their appearances - Judy, Sandy, Harry, Penny, Stephen, Mrs. Bale, and even Rocky, who has characteristically taken up a new interest - line dancing. Like a true farce, everyone ends up together in the last scene, this time at the ER, along with a long-lost "son" of Lionel's, who is now a doctor.

The DVD includes a featurette revealing among other things a reading of a script for one of the episodes and a taping before a studio audience. And there is an additional selection of outtakes and bloopers from the series. Good fun."

As Time Goes By - Reunion

R. Frye | Culpeper, Va United States | 03/25/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Reunion story line was great! I did miss the original Harry from the series.Other than that , the series picked up where the last left you. This gives you a glimpse of Judy and Sandy as now married ladies.Jean and Lionel's relationship is still strong and funny. This also had a surprise in the story line! Over all I like the entire series and this was just the cherry on top!"