Once upon a time, a dashing young British Army officer and a lovely student nurse fell deeply, magically in love. Then he was shipped off to Korea and they never heard from one another. Forty years later, fate brings them together again…with hilarious results.<P> Series 3, Episode 4 (Originally transmitted Jan 23 1994): Jean and Lionel are still stale-mated over who will live with whom. Jean's sister-in-law is in town and wants to meet the "lovey-dovey" twosome. Not willing to admit the real situation, Jean embarks on a cover up. <P> Series 3, Episode 5 (Originally transmitted Jan 30 1994): Jean and Lionel have at last agreed that Lionel should move in with Jean. When they are left alone in their new joint accommodation, they find it a little difficult to adjust to their new way of life. <P> Series Three Episode 6 (Originally transmitted Feb 6 1994): Jean is opening another secretarial agency and is looking for someone to run it. Meanwhile, work for Lionel seems to have dried up, giving Jean cause for concern. But Lionel is withholding something from her.
Reader Reviews
For Volume 6 of the BBC comedy series ýAs Time Goes Byý we get to the point in the relationship where Jean (Judi Dench) and Lionel (Geoffrey Palmer) finally move in together and bring an entirely new dimension of discomfort to their relationship:Episode 17 (my number of the episodes in the series, the videotape just says 1-2-3, but else where I have seen them described as Series 3 episodes 4-5-6, so take your pick) fines another encounter with Jeanýs Achilles heel, her sister-in-law Penny (Moyra Fraser), who continues to be worried about ýPoor Jean.ý As we saw in a previous episode, the prim and proper Jean cannot stop from coming up with wild stories to cover up the truth about her ýlovey-doveyý relationship with Lionel. He has his own problems, when Pennyýs husband Stephen (Paul Chapman) wants to see Lionel in his professional capacity as a ýpsychiatrist.ý Not only a psychiatrist, but, according to Jeanýs continuing web of lies, one with a badly sprained ankle received while playing golf.
Episode 18 finds that Jean and Lionel have at long last agreed that he should move in with Jean. But once he is actually moved in they find themselves having trouble adjusting to little things: like where should the pictures of their former spouses end up in the bedroom?
Episode 19 opens up a new front for problems as Jean is opening up a second office of her secretarial agency and the question of the moment is who is going to run the place? Sandy (Jenny Funnell) assumes it is going to be Jeanýs daughter Judy (Moria Brooker), which is why she is receptive to an offer from Alistair (Philip Bretherton) to be his personal assistant. Meanwhile, Jean wants Lionel to find something to occupy his time besides ironing her underwear.
At this point in the series ýAs Time Goes Byý is working on the level of being charming and comfortable. There are no major embarrassments at this point, beyond Jeanýs inability to tell sister-in-law Penny the truth, so the overall humor is gentler for the most part. Writer Bob Larbey is not adverse to taking his time in letting these two old lovers, who have rediscovered each other after 38 years, try to live happily ever after.
