The early episodes of OFITG are a good example of how funny OFITG has been to start to finish. The complete series 1 is an excellent way to start the story of Victor's retirement years, and then continue on to the rest of the series (6 in total). There is a full box set available which will save you a fair penny - I bought each individually as I was particularly impatient to be able to watch OFITG again.
Looking back, the first series especially appears incredibly dated (especially with the budget BBC "special effects"!) but this all adds to the cosy situational comedy, and of course part of the appeal is its relatability to middle aged ninties suburbia - quite potent issues are raised in the episodes, even in Series 1, like hooliganism (episode The Valley of Fear).
This series is much more central to the couple and Mrs Warboys is not well established yet - nor is much said of the neighbours yet - this is all to come later.
The DVD contains: EP1 Alive and Buried (when victor starts his early retirement - unplanned of course!) EP2 The Big Sleep (when exercising becomes lethal) EP3 The Valley of Fear (hooligans intimidate Victor, and in revenge he mistakenly intimidates an unsuspecting sales man) EP4 I'll Retire to Bedlam (Victor's moods swing high and low as his boredom increases, and manages to offend everyone in his path) EP5 The Eternal Quandrangle (marrital problems occur, and it won't be the last time that jealousy rears its ugly head either) EP6 The Return of the Speckled Band (misjudged neighbourliness ends in catastrophe, but of course, we are left only to imagine the horrendous outcome of the disaster!)
A featurette is included on the DVD which is worth a look - just includes a few interviews and summarises the series with highlights.
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Comedy - Director: Richard Boden, Mandie Fletcher, Martin Shardlow - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Hugh Laurie, Miranda Richardson, Stephen Fry, Brian Blessed, Tim McInnerny, Tony Robinson, Rowan Atkinson
Comedy - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Tessa Peake-Jones, Buster Merryfield, David Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst
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May 20th, 2008
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