Sometimes, wine needs to make the back of your eyes hurt
Home-made wine, as anyone who has tasted it knows, offers a world of possibilities. One of them is described here, in the classic British comedy “The Good Life,” known in the U.S. as “Good Neighbors.”
Barbara and Tom Good, played to perfection by the delightful Felicity Kendall and the much missed Richard Briers, have dropped out of 1970s English middle-class life. No “real” jobs – instead, they grow fruits and vegetables and raise pigs, chickens, and goats in the front and back yards of their home in a posh London suburb. That’s part of the joke, which is lost on U.S. audiences who don’t know Surbiton from Hackensack.
But the rest of the show makes up for any loss of cultural context. The supporting cast – Penelope Keith and Paul Eddington, as their very English and very suburban neighbors – are perfect as the Goods’ foils. Keith’s Margo Leadbetter, as she shows here, is one more reason why there will always be an England.
The wine in question is made from pea pods, a common home brew. The humor works because it fits the theme of the show, and not because it’s yet another wine tasting cliche. The result? The peapod certainly isn’t smooth – and doesn’t conform to European Union wine labeling regulations, either, come to think of it.
Video courtesy of BBC Comedy Greats via YouTube