As Time Goes By: Series 5

We very much settle down a bit after last time.

I believe this is the first series that has cut down episodes, the show started at 6 and eventually got to 10 episodes per series but now it's down to 7, and usually I give a show tremendous good grief over that (Gotham WHYYYYY??!) but it doesn't bother me here. The majority of the series has Jean and Lionel semi-inheriting Rocky's place as they get acquainted with the neighbors and spend more time there, the mini-series premieres over in the States, and Penny is convinced she's at death's door. So we dial back a bit and get comfy spending some time with Rocky and Madge and of course Mrs. Bale which is always lovely, but poor Lionel and Jean have to deal with some characters out there which while funny is hard to stomach these absolute nonces and you want our happy couple to get some relaxation. It just sort of dawned on me in the last episode that, Jean looks like she just walked off the set of Goldeneye I mean her hair is exact, and I miss her in that series man. She has had such an expansive career and easily is one of the strongest british acting icons in the past few decades, but I kinda keep forgetting this series was in the 90s cause you really don't notice the time period that much. It's not like they throw a Tamagotchi or JNCO pants at you, so I mean really you could tell me this was a lower budget series made by the BBC a few years ago and I wouldn't have much cause to doubt you. Alistair and Judy are kind of on thin ice and they get some bonding time which is nice, I mean Judy bless her has been so lovely and fully deserves a good crack of the whip in the romance department (Hey hey...) so I'm fully in support of their relationship here. I had a real nice time with this series, and to know we are 5 series in and it doesn't feel out of steam or winding down must be commended, it proves you don't need to keep upping the situations, dilemmas, or stakes for each subsequent season but still have that enjoyable and satisfying feeling in the end. And another realization I just now had is the show doesn't signpost much, I think the most we got was the hint that Lionel and Jean were gonna tie the knot, it's such a laidback show that it doesn't need to give any incentive to come back for the next series because you most likely will. I can't name a show that does that. 4 stars! 10 out of bloody 10! And we are about halfway to the end, see you next time.