As Time Goes By is a British romantic sitcom that aired on BBC One from 12 January 1992 to 30 December 2005, running for nine series and two specials. Starring Judi Dench and Geoffrey Palmer, it follows the relationship between two former lovers who meet unexpectedly after losing contact for 38 years.
The series originated as an idea by Colin Bostock-Smith. It was produced and directed by Sydney Lotterby and was written by Bob Larbey, who had co-written both The Good Life and Ever Decreasing Circles with John Esmonde. In 2004, As Time Goes By was ranked No. 29 in Britain's Best Sitcom. The programme's original working title had been Winter with Flowers but was changed during its first day of filming because of the cast's protests. The new title was taken from the 1931 Herman Hupfeld song "As Time Goes By", and the recorded version by Joe Fagin was used as the title music.
Episodes
The programme ran for ten series, from 12 January 1992 to 30 December 2005. All of the episodes were thirty minutes long with the exception of the final three episodes which were considerably longer. In December 2020, UKTV split the final two episodes, which were also Christmas specials, into four shorter episodes. They added a 'next time on' and 'last time on' segment at the start and end of each episode.
International broadcasts
As Time Goes By has appeared in the United States on BBC America, and has been running weekly on PBS member stations almost continuously since the early 2000s, with various cast members appearing on its perennial pledge drives. It has run in Canada on BBC Canada and TVOntario, in Australia on ABC, 7TWO, 9Gem and Fox Classics, in New Zealand on both UKTV and SKY Network Television, in Finland on YLE TV1, and on DSTV in Nigeria. RTÉ One has broadcast the series in Ireland repeatedly. It has been broadcast by Gold for viewers in the UK and Ireland as of 2010, and by UKTV in Australia and the UK as of 2011. As of 2017, series 1-9 are available to stream through the BBC/ITV online digital video subscription service Britbox. Starting in 2022, the series is being shown on the UKTV channel Drama.
Radio
As Time Goes By was adapted and recorded for radio. Three series were broadcast on BBC Radio 2 between 1997 and 1999. The first episode included a flashback to Jean and Lionel 38 years before. All episodes correspond to a TV episode and featured the original cast, apart from Jon Glover substituting for Bretherton in episodes 1-5 of Series One. Only the first series was released on BBC audio cassette. Series One was repeated on BBC Radio 4 Extra from December 2014 to January 2015.
Home media
In Region 1 in North America, the complete series has been released in individual sets and as a complete series from BBC Video. In the United Kingdom on Region 2, the series has been released several times; Universal Playback released the first four series on VHS and DVD format, with 2 Entertain acquiring the rights to release the remaining series on DVD, and additionally re-releasing the Series one to four and a complete collection on DVD. Cinema Club acquired the right to release the complete series over two sets, with the first containing Series One to Four and the following set containing Series Five to Nine. Acorn Media has released to 'The Reunion Specials' on DVD. In Australia on Region 4, the complete series has been released as individual sets and as a complete collection.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! rowspan="2"|Title
! colspan="2"|Release date
! rowspan="2"|No. of<br />discs
! rowspan="2"|Special<br />features
|-
! Original
! Re-release
|-
! colspan="5"|
|-
| Complete Series 1 & 2
| 17 September 2002
| 30 August 2005
| align="center"|2
|
|-
| Complete Series 3
| 17 September 2002
| 30 August 2005
| align="center"|2
|
|-
| Complete Series 4
| 2 April 2002
| 30 August 2005
| align="center"|2
|
|-
| Complete Series 5
| 11 February 2003
| 30 August 2005
| align="center"|1
|
|-
| Complete Series 6
| 3 February 2004
| 30 August 2005
| align="center"|1
|
|-
| Complete Series 7
| 15 March 2005
| 30 August 2005
| align="center"|1
|
|-
| Complete Series 8 & 9
| 30 August 2005
|
| align="center"|2
|
|-
| You Must Remember This
| 30 September 2003
| 30 August 2005
| align="center"|1
|
|-
| The Reunion Specials
| 10 January 2006
|
| align="center"|1
|
|-
| Complete Series 1–9
| 30 August 2005
| 31 October 2017
| align="center"|11
|
|-
| Volume One
| 1 November 2016
|
| align="center"|4
|
|-
| Volume Two
| 14 March 2017
|
| align="center"|4
|
|- style="border-top:2px solid gray;"
! colspan="5"|
|-
| Series 1
| rowspan="2"|17 March 2003<br />
| 5 February 2007
| align="center" rowspan="2"|3 <br />1 / 1
|
|-
| Series 2
| 5 February 2007
|
|-
| Series 3
| 25 October 2004
| 5 February 2007
| align="center"|2
|
|-
| Series 4
| 21 February 2005
| 5 February 2007
| align="center"|2
|
|-
| Series 5
| 24 October 2005
|
| align="center"|1
|
|-
| Series 6
| 30 January 2006
|
| align="center"|1
|
|-
| Series 7
| 20 March 2006
|
| align="center"|1
|
|-
| Series 8
| 22 May 2006
|
| align="center"|1
|
|-
| Series 9
| 21 August 2006
|
| align="center"|1
|
|-
| The Reunion Specials
| 24 October 2005
|
| align="center"|1
|
|-
| The Complete Series 1–4
| 11 September 2006
|
| align="center"|6
|
|-
| The Complete Series 5–9
| 2 October 2006
|
| align="center"|5
|
|-
| Complete Series Collection Series 1–9
| 19 November 2007
! style="background:#F9F9F9;font-size:11px;font-weight:normal;text-align:center;line-height:110%" | 2 November 2015<hr />10 April 2023
| align="center"|11
|
|-
|- style="border-top:2px solid gray;"
! colspan="5"|
|-
| Series One & Two
| 5 May 2003
|
| align="center"|2
|
|-
| Series Three & Four
| 10 November 2004
|
| align="center"|3
|
|-
| Series Five & Six
| 7 April 2005
|
| align="center"|3
|
|-
| Series Seven & Eight
| 6 October 2005
|
| align="center"|2
|
|-
| Series Nine
| 5 August 2004
|
| align="center"|1
|
|-
| Reunion Specials: Part 1
| 2 February 2006
|
| align="center"|1
|
|-
| Reunion Specials: Part 2
| 4 May 2006
|
| align="center"|1
|
|-
| Reunion Specials: Parts 1 & 2
| 30 November 2006
|
| align="center"|2
|
|-
| Series One–Nine: Collector's Edition
| 5 October 2006
! style="background:#F9F9F9;font-size:11px;font-weight:normal;text-align:center;line-height:110%" | 1 September 2011<hr />1 September 2019
| align="center"|11
|
|}
References
External links
- As Time Goes By at bbc.co.uk
- As Times Goes By at British Comedy (with radio episode guide)