Catapulted to the top of the ratings thanks to an ITV strike the story of the self-sufficiency sitcom is told through cast members and the production crew.
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[Photo caption] Richard Briers, Felicity Kendal, Paul Eddington and Penelope Keith found their 1970s sitcom had a good shelf life A

Comedy: Comedy Connections 10.35pm BBC1
Looking back on The Good Life, it's hard to see how it could fail. The premise was irresistible (a middle-class couple, Tom and Barbara Good, turning their suburban semi into a self-sufficient farm/allotment, to the irritation of their gin-and-tonic-sipping neighbours Margot and Jerry) and the script (by John Esmonde and Bob Larbey) was superb. But when it first aired in 1975, it only averaged 5.5 million viewers (back then a good sitcom could easily attract 15 million). However, this one had legs (and Felicity Kendal's bottom - a major attraction to many male viewers). More than 25 years later, repeats still pull in two million or more. (There's an episode at 7.30pm on BBC2.)
The second instalment of this comedy version of Rock Family Trees traces the development of The Good Life and its stars. Created as a vehicle for Richard Briers, it also launched the TV careers of Kendal, who went on to star in Solo and The Mistress, Penelope Keith, star of To the Manor Born, and Paul Eddington, later of Yes Minister.
The programme is stuffed with trivia as well as clips. Eddington, for instance (who at the time was prancing about in tights in ITV's Robin Hood), was second choice to play Jerry, after Peter Bowles opted out. How strange, then, that a year after The Good Life ended, Bowles should be playing Keith's love interest in To the Manor Born. (Jane Rackham)