Just Good Friends was a show that ran for a mere 3 seasons from 1983 to 1986 from the BBC(that surprised me, I would have believed you if you'd said there was far more). The show is another gem created by the genius mastermind, the late John Sullivan. Yes, he of Only Fools And Horses fame.

Unfortunately, like OFAH, the show has a bit of a troubled existence both in terms of broadcast episodes and home releases. The main problem is music clearance rights, similar to OFAH. Also, I believe a couple of lines have been altered or omitted in specific broadcasts and home releases, again just like OFAH.

As far as I am aware, every home release suffers some sort of problem. The releases I know of include the original Universal VHS and DVD box sets. Both are cut to shreds, with entire sequences removed. Not just that but the Universal release doesn't even include season 3 or the 'lost' 90 minute Christmas Special episode.

A release was due in 2004 from Cinema Club but was ultimately cancelled until 2010 when Eureka! put out all 3 seasons PLUS the mythical infamous Christmas Special that was 'lost' and not screened since its original broadcast (to the best of my knowledge).

The problem is that even the 2010 box set has problems. Although marketed as all 3 seasons being completely uncut, the Christmas Special is still riddled with issues. The biggest being a sequence that features a Rolling Stones song that Eureka! couldn't get clearance for. What they did instead is MUTE the entire scene and add forced subtitles rather than cut the sequence entirely. What a shame!

This leads me to wondering if the BBC may have released the series and the special episode on Laserdisc, or even CED perhaps? I'm hoping to find discs akin to the BBC Fawlty Towers sets which feature the original broadcast episodes. Does anyone know of any that might exist? Or even any mid-1980's VHS releases? I'd love to get the full set uncut and as originally broadcast.

If you haven't seen the show before, it is very funny but bittersweet. Expertly written by John Sullivan and featuring some brilliant comedy. One of my favourites is the episode in Season 1 for Penny's birthday and Vince arguing with Penny's mother Daphne. The one liner when he's eating the cake had me crying laughing!

The show was recently voted one of the best comedy series of all-time in the UK, and rightly so. It made household names of Jan Francis and Paul Nicholas and both went on to successful careers. Fair play to Paul Nicholas for keeping working too considering the incredibly tragic events in his personal life. How anyone gets through the kind of tragedy he suffered is beyond me.

Anyway, if you are looking to watch the series, it's available on streaming platforms, and also the home releases I mentioned. Though all are out of print and some sellers are charging insane money for it. If anything it would be great to see the complete run on Blu Ray, like the recent OFAH set as a lot of the show was shot on film and would be fantastic in HD.

I hope folks give it a try, but better yet can maybe unearth evidence of earlier releases? I'd love to hear if anyone has information to share on this!

EDIT: I forgot to add this for folks who may know the show or who are curious to watch it. The end credits are a work of genius and should really be applauded. I've seen similar attempts at post credit 'stinger' scenes, for example, but I can't recall anything like what was in Just Good Friends.

When an episode ends, it doesn't actually end! Whatever is happening at that very moment just continues while the credits role, as if you are still watching the actors doing whatever their characters do in day to day life. Then at the end of the credits, an extra sequence plays out. Kind of like a stinger, but more an actual genuine end to the episode you are watching. It is really well done and highly original for its time.

There's a great one, again in season 1, where Vince and Penny are in a restaurant. Vince calls for the bill and goes to make a phone call while the bill is being prepared. The credits role, Vince is on the phone and Penny is getting ready to leave. The restaurant whirls away, customers eating and drinking. The credits stop, you are returned to the show and a final sequence of note is played out.

I honestly can't think of anything quite the same as it, at least not from the same period, but I would love suggestions of other shows that may employ the idea! Genius from John Sullivan again.

Its Election time ......
Speaking of good friends ! ! !

Remember, Remember, The Fifth of November,
of gunpowder, treason, and plot !
I see no reason why the gunpowder treason should ever be FORGOT !

Have a safe and safe Guy Fawkes day everyone ! ! !

Cheers to the membership !

So here's an interesting titbit of information I found by accident this week.

It would appear that the Christmas Special episode is currently being shown UNCUT on the Gold satellite channel in the UK/Ireland! I watched the episode a couple of nights ago. It's not so much an episode, more a feature length 'filmisode' (if that's a word? ) and clocks in at around 90-something minutes.

I haven't seen this episode before as for decades (to the best of my knowledge) it was never screened for various reasons. Anyway, it's now on the Eureka! DVD with the muted audio and subtitles, but also on Gold On Demand. You can access this via NOW TV or Sky. Anyway, sure enough, there is a scene where Penny gets in to her car to drive away from the bar where she left Vince. She switches on her car radio and sure enough, there is the Rolling Stones song that caused so many problems with rights issues and so on, in FULL!

The scene cuts to a flashback where Penny remembers meeting Vince at a party held by a guy who was a roadie for the Rolling Stones (played by none other than MENTAL MICKEY! aka Daniel Peacock aka the same bloke who directed and starred in that whopper film I got on DVD a few months back and wrote about on LDDB, Party Party!). The song still plays in the background before switching to I Can't Get No Satisfaction, which is also played in full as are other songs that appear in the 'filmisode'.

I'm looking to see if I can find other remarks on this as Gold have previous form with screening episodes of Only Fools And Horses uncut in the past too. I'll post something here if I can find out 100% that the Christmas Special is truly uncut on Gold On Demand.

Just to mention aside though, I recently binged all three seasons via Gold On Demand the past couple of weeks and finished with the Christmas Special (which really you need to watch before starting Season 3). What struck me most about the Christmas special is it's just another slice of utter John Sullivan genius. What you get here is not some cheesey Christmas-themed special episode, but almost a proper film of the show.

What John Sullivan has done is make the special the one episode that fills in the entire backstory to the entire show. You get the full explanation to WHY Vince deserted in 1978 but the proper genius moment comes, yes you guessed it, right at the end during the closing credits sequence. The 'filmisode' recreates everything, to the exact detail (set design, clothes, extras actors, everything) leading up to the very split second that vincent is punching a cigarette machine, he turns round and sees Penny for the first time in 5 years. It's like the episode closes a gap and answers all the questions.

Incidentally so you get to find out all about him too! Plus loads of other moments come up where you are pleased to fill in all the little gaps and see characters appear.

It's brilliant. John Sullivan genius yet again and a must watch (though make sure to watch in the right order of S1, S2, Christmas Special, S3).

One huge point to note on a technical level is that the Christmas special, above any other episode of Just Good Friends, is a prime candidate for a new transfer. THIS is the one deserving of a Blu Ray release. The entire thing is shot on film, it looks like similar film stock and lenses to those Sullivan used on the Only Fools And Horses 'filmisode' To Hull And Back, which looked AMAZING on Blu Ray. It's a shame there are traces of scratches and film damage near the end, so this is absolutely prime for an HD uplift.

Let's hope with the Blu Ray of The Young Ones coming at the end of November, and the success of the Only Fools and Horses Blu Ray already released this year, the BBC might consider a refresh for Just Good Friends, hopefully fully uncut! Fingers crossed!