smartarsebutler I had not heard of this prior to spotting it on Channel 4, but seeing as I would have been ten years old when it was originally aired, it's not a huge surprise. It's an interesting take on some cliché'd ideas, deconstructing them, dealing with gender role stereotypes etc, but the problem is the script, the direction, and the supporting cast....so basically, everything. The mother in law makes very painful irritating viewing, and it's almost as if she's in another production and has accidentally wandered onto the set, so bizarre and jarring is her ranting. The flat-share is badly thought through, and Joely Richardson is so horrifically BAD at acting that she fills the screen every time she appears, so much so I had to stop myself from punching it! Then the love affair with the Giles character, it just crops out of nowhere, no indication it's going to happen, no build towards it, and then they're away, and.....you're just left a bit confused as to why you bothered watching it. Yes, it tells us that nothing in life is certain, that we must be strong and self sufficient, that we should be brave and live our lives, however, the way it tells you is rather hollow, badly constructed and irritating. I would recommend you watch it, just to see how bad it is....

peterjb1 Let me first of all say that I typically love British series, and I particularly admire Judi Dench. But this... Everybody was so stereotyped; disgusting, coughing and spitting old grandfather; catty older mother-in-law; neurotic young woman--you name it. I, too, have no idea why the love-interest preacher was black, yet alone why he was American; and Giles' bi-sexuality seemed completely irrelevant to me. I suppose the latter two characters were written and cast that way to provide for the injection of certain token minorities. Francesca Folan, who played daughter Phyllida, seemed to be overacting to the nth degree, and in my opinion the plot had more holes than a colander. I'm not sure, but I don't believe this was ever released in a VHS format and was not released as a DVD until 2005, some sixteen years after the original series aired. This smacks of an attempt to capitalize on Ms Dench's recent increase in popularity. She has performed so well in so many films, I would not waste your time renting this.

jyogis This TV mini-series is as relevant today - perhaps more so - with respect to its refreshing examination on attitudes towards aging. Judi Dench is marvelous as a middle aged divorcée who defies conventional wisdom and the expectations placed upon a woman in such circumstances by her family and contemporary society. Viewers may find some discomfort in the early parts of the series as the Dench character maneuvers to turn these expectations on their head. However, the clever script and top notch performances by a first rate supporting cast, should raise insights into the double standards regarding sexual roles, as well as discriminatory attitudes regarding generational differences. Co-stars include Ronald Pickup, Joely Richardson and Frances Barber.

julian kennedy Behaving Badly: 1/10: I have a very high tolerance for cinematic pain. I'm willing to sit through almost anything. Heck forget Jar Jar Binks that's child's play, forget got some undubbed Japanese ghost story sans subtitles… cakewalk, forget some sixties experimental film feature two characters in a white room for six hours.Behaving badly broke me.I kept watching all the way through and it kept getting worse. I like Judi Dench but she is simply unwatchable in this. She plays a dowdy church mouse whose husband leaves her for a younger woman and she decides to think for herself. The choices that she makes are insane and distinctly unfunny.Ah the pain. Joey Richardson as the younger husband stealing harlot suffers from theater acting disease common in BBC productions but it's the grandmother/mother-in-law (Gwen Watford) that did me in. Gwen plays the most painfully irritating stereo type in television history. (Overbearing Jewish shrew that performs voodoo) Oh and the series features "kids" each more banal than the last. (The girl under going a nervous breakdown may send you to your own she is that contagious) Why the kids are even in this series is beyond me. (A younger demographic perhaps?) They are a Real World episode gone horrible wrong. Why is there a black American preacher/love interest? Why would anyone steal Judi Dench's husband? (He is such a wimpy cad and come with more baggage than the Howell's on Gilligan's Island.) In four episodes there is not one laugh. There is only confusion and pain. It is like a Mike Leigh sitcom.