User Reviews

Great series worth watching, although for me I preferred the earlier episodes when Dervla Kirwin played Phoebe. The actress who played her in the later episodes was much harder - Phoebe was a tough little cockney girl, but there was still an appealing softness about her which was lacking after the changeover, whereas both actresses who played Yvonne were great. Nick Lyndhurst as Gary was brilliant, and loved his sidekick, Ron. The only thing I really felt towards the end was that the plot had grown somewhat exaggerated... probably hence my preference for the earlier series which were more convincing. But I have all of them on DVD and thoroughly enjoying revisting the series after originally seeing it on TV.

Goodnight Sweetheart was a highly entertaining comedy that used a sci-fi plot device as its driving force. However, the heart of show was always Gary Sparrow's(Lyndhurst) interaction with the historical events occurring around him. Gary's endearing best friend Ron(played by Victor McGuire) was one of my favourite characters. As the time-travel takes place during the six years of World War 2,(in parallel with the 90s) it was always inevitable that the show would end after the war had fully played out. Gary's relationship with his wives in both eras was never easy, adding an element of drama to the show.

I miss this show greatly as it was always funny and a delight to watch. The brilliance of this comedy was always underrated in my opinion.

I love this show!

This is a lovely, gentle comedy. Nicholas Lyndhurst proves his versatility in his portrayal of Gary Sparrow, a man genuinely torn between two women. The two female leads are also interesting - sarcastic Yvonne, dynamic yet insecure and practical Pheobe, strong but also insecure. Despite the fact that he is a cheat, you find yourself sympathising with Gary's situation. He loves and needs both women, and his struggle is agonising. Some of the episodes are a bit predictable, but even this is forgivable and the series as a whole is well worth a watch. The music, clothing and behaviour of the characters is nostalgic, touching, funny and sad all at once. Fabulous!

This brilliantly amusing English time travel TV series concerns the dual life of Gary Sparrow, a self-centred coward who journeys back and forth between modern day London and the London of World War 2. Gary loves two women equally, runs a collectables shop specialising in, you guessed it, WW2 nostalgia, and has a long-suffering friend, Ron, the only one in whom he confides. A fine cast and faultless scripts will quickly hook you as it did this jaded TV buff..

This popular BBC sitcom ran for six series from 1993 until 1999. There was an additional episode in 2016.

Nicholas Lyndhurst stars as Gary - a television repairman in present- day London. He's unhappily married to Yvonne. He finds a portal to the early 1940s, where he lives a double life with pub landlady Phoebe.

In the first three series, Michelle Holmes plays Yvonne and Dervla Kirwan plays Phoebe. From then onwards, Emma Amos plays Yvonne and Elizabeth Carling plays Phoebe. Replacing Kirwan with Carling was a big mistake. Carling's portrayal of Phoebe is inferior and unbelievable - in addition to looking and sounding different, she has a different personality.

Goodnight sweetheart is one of the most underrated British comedies to date.

Brilliant plot, superb characters and the story lines get better and better as the series goes on.

Perhaps people's perceptions of this great show are tainted by the fact Nicholas Lyndhurst plays the main character as people still see him as "Rodney".

In GNSH Lyndhurst is able to show what a great actor he is unlike his previous one dimensional character in "Only fools…" He is joined by a great cast which really makes the show more enjoyable to watch.

It is light hearted, foolhardy and slapstick.

If you're interested in time travel and comedy then this is for you.

If you love British comedy then this is for you.

Awesome! I wish it would make some kind of comeback.

I'm in the process of writing a "spin-off" of the show based on Gary Sparrow's grandson for a university assignment. How amazing it would be if something like this actually came true!

This very popular show, running for several years, and six series, in the 1990's finally gave television viewers the chance to think of Nicholas Lyndhurst as someone other than Rodney Trotter. Despite what must have been an overwhelming feeling of typecasting for Lyndhurst from the earlier sitcom it only takes a few minutes viewing of 'Goodnight Sweetheart' to accept him entirely within this role as television repairman Gary Sparrow.

Gary is married to Yvonne and they live a relatively happy, albeit uneventful, suburban life together. This all changes - for Gary anyway - when he accidentally discovers the portal to another dimension of time, which takes him into the wartime streets of east-end London, where (with surprising rapidity) he meets, and falls in love with cockney barmaid Phoebe Bamford. From this moment on Gary is torn between two time zones and two women.

These are the plot basics, within which the show's writers manage to create an impressive array of plot-lines and more than fifty episodes. Needless to say that Gary's somewhat tedious and routine existence is dramatically transformed by this remarkable turn of events, as he spends his days flitting randomly between the two eras, somehow without unduly arousing the suspicions of either woman, despite his far-fetched succession of excuses; none of which causes either Phoebe or Yvonne to suspect that there might be another woman involved in all of this. Obviously neither would suspect the time-travelling talents Gary has acquired, but - women being women - it stretches even the most flexible credibility to imagine that neither would become dubious of their wandering paramour's repeated and inexplicable absences. Still, it is all in the name of comedy, and the cast plays it well throughout.

There is only one person privy to all of Gary's secrets, and that person is his best friend (in the present day) Ron Wheatcroft. Only he is aware of Gary's trans-era philandering - leading eventually to bigamy - and only he truly sees Gary for the essentially selfish, callous and self-centred person that he actually is. Although we, the viewer, regard Gary as the nice guy/hero of it all, this is a man who really only ever thinks of his own requirements and desires, whilst making convenient use of everyone else. Ron is useful to him because he is a skilled printer who can produce the appropriate wartime documentation and five pound notes essential to his luxurious 1940's lifestyle. These - now obsolete - type of fivers were eventually removed from circulation in Britain, precisely because they were too easy for forgers to print; but during WW2 they were still in use; although probably few working-class people ever saw one because of their high value at the time. Meanwhile; back in the '40's Gary takes advantage of Phoebe's naivete and her dimwit (platonic) friend Reg's stupidity, to impress them that he is a secret agent and talented songwriter. This last 'skill' being achieved by the simple (for a time-traveller) expedient of playing classic songs well-known to the viewer, but as yet unheard of several decades in the past. All the while Gary is paying his way with an endless supply of forged banknotes, and buying items at 1940's prices which he takes with him back to him own future-time to sell as semi-valuable antiques.

For the entire duration of the war Gary has it all his own way, as long as friend Ron keeps printing the money for him. Indeed Gary's greed and selfishness even extends to charging rent to Ron when he (Ron) moves into the luxury apartment which Gary still owns in the present day; conveniently forgetting that he was only able to buy it (in the '40's) because printer friend Ron provided the money for him to do so. If not for the charm and light touch provided by Lyndhurst's amiable personality; along with some sympathetic script-writing; this would be a thoroughly dislikeable person when you see the real him. Again, only Ron sees this. In a memorable quote he points out that 'You've got a nasty side to you Sparrow.' How true. Indeed, in one episode Ron even voices the opinion that Gary might actually be a psychopath. This subtext to Gary's personality might appear to be looking rather too deeply into the persona of a sitcom character; but it is obviously something the writers were consciously and deliberately aware of, otherwise why would they have the character of Ron even bothering to voice such thoughts and opinions of his supposed friend. Despite all of his character flaws Gary remains sympathetic to the viewer because of his one saving grace; in that throughout his selfishness, he is, after all, not malicious. He is simply amoral, and taking advantage of the remarkable turn of fate which could only happen in TV sitcom land.

At the beginning of series four there is a significant change of cast on the female side, with Dervla Kirwan (Phoebe) being replaced by Elizabeth Carling, and Michelle Holmes (Yvonne) being replaced by Emma Amos. This is only mildly disruptive to the character of Phoebe, who remains essentially as originally written; but Emma Amos is so significantly different in every way to her predecessor that it is difficult for the viewer to maintain interest (or credibility) in her portrayal of Yvonne. Indeed her persona is so harsh and unsympathetic as compared to her predecessor in the role that one cannot help wondering if this change in character reflects some specific and deliberate intention on the part of the writers, or is simply the result of miscasting, which resulted in this actress/characterisation incompatibility. This stretch in viewer credulity is tested to the limit when Yvonne - quite incredibly - becomes a multi-millionairess virtually overnight as the executive of her self-created trendy health-food/cosmetics business. At this point Gary's affections (and probably those of most viewers also) turn increasingly toward his wartime love Phoebe.

As with many long-running sitcoms the writers ingenuity must have become increasingly strained to create new plot lines. Additional characters make their unlikely appearance; such as newfound friend Noel Coward (excellently played by David Benson), George Formby, Clement Atlee, and, even more improbably, Jack the Ripper. Although generally they manage well in this regard, the stories do tend to become somewhat more fanciful as we approach the final series, and indeed as Gary and 1940's cast approach the end of the war, which eventually, and perhaps inevitably, marks the end of the show; apart from one add-on catch-up episode tacked on some sixteen years after the main run of the show ended. This late addition is tolerable, albeit a bit pointless; but no doubt many fans of the show were happy to get this little extra anyway. It's okay, in its way.

Overall this is an entertaining show. Frequently rerun on British television it is well worth watching if you haven't seen it before. Or even worth watching again to remind you of how much fun it was the first time around.

The Show was very nice. Then in season 4 they changed Yvonne and Phoebe. It is not normal doing it in the middle of the Show. New Yvonne was OK, I probably would get use to her in the future, but new Phoebe was just Awful. Everything was very wrong with her replacement, I couldn't accept new actress as Phoebe. So I stopped watching the Show.

I don't think there's anything about this show I don't like, the comedy is top notch, the actors are perfect for their roles and the mix of Sci-Fi is just right, not too heavy handed. For comedy lovers it's a must see, for sci-fi fans it's a must see, for people with a heartbeat it's a must see. Lyndhurst and McGuire are perfect, you'd really believe they're best friends, the chemistry between all the actors is amazing. Hats off to the casting crew and direction. Actually the only flaw I can think of about this show is that it ended. After all, what show could make you nostalgic for a time period you weren't even alive in?

I'd give it a 20 rating if I could.

In 4th season they introduced to us 2 new ladies who play 2 main roles in the series. Why? To me, it was a spit on my face.

2 new actresses ruined a good show. And SHAME on those 2 ladies who left the show for better money. No one cares about us, viewers.

I've just recently begun watching this amazing and brilliant English comedy - Goodnight Sweetheart.

Why has it been hiding, and not been "out there" in a more obvious way?

• Due to the fact I so admire Nicholas Lyndhurst, I've been scanning the internet for all the works he's been in. Low & behold, I stumbled across this - GNSH. Ohhh but why were these fabulous actors on for only 6 series? Being presented with a comedy which has British quick-witted, intelligent & amusing dialogue amongst first-rate tremendous actors, does not happen often!

I truly believe that Nicholas Lyndhurst has finally broken the mould as "Rodney" - He stands strong & separate from his Rodney character, although I loved him & Sir. David Jason in Only Fools. Alas! he's also great in another sitcom - New Tricks.

Nicholas Lyndhurst can inspire anyone's imagination about re-living the past... He tends to inspire "what if I could go back and..." His acting is convincing.

I wonder if the writers will want to make GNSH II - Will all the original actors want to make a come-back?

I haven't finished the GNSH episodes yet (I'm taking my time with the great sitcom), however I'm sure there is potential for Part II? the return - possibly as "Goodnight Sweetheart - Modern Day Marvels (1998)"

Is there anyone out there to convey this message to the writers?

I'm putting it out there into the Universe - It might attract the right attention?

Mr. Lyndhurst you are adored in the land of Oz, MiniTots Loves your acting!

Goodnight sweetheart was a brilliantly written, and acted comedy drama. If ever a series needed to be revived, then this is it. There was an equally brilliant one off episode, which was made in 2016, as part of a great British sit-com TV special. Why they didn't make a full series, is one of the greatest missed opportunities in broadcasting history.

The 2016 episode proved that the series was as popular and relevant, as when it was first shown.

My family and I watched every episode of Goodnight Sweetheart and found it brilliant. It contained comedy, serious moments, and noted both it's nostalgic and modern content. The script writers were brilliant. However, I feel, as I am sure millions of others feel, it should return to our screens, continuing from where it left off. It had so many open ends, and could continue in any direction, even down to Ron or Phoebe being able to step through time.. What happened to the night club? where did Garry and Phoebe vanish to? There were dozens of other unanswered questions, so many that I would need more than a thousand words. So come on BBC, how about some more Goodnight Sweetheart that would bring "Millions" of viewers flocking back to you.....Any Chance?.

One of the most underrated british sitcoms in my opinion.

Despite not being as laugh out loud funny as many other classic sitcoms, this show is just so watchable!

The time travel element is such an interesting idea for a traditional sitcom and it works so well here. The 1940s scenes are very well done and you can that a lot of research was done to get the era spot on. The plots were also very interesting, showing gary interact with various historic characters and how they impact the future.

The casting and characters are also spot on. Nicholas Lyndhurst does well to portray gary in such a way that he is almost likeable, despite committing adultery and doing some very selfish things at times. His face acting is also brilliant, particularly when doing his shocked 'I've been caught out' facial expressions! Ron was also great as Gary's long suffering and only friend, some of his monologues were brilliant and he always provided some comic relief even in some of the more dramatic and serious episodes.

The original series was also wrapped up very nicely with a very satisfying, even if slightly sad, conclusion back in 1999. Although there was also a one off special in 2016.

Overall, this sitcom was absolutely excellent and in my opinion deserves more recognition. It is one of those shows you could just binge watch over and over again, and I actually believe there could be plenty of mileage in any future series following the very open ending in the 2016 one off episode.

Nicholas Lyndhurst has always worked hard to shed the tag of his most famous creation of Rodney Trotter and this show, made at the height of Only Fools and Horses' fame is an example of this.

We shouldn't like Gary Sparrow. He's a bigamist, a liar and a fraud. But due to Lyndhurst's portrayal we do.

In the hands of Marks and Gran the show is well-written, sharply funny, and finds the balance between comedy and drama. When they started farming it out to other writers though the quality dipped.

The show also has to be credited for surviving the departure of its two leading ladies. Much like 'Cheers' fans debate the Shelley Long vs. Kirstie Alley years 'Goodnight Sweetheart' fans do the same.

It's not always a consistent show, but you can see why the BBC are bringing it back for a one off because it was a solid, engaging sitcom.

The creators of this programme set themselves a difficult challenge. This was to make a comedy out of a very dark subject, the Second World War, and a social taboo, bigamy. Yet they succeeded and gave the world this hilarious sit-com.

I just loved the peripheral characters, especially Ron, who got all the best lines.

Yvonne was wonderful as Gary's first wife. She was amusing and very sarcastic; she always had a very apt answer for Gary. Yet she was also very vulnerable. The character of Phoebe tried by patience a little. She was intelligent and strong enough to run a public house in a rough area of London during a war and yet she needed the support of Reg and deferred to Gary's opinion on almost every issue.

This has been a favourite of mine for some years now.. and I still watch it year on year!!

Will continue to do so.. If you've not seen it

Do it now!!

Gary Sparrow is a television repairman who lives in Cricklewood with his wife Yvonne... then one day something strange happens. During a job in the East End he walks down Duckett's Passage and finds himself outside what appears to be a 1940s themed pub... then he realises he really is in a pub in wartime London!

It soon emerges that he can come and go between the two eras by walking through the passageway but nobody else can. In order to explain his wartime activities he has his friend Ron, a printer, to make him fake MI-5 papers and wartime currency. He soon becomes friends with Phoebe, the daughter of the pub's landlord, a relationship that soon becomes romantic... something he justifies by the fact that his wife hasn't been born yet! As the story progresses Gary must balance his relationships with Yvonne and Phoebe while keeping his time-travelling secret... only Ron knows what he is up to.

This series is a lot of fun; having a protagonist travelling back to wartime London could easily have been an excuse to get him deeply involved in shaping the course of the war but thankfully this is mostly avoided as it focuses more of Gary's romantic difficulties. The characters are enjoyable to watch; given his behaviour Gary could easily have been hard to like but Nicholas Lyndhurst does a great job which keeps him sympathetic even though he is cheating on two women. Both Yvonne and Phoebe are good; amazingly they stay good throughout the series despite both changing actresses after series three... Michelle Holmes to Emma Amos in the case of Yvonne and Dervla Kirwan to Elizabeth Carling as Phoebe. Victor McGuire impresses as Ron and Christopher Ettridge is fun as the dim-witted wartime policeman P.C. Reg Deadman. As the series progresses the lives of most of the characters radically change which keeps the story from being repetitive while also making it a little more far-fetched. This means that by the end of the war the series meets a natural end point and finishes while the series is still a lot of fun rather than getting too silly. Overall I'd definitely recommend this series.