8.6/10110 votesLoading...#1 - A Surprise for Jean
Season 6 Episode 7 - Aired 6/29/1997
Jean tells Lionel that she wants him to surprise her more. So Alistair suggests Lionel surprise Jean with a trip. However it turns out not to be the easiest thing to do.
Director: Sydney Lotterby
Writer: Bob Larbey
8.4/10135 votesLoading...#2 - Visiting Rocky
Season 2 Episode 3 - Aired 1/24/1993
Lionel takes Jean to see his eccentric father Rocky, the complete opposite of Lionel's gruff self.
Director: Sydney Lotterby
Writer: Bob Larbey
8.4/10118 votesLoading...#3 - Wedding Day Nerves
Season 4 Episode 8 - Aired 4/23/1995
Lionel and Jean's wedding day arrives. Lionel has to deal with a case of nerves while Jean has to deal with her sister-in-laws meddling.
Director: Sydney Lotterby
Writer: Bob Larbey
8.3/10145 votesLoading...#4 - The Copper Kettle
Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 1/26/1992
Lionel is about to go on a lecture circuit, so he invites Jean for a day out. The revisit some old haunts, only to discover that a lot has changed. However, after a trek through an overgrown field, they find 'The Copper Kettle', an old place which Lionel and Jean were quite fond of.
Director: Sydney Lotterby
Writer: Bob Larbey
8.3/10132 votesLoading...#5 - Rocky's Wedding Day
Season 3 Episode 2 - Aired 1/9/1994
It's Rocky and Madge's wedding day but, things don't go quite as planned.
Director: Sydney Lotterby
Writer: Bob Larbey
8.3/10121 votesLoading...#6 - The Anniversary Party
Season 4 Episode 6 - Aired 4/9/1995
Stephen plans a surprise anniversary party for Penny but, mixes up the dates. While Jean and Lionel argue about being ""engaged"".
Director: Sydney Lotterby
Writer: Bob Larbey
8.3/10113 votesLoading...#7 - Wedding Preparations
Season 4 Episode 7 - Aired 4/16/1995
Jean and Lionel finally set a date for the wedding. While the women are planning the wedding, Lionel finally finishes his script for the miniseries.
Director: Sydney Lotterby
Writer: Bob Larbey
8.3/10118 votesLoading...#8 - Pardon?
Season 7 Episode 1 - Aired 4/19/1998
Jean suspects that Lionel is going deaf. But despite the fact that he clearly can't hear very much, Lionel resists going to a doctor. Meanwhile, he becomes convinced that Jean is having problems with her eyes, and sets about solving this dilemma.
Director: Sydney Lotterby
Writer: Bob Larbey
8.3/10137 votesLoading...#9 - Christmas Special Part One
Season 10 Episode 1 - Aired 12/26/2005
Jean feathers the nest for grandchildren, even though Lionel points out that neither Judy nor Sandy have gotten pregnant yet. It turns out that Judy and Alistair have been trying, with no results, and Judy suspects the problem may be Alistair--who is wildly overcompensating to prove his virility. Meanwhile, Sandy is upset because Harry seeks a promotion that may put him in harm's way. And in the middle of all this, Lionel gets a very unexpected visitor from Africa.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.2/10128 votesLoading...#10 - Misunderstandings
Season 2 Episode 5 - Aired 2/7/1993
During a weekend at Jean's sister-in-law's house, Jean and Lionel invent more and more ridiculous claims to cover-up their romance thirty-eight years ago.
Director: Sydney Lotterby
Writer: Bob Larbey
8.2/10122 votesLoading...#11 - The Book Signing
Season 2 Episode 7 - Aired 2/21/1993
The book is finally published, and Lionel begins a nationwide book-signing tour.
Director: Sydney Lotterby
Writer: Bob Larbey
8.2/10119 votesLoading...#12 - Getting Rid of Gwen
Season 4 Episode 3 - Aired 3/19/1995
Jean trys to help Lionel come up with a plan to get rid of Ms. Flack. While Ms. Flack decides to move away to her sister's.
Director: Sydney Lotterby
Writer: Bob Larbey
8.2/10108 votesLoading...#13 - Judith's New Romance
Season 4 Episode 9 - Aired 4/30/1995
Judy gets a new boyfriend and Jean decides to ""help"" out her daughter.
Director: Sydney Lotterby
Writer: Bob Larbey
8.2/10104 votesLoading...#14 - Showered with Gifts
Season 5 Episode 7 - Aired 2/25/1996
Lionel and Jean befriend the villagers who shower the couple with gifts.
Director: Sydney Lotterby
Writer: Bob Larbey
8.2/10105 votesLoading...#15 - The Old Folks' Party
Season 7 Episode 6 - Aired 5/24/1998
Jean ropes everyone into helping at a party for the oldies ... bottoms are pinched, Alastair excels as a DJ, and Jean and Lionel hope to be treated as well in their old age. Madge and Rocky spice things up with booze.
Director: Sydney Lotterby
Writer: Bob Larbey
8.2/10108 votesLoading...#16 - The World Will Always Welcome Lovers (a.k.a The Wedding)
Season 9 Episode 3 - Aired 7/21/2002
Rocky comes to the rescue when there is a problem with the best man at Alistair and Judith's wedding. Lol's wedding outfit does not go quite according to plan. The family is introduced to an unusual wedding custom. And Jean is still trying to matchmake between Harry and Sandy.
Director: Sydney Lotterby
Writer: Bob Larbey
8.1/10169 votesLoading...#17 - You Must Remember This
Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 1/12/1992
We meet the two main characters: Lionel and Jean. In the pilot episode, Lionel is in a hotel cafe giving a waitress a hard time. He is scathingly sarcastic. Jean is, similarly, seen being brittle and unbending. Lionel is working on his book "My Life in Kenya" about his life in Kenya. (This joke comes up in numerous episodes.) He requires a secretary to help with the revisions. That's where Jean's secretary service ""...Type for You"" comes in. Judith, Jean's daughter, meets Lionel at his hotel to apologize for the terrible secretary. Lionel asks Judith out. When he arrives to pick her up he is introduced to Jean. After about two seconds Jean and Lionel both independently figure out who they each suspect the other person to be: a lover last seen in 1953.
Director: Sydney Lotterby
Writer: Bob Larbey
8.1/10151 votesLoading...#18 - Surprise, Surprise
Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 2/2/1992
Judith persuades Jean to surprise Lionel by going along to his lecture in Nowrich. However, it is Jean who gets the surprise when she finds that Lionel already has a lady friend to stay with. While Lionel attempts to deal with the embarrasing position he is in, as well as his new found reputation as an elephant killer (thanks to Alistair's hyped-up blurb), Jean faces the romantic advances of Alistair.
Director: Sydney Lotterby
Writer: Bob Larbey
8.1/10140 votesLoading...#19 - The Picnic
Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 2/16/1992
Jean and Lionel are both flattered by the romantic attentions of Alistair and Judith, but decide that things cannot continue as they are. Jean bets that if all four of them go on a picnic together, Judith and Alistair will hit it off. But perhaps it will be Jean and Lionel who grow closer...
Director: Sydney Lotterby
Writer: Bob Larbey
8.1/10140 votesLoading...#20 - We'll Always Have Paris
Season 3 Episode 1 - Aired 1/2/1994
While on a romantic holiday in paris Jean and Lionel must help a young couple who are fighting.
Director: Sydney Lotterby
Writer: Bob Larbey
8.1/10112 votesLoading...#21 - The Affair
Season 4 Episode 4 - Aired 3/26/1995
Jean's sister-in-law decides to move in with her and Lionel after she finds out her husband is having an affair. Actually he being so secretive because he is planning a surprise anniversary party for her.
Director: Sydney Lotterby
Writer: Bob Larbey
8.1/10117 votesLoading...#22 - Welcome News
Season 4 Episode 5 - Aired 4/2/1995
Rocky decides to give Lionel his country house in-which the film crew for the miniseries has decided to shoot. Jean and Lionel get engaged.
Director: Sydney Lotterby
Writer: Bob Larbey
8.1/10121 votesLoading...#23 - Lionel's Ex-Wife
Season 5 Episode 2 - Aired 1/14/1996
Lionel's ex-wife, Margaret, asks him out for a drink, and he asks Jean to go with him. When Margaret arrives she isn't at all like Jean anticipated. Turns out she has changed a lot since the divorce and is now rich with a very young boyfriend.
Director: Sydney Lotterby
Writer: Bob Larbey
8.1/10112 votesLoading...#24 - Avoiding the Country Set
Season 5 Episode 4 - Aired 2/4/1996
Jean and Lionel visit the country house again but, this time try to avoid the townspeople that caused them so much trouble the last time they visited.
Director: Sydney Lotterby
Writer: Bob Larbey
8.1/10107 votesLoading...#25 - At Death's Door
Season 5 Episode 6 - Aired 2/18/1996
The miniseries based on Lionel's book is finally aired on U.S. television. When Jean's sister-in-law Penny has to go into the hopital she thinks things are worse than they are and makes a big fuss.
Director: Sydney Lotterby
Writer: Bob Larbey
The Best Episodes of As Time Goes By
Every episode of As Time Goes By ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of As Time Goes By!
Two lovers are reunited after decades apart following a mutual misunderstanding.
Genre:Comedy
Network:BBC One
Best Episodes Summary
"A Surprise for Jean" is the best rated episode of "As Time Goes By". It scored 8.6/10 based on 110 votes. Directed by Sydney Lotterby and written by Bob Larbey, it aired on 6/29/1997. This episode scored 0.2 points higher than the second highest rated, "Visiting Rocky".