This is a show that I would have loved to see find a wider audience here in the U.S.. There's definitely an audience for it; it covers a lot of the same ground that 'Frasier' did. But 'Agony' has more drama to it, and emphasis on the kind of real-life heartache that doesn't come from grand, tragic events but from the slow drifting apart caused by a relationship that just isn't enough.Jane Lucas, advice columnist, is supposed to have the answers. Then one day, her husband announces he's leaving. Now she's at a loss. Over the next few seasons, she grows and learns more about herself coping with the job of being the one people turn to for advice while proceeding the best way she knows how, with help from friends and family.The final episode and the resolution between Jane and her on-again-off-again estranged husband Laurence is a true gem. Had it been a U.S. production it would have stood as one of the great finales of its decade. It had, in just a few seasons, much more wit, insight, and real understanding about adult relationships than you'd ever find in trash like 'Sex & The City'. Perhaps some clever executives at BBC or wherever will find this show a rightful home on DVD.

Regarding the other reviewer's comments on Agony,while I share your enthusiasm for the series you were a bit amiss in your facts. Diana Weston played the secretary not the boss in the first series and Jane's Mum is Jewish not Scottish. That was the whole point of her character. Given Maureen Lipman's subsequent popularity I am surprised that only three episodes have ever been released on video and are now out of print. I had to go looking on eBay for them. I agreed with your comments on it not being a typically British series with the snappy one-liners, it took someone with Lipman's comic timing to make it work. It was a shame seeing her waste her talent on those BT ads but I suppose they provided for her old age.

I LOVE this show. I saw it originally on PBS in the mid-eighties. At several years old, it was beyond ahead of anything on U.S. TV at the time. I found the first 3 episodes on a VHS tape through a store specializing in British things and found out that time has not taken anything from it. It's still a fantastic show. Put it on DVD and I'll buy it before the discs cool!! Hilarious, great characters, great plots.

I saw 'Agony' on its late 1980s reruns and remember it and its odd characters and situations very well. Never in sitcom were more 'issues' and trendy characters portrayed than in this 70s classic.We had Maureen Lipman's agony aunt (and the whiny Dear Jane tune); Peter Blake as obnoxious DJ Andy Evol; Jane's secretary Diana Weston, with her tinny voice; Maria Charles as the scary Jewish mother always interfering; Simon Williams as Jane's teacher hubby Laurence who later shacked up with an Indian girlfriend, while Jane shacked up with the bright blond haired Vincent (Bill Nighy); and, of course, the gay couple up the stairs Michael and Rob (Michael with curls, played by Peter 'Dennis from Please Sir' Denyer; Rob a bit camp with a beard). I'd love to see it again - but forget the sequel; totally feeble and a misfire. Blake and Denyer worked together again in the equally excellent 'Dear John' in the late 80s.