Thirty-five years after sitcom the Good Life first aired, writer Giles Coren and comedian Sue Perkins step back to 1975 to try to learn some self-sufficient skills and techniques. Although not living the life round the clock, the duo throw themselves in to recreating a distinctly Tom and Barbara lifestyle. First they must work out how to light the solid fuel range and find information on how to grow your own veg and rear your own livestock in a pre-Google era. They manage to get some seeds in the ground before the first of the livestock, four excitable chickens and two frisky goats, arrive.

Midway through their adventure, Giles and Sue question whether the rewards of a self-sufficient life could ever outweigh the hard graft. Things get off to a farcical start with the arrival of two very mischievous Gloucester Old Spot pigs and deteriorate even further as Giles and Sue try their hands at making their own wine and pickled eggs. To boost their vegetable supply, they decide to take on an allotment, but eventually have to call in Gardeners' World regular Joe Swift to help them tackle an infestation of thistles.