"One Foot in the Grave" (1990) TV series 1990-2000

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Release Date:

4 January 1990 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Victor Meldrew is a retiree with an attitude who seems to attract bad luck. If he's not driving his...

Plot Keywords:

Grouch | Pessimist | Senior Citizen | Old Man | Married Couple

Awards:

9 wins & 14 nominations

Cast

Richard Wilson	...	Victor Meldrew (42 episodes, 1990-2000)
Annette Crosbie	...	Margaret Meldrew (41 episodes, 1990-2000)
Doreen Mantle	...	Mrs Warboys / ... (18 episodes, 1990-2000)
Owen Brenman	...	Nick Swainey / ... (15 episodes, 1990-2000)
Angus Deayton	...	Patrick (14 episodes, 1990-2000)
Janine Duvitski	...	Pippa (14 episodes, 1990-2000)

Runtime:

30 min (34 episodes) | 70 min (1 Episode) | 60 min (3 episodes) | 40 min (2 episodes) | 50 min (1 Episode) | 90 min (1 Episode)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

New Zealand:PG (season 1) | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Algarve, Portugal

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

The 1995 Christmas Special was initially intended as the series' finale, and would have seen Victor being killed while saving Margaret from being attacked by a madman. The 1997 special was then intended to end the series with Margaret dying from a heart attack bought on from the strain of Victor's misadventures, but on both occasion the production crew got cold feet. It wasn't until the final series in 2000 that the team, in David Renwick's words, "plucked up the courage to kill Victor."

Quotes:

Victor Meldrew: What in the name of Sanity?!

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Comedy Connections: One Foot in the Grave (#5.1)" (2007)

Best British comedy so far!

This is just an incredible series. It deals with just about EVERYTHING! Not for the easily offended, though it doesn't go out of its way to offend. It's irreverent and pulls no punches. The series shows what it wants to how it wants to and makes no apologies. Sometimes it can be darkly humorous, but in these cases it usually has a valid point to make and does so quite well.

The best way to describe this series is as follows: Imagine if absolutely everyone and everything on the face of the planet were really as miserable, stupid, loud, obnoxious, belligerent, deceitful, crazy, lazy, greedy, unfair, ironic, annoying, etc., as one sometimes feels them to be. Put a bitter (but not unlikeable) retiree in the middle of this world as the protagonist. Now watch how he interacts with and reacts to the people, places and things in this world. Sometimes he's in the right, sometimes he's in the wrong. Sometimes he gets what he deserves, sometimes he gets what he doesn't deserve. Sometimes he gives others what they deserve, sometimes he gives them what they don't deserve. No matter where a particular episode goes, you will most likely bellow with laughter at some point, usually at many points. There are a few episodes that were created not so much for a laugh as they were for irony; some of that irony being quite bitter or just plain sad. In episodes such as these, one will at least feel something, even if it is not what was expected.

As of this writing, the first season is available in the UK on DVD and the second season will be released there soon. With absolutely every other Britcom available in the United States, it's unfortunate that this series isn't popular enough to be released here. I suppose the fact that public television didn't play it ad nauseum like "Are You Being Served," "Keeping Up Appearances," or "Red Dwarf" (not that they're bad shows) is why. Remember, it's not how good something is that makes it popular and available, it's how visible it is.

Actually, it's kind of fitting that "One Foot in the Grave" isn't receiving the recognition it deserves and is fading into obscurity while being surrounded by so many more popular yet inferior programs. It's exactly the sort of point that one of its own episodes might have made!