One Foot in the Grave

One Foot In the Grave has to be one of the funnest comedies to exist. It is up there with Dad's Army, Faulty Towers and Only Fools And Horses.

This is about Victor Meldrew and his long suffering wife Margaret and all the adventures they confront. Over the years, their home has had a lamppost in their bedroom, a Citreon 2CV in a rubbish skip on their front, an inn sign also on the front and a gravestone made for Victor's funeral when he dies. Plus Victor bedding an old lady, who was dropped off at their address by mistake from hospital. He thought it was Margaret! One of the best episodes was the one featuring Victor and Margaret in bed having a sleepless night.

Victor is of course noted for his well known catchphrase "I Don't Believe It".

Victor was played by Richard Wilson, Annette Crosbie was Margaret and former Have I got News For You host Angus Deayton and Janine Duvitski as the suffering neighbours Patrick and Pippa. The other regular cast were Doreen Mantle as Margaret's friend Jean Warboys and Owen Brenman as the other neighbour Nick Swainey.

The BBC still regularly show repeats of One Foot In the Grave and I still sometimes watch them. Very funny.

every time they re-run episodes of this i go out of my way to watch it. It is the single most funny British comedy/sitcom thing i think i have ever seen. Its so sarcastic its almost unbelieveable and the situations whilst odd are certainly interesting and give the character of viktor mildew full oppurtunity to make something go wrong. I love this show and i cant wait to sit down to some more reruns!

Victor Meldrew, retired security guard and human sponge 'soaking up every misery in the world' will surely be remembered in many years to come as one of comedy's greatest creations. Not to say that 'One Foot in the Grave' is strictly 2-D comedy. As with all the best of these kinds of things, it is more of a drama series which just happens to be funny. There is a good cast of genuine characters, all played with believability. Among them are Victor's long-suffering wife Margaret, her friend Mrs Warboys (who always seems to end up on the wrong end of disaster), next-door neighbours Patrick and Pippa (the former a Victor-in-the-making), and the enigmatic Mr Swainey who lives with his mysterious never-seen mother. And the programme certainly manages non-stop hilarity and plenty of genuine belly laughs throughout its six series and various extra-long specials. Well-written,inventive and clever plots involve everything from the everyday to the bizarre. Especially notable are hundreds of garden gnomes turning up on Victor's doorstep, Victor and Mrs Warboys both getting a foot stuck in a bag of plaster and having to heave it along with them as they attempt to find their way out of 'the set from Apocolypse Now', a caravan which contains the ghost of a devil worshipper, a chimpanzee which has a 'thing' for Victor, a scorpion talisman which brings down a plague of bad luck on its owner, and a guest house which is 'more like a wildlife kingdom'. Also memorable are the episodes involving one long scene - Victor stuck in a traffic jam, waiting for a telephone call and sitting in a waiting area. The fact that a half-hour episode in which nothing actually happens can be hilarious, entertaining and meaningful demonstrates the skill and depth of writing and the high quality of acting present throughout the series. Victor himself, despite initially coming across as a grumpy old man, is actually one of the most sympathetic characters ever created. Everybody can relate to the problems he faces on a daily basis, and everyone can cheer him on as he says and does the kinds of things we've all longed to do in certain trying situations. If you're a fan of any kind of comedy then this is unmissable.

I happened across this show quite by accident whilst channel surfing on Christmas Eve a couple of years back. I came across this show featuring a couple in their sixties: him a catankerous old codger who seemed to be a magnet for misfortune and trouble; her, his wife who suffered his constant moanings and groanings. Through the plot, which involved all manner of mayhem, I simply could not stop laughing. Unfortunately, it was only a one-off to fill time on the night: I did not hear of more episodes of this show until six months or more later. However, it again disappeared after only a handful of episodes, until six weeks ago it returned to my television screen. However, tonight I have just watched the final episode (ever), which leads me to believe its seasons were very short indeed.

Anyone who has not seen this show will do well to find videos of it. And those who have not seen the finale for the show, watch it. From the first time you hear Victor Meldrew's famous signature quote, "I do not BELIEVE this!", you'll be hooked. 10/10

if anybody has been set upon by a company, felt hard done by in life, thought as if people aren't as moral as they should be, this is the programme that they should watch. Some people may feel that it is predictable but it does so with intelligence and humour that is such that the viewer doesn't care if they have guessed the ending or not, the programme relies on receiving the empathy of the viewer which I believe, for the most part, this programme achieves extremely well. Very well written, very well acted, and extremely missed.