One Foot in the Grave

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.

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.

Although not as funny as Fawlty Towers, this is one of the best comedy series to come out of the UK in recent years. I can understand it not appealing at all to non-British people but to a normal Brit, this series embodies everything that is typical of British humour of the latter half of the twentieth century. The crisis of trying to adjust to retirement is a universal one and Victor Meldrew reactions to present day society are in fact those of all or most of us, even if he has the courage to express them vocally and us, not. Certainly the catch phrase from the series "I don't believe it" is common in people's mouths today. Just think when you have to call a company and you are no longer put thru to a switchboard but to some kind of robot and to access the department you want you have to press button one, then two etc etc. If you make one cock-up, the whole thing goes wrong. This is the kind of stupidity Meldrew is having to battle with. SOme of the episodes are so funny ( when Meldrew finds a strange old lady in his bed !! ) that you seriously risk of ending up in the grave yourself from too much laughter. Others can be tedious and you feel that the scriptwriters were more inspired some days than others. That said, from the fairly large number of episodes I've seen, I would say that about at least 65 to 70 percent of the episodes are side-splitting. When I watch this programme, I feel I am watching something peculiarly common to BRitish Humour. I could not imagine Amercians laughing at this, not to speak of French, Germans or Spanish ! Some of the humour is indeed fairly "morbid" and "sick" and would have limited appeal outside the UK. THat doesn't matter at all, but I'm just stating it as a fact. The last episode to end them all has to be seen but is bitter and sad and not funny at all - very strange compared with the others. Obviously, the BBC had decided to number Meldrew's days for once and for all but weren't too sure how to go about it. When I saw the final result, I "just didn't believe it" !!!!!!!!!!!!

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.

Forced to retire early from his job as a security guard, Victor Meldrew (Richard Wilson) struggles to cope with the problems that retired life throws his way alongside his long suffering wife, Margaret (played by Annette Crosbie). It is no wonder he is grumpy, if it can go wrong it will.

Annette Crosbie gives a brilliant performance and it is a delight to watch her express the wonderful array of emotions that being married to Victor requires.

Richard Wilson endeared himself to a nation with this role that catapulted him into the minds of every viewer.

One Foot in the Grave is a national treasure that is amongst the very best of British Comedy.