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

User Rating:

8.7/10   

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

Colour:

Colour

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:

[repeated line]
Victor Meldrew: I don't believe it!

Movie Connections:

Featured in 50 Most Shocking Comedy Moments (2006) (TV)

easy to identify with

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.