In 1990, 'One Foot In The Grave' appeared on television and met with little interest from viewers. Who, then, would have thought that by its second series it would grow to become one of the most popular British sitcoms of the '90's? In fact, many years back it was voted 10th place ( out of 50 ) in the BBC2 voting show 'Britain's Best Sitcom'. I must admit that I was not always great lover of the show but I eventually grew to like it after several viewings.
The show begins with Victor Meldrew ( played by Richard Wilson ) being forced to retire at the age of 60 from his job as a security officer. Victor cannot stick life in retirement and with too much time on his hands tries to find new ways of busying himself. Things then become a nightmare for Victor as he frequently finds himself a victim of unlikely circumstances, which usually culminates in him shrieking his catchphrase: ''I don't believe it!''. His poor wife Margaret sometimes becomes unwittingly involved in his misfortunes, much to her chagrin.
The influences of David Renwick's creation are plain for all to see - Richard Fegen & Andrew Norris' 'Chance In A Million' ( which starred Simon Callow' ) and Ronnie Taylor's 'A Sharp Intake Of Breath' ( which Richard Wilson appeared in alongside David Jason ). As Meldrew, Richard Wilson gave a first rate performance, as did Annette Crosbie as his long suffering wife Margaret. Doreen Mantle was hilarious as the Meldrews' friend and neighbour Mrs. Warboys, as was Owen Bremnan as the irritatingly cheerful Nick Swainey, though I could not take to Angus Deayton ( I never liked him! ) or Janine Duvitski as Patrick and Pippa. They offered no comedy value whatsoever.
It was mostly harmless entertainment, though the show did get into trouble on occasions, especially with a scene in which a tortoise is burnt to a crisp after crawling into a brazier. An early episode also provoked controversy with a scene in which Victor found a dead cat in his freezer.
After six series, 'One Foot In The Grave' ended in 2000 after Victor was killed in a hit and run accident ( an episode which was almost trumped in the ratings by the first ever top-prize win on ITV's 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?' ), although a special sketch was made in 2001 for 'Comic Relief'. David Renwick may have buried Victor Meldrew for good but the spirit of the character still lives on strong thanks to repeats on satellite and DVD releases.
The most recent show to appear recently inspired by 'One Foot In The Grave' was 'The Rebel', a three-part comedy show screened by UK Gold and starring Simon Callow as a rebellious pensioner. It was fab.
The show begins with Victor Meldrew ( played by Richard Wilson ) being forced to retire at the age of 60 from his job as a security officer. Victor cannot stick life in retirement and with too much time on his hands tries to find new ways of busying himself. Things then become a nightmare for Victor as he frequently finds himself a victim of unlikely circumstances, which usually culminates in him shrieking his catchphrase: ''I don't believe it!''. His poor wife Margaret sometimes becomes unwittingly involved in his misfortunes, much to her chagrin.
The influences of David Renwick's creation are plain for all to see - Richard Fegen & Andrew Norris' 'Chance In A Million' ( which starred Simon Callow' ) and Ronnie Taylor's 'A Sharp Intake Of Breath' ( which Richard Wilson appeared in alongside David Jason ). As Meldrew, Richard Wilson gave a first rate performance, as did Annette Crosbie as his long suffering wife Margaret. Doreen Mantle was hilarious as the Meldrews' friend and neighbour Mrs. Warboys, as was Owen Bremnan as the irritatingly cheerful Nick Swainey, though I could not take to Angus Deayton ( I never liked him! ) or Janine Duvitski as Patrick and Pippa. They offered no comedy value whatsoever.
It was mostly harmless entertainment, though the show did get into trouble on occasions, especially with a scene in which a tortoise is burnt to a crisp after crawling into a brazier. An early episode also provoked controversy with a scene in which Victor found a dead cat in his freezer.
After six series, 'One Foot In The Grave' ended in 2000 after Victor was killed in a hit and run accident ( an episode which was almost trumped in the ratings by the first ever top-prize win on ITV's 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?' ), although a special sketch was made in 2001 for 'Comic Relief'. David Renwick may have buried Victor Meldrew for good but the spirit of the character still lives on strong thanks to repeats on satellite and DVD releases.
The most recent show to appear recently inspired by 'One Foot In The Grave' was 'The Rebel', a three-part comedy show screened by UK Gold and starring Simon Callow as a rebellious pensioner. It was fab.