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Comedy

One Foot in the Grave

Who would have thought retirement could be so chaotic?

7.7(89)
First Aired:January 4, 1990
Seasons:6 seasons
Episodes:36
Status:Ended

One Foot in the Grave is a BBC television sitcom series. The series features the exploits of Victor Meldrew and his long-suffering wife, Margaret. The programmes invariably deal with Meldrew's battle against the problems he creates for himself. Living in a typical household in an unnamed English suburb, Victor takes involuntary early retirement. His various efforts to keep himself busy, while encountering various misfortunes and misunderstandings are the themes of the sitcom. Despite its traditional production, the series supplants its domestic sitcom setting with elements of black humour and surrealism.

Cast

Richard Wilson

Richard Wilson

Victor Meldrew

Annette Crosbie

Annette Crosbie

Margaret Meldrew

Seasons

Alive and Buried

E1Alive and Buried

29m9.0

Jan 4, 1990

Victor Meldrew, 60 years old, is at last retiring from the rigors of his security guard job at Watson-Mycroft. Replaced by a talking machine, Victor soon discovers that retirement will give him just as many reasons to be grumpy.

The Big Sleep

E2The Big Sleep

28m

Jan 11, 1990

As retirement throws more problems for Victor Meldrew's retirement, including a next-door neighbour's noisy party, a disturbing and puzzling rash and an atheist funeral, has Victor bitten the bullet?

The Valley of Fear

E3The Valley of Fear

29m

Jan 18, 1990

After being mugged whilst photographing badgers, and having his house sprayed with the phrase 'The Man Who Lives Here Is A Turd', Victor decides to hold a crime prevention meeting.

I'll Retire to Bedlam

E4I'll Retire to Bedlam

29m

Jan 25, 1990

After being stuck in the shed for over three hours, then forced to spend an entire day with his eyes closed after a visit to the optometrist, Victor cannot bear the trials of babysitting.

The Eternal Quadrangle

E5The Eternal Quadrangle

29m

Feb 1, 1990

Although Margaret is glad that Victor finally has a hobby to occupy his time, she is less pleased to discover that it involves painting nudes.

The Return of the Speckled Band

E6The Return of the Speckled Band

29m

Feb 8, 1990

Following a food poisoning incident and problems with the electricity man, the Meldrews embark on a well-deserved holiday, however this is only the start of their problems.

In Luton Airport No-One Can Hear You Scream

E1In Luton Airport No-One Can Hear You Scream

29m

Oct 4, 1990

When Victor and Margaret return from their holiday, they discover that their luggage has been sent to the other side of the world, and that their house has been burned down.

We Have Put Her Living in the Tomb

E2We Have Put Her Living in the Tomb

30m

Oct 11, 1990

The Meldrews are given the responsibility of looking after their goddaughter's tortoise.

Dramatic Fever

E3Dramatic Fever

30m

Oct 18, 1990

Victor discovers a new talent - writing comedy. However, his views of comedy are somewhat different from everyone else's, and he finds himself without support.

Who Will Buy?

E4Who Will Buy?

30m

Oct 25, 1990

While Pippa believes that Victor may have murdered an elderly blind man, Victor uses a benefit concert to re-introduce his ventriloquist act.

Love and Death

E5Love and Death

30m9.0

Nov 11, 1990

When the Meldrews visit some friends on the South Coast, Victor is given a surprise.

Timeless Time

E6Timeless Time

30m6.0

Nov 15, 1990

A variety of bizarre factors, including a dead hedgehog, keep Victor awake. And if Victor's awake, Margaret isn't going to get much sleep either.

Monday Morning Will Be Fine

E1Monday Morning Will Be Fine

30m

Feb 2, 1992

After a burglary Victor decides not to replace his television set in order to give him and Margaret more opportunity to get out of the house. However, a trip to the pub results in a disconcerting experience with an old friend.

Dreamland

E2Dreamland

30m8.0

Feb 9, 1992

Margaret is having a recurring dream about murdering someone who looks like Victor. However, it's Margaret who is starting to irritate Victor. That is, until she disappears.

The Broken Reflection

E3The Broken Reflection

30m8.0

Feb 16, 1992

Alfred, Victor's accident prone brother, is making his first visit from New Zealand for 25 years. Victor is not looking forward to his stay, preferring to act as a neighbourhood vigilante.

The Beast in the Cage

E4The Beast in the Cage

30m8.0

Feb 23, 1992

The Meldrews and Mrs Warboys get stuck in Bank Holiday traffic.

Beware the Trickster on the Roof

E5Beware the Trickster on the Roof

30m8.0

Mar 1, 1992

Mr Swainey has brought Victor a present back from his holiday - an unlucky charm. Victor thinks that Mrs Stebbings' TV aerial is laughing at him and his resulting misfortune. Meanwhile, Patrick and Pippa are having problems trying to sell their house.

The Worst Horror of All

E6The Worst Horror of All

30m7.0

Mar 8, 1992

Even a shed falling on him cannot upset Victor when he finally gets a new job. However, before starting work he must first contend with some unwanted visitors and a trip to the BBC organised by Mrs Warboys.

The Pit and the Pendulum

E1The Pit and the Pendulum

30m8.0

Jan 31, 1993

Victor is employing a workman in the garden, although he never seems to do any work. On the other side of the fence, Patrick has acquired a pet daschund called Denzil.

Descent into the Maelstrom

E2Descent into the Maelstrom

30m

Jan 31, 1993

Margaret falls ill to nervous exhaustion that has been building up over the past 34 years. She has little chance for peace and quiet in which to recuperate, especially with Victor's problems with gorilla suits and the waste disposal system. She is however cheered by a visit from an old friend.

Hearts of Darkness

E3Hearts of Darkness

30m

Feb 14, 1993

During a trip to the countryside with Mrs Warboys and Mr Swainey, the Meldrews manage to get lost. Victor leaves the others to try to find help.

Warm Champagne

E4Warm Champagne

30m

Feb 21, 1993

Victor returns from holiday with sunburnt feet. His mood doesn't improve, thanks to rows with the neighbours and the addition of a streetlamp to his bedroom furniture. This gives Margaret a dilemma when she is contacted by Ben, a pleasant man who she met on holiday.

The Trial

E5The Trial

30m8.0

Feb 28, 1993

Victor has been selected for jury service. He hasn't been required in court yet, but he is on call so he is stuck in the house all day and must somehow beat his boredom.

Secret of the Seven Sorcerers

E6Secret of the Seven Sorcerers

30m8.0

Mar 7, 1993

Victor is preparing for a meeting of his magicians' club. He now has a job as a lollipop man, but is being bothered by the fire brigade due to hoax calls. Patrick and Pippa are due to visit the Meldrews' for a reconciliation meal, but Patrick isn't looking forward to the experience.

The Man Who Blew Away

E1The Man Who Blew Away

40m

Dec 25, 1994

Patrick is preparing for an important meeting with some Japanese businessmen. Next door, Victor's stolen car has been recovered, but he isn't very happy about it. Then the Meldrews are visited by Mr Foskett - a man who they met on holiday 17 years previously.

Only a Story

E2Only a Story

30m

Jan 1, 1995

Mrs Warboys is staying with the Meldrews following the flooding of her house and is starting to irritate Margaret. However, Victor is a lot calmer than usual thanks to the reflexology treatment that he has started receiving.

The Affair of the Hollow Lady

E3The Affair of the Hollow Lady

30m

Jan 8, 1995

Victor thinks that the woman in the greengrocers fancies him. Meanwhile, Mrs Warboys has won a wax model of herself and the Meldrews are having problems with their door locks.

Rearranging the Dust

E4Rearranging the Dust

30m

Jan 15, 1995

When Victor and Margaret visit their solicitors in order to make a will they discover precisely why a waiting room is so-called.

Hole in the Sky

E5Hole in the Sky

30m

Jan 22, 1995

Patrick is looking forward to his trip to stay with Pippa's brother after an embarrassing visit to an Armenian restaurant in order to attempt to make up with Victor. Meanwhile, the Meldrews are employing a pair of very strange workmen and Margaret is getting jealous of a marionette.

The Exterminating Angel

E6The Exterminating Angel

30m

Jan 29, 1995

Romance is in the air for Mr. Swainey when he finally invites Tania the nurse out for a date. Victor takes a new job as a chauffeur but rapidly wipes out his employer's beloved fleet.

The Executioner's Song

E1The Executioner's Song

30m1.0

Oct 16, 2000

Victor has a new job as a window-cleaner. Meanwhile, Patrick's plans for a quiet birthday are ruined after an unfortunate misunderstanding involving a modern art painting and Pippa finds herself in an adulterous affair.

Tales of Terror

E2Tales of Terror

30m8.0

Oct 23, 2000

In Mr. Swainey's production of 'Nosferatu: The Vampire', the actor who was supposed to play the vampire doesn't show up so Nick asks Victor to take the part. He does. Later, blood is found in Victor's digestive system during a test. After fearing the worst, the doctors discover that the blood was from an under-cooked black pudding that was earlier given to Victor by Mrs Warboys! While on their way to visit the dreaded Ronnie and Mildred, the Meldrews are shocked to discover that Mildred has killed herself while playing a game of 'Happy Families' - they are even more shocked to discover that her body is still hanging outside the house!

The Futility of the Fly

E3The Futility of the Fly

30m8.0

Oct 30, 2000

Margaret regrets hiring an attractive cleaner to help around the house. Meanwhile, Mrs Warboys has a couple of nasty frights.

Threatening Weather

E4Threatening Weather

30m7.0

Nov 6, 2000

During a power cut, Victor realises that he had been right through the middle of an area affected by a siege as it happened. He has the misfortune to have a light fitting drop right onto his privates, a cigarette stubbed out on his cap and a mysterious pain that leads him to think that he had been shot during the siege. Things are made worse by the arrival of the incontinent, fat and irritating elderly neighbour, Mr. Smedley.

The Dawn of Man

E5The Dawn of Man

30m

Nov 13, 2000

Victor's new fishing hobby leads to an unfortunate encounter with a fly-tipper. Meanwhile, a visit from Patrick's gay twin brother leaves Pippa feeling mentally and physically exhausted, especially when Patrick sits on a cork.

Things Aren't Simple Any More

E6Things Aren't Simple Any More

30m9.0

Nov 20, 2000

In the very last episode of 'One Foot in the Grave', Victor's decision to attend a school reunion unwittingly delivers him into the hands of fate. Margaret deals with the aftermath with the help of her new friend, Glynis.

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Storyline

One Foot in the Grave is a BBC television sitcom series. The series features the exploits of Victor Meldrew and his long-suffering wife, Margaret. The programmes invariably deal with Meldrew's battle against the problems he creates for himself. Living in a typical household in an unnamed English suburb, Victor takes involuntary early retirement. His various efforts to keep himself busy, while encountering various misfortunes and misunderstandings are the themes of the sitcom. Despite its traditional production, the series supplants its domestic sitcom setting with elements of black humour and surrealism.

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