One Foot in the Grave
One Foot in the Grave is a British television sitcom[1] written by David Renwick. There were six series (each consisting of six half-hour episodes) and seven Christmas specials over a period of ten years from early 1990 to late 2000. The first five series were broadcast between January 1990 and January 1995. For the next five years, the show appeared only as Christmas specials, followed by the sixth and final series in 2000.
This article is about the BBC sitcom. For the albums, see One Foot in the Grave (Beck album) and One Foot in the Grave (Tankard album).One Foot in the Grave
David Renwick
- Sydney Lotterby (1990)
- Susan Belbin (1990–1996)
- Christine Gernon (1997–2000)
- Eric Idle and John du Prez (1990)
- Ed Welch (1990–2000)
United Kingdom
English
6
42 + 2 shorts (list of episodes)
- Susan Belbin (1990–1996)
- Esta Charkham (1997)
- Jonathan P. Llewellyn (2000)
BBC Television centre. In and around Christchurch and Bournemouth, Dorset, England
27–92 minutes
4 January 1990 –
20 November 2000
The series features the exploits of Victor Meldrew, played by Richard Wilson, and his long-suffering wife, Margaret, played by Annette Crosbie. Wilson initially turned down the part of Meldrew and David Renwick considered Les Dawson for the role, until Wilson changed his mind.[2] The programmes invariably deal with Meldrew's battle against a long series of problems, some of which he creates for himself.
The location is set in an unnamed town in Southern England, where Victor takes involuntary early retirement. His various efforts to keep himself busy while encountering various misfortunes and misunderstandings are the themes of the sitcom. Indoor scenes were filmed at BBC Television Centre with most exterior scenes filmed on Tresillian Way in Walkford in Christchurch, Dorset.[3] Despite its traditional production, the series subverts its domestic sitcom setting with elements of black humour and surrealism.
The series was occasionally the subject of controversy for some of its darker story elements, but nevertheless received a number of awards, including the 1992 BAFTA for Best Comedy. The programme came 80th in the British Film Institute's 100 Greatest British Television Programmes.[4] Four episodes were remade for BBC Radio 2.[5] The series inspired a novel, published in 1992, featuring the most memorable moments from the first two series and the first Christmas special.
Plot[edit]
The series features the exploits, mishaps and misadventures of irascible early retiree Victor Meldrew, who, after being made redundant from his job as a security guard at the age of 60, finds himself at war with the world and everything in it. Meldrew, cursed with misfortune and always complaining, is married to long-suffering wife Margaret, who is often left exasperated by his many misfortunes.[5]
Amongst other witnesses to Victor's wrath are tactless family friend Jean Warboys and next-door neighbours Patrick (Victor's nemesis) and Pippa Trench. Patrick often discovers Victor in inexplicably bizarre or compromising situations, leading him to believe he is insane. The Meldrews' neighbour on the other side, overly cheery charity worker Nick Swainey, also adds to Victor's frustration.
Although set in a traditional suburban setting, the show subverts this genre with a strong overtone of black comedy. Series One's "The Valley of Fear" is an episode which caused controversy, when Victor found a frozen cat in his freezer. Writer David Renwick also combined farce with elements of tragedy.[6] For example, in the final episode, Victor is killed by a hit-and-run driver, and although there is no explicit reference that Victor and Margaret had children, the episode "Timeless Time" contained a reference to someone named Stuart; the strong implication being that they once had a son who had died as a child.[5][7][8]
A number of episodes were also experimental in that they took place entirely in one setting. Such episodes include "The Beast in the Cage" (where Victor, Margaret and Mrs Warboys are stuck in a traffic jam),[9] "Timeless Time" (where Victor and Margaret are in bed suffering insomnia),[10] "The Trial" (where Victor is left alone in the house waiting to see if he has to take part in jury service), "Rearranging the Dust" (where Victor and Margaret have a long wait in their solicitor's waiting room), and "Threatening Weather" (where Victor and Margaret try to cope during a power cut on the hottest night of the year).
Despite Margaret's frequent exasperation with her husband's antics, the series shows the couple have a deep affection for one another.
Production[edit]
The production of the show was in a conventional sitcom format, with episodes taped live in front of a studio audience, interposed with pre-filmed location material.[6]
The series' opening credits were designed by Pete Wane and feature footage of a "Galapagos Giant Turtle", at the request of writer David Renwick, which "[serves] as a metaphor for grumpy old Victor Meldrew." Wane found the footage of the creature to be "not very upbeat visually for a comedy," but he found, "to [his] relief a shot of it stumbling on a rock which gave the sequence a bit of a lift."[13]
Most of the first five series of One Foot in the Grave were produced and directed by Susan Belbin, the exceptions being "Love and Death", which was partly directed by veteran sitcom director Sydney Lotterby and "Starbound", for which Gareth Gwenlan (who in fact had originally commissioned the series in 1989) stepped in to direct some sequences after Belbin was taken ill. Afterward, Belbin retired owing to ill-health,[14] and the final series was produced by Jonathan P. Llewellyn and directed by Christine Gernon. Wilson and Renwick felt that Gernon's experience of working with Belbin on earlier series of One Foot as a production secretary and assistant, as well as other shows, meant that her style was similar to Belbin's, aiding the transition between directors.[14]
The show used Bournemouth to film some exterior sequences because of its favourable climate, easy access to London and economical benefits relative to filming in the capital. After the first series was filmed, the house—near Pokesdown, Bournemouth—which had been used for the Meldrews' house in location sequences, changed hands and the new owners demanded nearly triple the usage fees that the previous owners had asked for. Rather than agree to this, the production team decided to find a new house and the first episode of the second series was rewritten to have the Meldrews' house destroyed in a fire (this was filmed on waste ground in Northcote Road, Springbourne). This also gave the opportunity for a new interior set to be designed, as Belbin had been unhappy with the original set designed for the series, which she felt was too restrictive to shoot in.[15]
Beginning with series two, the exterior scenes of the Meldrew's home were filmed at Tresillian Way, Walkford, near Christchurch in Dorset.[16] These later series make extensive use of specific street and garden locations in most episodes, particularly for scenes involving the Meldrew's neighbours.[17] Most outside locations were filmed in and around Bournemouth and Christchurch. These include Richmond Hill, Undercliff Drive and Boscombe Pier, Bournemouth Town Hall, Lansdowne College, Christchurch Hospital and the former Royal Victoria Hospital (Boscombe). Later episodes, such as "Hearts of Darkness", were filmed entirely on location. Victor's death by a hit and run driver in the final episode was filmed at Shawford railway station, Hampshire. Fans left floral tributes at the site.[18][19]
Over the show's history, it featured a number of notable comic actors in one-off roles. These include Susie Blake, John Bird, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Peter Cook, Diana Coupland, Phil Daniels, Edward de Souza, Hannah Gordon, Georgina Hale, Roy Hudd, Jimmy Jewel, Rula Lenska, Stephen Lewis, Paul Merton, Brian Murphy, Christopher Ryan, Jim Sweeney, Barbara Windsor, Joan Sims and Ray Winstone. Two of Angus Deayton's former Radio Active and KYTV co-stars, Geoffrey Perkins and Michael Fenton Stevens were cast, in separate episodes, as respectively the brother and brother-in-law of Deayton's character. A few actors little-known at the time also appeared in one-off roles before going on to greater fame, including Lucy Davis, Joanna Scanlan, Eamonn Walker and Arabella Weir.
Music[edit]
The One Foot in the Grave theme song was written, composed and sung by Eric Idle. A longer version was produced for the special "One Foot in the Algarve", released as a single with five remixes and a karaoke version in November 1994.[20] Idle included a live version of the song on his album Eric Idle Sings Monty Python.[21] It is preluded by a similar adaptation of "Bread of Heaven" to that used in the episode "The Beast in the Cage" by disgruntled car mechanics.[9][22]
The title music on the TV series is accompanied at the beginning and end of each episode by footage of Galápagos tortoises.
The series also made extensive use of incidental music, composed by Ed Welch, which often hinted at a particular genre to fit the mood of the scenes, frequently incorporating well-known pieces of music such as "God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen" or Intermezzo from Jean Sibelius' Karelia Suite. In the Christmas special "Endgame" during Margaret's alleged death scene, a compilation of clips from past episodes are accompanied by the song "River Runs Deep" performed by J. J. Cale. The final episode ended with a montage of some of the mishaps Victor encountered, which were mentioned in the episode – backed by "End of the Line" by the Traveling Wilburys.
Controversies[edit]
A number of complaints were made during the series' run for its depiction of animal deaths. For example, in the episode "The Valley of Fear", a dead cat is found in the Meldrews' freezer; in another, a tortoise is roasted in a brazier. However, this was later cited as a positive feature of the programme's daring scripts in Britain's Best Sitcom by its advocate Rowland Rivron.[40] The programme was censured, however, for a scene in the episode "Hearts of Darkness" in which an elderly resident is abused in an old people's home and, following complaints, the scene was slightly cut when the episode was repeated.[41] In the DVD commentary for the episode, David Renwick stated his continued opposition to the cuts.[42] Another controversial scene in the episode "Tales of Terror" saw the Meldrews visit Ronnie and Mildred on the understanding that Mildred had gone upstairs during a game of Happy Families and not returned; Ronnie then shows her feet hanging outside of the window, revealing that she has ended her life by suicide. The Broadcasting Standards Commission received complaints about this scene.[8]
When the final episode, "Things Aren't Simple Any More" originally aired on 20 November 2000 at 9pm, it coincided with the broadcast of the first jackpot winner in the UK version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, which had been filmed the Sunday before the broadcast. ITV was accused of engineering this in order to damage the final episode's expected high ratings, but was later cleared by the Independent Television Commission.[43]
Foreign versions[edit]
One Leg in the Grave[edit]
A German version was made of the series in 1996–97, Mit einem Bein im Grab (One Leg in the Grave), directed by Thomas Nennstiel and Frank Strecker. It was broadcast on Das Erste. It starred Heinz Schubert as "Viktor Bölkhoff", Brigitte Böttrich as "Margret Bölkhoff" and Irm Hermann as "Lisbeth Albermann".[77]
A Foot in the Grave[edit]
A Swedish version, En fot i graven (A Foot in the Grave) was made in 2001. Produced by commercial television channel TV4 and aired on SVT, it starred Gösta Ekman as "Victor Melldrov" and Lena Söderblom as his wife. A total of 12 episodes were broadcast.[78]
With One Foot in the Grave[edit]
In 2006 a Dutch version was made under the title Met één been in het graf (With One Foot in the Grave) airing on NCRV. It starred Serge Henri Valcke as Victor Monter. The series was directed by Zdenek Kraus, who had directed the highly successful series Toen Was Geluk Heel Gewoon (Then Happiness Was Common, based on the American sitcom The Honeymooners) and was adapted for Dutch television by Ger Apeldoorn and Harm Edens, who also wrote Het Zonnetje in Huis. The series only lasted one series.[79]