Customer Reviews

One Foot in the Grave - Season 1

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Meet Victor Meldrew, who seems to notice everything annoying in life and feels the need to constantly comment on it, and his long suffering wife, Margaret, who is weary of Victor's diatribes. Along with the Meldrews, you meet a host of friends and neighbors that add to the side splitting fun. If you have never seen this Britcom before, you've truly missed a masterpiece. This is definitely one to add to your collection. For those interested, here is an episode guide:

EPISODE GUIDE

1. Alive and Buried.

Victor Meldrew, upon turning 60, is forcibly retired when he is replaced by a talking machine.

2. The Big Sleep

Rampant hypochondria brings on a near death experience for Victor.

3. The Valley of Fear

Victor finds himself the victim of a mugging and a vandalism attack so he decides to hold a crime prevention meeting.

4. I'll Retire to Bedlam

Victor encounters a day of one trial after another when he is locked in the shed for three hours, forced to keep his eyes closed all day after an appointment with the optometrist, and then forced to babysit!

5. The Eternal Quadrangle

Margaret is displeased when Victor takes up a hobby - painting nudes.

6. The Return of the Speckled Band

After helping Mrs. Warboy's through a food poisoning attack and having problems with the electricity man, the Meldrews feel they have earned a relaxing vacation? But will they get one?!

This is by far one of the funniest british sitcoms I've ever seen! And they finally came out with the dvd! (Even vhs has been difficult to find in past years!) Believe me, this is one of the 'best kept secrets' by the BBC! (Also check out 'Waiting for God', it's just as hilarious.) A wonderful value!

Most comdey is based upon irritation. We like to laugh at the irritated. Victor Meldrew it the most irritated person on planet Earth, and therefore quite possibly the funniest. Don't watch while drinking a beverege (unless you like it coming out your nose!).

The character of pessimist Victor Mildrew is hysterical; a show like this could only have come from the UK.

Great acting for all involved too... Richard Wilson & Annette Crosbie (her character deserves a medal) and by many others, including comedian Angus Deayton (some may remember him as the hysterically funny and topical host of the news satire show "Have I Got News For You?" in the late '80s).

Previously only available on VHS and audio-tape, this series on DVD is long-awaited!

One Foot In The Grave, SEASON ONE, was fun. To tell the truth, though, I had not seen these before and was a little disappointed. I think I must have seen season two previously and that was what I expected that I was buying. Not that I would change the purchase. I did enjoy this. The show was in it's fledgling stage in series one and I thought the writing was a touch funnier in the second season. Do I recommend this series? Absolutely! It lays the background for the whole series. With that said, I will also say I also plan to buy series two. Happy viewing.

I'm grateful that we North Americans can finally get this BBC series on DVD! It feels like we waited forever to finally get it. I like most British comedies but I love "One Foot" because it is unique for its beautifully dark and morbid humor regarding the absurdities of everyday modern life. It is so unique that I have nothing to compare the Meldrews to. I think the 1st season's episodes were a bit darker than the 2nd season but I may be wrong. All of the episodes are wonderful, some are even poignant. "One Foot in the Grave" is well written, well acted, and well worth the purchase price.

Poor Victor Mildrew (played by Richard Wilson) has always been cranky and misanthropic, but when he is forcibly retired, he finds that the whole world is unraveling around him - filled with inconsiderate neighbors, out-of-control children, thieves, incompetents, and the just plain wacky. What is a man to do? Well, complain a lot. These are the adventures of Victor Mildrew as he tries to survive in a world gone mad, and getting madder each day!

Overall, I found this to be a very funny British comedy. It's amazing the amount of insanity that they can pack in around Victor, all while keeping the story fun and believable (well, with a reasonable amount of suspension of disbelief). I really enjoyed this show, and don't hesitate to recommend it!

In case you are interested, the six episodes included on this disk are:
Alive and Buried (First aired - 1/4/1990) - Replaced by a talking box, Victor must now take on life as a retiree, and it proves to be more complicated than he ever expected.

The Big Sleep (1/11/1990) - When Victor's long-suffering wife, Margaret, takes Victor out to learn yoga, things go from bad to worse.

The Valley of Fear (1/18/1990) - The central heating is acting up again, but what does Margaret's habit of leaving doors open have to do with it?

I'll Retire to Bedlam (1/25/1990) - There's an important by-election coming up, which is always fun, and Victor has a run in with the National Health Service. Just which party can goof it up the most? (This one includes a hilarious scene, when Victor gets a hair-raising shave indeed!)

The Eternal Quadrangle (2/1/1990) - Margaret thinks that Victor is having an affair with a lady artist, but the truth is much stranger than fiction.

The Return of the Speckled Band (2/8/1990) - The mildrews are preparing for a vacation in sunny Athens. However, there are many things that can happen before they leave, and a shocking number of them actually do!

I had watched this show in the 90,s when it was aired thought it was hilarious. Poor Victor Meldrew is retired early & has to figure out what to do with himself & he sure does getting into all kinds of trouble.Light hearted comedy you will love.
JBlomker

I have been waiting for a long time for this series to come out in DVD format! I like this show very much. The writers certainly came up with some great ideas for situations got poor old Victor to get himself into and OUT of! You will LOVE this show!

I bought the First Season of "One foot in the Grave" based on words like "best ever", "very funny", etc.
The First season collection is pleasant to watch, but is not hilarious. Some situations are a bit contrived, as is the snake incident, and for other, my expectations based on review by others may have been too high, as was the vacuum cleaner "duel". Many situations could be funnier, but were lost by Wilson's (Victor) delivery.
It is not the "best ever" British comedy.
Based on the reviews, I understand subsequent seasons are better.
As in the past, Amazon gets 5 stars for excellence in all aspects of the purchase.