Product Details

• Actors: Graham Crowden, Stephanie Cole, Daniel Hill, Andrew Tourell
• Format: Box set, Color, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 1.0), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 9
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: BBC Worldwide
• DVD Release Date: May 25, 2010
• Run Time: 1310 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0035JHYIY
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,772 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Waiting for God: The Complete Series" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Every episode of Tom and Diana's adventure at Bayview Retirement Village is now available in one complete set! At the Bayview Retirement Village the elderly are expected to grow old gracefully, enjoying their final years in peace, quiet and comfort... but not if Tom (Graham Crowden) and Diana (Stephanie Cole) have anything to do with it! Meet two elderly eccentrics who refuse to put up with the appalling food and condescending staff, in the hilariously cynical BAFTA-nominated comedy that won Stephanie Cole a British Comedy Award in1992.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AGING with ATTITUDE - and then some!!!, March 28, 2010

By 

D. K. Hingle "justkes" (the Middle of Kansas, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Waiting for God: The Complete Series (DVD)

The WHOLE THING in ONE SET!!! About time, too!

"Waiting for God" became a favourite from the moment I first saw an episode. (It was "The Spiritualist" from Season Four.) A friend sat me down and told me, "You WILL watch this." I met Tom, Diana, Harvey, Jane, Geoffrey, and Marian.

Don't let the title put you off, it has nothing to do with religion or dying and everything to do with life and living. The series is set in the Bayview Retirement Community in Bournemouth, England. The place is run by Harvey "The Idiot" Baines, with the help of his side-kick Jane Edwards. When a new inmate - er, resident - Tom Ballard checks in, he moves in next to Diana Trent. Tom is a widower with one son (according to Diana, he's thick as a plank) and a daughter-in-law ("and she's something out of the Twilight Zone," also according to Diana). Tom was an accountant for 40 years, and when he becomes bored he tends to let his mind wander into his own imaginary world, populated by B-Movies and their plots. Diana, on the other hand, is a spinster - proud of it - who was a prize-winning wartime photojournalist. Together, Tom & Diana keep things at Bayview stirred up, so much so that Harvey spends the entire five year run of the show trying to chuck them both out. (The show never made it to the US, but if it had my idea of "Dream Casting" would have been Harvey Korman & Bea Arthur. Acid wit meets silliness.)

Graham Crowden and Stephanie Cole are superb as the troublesome twosome. (Ironically, Ms. Cole had to be aged for the part, which she took on when she was about 50 years old.) Daniel Hill plays Baines, and Janine Duvitski plays Jane. Jane is smitten with Harvey, and Harvey thinks his ideal woman sits on tractors in bikinis. Once in a while Jane decides it's hopeless and tries to become a nun. Harvey, who is totally inept, can't run the place without her. Geoffrey

The writing is sharp and well-paced. The show tackles many problems of aging (prostate problems, adult-onset diabetes, loneliness, the scams perpetrated on aging, and others) with taste and laughs. THE SERIES IS A WHOLE STORY WITH A BEGINNING, A MIDDLE, AND AN END. Start at the beginning and keep going until the end. Prepare for laughing out loud. Several episodes may cause soreness to ribs from doing so: the trip to Brighton in season one, the scandal in season three, and the last four episodes of season five. The set includes the two Christmas specials, and hopefully some extra features.

It took YEARS for this wonderful series to appear on DVD. Fans eagerly bought up each season, fearing it would be the last released. NOW comes the full series all in one go! If you count the number of discs in the individual seasons, you come up with SEVEN. The count on this set says EIGHT, and the cover artwork actually says NINE. So, we may be faced with a dilemma: keep buying the individual seasons or go for it and get the whole set. Your choice. If you haven't gotten the seasons as they were released, go for this set.

The point is, everyone should visit Bayview. Once won't be enough!

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I am in training to BE Diana Trent, June 3, 2010

By 

A. ODonnell "Amyred" (Houston, TX (USA)) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Waiting for God: The Complete Series (DVD)

This is one of the finest comedies ever made on either side of the pond. I've been watching seasons 1 to 4 from the library's copies, and got my boyfriend hooked on it as well. I pre-ordered it right after it was announced in January. I got it a few days after it was released on May 26th. I am already very happy.

Tom and Diana are nearly polar opposites, but they get to be friends, and later, more, during this series. Always good to see The Idiot Baines put in his place. The entire series, including two Christmas specials, are included, as well as a number of extras. I'll agree that this series was cut short too soon. I won't spoil the ending, but you won't see it coming.

Additionally, there are two Christmas specials, both are very good. However, the second Christmas special is my favorite--people get hurt! My kind of Christmas special!

The distinguishing factor for this show is that it takes the old standby of doddering, dumbed-down senior citizens and flips the equation. In Waiting For God, the "old folks" are shown for what they really are--intelligent, experienced, well-spoken, and dealing with the issues of aging, while they younger people are the dunces. No Botox or silicone here, either! Stephanie Cole was awarded an OBE and won a BAFTA award for her role as Diana Trent, and also appreciated for bringing attention to the issues that face senior citizens every day. While it's not preachy, it's intelligent, funny, and leaves you wanting to go back to Bayview for another visit.

This would be a great gift for someone who enjoyed The Golden Girls as well. Waiting For God went on the air around the time that The Golden Girls went off the air, so the time frame is about the same.

LONG LIVE TOM AND DIANA!!!!

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Comedy About Growing Old........Disgracefully, January 24, 2010

By 

Eric Pregosin (New Carrollton, Maryland United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Waiting for God: The Complete Series (DVD)

The above ad lib found only on the American copies of this BBC 5 Season BBC romp of the 90s (the cover art on the British copies are the same though) sums it all up. Tom Ballard (Graham Crowden) is a happy go lucky guy who is being sent to a retirement community by his son Geoffrey and constantly drunk or worse daughter in law Marion because they can't deal with him any more (always in a fantasy world, and "other problems" that come with age). At Bayview, he is neighbored by Diana Trent (Stephanie Cole) who as Tom would say later "puts the tank in cantankerous". An old spinster who is tired of living the life of being unliked, etc. and now wants to live her declining days in peace. In spite of their differences, this "oddball couple", find common ground, a disgust for the way their "home" is being run by Harvey Baines (Daniel Hill) and his equally ditzy assistant Jane (Janine Duvitsky) who (God only knows why) is smitten with the blithering idiot. Eventually, they get others in their community (including oversexed maniac Basil) on their side to do what they can to oust "the idiot Baines", and develop a friendship and even love for each other by series end. This gem was released on DVD in England between 2006 and 2007, but Warner in their deal with BBC Video, has been releasing them here one at a time for the last 4 years, the 5th set being released the same day as this complete set (ironically the other 4 were all released at the same time each year since 2006). As I see it, nothing extra will be in the complete collection, that is not in the separate releases. The 3rd and 4th sets include Christmas Specials made during those seasons. If you waited for all 5 sets to be out to buy, then get this set as (like other BBC Video releases here) it will be a better deal, than the 5 individuals. If you have a multi region player, you can get currently get the British copies individually (but unfortunately not in a complete mega set) for a few bucks more or less now. But do what is easier for you. Just buy it, and get ready to laugh your tush off.