Customer Reviews

Waiting for God: Season 1

5 star:		(47)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Don't be put off by the title - this is one of the best Britcoms to hit the US Shores. This show is totally unique - set in the British retirement community of Bayview, and it's inmates...er, I mean RESIDENTS, are taking steps to NOT gracefully fade away!

I have never laughed aloud so much at a series as I have at the adventures of Stephanie Cole's Diana Trent (spinster & proud of it) and Graham Crowden's Tom (part-time bullfighter on the moon, when he wasn't digging out of Colditz with "Dickie and Johnny"), and their battles against Daniel Hill's "The Idiot Baines" and Janine Duvitski's love-starved Jane. Together with sex-fiend Basil and other inmates, and constantly thwarting the efforts of Tom's revolting family to control them, the antics are pricelss.

What keeps me watching the episodes is the way the characters are presented. Diana puts it thusly: "We are not a group to be managed." Fighting for the respect they deserve - in a society that reveres age in everything but itself - Diana and Tom carve such a niche at Bayview that Harvey spends the entire run of the show trying to chuck them out! Ideas that would be handled with all the tact of a road roller in the US get treated with a sense of decorum. The episode entitled "Scandal," first aired in October of 1993, is proof of that. The final episode of the show ('Two Weddings')is so well done that it literally leaves one's ribs sore from laughing.

I have been hunting for all 47 episodes of the show, which form a total story, with a beginning (Tom's arrival), a middle (the Scandal!), and an end (call it two weddings and a funeral - not the one released). This series is done with wit and taste, and in many ways I am GLAD it never made it across the Atlantic. American producers would have surely messed it up. My home-taped episodes are in danger of wearing out.

Now, FINALLY, there is hope on the horizon in the form of a DVD of Series (Season) 1. I have no idea why BBC won't go ahead and release the whole thing - there are only 45 episodes plus two Christmas specials (only one Christmas special has ever been shown in the US to my knowledge; it was a double length show). If BBC is simply going to release them series by series (or season by season), let's hope that enough of the first one sells!

Once you visit Bayview, you'll want to go back, and seven episodes won't be enough!

This is a show that would never be made in the US because it is about the elderly with a cast mostly over the age of 50. But that is what makes it so great.

Stephanie Cole is Diana Trent who is a retired photojournalist who spent all her time working and never raised a family. She has lived her life at full throtle and has not slowed down for retirement. She believes that being old is not fatal. (Note: Stephanie was only 49 when the series premiered!)

Graham Crowden is Tom Ballard. He raised an extremely boring son who is married to an alcoholic nymphomanic. Tom goes on mental walkabouts with famous dead people. Tom is actually very together, he just doesn't like to admit it.

They are neighbors at Bayview Retirement Community which is run by the superego Harvey Baines (Better known as the Idiot Baines.)and the overly kind Jane. Harvey always has a plan to make more money or a plan to get rid of a pesky resident but you know that Diana and Tom will foil his plans.

This dvd has seven episodes.

Welcome to Bayview (Pilot) - Tom's family is trying to dump him at a retirement home but to his surprise his neighbor has decided not to go gently into the night and she is taking Tom on her joy ride.

A Trip to Brighton - Diana's sole relative, her niece, leaves her Porsche while she is abroad and Diana and Tom go for a joy ride! (Watch for Tom's great "courtroom" scene at the end!)

Cheering Up Tom - Tom think he is dying but the doctor has another diagnosis! Diana is charged with cheering Tom up.

The Christening - The christening is just a side bit. Harvey finds out that Diana forgot to disclose a malady on her application and now is trying to get her evicted! But Tom and Diana each have their own way to foil his plan.

Fraulein Mueller - Harvey hires a new matron but Diana realizes that she is Jane's replacement and Diana and Tom will not have this.

The Psychiatrist - Harvey tries to get rid Diana by proving she is incompetent and tries to enlist her neice Sarah. But Sarah is a chip off her "Auntie's" block and Tom and Diana have the last laugh.

The Helicopeter - It's time for the local elections and Diana has had it with politicians.

The series had 45 regular episodes and two christmas specials.

Well, hooooraaaay BBC, you finally are getting down to releasing some of the greatest comedy series ever produced. "Waiting for God" is a MUST HAVE for your Brit-com collection. As other reviews have stated, the episodes have a humor of wit that will draw you into the supberb acting and keep you laughing out loud (so healthy for the soul). Bet you can't just watch one episode at a time!! Please don't let us down, BBC, and release ALL the episodes (47 including Christmas specials)-- my tv vhs recordings are worn out from being watched over and over.

Now, BBC, for the sake of all your devoted fans, you need to release the series "One Foot in The Grave" and "George & Mildred" in the US (these are currently being released in the UK). No comedy diet should be without these 2 excellent series to compliment "Waiting For God".

For anyone interested, 2 other great Brit-coms, "My Hero" and "Mulberry-the complete series" are being released on Amazon mid-year.

I was ecstatic to learn that the BBC finally decided to release WAITING FOR GOD. I've loved this show since it first aired in the 1990's and I'm still an enormous fan to this day.
I must say, however, I am extremely disappointed that there are as yet no bonus materials included on the disc for series one. There were only seven episodes total in the first series, and I'm pretty sure the BBC could have come up with something decent to include for bonus stuff...Say, for instance, Stephanie Cole's 1992 acceptance of her BSFA award.
I never get tired of watching this show. No matter how many times I've seen it, it still leaves me in stitches.
Hats off to the wonderfully funny cast of this series. Especially Stephanie Cole (Diana Trent) and Graham Crowden (Tom Ballard). BBC has finally paid their respects to you all.
For those who don't know it yet, there's a book which accompanies the series written by Paul Ableman. You can't get the book from the BBC though...But you can get it here at amazon.

I DARE ANYONE TO NOT WATCH ONE EPISODE AND BE HOOKED/
I WAS HOME DISABLED FROM SURGERY AND MY MOTHER SAID I HAD TO WATCH THIS, I DID, AND NEARLY LOST MY STITCHES. MOTHER IS GONE NOW AND IM SAD TO WATCH IT WITHOUT HER, BUT I THINK SHE WAS THE ONE KICKING THE IDIOTS AT THE BBC TO FINALLY GET THIS ON DVD.

Yes, there are a great many British comedies available to American viewers. But for sheer quality of writing, acting, AND comedy, this one is the best. No, it's not slapstick, and it's not silly, but if you love wit and just good fun, this is the show for you. These are characters that not only make you laugh (in some cases, so hard your side will ache!) but can make you think as well. Not a show for people who think that "Benny Hill" is the pinnacle of humor, but if you want amazing comedy, great lines, and emotion, buy this DVD. I've got all of the episodes on VHS, but (like many others here) they're just about worn out! So I can't wait to replace them with DVDs. What a great day this is: the wait is finally over.

I have loved this series since first viewing and continue to watch anytime PBS stations are running their "BritCom" blocks on weekends. Diana Trent is my personal hero and I aim to be like her someday---and smack obtuse people with my stick like she does! Everytime she visits her physician and yells "Yo, Quack!" while hitting his desk with her cane, I can't stop laughing. Wouldn't we all love to be so brash and brave?
These are two superb actors who were lucky enough to have decent writers and a fabulous supporting cast.
All-in-all, just absolute perfection.

I found this show by accedent one night when I was a teenager with insomnia on summer vacation. I remain a staunch fan to this day. This show is a social commentary/ drama disguised as a typical "old people comedy" and still it is very moving and very funny. I loved it so much from my first time viewing it that I went so far as to tape every single episode in order on PBS. I loathe the typical tv comedys eg: friends as they are without substance. And that's why I LOVE Waiting For God. It's the only TV comedy besides "All In The Family" that, at least in my humble opinion is on the same level as a great record or work of art. Diana Trent and Tom Ballard are unlikely allies, one is a romantic disguised as a cynic and the other simply lives in his dreams and pretends to be senile so no one will suspect. The show aptly reflects how invisible older persons can feel as well as the fun they can have and trouble they can stir up simply because no one ever suspects you of being capible of raising cain if you're over 60. It is quite simply the best television show I have ever watched. I could go on for pages but I'll spare you the rest and just hope you take the leap into a world I hope you'll love as much as I do. Stephanie Cole as Diana was my hero when I "met" her that night on PBS. I know that sounds odd, but fans of the show will surely understand what I mean...and hopefully you will to!

What an excellent show and what a looooong wait to get it.
I haven't seen all of these shows as I discovered it (as usual) by accident, around the time they changed the schedule on my local PBS station. I do know that the two main characters are absolutely HI-larious, Diana being a royal pain in the arse and such a hoot!
I can't wait to see this series in order (I hope) and just see every episode of a truly delightful series. Wish I could give more information about the show but I believe what is written above this review is sufficient.
If you like/love those BritComs, then you'll surely love this show.

This is a wonderful BBC series that explores eternal existential issues with irreverent wit. The two characters of Tom and Diana play well off of each other, both experiencing the autumn of their lives in different yet parallel ways.

One must wonder why media in the US can't come up with this type of thoughtful humor that also, at the same time, examines questions of age, sickness and death without wallowing in religious piety or sugary stereotypes.