WELL WORTH A VIEW.......
Mark Durand | Chicago | 04/17/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"David Renwick has created a very unique Brit-com. Created during the waning days of the Thather/Reagan era partly as a statement of how the Governments had neglected the needs of many people such as the Elderly, the young, the needy and so on. These issues were made comic fodder for our hero Victor Meldrew, a man who goes to work one day to discover that he's been replaced by a box. At 60 years old Victor feels that he has many good years left and now faces a new life and how to keep busy.
Victor's wife, Margaret tries to help as best she can, but she's not the biggest fan of his passions. (magic, ventriloquism) Victor's biggest passion seems to be correcting the wrongs of the world which he attempts with great enthusiasm. Most often these endeavors end in disaster, but on occasion they are successful such as an encounter with a computer salesman that's comic gold, as well as what happens when he awakes in the hospital, thinks he's dead and sees a man who he thinks to be God.
To some, the dark, sick and twisted scripts may be off putting. On first viewing, one would think that Mr. Renwick hates Victor but the true payoff is that after all the disasters and fights, at the heart, Victor and Margaret truly love each other and Mr. Renwick does a wonderful job of showing us this without beating us over the head with it as would happen on American TV.
Richard Wilson brings great life to Victor. We feel Victor's pain when he goes too far and tries to make amends to a world who, sadly doesn't care. This is a fairly complicated series (on American standards) i is certainly not as wild and broad as a Fawlty Towers or a Thin Blue Line but it's well worth a look"
Hilarious British comedy- don't be a Victor Meldrew, watch i
Shana | NY- the Empire State | 05/11/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I just love this show! I found it by accident when purchasing other British comedies on Amazon. It's a comedy along the lines of Fawlty Towers, The Thin Blue Line and Blackadder. Yet, One Foot in the Grave is distinctly unique. It covers an overlooked segment of the population (the recently retired & aging segment).
If you have never saw One Foot in the Grave, start at season 1 and work your way up. The show and characters are more enjoyable watched in order, as many times they will work off something that occured in a previous show. Season 3 is perhaps the best of the series with the characters having grown and really filling out their roles. Season 4 is just as good tho.
An overview of the story (starting at Season 1), is about a 60 year old man (Mr. Victor Meldrew) whom is forced into retirement and has his whole life turned upside down. As he battles against a world that now longer makes sense, trouble seems to find him at every corner. Richard Wilson plays Victor Meldrew and Annette Crosbie plays as his wife Margaret Meldrew. Both Crosbie and Wilson are hysterical & believable. Victor being on the brink of a breakdown all the time, and his wife the voice of sanity, that brings humor to every situation. Or is Victor the sanest of them all? The older I get the more I identify with grumpy ole' Victor Meldrew.
Great show that gets funnier every season. If you are a fan of British comedy this is a must see!
"
Perfect british sitcom
ajs | southern california | 04/20/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Fourth season of an hilarious british sitcom. No matter how often I watch this series, I never fail to find something new to laugh at. Highly recommend this one."
Fancy Foot Work
C. Babian | Brooklyn, NY United States | 04/21/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Sometimes, I am amazed by the intelligence of things. This show (all four seasons) is about the very funny bumblings of a down on his luck man. It's like seeing someone who is sucking a lemon; the face alone will make you giggle. I really enjoyed it, but it was more than just a laugh, and in the end I loved the characters. Victor Meldrew provided me with a cautionary example of just what good it does to always see the glass as half full, or worse yet -- full, but full of vinegar. Careful, you might just hear Victor saying just what you've always thought - and then later wonder, "how'd I get to be such an old curmudgeon?" It's really very smart and very fun stuff."