One foot In the Grave - The Christmas Specials (DVD)

One Foot in the Grave is a well-known and well-loved British sitcom written by David Renwick that ran for six series’ between the years of 1990 and 2000. In 2004 it was voted as the 10th best British sitcom in a BBC pole, a position I think it well deserves. The series as a whole follows lead character Victor Meldrew as he struggles to find things to fill up his days after he is forced to take early retirement when he is ‘replaced by a box’. Victor ...
...often than not conveyed is one that all be it slightly exaggerated is a situation that a lot of people find themselves in and in that way everything about the storyline and the characters is brought to life.

== The DVD ==
The Christmas Specials DVD contains both Christmas Specials that aired in the 5-year gap between series 5 & 6. The specials where originally transmitted in December 1996 and December 1997 respectively. I was ... more

One Foot in the Grave is a well-known and well-loved British sitcom written by David Renwick that ran for six series’ between the years of 1990 and 2000. In 2004 it was voted as the 10th best British sitcom in a BBC pole, a position I think it well deserves. The series as a whole follows lead character Victor Meldrew as he struggles to find things to fill up his days after he is forced to take early retirement when he is ‘replaced by a box’. Victor is a moaner plain and simple. He loves to complain about everything and anything from salesmen, to local yobs and will do quite frequently.

Despite it’s rather elementary premise the series did cause a bit of controversy due to its subversion and its strong black comedy elements. Farce and tragedy are expertly blended however in my opinion and in this way portray a situation that seems more realistic than I think it would otherwise be. More importantly the situation that is more often than not conveyed is one that all be it slightly exaggerated is a situation that a lot of people find themselves in and in that way everything about the storyline and the characters is brought to life.

The DVD

The Christmas Specials DVD contains both Christmas Specials that aired in the 5-year gap between series 5 & 6. The specials where originally transmitted in December 1996 and December 1997 respectively. I was 6 and 7 when the episodes aired and therefore did not watch them on first transmission. I have since however caught snippets of them when they have been replayed. Barring English subtitles the DVD comes with no added features, which is a bit of a disappointment due to the popularity of the show.

The Specials

=======
1996 - Starbound
=============
Starbound sees Victor seemingly happy. Why that is however is anyone’s guess because his spare room is full of second-hand artificial limes and a strange man is seemingly living in his garden shed. To top things off a hernia operation is threatening his man-hood. His joy therefore must have something to do with he new part-time gardening job either that or the answer to his happiness must lie in the stars.

Opinion – This episode really is a fantastic one and puts the Meldrew’s back on top form. The one-liners come thick and past and provide us with some of the best jokes of the series. Similarly the episode features some of the most memorable scenes of the series including the Meldrew ‘Surgical Support Recycling Centre’.

======
1997 - Endgame
============
The 1997 special sees everything going well for the Meldrews. Their luck however is about to change rapidly as disaster is never far away from Victor. Pretty quickly Victor has been selected for an indecent exposure parade and due to his caravan purchase become involved with the ghost of a Satan worshipper. To top things of his embarking on a holiday is destined to test his 37-year marriage and ending up in bed with his new neighbours certainly doesn’t rectify the situation.

Opinion – I really enjoyed this episode because like the previous one I think it delivers on so many fronts. The humour is up there at the top and the majority of the scenes within the special are iconic in their own way. The one-liners are magnificent and are all delivered in a way that makes them so memorable.

The Theme Tune

The theme tune in my opinion is as much a part of the show as a whole as the episode scripting, and the actors. The tune, which is played over both the opening and closing credits, is brilliant. It simply sums up what the entire show is about in a light-hearted and humorous manner but also makes a couple of points in a dry sort of way, rather like Victor himself.
“So I'm a wrinkly, crinkly, set in my ways.
It's true that my body has seen better days.
But give me half a chance and I can still misbehave.”

The Characters and the Actors

The characters in the specials, as they were in the series as a whole, are iconic in their own ways and are in my opinion all fantastically constructed. Victor Meldrew (Richard Wilson) is a deadpan funny as ever and reaching new heights of frustration. His rants, and therefore facial expressions, in these specials are some of the best I’ve seen. His off the cuff one-liners are also top class.

Margaret Meldrew (Annette Crosbie) is similarly brilliant in all aspects. Her agitation with Victor is eternally funny but at the same time her patience worthy of Sainthood. The two specials in my opinion allow Margaret to deliver some of the best one-liners of the series in general and in this way bring more equality to the Meldrew partnership.

The rest of the characters including Pippa, Patrick and the Meldrew’s new neighbours as well as Mr Swainey and Mrs Warboys are also utilised well within the scripts and the actors all portray their characters with a sense of vigour that really does them credit. Mrs Warboys has from day one been one of my favourite characters and these specials see her on top form and really pulling some classic one-liners out of the bag and into the firing line of Victor.

General DVD Opinion

In my opinion this DVD holds the last of the worthwhile One Foot in the Grave episodes. Both of the specials are iconic in their right and really add something to all the characters involved. All the humour seems to blend seamlessly together and the move between slapstick and more sophisticated word humour is rarely noticed. Everything about the episodes in question just seems to work and to be honest I think that this is because the background characters in both specials are used to achieve maximum effect. They aren’t simply forgotten about or used sporadically for worthless jokes but carefully positioned and therefore integral to the storylines.

I am of the opinion that the last One Foot in the Grave series was worthless and that it added nothing to the characters we had come to love. These two specials however were produced closer to the fifth series than the final sixth and therefore contain more of the loveable elements of earlier series than the dryer and often strange ones of the final series. This DVD is therefore one that I would highly recommend to all One Foot in the Grave fans.  

...less