# One Foot in the Grave (1990)

> A retired curmudgeon's petty battles with everyday misfortune turn an ordinary English suburban home into a stage for dark, surreal British comedy.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/4327

## Facts

- Seasons: 6
- Episodes: 36
- Episode runtime: 30 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: comedy
- Created by: David Renwick
- Network: BBC One
- Cast: Richard Wilson, Annette Crosbie, Owen Brenman, Roger Hammond, Michael Robbins, Diana Coupland, Richard Lumsden, John Cater
- TMDB rating: 7.9/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098882/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: none
- Tone: curmudgeonly, deadpan, dark, surreal, cozy, irreverent

## What critics say

Viewers broadly regard One Foot in the Grave as a sharply written, near-perfect British sitcom whose curmudgeonly lead and black humour make it a enduring favourite.

## Synopsis

One Foot in the Grave (1990-2000) is a British BBC sitcom created by David Renwick for BBC One. Richard Wilson plays Victor Meldrew, a bitter, complaining man forced into early retirement, whose long-suffering wife Margaret is played by Annette Crosbie and whose neighbour Nick Swainey is played by Owen Brenman. Victor's engine is simple and relentless: he wants a quiet, orderly life and keeps finding petty misfortunes and misunderstandings in his way, from failed attempts to fill his days to run-ins with the people around him. Each episode is a self-contained comedy of errors built around one escalating grievance inside a typical household in an unnamed English suburb. The series runs six seasons across thirty-six episodes, a serialized-feeling but largely episodic sitcom with a recurring cast. Its traditional studio-sitcom look hides a streak of black humour and surrealism, and its tone is grumpy, deadpan, and cozy in a bleak way. Fans of Fawlty Towers, Last of the Summer Wine and Keeping Up Appearances will find the same British talent for turning domestic irritation into sharp, endlessly quotable comedy.

## Shows like One Foot in the Grave

- [Steptoe and Son (1962)](https://ember.film/tv/3171)
- [Keeping Up Appearances (1990)](https://ember.film/tv/27)
- [The Fast Show (1994)](https://ember.film/tv/2410)
- [George and Mildred (1976)](https://ember.film/tv/2296)
- [The Vicar of Dibley (1994)](https://ember.film/tv/2630)
- [Rising Damp (1974)](https://ember.film/tv/2417)
- [Saxondale (2006)](https://ember.film/tv/2383)
- [The Young Ones (1982)](https://ember.film/tv/4264)
- [The Brittas Empire (1991)](https://ember.film/tv/227)
- [The Royle Family (1998)](https://ember.film/tv/4171)

---

Site overview: https://ember.film/llms.txt