One Foot in the Grave - Season 1
Think ofOne Foot in the Graveas a British version ofCurb Your Enthusiasm: Cranky, misanthropic Victor Mildrew (the wonderfully bilious Richard Wilson) perceives himself as the only sane man in a world out to drive him mad--a world in which yoga instructors abruptly keel over, a dead cat appears in his freezer, a man in a bee costume uses his loo, and an escaped snake crawls into his luggage. Of course, Victor can dish it out too; he gives a political candidate a severe tongue-lashing and has a vacuum cleaner duel with an old man who's even more cantankerous than Victor. Only his long-suffering wife Margaret (sweet-tempered Annette Crosbie,Calendar Girls,An Unsuitable Job for a Woman) provides Victor with any serenity--even as he destroys hers! Wilson had a long career beforeOne Foot in the Grave(including the seriesTutti Frutti, costarring with Emma Thompson and Robbie Coltrane), but this show became a phenomenon, giving a voice of outrage to the disenfranchised (young and old alike) in Margaret Thatcher's political era. But politics were always secondary to humor, and anyone with a taste for scathing invective and madcap plots will bask in Wilson's indignity. Written by David Remnick, creator ofJonathan Creek.--Bret Fetzer