One Foot In The Grave lyrics One Foot In The Grave Richard Wilson as the grouchy Victor Meldrew in BBC TV's hit sitcom "One Foot In The Grave" This version is the actual theme tune to the programme of the same name. It is sung by Eric Idle They say I might as well face the truth, That I am just too long in the tooth, Oh I�m an OAP and with needs, But I have not yet quite gone to seed. I may be over the hill now that I have retired, Fading away but I�m not yet expired, Clapped out, run down, too old to save, One foot in the grave Music and lyrics by: Eric Idle One Foot in the Grave Lyrics Eric Idle Eric Idle (born 29 March 1943) is an English comedian, actor, author, singer, writer and comedic composer. Idle was a member of the British surreal comedy group Monty Python, a member of the Rutles on Saturday Night Live, and the author of the Broadway musical Spamalot. more » They say I might as well face the truth . That I'm just too long in the tooth . Oh I'm an O.A.P.

and weak- kneed But I have not yet quite gone to seed. I may be over the hill now that I have retired . Fading away but I'm not yet expired . Clapped out, rundown , too old to save One foot in the grave . They say I might as well face the truth . That I'm just too long in the tooth . I've started to deteriorate And now I've passed my own sell-by date. Oh I am no spring chicken it's true. I have to pop my teeth in to chew. And my old knees have started to knock . I've just got too many miles on the clock . So I'm a wrinkly , crinkly , set in my ways. It's true my body as seen better days. But give me half a chance and I can still misbehave . One foot in the grave . One foot in the grave . One foot in the grave .

One Foot in the Grave - Show News, Reviews, Recaps and Photos - TV.com One Foot in the Grave Follow EDIT Victor Meldrew, a man who, put simply, is annoyed by every one of life's 'challenges' and when forced to take early retirement, he suddenly has plenty of time on his hands to rage against the petty annoyances of life and the people in it. Victor (Richard Wilson) has more than his fair share of complete and total idiots causing mayhem in his life and they always seem to culminate together to form one huge, disastrous conclusion that inevitably leaves Victor uttering his most famous catchphrase; "I don't believe it!" His long-suffering wife, Margaret (Annette Crosby), tries her best to cope with Victor’s rantings but, at the end of the day, she knows that deep down he has a heart of gold and wouldn’t want to have him any other way.

Other regular characters are neighbours, Patrick Trench (Angus Deayton) and his wife Pippa (Janine Duvitski), who always seem to be on the wrong end of a misunderstanding with Victor, 'Family' friend Mrs Warboys (Doreen Mantle), who usually adds to Victor's despair, and Nick Swainey (Owen Brenman), a kind hearted eccentric fellow next door whose bizarre antics are the only thing that makes Victor speechless. • One Foot in the Grave was written and created by David Renwick and was produced and broadcast by the BBC. • The shows theme song was written, composed and sung by ex-python Eric Idle. • The show came 10th in the 'Britain's Best Sitcom' pole in 2004. moreless "One Foot in the Grave" Reviews & Ratings - IMDb IMDb trailers and videos full cast and crew trivia official sites memorable quotes Overview 32 out of 34 people found the following review useful: One of the finest drama/comedies ever made.

from UK 8 April 2001 Victor Meldrew, retired security guard and human sponge 'soaking up every misery in the world' will surely be remembered in many years to come as one of comedy's greatest creations. Not to say that 'One Foot in the Grave' is strictly 2-D comedy. As with all the best of these kinds of things, it is more of a drama series which just happens to be funny. There is a good cast of genuine characters, all played with believability. Among them are Victor's long-suffering wife Margaret, her friend Mrs Warboys (who always seems to end up on the wrong end of disaster), next-door neighbours Patrick and Pippa (the former a Victor-in-the-making), and the enigmatic Mr Swainey who lives with his mysterious never-seen mother. And the programme certainly manages non-stop hilarity and plenty of genuine belly laughs throughout its six series and various extra-long specials. Well-written,inventive and clever plots involve everything from the everyday to the bizarre.

Especially notable are hundreds of garden gnomes turning up on Victor's doorstep, Victor and Mrs Warboys both getting a foot stuck in a bag of plaster and having to heave it along with them as they attempt to find their way out of 'the set from Apocolypse Now', a caravan which contains the ghost of a devil worshipper, a chimpanzee which has a 'thing' for Victor, a scorpion talisman which brings down a plague of bad luck on its owner, and a guest house which is 'more like a wildlife kingdom'. Also memorable are the episodes involving one long scene - Victor stuck in a traffic jam, waiting for a telephone call and sitting in a waiting area. The fact that a half-hour episode in which nothing actually happens can be hilarious, entertaining and meaningful demonstrates the skill and depth of writing and the high quality of acting present throughout the series. Victor himself, despite initially coming across as a grumpy old man, is actually one of the most sympathetic characters ever created. Everybody can relate to the problems he faces on a daily basis, and everyone can cheer him on as he says and does the kinds of things we've all longed to do in certain trying situations.

If you're a fan of any kind of comedy then this is unmissable. Was the above review useful to you? 24 out of 27 people found the following review useful: Best British comedy so far! from United States 22 April 2005 This is just an incredible series. It deals with just about EVERYTHING! Not for the easily offended, though it doesn't go out of its way to offend. It's irreverent and pulls no punches. The series shows what it wants to how it wants to and makes no apologies. Sometimes it can be darkly humorous, but in these cases it usually has a valid point to make and does so quite well. The best way to describe this series is as follows: Imagine if absolutely everyone and everything on the face of the planet were really as miserable, stupid, loud, obnoxious, belligerent, deceitful, crazy, lazy, greedy, unfair, ironic, annoying, etc., as one sometimes feels them to be. Put a bitter (but not unlikeable) retiree in the middle of this world as the protagonist. Now watch how he interacts with and reacts to the people, places and things in this world.

Sometimes he's in the right, sometimes he's in the wrong. Sometimes he gets what he deserves, sometimes he gets what he doesn't deserve. Sometimes he gives others what they deserve, sometimes he gives them what they don't deserve. No matter where a particular episode goes, you will most likely bellow with laughter at some point, usually at many points. There are a few episodes that were created not so much for a laugh as they were for irony; some of that irony being quite bitter or just plain sad. In episodes such as these, one will at least feel something, even if it is not what was expected. As of this writing, the first season is available in the UK on DVD and the second season will be released there soon. With absolutely every other Britcom available in the United States, it's unfortunate that this series isn't popular enough to be released here. I suppose the fact that public television didn't play it ad nauseum like "Are You Being Served," "Keeping Up Appearances," or "Red Dwarf" (not that they're bad shows) is why. Remember, it's not how good something is that makes it popular and available, it's how visible it is.

Actually, it's kind of fitting that "One Foot in the Grave" isn't receiving the recognition it deserves and is fading into obscurity while being surrounded by so many more popular yet inferior programs. It's exactly the sort of point that one of its own episodes might have made! Was the above review useful to you? 14 out of 14 people found the following review useful: Applauds to David Renwick for this classic sitcom. from Notts, UK 22 March 2005 Forced to retire early from his job as a security guard, Victor Meldrew (Richard Wilson) struggles to cope with the problems that retired life throws his way alongside his long suffering wife, Margaret (played by Annette Crosbie). It is no wonder he is grumpy, if it can go wrong it will. Annette Crosbie gives a brilliant performance and it is a delight to watch her express the wonderful array of emotions that being married to Victor requires. Richard Wilson endeared himself to a nation with this role that catapulted him into the minds of every viewer. One Foot in the Grave is a national treasure that is amongst the very best of British Comedy. Was the above review useful to you?

13 out of 13 people found the following review useful: One of the funnest comedies ever from Derby, England 28 June 2005 One Foot In the Grave has to be one of the funnest comedies to exist. It is up there with Dad's Army, Faulty Towers and Only Fools And Horses. This is about Victor Meldrew and his long suffering wife Margaret and all the adventures they confront. Over the years, their home has had a lamppost in their bedroom, a Citreon 2CV in a rubbish skip on their front, an inn sign also on the front and a gravestone made for Victor's funeral when he dies. Plus Victor bedding an old lady, who was dropped off at their address by mistake from hospital. He thought it was Margaret! One of the best episodes was the one featuring Victor and Margaret in bed having a sleepless night. Victor is of course noted for his well known catchphrase "I Don't Believe It". Victor was played by Richard Wilson, Annette Crosbie was Margaret and former Have I got News For You host Angus Deayton and Janine Duvitski as the suffering neighbours Patrick and Pippa.

The other regular cast were Doreen Mantle as Margaret's friend Jean Warboys and Owen Brenman as the other neighbour Nick Swainey. The BBC still regularly show repeats of One Foot In the Grave and I still sometimes watch them. Very funny. Was the above review useful to you? 11 out of 11 people found the following review useful: Friggen bloody fantastic from Australia 5 December 2005 One of the greatest British sitcoms ever. One Foot in the Grave was thoroughly entertaining for its decade run from 1990-2000. Who could ever forget Victor Meldrew and his constant whinging and run of bad luck. I loved this show and wished it was still going. Richard Wilson is a fantastic actor and the shows guests like Mrs Warboys were hilarious also. Watch the telemovie they made in 1993 its a laugh a second. Congratulations to everyone involved in this one. Pure gold in every sense of the word, many sitcoms today you laugh at how unfunny it is, not One Foot in the Grave, a jewel in BBC's television schedule. Gone but in my mind never ever forgotten. Was the above review useful to you?

7 out of 7 people found the following review useful: One of the funniest British comedies of all time from Brisbane, Australia 21 May 2001 I happened across this show quite by accident whilst channel surfing on Christmas Eve a couple of years back. I came across this show featuring a couple in their sixties: him a catankerous old codger who seemed to be a magnet for misfortune and trouble; her, his wife who suffered his constant moanings and groanings. Through the plot, which involved all manner of mayhem, I simply could not stop laughing. Unfortunately, it was only a one-off to fill time on the night: I did not hear of more episodes of this show until six months or more later. However, it again disappeared after only a handful of episodes, until six weeks ago it returned to my television screen. However, tonight I have just watched the final episode (ever), which leads me to believe its seasons were very short indeed. Anyone who has not seen this show will do well to find videos of it. And those who have not seen the finale for the show, watch it.

From the first time you hear Victor Meldrew's famous signature quote, "I do not BELIEVE this!", you'll be hooked. 10/10 Was the above review useful to you? 8 out of 9 people found the following review useful: Risk of both feet in the grave from laughing from Ile-de-France / Paris Region, France 29 August 2004 Although not as funny as Fawlty Towers, this is one of the best comedy series to come out of the UK in recent years. I can understand it not appealing at all to non-British people but to a normal Brit, this series embodies everything that is typical of British humour of the latter half of the twentieth century. The crisis of trying to adjust to retirement is a universal one and Victor Meldrew reactions to present day society are in fact those of all or most of us, even if he has the courage to express them vocally and us, not. Certainly the catch phrase from the series "I don't believe it" is common in people's mouths today.

Just think when you have to call a company and you are no longer put thru to a switchboard but to some kind of robot and to access the department you want you have to press button one, then two etc etc. If you make one cock-up, the whole thing goes wrong. This is the kind of stupidity Meldrew is having to battle with. SOme of the episodes are so funny ( when Meldrew finds a strange old lady in his bed !! ) that you seriously risk of ending up in the grave yourself from too much laughter. Others can be tedious and you feel that the scriptwriters were more inspired some days than others. That said, from the fairly large number of episodes I've seen, I would say that about at least 65 to 70 percent of the episodes are side-splitting. When I watch this programme, I feel I am watching something peculiarly common to BRitish Humour. I could not imagine Amercians laughing at this, not to speak of French, Germans or Spanish ! Some of the humour is indeed fairly "morbid" and "sick" and would have limited appeal outside the UK. THat doesn't matter at all, but I'm just stating it as a fact.

The last episode to end them all has to be seen but is bitter and sad and not funny at all - very strange compared with the others. Obviously, the BBC had decided to number Meldrew's days for once and for all but weren't too sure how to go about it. When I saw the final result, I "just didn't believe it" !!!!!!!!!!!! Was the above review useful to you? 8 out of 9 people found the following review useful: amazingly funny Author: tyrioc 26 January 2004 every time they re-run episodes of this i go out of my way to watch it. It is the single most funny British comedy/sitcom thing i think i have ever seen. Its so sarcastic its almost unbelieveable and the situations whilst odd are certainly interesting and give the character of viktor mildew full oppurtunity to make something go wrong. I love this show and i cant wait to sit down to some more reruns! Was the above review useful to you?

8 out of 9 people found the following review useful: "I Don't Believe It!" from North America 29 August 2001 With "One Foot in the Grave", David Renwick created a British icon, an ubiquitous catchphrase, as well as possibly the greatest situation comedy of its time. All from unlikely beginnings... Victor Meldrew, played by Richard Wilson (Renwick had him in mind when creating the character, and he was reluctant to play the part at first), can best be described as a grumpy old age pensioner, suddenly made redundant by an electronic piece of equipment, whose everyday actions reap disastrous, albeit hilarious, consequences. Of course the other characters add a lot of flavour to the series. The other main characters in "One Foot in the Grave" are Victor's wife, Margaret, played by Annette Crosby, who cannot be underrated in her role, as well as the ones with less screen presence who pop up from time to time: their neighbours and counterparts, Patrick & Pippa, played by Angus Deayton and Jane Duvitski, respectively; Margaret's friend, Mrs.

Warboys; and the altruistic and left-side neigbour, Nick Swainey, all of whom are integral parts of the series; their idiosyncrasies clashing with Meldrew's. Although at first glance the characters in this series can seem rather one-dimensional, they really have a lot of depth to them. It is the only series which ran for so long I can think of whose episodes remain consistently funny, ranging from the various degrees of mildly amusing to absolutely, side-splittingly funny. It may be argued that a lot of the humour derived from this series comes from the way Victor reacts to other people. He doesn't suffer fools gladly! I believe that this series will stand the test of time, despite all the uniquely British references (especially the all-too-common time-sensitive ones, such as the names of contemporary celebrities). Even the theme song (sung & written by Eric Idle of Monty Python fame) is great.

The series was broadcast over a 10-year period, from 1990-2000, spanning 6 seasons (36 episodes) plus seven Christmas specials of lengths ranging from 40 minutes to the one feature-length film, "One Foot in the Algarve" (1993). It's a shame the series had to end with both feet in the grave as a result of Victor's demise from a hit-and-run incident, but it certainly didn't overstay its welcome on the BBC. Was the above review useful to you? 6 out of 6 people found the following review useful: easy to identify with from United Kingdom 26 May 2003 if anybody has been set upon by a company, felt hard done by in life, thought as if people aren't as moral as they should be, this is the programme that they should watch. Some people may feel that it is predictable but it does so with intelligence and humour that is such that the viewer doesn't care if they have guessed the ending or not, the programme relies on receiving the empathy of the viewer which I believe, for the most part, this programme achieves extremely well. Very well written, very well acted, and extremely missed.

Was the above review useful to you? Page 1 of 3: One Foot In The Grave lyrics One Foot In The Grave This particular version is not the one used on the programme of the same name. For the theme tune of "One Foot In The Grave", click here.... This particular version hails from "Eric Idle Sings Monty Python" They say I might as well face the truth, That I am just too long in the tooth, I�ve started to deteriorate, And now I�m past my own sell-by date. Oh I am no spring chicken it�s true, I have to pop my teeth in to chew, And my knees are starting to know, I�ve just got too many miles on the clock. 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 One foot in the grave.

One foot in the grave They tell me I am well past my prime, The landlord in the sky�s calling time, But there�s one thing that he ought to know I am not yet ready to go I know I�m old but I�m not a freak, I should be cherished like an antique, But every time I have a slight cough, I�m worried they�ll start switching me off. So I�m a wrinkly, crinkly but don�t send a cheer, I�m not exactly a little old dear, But one things for sure I�m still bloody well here. One foot in the grave One foot in the grave. One foot in the grave. Music and lyrics by: Eric Idle One Foot in the Grave | All The Tropes Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia All The Tropes Wiki One Foot in the Grave 146,637pages on Share Ad blocker interference detected! Wikia is a free-to-use site that makes money from advertising. We have a modified experience for viewers using ad blockers Wikia is not accessible if you’ve made further modifications. Remove the custom ad blocker rule(s) and the page will load as expected.

—Victor Meldrew, Catch Phrase One Foot in the Grave was a British TV comedy show that followed the misadventures of cranky Reluctant Retiree Victor Meldrew . The story begins with Victor being forced into early retirement, because his job, where he greets people and signs them in at an office building, is replaced by a small electronic box. Suddenly and unexpectedly finding himself "retired", he looks for other means to keep himself occupied. More often than not this means he lands himself in unbelievable and frustrating circumstances . It seems no facet of his life can leave him without complaints. Despite the situation, it subverts the Dom Com genre. It is a significant Black Comedy , and there are dark moments where it's not meant to be funny, sometimes Tear Jerker material. Written by David Renwick, whose other major work is Jonathan Creek : despite the difference in subject matter, one immediately notices the parallels of being both being very dark and having intricately clever plots. Victor Meldrew, the star. Came tenth in Britains Best Sitcom .

Example tropes from this programme: Artifact of Death -- The scorpion encased in resin that Victor and Margaret are given ( and that they can't get rid of ) is said to bring bad luck to whomever holds it. Eventually subverted when the old lady who they give it to uses it to smash a knife-wielding mugger in the head. Ascended Extra -- Mr. Swainey started off as a relatively minor character in the pilot episode. After the Meldrews were forced to move house at the start of series 2, he became their neighbour, and a recurring character. Margaret: "He's the most sensitive person I've ever met... and that's why I love him , and why I constantly want to ram his head through a television screen . Audio Adaptation -- Adapted for radio, but that had only four episodes. Black Comedy -- Uncommonly dark, tackling such subjects as death, kidnapping, illness, child abduction, violence, abusive parents and the pain of growing old... and yet still managing to wring humour out of them. Bottle Episode -- One of these per series became traditional.

"Timeless Time" (series 2), set entirely in Victor and Margaret's bedroom during a sleepless night "The Beast in the Cage" (series 3), set entirely in a car in a traffic jam "The Trial" (series 4), set entirely in Victor and Margaret's home while Victor waits for a jury duty call "Rearranging the Dust" (series 5), set entirely in a solicitor's waiting room "Threatening Weather" (series 6), set entirely in Victor and Margaret's home during bad weather Brick Joke -- At the start of series 3, Victor and Margaret's television and VCR get stolen. Later, in the second-last episode of that series, the burglars actually call Victor and ask if he can help them get the VCR's timer function working properly. Britain Is Only London -- Averted. The series never says explicitly where the Meldrews live, but it's implied that they live in a town on the outskirts of the Greater London area. In any case, the series also acknowledges the existence of other places in the UK, including the Midlands town of Kettering, which is where Margaret's mother lives.

Catch Phrase -- "I don't believe it!" said by Victor, with extra emphasis on the last syllable of "believe" Richard Wilson, the actor who played Victor, has long been hounded to repeat this phrase . When he made a guest appearance on Father Ted , he only agreed to say the line on the condition that he got to beat the title character up (which he did, twice) after Ted shouted it at him. Supposedly he now repeats the line only at charity events. Also, to a lesser extent, "What in the name of bloody hell?" And "Oh, God!" with God drawled out, and pronounced more like gawwwd. "What in the name of insanity" is another one that seems to crop up often too, espectially when something particularly mental happens, such as someone taking his word too literally and planting a small palm tree bonsai in his downstairs toilet. Chekhov's Gun -- Early on in one episode, a struggling boxer is being talked down to by his father/manager for being too compassionate and easy-going. He then says that he is going to try and get him to lose his temper with just one person to bring out his "hidden aggression".

Of course, anyone familiar with the show already knows exactly how this is going to end. Actually, this series is a succession of Checkhov's Gunmen passing through Chekhov's Armoury . Quite often, even the most inconsequential details or objects, or scenes that just seem like throwaway gags, will return with a vengeance later in the episode. Victor catches fleas from the neighbour's cat? It's used at the end. Victor complains about the junk in his garden? Used at the end. Victor talks about someone losing their wig? Used at the end. HARD. Chew Toy -- Victor's world seems to have it in for him. Virtually all of his bizarre experiences are the result of not-so-hilarious misunderstandings. E.g. the time he went for a foot massage and the masseur turned out to have been using her breasts, which had him branded as a master of vice by the news, who turned up at his house to film him from his first-floor window, with the TV presenter giving commentary in a cherry picker. Can you believe that ?

Christmas Episode -- Several, and sometimes they were the only episode of the year: 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995-1997. Clean Pretty Reliable -- Cruelly subverted. When Mrs. Warboys attempts CPR on a collapsed magician, she ends up crushing a pigeon he had hidden in his jacket. And the escapologist who'd actually had the heart attack was locked in his cabinet. Cloudcuckoolander -- Mrs. Warboys, whose grasp of reality is tenuous at best. Margaret sometimes lapses into this despite usually being the Straight Man (er, woman). Every now and then she will make some wild claim that makes very little sense, sometimes seeming a bit out of character. For example, when talking about friends who have died to her husband Victor, she mentions someone who apparently died of a terminal disease: Victor: What, measles? [1] Margaret: Well she died, didn't she? Victor: ... She fell off a cliff! Margaret: Only because she went to the seaside to convalesce!

Contrast Montage -- Victor, working as a footman, finally snaps after being berated by a hotel guest for not helping him and his wife out of their taxi in a sufficiently obsequious manner... only when he sees a disabled person across the road struggling to get out of their car on their own . Cordon Bleugh Chef -- Subverted by Victor who, unlike most men in sitcoms, actually appears to be pretty good at cooking most of the time. His propensity for spicy food can sometimes catch people off-guard, though, and seafood most definitely isn't his forté. Crapsack World -- Even if you ignore Victor's continual mishaps, his universe seems unnaturally full of shysters, thieves, muggers and burglars, and everyone who surrounds the Meldrews seems to either loathe them or be incredibly irritating. The series' overaching message, if it has one, seems to be "Life is cruel, utterly meaningless and basically horrible". Creator Cameo -- David Renwick appears in the opening episode of the the final season. Eric Idle, who wrote and performed the theme tune, appears in a Christmas Episode as the titular Government environmental inspector.

Crying Wolf -- Averted in one episode, when one of the handyman twins repeatedly plays pranks on Margaret by pretending to be injured. Later on, she finds him lying motionless on the floor and ignores him entirely, believing it to be yet another joke. She remains indifferent for quite a while, and the viewer naturally begins to suspect that it's genuine this time, but she eventually caves in and calls an ambulance, whereupon he rises to his feet and laughs triumphantly. Dead All Along -- Subverted in one episode, which begins with Margaret in a graveyard writing a letter to a relative, which alludes to 'horrible events'. It is heavily implied that Victor is dead, with the events of the letter being shown in a flashback. It even shows the name "Meldrew" on the gravestone that she is visiting. When she returns home, she picks up Victor's hat and a voice-over of Victor is heard saying his catchphrase. We assume that this is in Margaret's head...until she opens the door to the living room, whereupon it turns out that Victor was Alive All Along.

Turns out that the grave she was visiting belonged to Victor's father, and the 'events' simply referred to the typical mishaps that they have to deal with in every episode. Played straight in the 2001 Comic Relief episode. Dead Pet Sketch -- Victor and Margaret end up taking care of a pet tortoise named Kylie. Naturally, it does not survive the experience. Also twists the "replacement pet" aspect; Margaret secretly decides to go out and buy a similar-looking tortoise so as not to upset the little girl who owns it. However, prior to her arrival, Victor calls the family to inform them that Kylie has expired. Since Margaret delivered the new tortoise in a closed box and never mentioned her scheme to anyone, they end up burying the live tortoise in a scene that perfectly straddles the line between Black Comedy and Tear Jerker . When one of Victor's magician friends suffers a heart attack, Margaret and Mrs. Warboys try to bring him around (unaware that they're trying to revive the wrong man) and Mrs. Warboys feels a fluttering sensation in his chest. She tries to massage his heart...

and then opens his shirt to reveal one of the magician's doves, who has been crushed to death by her attempt at CPR. Deadpan Snarker -- Patrick quickly turns into one of these once the feud between him and Victor starts. Given that his twin brother, who never meets Victor, is shown to be exactly the same during in his sole appearance in the show, odds are this is something that runs in the Trench family, although Victor certainly brings out the worst in Patrick. Disproportionate Retribution -- Victor usually goes a step or two beyond what most people would do when someone wrongs him. However, this absolutely pales in comparison to what other people do to Victor. One instance had him insulting the children of a sign-maker after they damaged one of his windows by playing cricket on his front lawn. Their father's response? Paint the image of Victor's face into a pub sign with "The Pain in the Arse" written where the pub's name would normally go, then erect the sign on a flagpole outside the Meldrews' house in the early hours of the morning. Downer Ending -- Pretty much every recurring character in the series ends up in a worse situation than at the start of the show.

The end of the final episode; Margaret has lost her husband, apparently lost contact with every single one of her friends from earlier in the series (where is the inseparable Mrs Warboys?) and the one friend she does have turns out to be Victor's murderer. Depending on your opinion when it comes to revenge, the fact that it's implied Margaret may have murdered the woman in cold blood can also be a pretty accurate example of this trope. Escalating War -- Between Victor and Patrick. Expository Theme Tune -- The opening and closing themes sung by Eric Idle describe Victor quite well. ("It's true that my body has seen better days / But give me half a chance and I can still misbehave") Flatline -- Subverted. Margaret is hooked up to life support as Victor stays with her, holding her hand. The heart monitor does the standard "beep.. beep.. beep.. beep.. beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep", and prompts a Really Dead Montage from Victor, and then a nurse wanders by, complains that the heart monitor had been faulty all week, bashes it , and apologises, as it starts beeping regularly again.

Note that at one stage, the episode in question was meant to be the series finale, and Margaret would have been Killed Off for Real , subverting the audience's expectation that Victor's misadventures would eventually take a fatal toll on his health. David Renwick thought this ending would be too unjust, though, and the BBC also changed their mind about ending the series at that point. However, Renwick decided to keep her "death" scene to fake out the audience. The Ghost -- Mr. Swainey's mother. His first episode as a regular member of the cast implies that she doesn't actually exist and that Swainey is a Norman Bates type, but this is disproved near the end of the same episode, when Margaret is called around to his house to help put her to bed. Victor never actually sees her for himself however, and he has doubts about her existence for the rest of the series. Grumpy Old Man -- Victor, naturally. Of course, given how much crap he gets put through, and given that many of the youths in the programme actually are obnoxious brats or outright criminals, his complaining is not unjustified. Headphones Equal Isolation -- Victor is listening to a comedy tape as Mrs.

Warboys is tearfully explaining that she thinks her husband is having an affair and that she's contemplating suicide. Victor, naturally, continually bursts out laughing. Hey, It's That Guy! -- Angus Deayton as Patrick. Paul Merton has a cameo as a barman in the final ever episode. He's also the dentist leaving a bizarre message on the answering machine in the comic relief special with Victor in the bath. Guest stars in episodes include Peter Cook, Joan Sims, Barbara Windsor, Anthony Sher, Roy Hudd, Craig Ferguson (long before The Late Late Show), Ray Winstone (when he wasn't quite as well known), pre-The Office Dawn , Mike , Blakey , Phil Daniels and John Bird (of Bremner, Bird and Fortune) Hey, It's That Voice! -- Eric Idle sings the theme tune (he also composed it). He also is one of the singers who leaves the mocking song in the tape in the car tape deck (and most likely composed that one too). I Like My X Like I Like My Y -- "I like my toast like I like my women.

Golden brown, and covered in marmalade." Intoxication Ensues -- After Victor takes up a job as a gardener for Patrick's boss, Margaret notices him becoming increasingly chirpier. It turns out he's been inadvertently inhaling large amounts of cocaine after a drug dealer hid his stash in the fertiliser, and to top it all off it kills all the plants too . Karma Houdini -- Patrick appears to achieve this status in one episode, where his pet dachshund swallows Victor's spare door key, and Patrick responds by getting Victor to sift through dog poop to find it. It turns out that the dog never actually swallowed the key in the first place, which Patrick full well knew. Patrick seems to get away with this, since Margaret still believes the situation is Victor's own fault... until Pippa unknowingly gives Victor a copy of Patrick's diary, in which he gloats about what he's been doing. Several one-time characters or offscreen antagonists of Victor often get away with victimizing him or getting the last laugh, even if they were just as provocative as him. This can become even harsher in effect keeping in mind regardless of his eccentricities, they are still abusing an elderly citizen.

Locked in a Freezer -- Stuck in gridlocked traffic. Meaningful Echo : The inept message on Margaret's mother's answering machine takes on a whole new meaning after she dies. Mistaken for Cheating -- Happens when Victor starts doing odd jobs for a female artist. Rapidly exacerbated when Margaret finds an empty condom box in Victor's jacket, and by Victor's ambiguous statements about "putting his back out after being in that position for two hours." He was posing for a painting. The condom box was just litter that he picked up after someone tossed it in his garden. Mrs. Warboys also does this with her husband, even going so far as to hire a private detective to tail him. He wasn't cheating at the time, but in a hilariously cruel twist, he ends up having an affair with the detective. Victor also thinks that Pippa is cheating on Patrick, after he catches her in the house of a rich, handsome man. It subsequently turns out that he's actually her brother, and Patrick is there as well. Victor and Margaret manage the rare feat of mistaking themselves for cheats in one episode where they're on holiday at a seaside guest house.

They subsequently end up getting revenge on their supposed partners for "taking advantage" of them -- in reality they hadn't done this at all, but they were so generally obnoxious that it was hard to blame the Meldrews for taking the chance. Mistaken for Gay : Victor mistakes Patrick for his gay brother (despite the fact they look nothing alike) due to Patrick carrying a pink umbrella and walking delicately down the road . Naturally, Victor then gives Patrick a video full of hardcore gay pornography. Mood Whiplash -- This show can go from hilarious to melancholy and back again in the blink of an eye, often within the same episode, frequently within the space of a minute. One of the most prominent examples comes when Margaret returns home to find Victor buried up to his neck in the back garden, and has to cover his head with a flower pot to spare him from embarrassment when the neighbours visit. Afterwards, in the very same scene, she receives news that her mother has passed away.

In another scene Mr Swainey, who has dedicated much of his life to looking after old people and was permanently blithely enthusiastic about it, reflects darkly to Margaret about how he's basically not had a life of his own and never will because of it. Then in the background, Victor's head is smashed through an upstairs window and dangled out of it by a man beating him up for pouring maggots over his lunch previously . No Indoor Voice -- Victor and Margaret's quiet dinner is repeatedly interrupted by a doctor at another table loudly discussing his experiences in the world of medical science. Victor eventually snaps and tells him to shut up, which leads to a literal Noodle Incident wherein he gets beaten up and has a helping of chow mein poured into his trousers. Non-Identical Twins -- Patrick and his twin brother may behave exactly like one another, but they certainly don't look exactly like one another. Of course, that doesn't stop the comedic mix-ups from happening anyway. But mostly because the man whom Victor assumes to be Patrick's twin is actually Patrick himself. Noodle Incident -- After Victor and Margaret move into their new house, their neighbour Mr.

Swainey mentions that many people have been reluctant to buy the property after "what happened to old Mr. Gittings." All that's ever said of it is that it involved razor blades and the bathroom. Victor has a recurring nightmare that falls under this trope, mostly because whenever Margaret confronts him about it, he claims not to know what she's talking about. All we know is that he has the nightmare roughly once per series, and it somehow involves pastry. Not So Different -- Pippa points out to a grouchy, vengeful Patrick that he's beginning to turn into Victor, the man he despises. She's right, too. Patrick even starts using some of Victor's catchphrases . Also, after being forced to stay together in an abandoned house for a while (and after a few glasses of whiskey) Victor and Patrick seem to put their differences aside and actually get along quite well. Of course, barely a minute later something goes wrong and they end up back at square one. Margaret despite often acting as the more sensible and sociable of the couple can often prove to be just as bad tempered and oddball as Victor (and is far more likely to vent it out on her spouse than vice versa ).

One Scene, Two Monologues -- Victor and Margaret frequently have "conversations" in this style. Only Sane Man -- Victor sometimes grades into this, as does Margaret from the second series. Word of God has stated that all of Victor's actions are proportionate to events in the bizarre universe the Meldrews live in. Can you honestly say you wouldn't end up like Victor after sixty-odd years in his hellish universe? Pet the Dog -- Despite being the Chew Toy of a cruel universe, Victor occasionally manages to bring one of his schemes to satisfying fruition, such as humiliating a rude Upperclass Twit or drugging and torturing a bunch of care workers who are abusing pensioners. Real Life Writes the Plot -- The Meldrews had to move house in the first series 2 episode, due to the owners of the real-life house which had stood in for the Meldrews' house in the location scenes of series 1 wanting too much money to allow the BBC to keep on using it. Eagle-eyed viewers will notice that the interior set for the second house is near-identical to the original one, only with the layout flipped around.

"The Reason You Suck" Speech -- Many of the characters get to deliver these over the course of the series. One of the shortest and most biting is Margaret's putdown of a well-off, cultured gentleman who was vying for her affections. Margaret: Do you know what's actually worse than warm champagne ? Ben: ...no? Trans Atlantic Equivalent -- Cosby (US) True Art Is Incomprehensible -- In an in-universe example, Victor gets a hold of what he thinks is an abstract painting that was discarded by its artist. In actuality, it's just a piece of plywood covered in bird droppings. As the show continues, both he and Margaret gradually begin to appreciate the "composition". Patrick, however, immediately recognises it for what it is and points it out, much to Victor's chagrin. Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist -- Victor. Though he does fall in the "at least pitiable" category sometimes; after all, he does end up in the oddest predicaments which does go some way explain his eternal grumpiness.

To be perfectly fair, Victor actually comes across as a fairly pleasant, cheerful guy during the rare and short-lived moments when he isn't being screwed over by the universe and everyone around him. Also because the other characters usually only see Victor doing something utterly eccentric, while the viewers see the build-up, and know that there's a perfectly logical explanation as to why he should drive up to Patrick, introduce himself as if they've never met before, then give him a videotape of hard-core gay pornography. The Voice -- Margaret's mother is heard speaking a few times, but is never actually seen in the flesh. She's actually voiced by Annette Crosbie (Margaret) herself, just with a much thicker Scottish accent. Weirdness Magnet -- Victor is afflicted with a low-grade version of this. The writer, David Renwick, seemed to delight in putting him through bizarre situations at least once an episode (ranging from the next-door neighbour installing a door in his fence to facilitate a nice chat to having to deal with an old lady's suicide), so it's not surprising he was so disgruntled.

It is interesting to note how most of the more unusual residents around Victor seem to get along with him a lot more (or are at least oblivious to his occasion detesting of them ). Granted they still occasionally manage to cause trouble for him completely by accident , but it is amusing how they are of the few that actually sympathise with him (in comparison to the supposedly more normal people around him that often gain a borderline obsessive hatred for his disgruntled behaviour).

Question: Who sings the theme song to the UK TV series "One Foot in the Grave"?
Answer: Eric Idle