Thursday, 28 June 2012  One Foot in The Grave: some thoughts on
a masterpiece  One Foot in the Grave is one of the least
suburban, least traditional sitcoms ever made. It's worth
stressing this, because the Daily Mail tends to print Victor
Meldrew's picture whenever there's a piece warning that old-
style BBC 1 sitcoms are on the way out. However often you may
have heard people say "I don't belieeeeve it," there's nothing
safe, cozy, conservative or reactionary about One Foot in the
Grave, and nothing grumpy about Victor Meldrew.  Victor
Meldrew's greatness as a character lies in his iconic rather
than realistic nature: he is at once a blue-collar man of the
people and a voice for middle-class frustrations of his creator.
The two jobs we are told he's had in his pre-retirement days - a
security guard, a milkman- and the considerable array he takes
on during the series - a lollipop man, a window cleaner, a
doorman, a chauffeur, a gardener - are blue-collar. He's
splendidly articulate, clearly intelligent and co