Ep 1: Alive and Buried. Victor Meldrew enjoys a contented middle class life with wife Margaret and a job as a security guard, a position he has held for 26 years. But when he is given enforced retirement and replaced by a computerized box, Victor finds retirement hard to bear - as does his long suffering wife...
Starring Richard Wilson, Annette Crosbie, Doreen Mantle, Susie Blake, Valerie Minifie, Owen Brenman, Nick Maloney, Simon Greenall, Russell Brook, with Joanna Phillips-Lane (her from Capital City) as the voice in the box. This was the first ever episode of the now classic sitcom, created by David Renwick (who would create another 90's classic sitcom, 2point4 children) and first broadcast on January 4th 1990. This was still in the tail end of Thatcher's government, which is why there are so many references in the first two series. It's a sitcom I had never seen on it's first broadcast, but it proved a popular hit and eventually climbed to over 16 million viewers. It has a slightly uneven and downbeat tone in this first series, but there are some wonderfully funny bits and Renwick on form is a joy to behold. Astonishingly Les Dawson was the preferred choice for Victor Meldrew, but no one could do it better than Richard Wilson, the luckless pensioner who rails against all the insanity in life - and there is plenty of the unlikely heaped on him. Enjoy.