Things Aren't Simple Any More

"Things Aren't Simple Any More"
One Foot in the Grave episode
A man's arm and hand lying on a pavement, with his cap in the gutter.
Victor Meldrew's hand and cap in the gutter after the accident[1]
Episode no.Series 6
Episode 6
Directed byChristine Gernon
Written byDavid Renwick
Cinematography byGeoff Harrison
Editing byMark Lawrence
Original air date20 November 2000 (2000-11-20)
Guest appearances
Hannah Gordon (Glynis)
Paul Merton (Barman)
Joanna Scanlan (Gillian)
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"Things Aren't Simple Any More" is the final episode of the British television sitcom One Foot in the Grave. It was written by David Renwick and stars Richard Wilson as Victor Meldrew, Annette Crosbie as his wife Margaret and features guest appearances by Hannah Gordon and Paul Merton. The episode depicts the death of the series' protagonist, Victor Meldrew, in a hit-and-run road accident and his wife's efforts to deal with the driver who killed him. Renwick had been struggling to conceive and write new stories for the series and decided to kill off the character. The episode was filmed at Shawford, Hampshire and at BBC Television Centre in London.[2]

Renwick resisted the BBC's attempt to broadcast the episode at Christmas, feeling that such scheduling would contrast unfavourably with the grimness of the show and would be viewed as an overt attempt to garner high ratings. The controller of BBC1 relented and the episode was first transmitted on BBC One on 20 November 2000.[2][3] The broadcast coincided with the transmission of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'s first UK jackpot win. Some people within the BBC alleged that Celador, the production company in charge of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? had rigged Judith Keppel's victory to spoil the BBC's expected high ratings for the sitcom's finale. The Independent Television Commission (ITC) cleared Celador and ITV of any wrongdoing.[4][5][6]

The critical reception for the episode was mostly positive. Many reviewers commented that the dark tone of the final episode was characteristic of the series and that killing off the protagonist was an appropriate way to conclude. The characters of Victor and Margaret returned in a short sketch for Comic Relief's Red Nose Day telethon on 16 March 2001.[3][7]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference w183 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference w178 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Webber 2006, p. 211
  4. ^ "Millionaire? cleared of ratings 'fix'". BBC News. 15 January 2001. Archived from the original on 5 January 2008. Retrieved 28 January 2007.
  5. ^ Casey & Calvert 2008, p. 128
  6. ^ Dyja 2002, p. 20
  7. ^ Lewisohn, Mark. "One Foot In The Grave". The BBC Guide to Comedy. Archived from the original on 19 August 2007. Retrieved 23 April 2008.