MovieChat Forums > One Foot in the Grave (1990) Discussion > Series finale lacked familiar faces

Series finale lacked familiar faces


The final episode of Season 6 ("Things Aren't Simple Anymore") missed an opportunity to bring back – if only for a brief cameo – Mrs. Warboys and Mr. Swainey, perhaps in one of the flashbacks that Margaret experiences. It would have been a good way to wrap up the show with two of the characters that were there from the very beginning. Writer David Renwick would not have had any trouble working them in, I'm sure.
Think of their appearance in the final episode as a curtain call in the theater. (I'm reminded of the final scene of the film "Murder on the Orient Express," in which the cast members stepped to the camera, one by one or in couples, toasting with champagne at the audience. I'm not suggesting such a contrived appearance, but Renwick would have come up with a good treatment.)
Alternatively, scenes from all previous episodes, showing some of the characters who took part in the show, might have been turned into a silent montage as background for the final credits. As it is, the credits are shown against a sequence of film clips of the English countryside, an odd choice, in my opinion.
What do you viewers think? And if you like the montage idea, who are some of the characters you would have liked to see in it?
By the way, I wonder if the episode's title – "Things Aren't Simple Anymore" – originally was to be Victor's final statement. His last words to himself, just before taking the train back home after the failed reunion of milkmen, were "Things can only get better."

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I think he purposefully left Warboys, Swainey and Patrick & Pippa out because he wanted the finale to be focused on Margaret & Victor's last days together. Plus I don't think he wanted a "final scene" with all the characters together like you get in a lot of sitcoms that have lasted 10 years these days, particularly in the States.

Personally, I would have liked some sort of input from Patrick & Pippa on Victor's demise. Patrick and Victor were more alike than not and they began to get on in the episode where they were snowed in which was absolutely inevitable since they'd barely spent any time together but we didn't see Patrick thanking Victor for saving him from the nutcase that was trying to kill him which I think was in character and good for a show which tried or claimed to be upbeat and feel-good. But still, some acknowledgment of Victor's death would have been nice, even just a sympathy card read out loud by Margaret, But we got nothing.

If you want to though, I think it could be remedied from the 'One Foot..' documentary that Angus Deayton (Patrick) presented after the show ended. I think it's on one of the DVD's. Angus is basically playing Patrick presenting a look at the life of Victor and the ending is quite nice, with Angus walking away to a voice over of Victor saying "Can you imagine if I was always here, forever and ever..."

I think I liked them leaving the ending ambiguous as Renwick used to write for Agatha Christie's Poirot and Victor & Margaret watched Poirot. All in all, it was a fitting end to Victor.


Did she or didn't she kill? We shall never know....

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