Waiting for God (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Waiting for God was a British sitcom
that ran on BBC1 for five series from 1990 to 1994. It starred Stephanie Cole
and Graham Crowden
as two spirited residents of a retirement home who spend their time running rings around the home's oppressive management and their own families. It was written by Michael Aitkens
.
The programme is still repeated in the UK on various channels. Seasons 1 through 5 have run (and in some cases continue to run) on PBS
in the United States, and in New Zealand the show has aired various times since 2002.
) - Diana is a curmudgeonly old woman who is constantly complaining about the state of the world. She is an atheist and often irritates Tom, who does believe in God. Trent used to be a photojournalist, specialising in combat zones.
Tom Ballard (Graham Crowden
) - Tom is an optimistic, jolly old man who is new to the home. He suffers from mild dementia but he always tries to make the best of things. Sometimes, however, he goes against certain people such as Harvey Bains, who he often campaigns against and insults. He is visited often by his 'dull' son Geoffrey and Geoffrey's annoying, offensive wife Marion.
Jane Edwards (Janine Duvitski
) - Jane is Harvey's assistant who always looks on the bright side of life and is thinking up new ideas, which are often backed up by Tom. She secretly fancies and admires Harvey, who she often touches on the shoulder, to which Harvey replies 'Jane...you're touching me' and she says 'Sorry, Harvey!' She is often shocked by what Diana says and then exclaims 'Oh Diana!!'
Harvey Bains (Daniel Hill
) - The manager of the care home who secretly wishes to get rid of all of the residents. He tries to keep on top of things but is constantly distracted by Jane, Diana, Tom, Marion and Geoffrey. His life is always made difficult by the residents, or 'inmates'.
Other cast:
, the show was based around Diana Trent and her relationship with Tom Ballard, a former accountant with semi-feigned dementia. He has been exiled there for the convenience of his family.
Diana is a cynical, retired photojournalist
who has found herself consigned to the retirement home after a career documenting some of the 20th century's most dangerous events has left her single and with no one in her life outside of her niece, and later, her great-niece. Her frustration at the prospect of years of being alternately patronised and ignored at Bayview is soon channelled into attempts to subvert the régime of the retirement home and taunting the staff regarding their flaws and corrupt nature. Though retired, Diana remains connected with several powerful journalists, which she uses to blackmail the board of directors at Bayview (and Bayview manager Harvey Baines) to stay in Bayview despite her anti-social behaviour. Her only known living relative is her niece Sarah and later, Sarah's daughter Diana. Sarah runs a modelling agency and loves Diana, though Diana is emotionally distant from her niece, going so far as to tell people that her niece runs a prostitution ring and constantly attempts to kill her with poison. As the series progresses, the two become closer after Sarah undergoes a whirlwind courtship and marriage that results in pregnancy; the marriage fails but produces "the Diana of the Future," as the new Great-Aunt Diana blesses the newborn. Just before Baby Diana arrives, the great-aunt-to-be reveals that much of her hostility towards the world stems from the fact that she's infertile; this incapability is one of her very few regrets in life.
Ballard is a kindly but deluded old duffer who frequently lives in a fantasy world following his retirement as an accountant
. A widower for at least a decade
, his increasingly eccentric behaviour leads his alcoholic
and adulterous daughter-in-law Marion and henpecked son Geoffrey to move him into Bayview where he finds himself living next door to Diana. The two form an unlikely partnership and discover that they are able to wreak havoc amongst the younger staff and management in the home in order to create a more tolerable living environment for themselves and their fellow residents. Tom's optimistic, cheery demeanour and unencumbered Anglican Christianity contrast Diana's dark cynicism and avowed atheism, as both attempt to influence the other's world view.
The manager of Bayview is Harvey Baines who runs the establishment with his assistant, the homely, spinsterish and pious Jane Edwards. Baines is a penny-pinching weasel whose management style involves trying to run the retirement home profitably while keeping the residents (whom he variously dubs "oldies", "inmates", or "units") passive in order to make himself look good before the eyes of the board of directors.
Both Tom and Diana refer to Baines as "the idiot Baines", a reference to Harvey's general lack of common sense regarding his various schemes to promote himself and Bayview to the outside world.
Jane, Harvey's put-upon assistant, is a naïve and religious woman who is madly in love with Harvey, in spite of Harvey's utter disdain for her. Jane serves as a foil for Diana; although Diana loathes Jane's religious piety and optimistic outlook on life, she seems to genuinely care about Jane's wellbeing, as evidenced by her and Tom's attempts to help Jane when it comes to the matter of dealing with Harvey's manipulation of Jane's love for him.
During the third season, Tom and Diana get together as a couple after a one-night stand though Diana is far more lâissez-faire about the new state of their relationship, much to the chagrin of Tom's desire for a more committed relationship. This in turn led to season four, when Diana's financial situation collapses and Tom (having discovered that his room is infested with mould), forces Harvey to upgrade him to a new apartment in Bayview and to allow Diana to live with him as his lady friend. By season five, the two become engaged along with Harvey and Jane, who first get together as part of a cynical scheme to get Harvey accepted to an exclusive country club. When the plan fails and Jane responds by quitting her job to begin the process of becoming a nun, Harvey realises that he has come to enjoy Jane being in his life and the two go through with their vows. But Diana gets cold feet regarding her impending marriage to Tom (much to her niece Sarah's shock); however, Tom discovers this before the wedding and saves Diana from having either to go through with the wedding or to have her niece sever all ties with her aunt, by calling off the wedding just as the two were about to say "I Do".
Much of the humour
is derived from flying in the face of conventional expectations about how the elderly ought to behave in their old age and how many of the residents don't want to settle down. One character, Basil Makepeace, is forever propositioning the female residents of the home, bragging about his innumerable conquests (on one occasion he muses about the indignities of growing old, commenting that now "three or four times...a night is all I can manage"). As an octogenarian, he does quite well. The other source of humour comes from the lengths that Harvey Baines will go to in his quest for success and how he and Marion scheme to separate Tom and Diana, the two blights on their mutual existences. The series is also unusual in that it is told largely from the vantage point of the (largely well adjusted) elderly characters, with most of the younger characters depicted as buffoons, who are either neurotic or inept.
, Oxfordshire
, England. 51°45′31"N 1°20′00"W
Although the script of the series makes great play of its Bournemouth
setting, the location filming for the first three series was largely carried out in and around Brighton
and Worthing
. The first genuine appearance of Bournemouth town centre and the nearby suburb of Boscombe
is in the 1992 Christmas special.
's Trout Quintet
, performed by the Nash Ensemble
. Other music heard in the show included the 3rd movement, also performed by the Nash Ensemble.
British sitcom
A British sitcom tends, as it does in most other countries, to be based on a family, workplace or other institution, where the same group of contrasting characters is brought together in each episode. Unlike American sitcoms, where twenty or more episodes in a season is the norm, British sitcoms...
that ran on BBC1 for five series from 1990 to 1994. It starred Stephanie Cole
Stephanie Cole
Stephanie Cole, OBE is an English stage, television, and film actress, best known for playing characters a great deal older than her actual age.-Early life:...
and Graham Crowden
Graham Crowden
Clement Graham Crowden was a Scottish actor. He was best known for his many appearances in television comedy dramas and films, often playing eccentric 'offbeat' scientist, teacher and doctor characters.-Early life:...
as two spirited residents of a retirement home who spend their time running rings around the home's oppressive management and their own families. It was written by Michael Aitkens
Michael Aitkens
Michael Aitkens is a British writer of drama scripts for movies, television, and the traditional stage. He is well known in the UK for the BAFTA nominated BBC situation comedy Waiting for God, first shown in 1990. He has written for many of the UK's favourite drama and comedy series.Michael...
.
The programme is still repeated in the UK on various channels. Seasons 1 through 5 have run (and in some cases continue to run) on PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
in the United States, and in New Zealand the show has aired various times since 2002.
Cast
Diana Trent (Stephanie ColeStephanie Cole
Stephanie Cole, OBE is an English stage, television, and film actress, best known for playing characters a great deal older than her actual age.-Early life:...
) - Diana is a curmudgeonly old woman who is constantly complaining about the state of the world. She is an atheist and often irritates Tom, who does believe in God. Trent used to be a photojournalist, specialising in combat zones.
Tom Ballard (Graham Crowden
Graham Crowden
Clement Graham Crowden was a Scottish actor. He was best known for his many appearances in television comedy dramas and films, often playing eccentric 'offbeat' scientist, teacher and doctor characters.-Early life:...
) - Tom is an optimistic, jolly old man who is new to the home. He suffers from mild dementia but he always tries to make the best of things. Sometimes, however, he goes against certain people such as Harvey Bains, who he often campaigns against and insults. He is visited often by his 'dull' son Geoffrey and Geoffrey's annoying, offensive wife Marion.
Jane Edwards (Janine Duvitski
Janine Duvitski
Janine Duvitski is an English actress, known for her roles as Jane Edwards in Waiting for God and Pippa Trench in One Foot in the Grave. She also created and played the role of Angela in Mike Leigh's play Abigail's Party.-Personal life:Duvitski was born in Nottingham. Her father was Polish...
) - Jane is Harvey's assistant who always looks on the bright side of life and is thinking up new ideas, which are often backed up by Tom. She secretly fancies and admires Harvey, who she often touches on the shoulder, to which Harvey replies 'Jane...you're touching me' and she says 'Sorry, Harvey!' She is often shocked by what Diana says and then exclaims 'Oh Diana!!'
Harvey Bains (Daniel Hill
Daniel Hill (actor)
Daniel Hill is a British actor known primarily for his television work.His most notable role was as the avaricious Harvey Bains, manager of the retirement home in Waiting for God, alongside Stephanie Cole and Graham Crowden; though he had also appeared with Martin Clunes and William Gaunt in the...
) - The manager of the care home who secretly wishes to get rid of all of the residents. He tries to keep on top of things but is constantly distracted by Jane, Diana, Tom, Marion and Geoffrey. His life is always made difficult by the residents, or 'inmates'.
Other cast:
- Geoffrey Ballard, played by Andrew Tourell
- Marion Ballard, played by Sandra PayneSandra PayneSandra Payne is an English actress best known for her roles as Christine Harris in the British television series Triangle and as Marion Ballard in Waiting for God....
- Basil Makepeace, played by Michael BiltonMichael BiltonMichael Bilton was an English actor best known for his roles in the British television sitcoms To the Manor Born and Waiting for God....
- Antonio, the Portuguese gardener, played by Chico Andrade
- Jenny, played by Dawn Hope
Plot
Set at the fictional Bayview Retirement Home near BournemouthBournemouth
Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
, the show was based around Diana Trent and her relationship with Tom Ballard, a former accountant with semi-feigned dementia. He has been exiled there for the convenience of his family.
Diana is a cynical, retired photojournalist
Photojournalism
Photojournalism is a particular form of journalism that creates images in order to tell a news story. It is now usually understood to refer only to still images, but in some cases the term also refers to video used in broadcast journalism...
who has found herself consigned to the retirement home after a career documenting some of the 20th century's most dangerous events has left her single and with no one in her life outside of her niece, and later, her great-niece. Her frustration at the prospect of years of being alternately patronised and ignored at Bayview is soon channelled into attempts to subvert the régime of the retirement home and taunting the staff regarding their flaws and corrupt nature. Though retired, Diana remains connected with several powerful journalists, which she uses to blackmail the board of directors at Bayview (and Bayview manager Harvey Baines) to stay in Bayview despite her anti-social behaviour. Her only known living relative is her niece Sarah and later, Sarah's daughter Diana. Sarah runs a modelling agency and loves Diana, though Diana is emotionally distant from her niece, going so far as to tell people that her niece runs a prostitution ring and constantly attempts to kill her with poison. As the series progresses, the two become closer after Sarah undergoes a whirlwind courtship and marriage that results in pregnancy; the marriage fails but produces "the Diana of the Future," as the new Great-Aunt Diana blesses the newborn. Just before Baby Diana arrives, the great-aunt-to-be reveals that much of her hostility towards the world stems from the fact that she's infertile; this incapability is one of her very few regrets in life.
Ballard is a kindly but deluded old duffer who frequently lives in a fantasy world following his retirement as an accountant
Accountancy
Accountancy is the process of communicating financial information about a business entity to users such as shareholders and managers. The communication is generally in the form of financial statements that show in money terms the economic resources under the control of management; the art lies in...
. A widower for at least a decade
Decade
A decade is a period of 10 years. The word is derived from the Ancient Greek dekas which means ten. This etymology is sometime confused with the Latin decas and dies , which is not correct....
, his increasingly eccentric behaviour leads his alcoholic
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
and adulterous daughter-in-law Marion and henpecked son Geoffrey to move him into Bayview where he finds himself living next door to Diana. The two form an unlikely partnership and discover that they are able to wreak havoc amongst the younger staff and management in the home in order to create a more tolerable living environment for themselves and their fellow residents. Tom's optimistic, cheery demeanour and unencumbered Anglican Christianity contrast Diana's dark cynicism and avowed atheism, as both attempt to influence the other's world view.
The manager of Bayview is Harvey Baines who runs the establishment with his assistant, the homely, spinsterish and pious Jane Edwards. Baines is a penny-pinching weasel whose management style involves trying to run the retirement home profitably while keeping the residents (whom he variously dubs "oldies", "inmates", or "units") passive in order to make himself look good before the eyes of the board of directors.
Both Tom and Diana refer to Baines as "the idiot Baines", a reference to Harvey's general lack of common sense regarding his various schemes to promote himself and Bayview to the outside world.
Jane, Harvey's put-upon assistant, is a naïve and religious woman who is madly in love with Harvey, in spite of Harvey's utter disdain for her. Jane serves as a foil for Diana; although Diana loathes Jane's religious piety and optimistic outlook on life, she seems to genuinely care about Jane's wellbeing, as evidenced by her and Tom's attempts to help Jane when it comes to the matter of dealing with Harvey's manipulation of Jane's love for him.
During the third season, Tom and Diana get together as a couple after a one-night stand though Diana is far more lâissez-faire about the new state of their relationship, much to the chagrin of Tom's desire for a more committed relationship. This in turn led to season four, when Diana's financial situation collapses and Tom (having discovered that his room is infested with mould), forces Harvey to upgrade him to a new apartment in Bayview and to allow Diana to live with him as his lady friend. By season five, the two become engaged along with Harvey and Jane, who first get together as part of a cynical scheme to get Harvey accepted to an exclusive country club. When the plan fails and Jane responds by quitting her job to begin the process of becoming a nun, Harvey realises that he has come to enjoy Jane being in his life and the two go through with their vows. But Diana gets cold feet regarding her impending marriage to Tom (much to her niece Sarah's shock); however, Tom discovers this before the wedding and saves Diana from having either to go through with the wedding or to have her niece sever all ties with her aunt, by calling off the wedding just as the two were about to say "I Do".
Much of the humour
Humour
Humour or humor is the tendency of particular cognitive experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement...
is derived from flying in the face of conventional expectations about how the elderly ought to behave in their old age and how many of the residents don't want to settle down. One character, Basil Makepeace, is forever propositioning the female residents of the home, bragging about his innumerable conquests (on one occasion he muses about the indignities of growing old, commenting that now "three or four times...a night is all I can manage"). As an octogenarian, he does quite well. The other source of humour comes from the lengths that Harvey Baines will go to in his quest for success and how he and Marion scheme to separate Tom and Diana, the two blights on their mutual existences. The series is also unusual in that it is told largely from the vantage point of the (largely well adjusted) elderly characters, with most of the younger characters depicted as buffoons, who are either neurotic or inept.
Location
Most exterior scenes at the retirement home were filmed at and around the Oaken Holt Rest Home, Eynsham Road, FarmoorFarmoor
Farmoor is a village west of the centre of Oxford, England. The village was part of Berkshire until the 1974 local government boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire....
, Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
, England. 51°45′31"N 1°20′00"W
Although the script of the series makes great play of its Bournemouth
Bournemouth
Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
setting, the location filming for the first three series was largely carried out in and around Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
and Worthing
Worthing
Worthing is a large seaside town with borough status in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, forming part of the Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton conurbation. It is situated at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of the county town of Chichester...
. The first genuine appearance of Bournemouth town centre and the nearby suburb of Boscombe
Boscombe
Boscombe is a suburb of Bournemouth. Located to the east of Bournemouth town centre and west of Southbourne, It developed rapidly from a small village as a seaside resort alongside Bournemouth after the first Boscombe pier was built in 1888...
is in the 1992 Christmas special.
Music
Waiting for Gods theme music is a variation in a higher octave of the opening of the fifth movement of SchubertFranz Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music...
's Trout Quintet
Trout Quintet
The Trout Quintet is the popular name for the Piano Quintet in A major by Franz Schubert. In Otto Erich Deutsch's catalogue of Schubert's works, it is D. 667...
, performed by the Nash Ensemble
Nash Ensemble
The Nash Ensemble of London is an acclaimed English chamber ensemble. It was founded by Artistic Director Amelia Freedman in 1964, while she was a student at the Royal Academy of Music, and was named after the Nash Terraces around the Academy...
. Other music heard in the show included the 3rd movement, also performed by the Nash Ensemble.
Episodes (with original air date and title)
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External links
- Waiting for God at British TV Comedy