Dated or Delightful? 'Waiting for God'
Over the past few months, I’ve had a bit of downtime from work so I started watching some classic Britcoms I hadn’t gotten around to before. One of those was Waiting for God, the BBC One comedy about “two inhabitants of the Bournemouth's Bayview Retirement Home who are growing old disgracefully.”
Waiting for God made its debut thirty years ago this month (June 28th, 1990 to be exact). A total of 47 episodes were broadcast over five seasons from 1990-1994. Created and written entirely by Michael Aitkens, the screenwriter says the show was inspired by a retirement village that opened near his house in Australia. Residents of the facility called it “God’s Waiting Room”.
The cast was led by Stephanie Cole (a familiar face to Doc Martin fans) as retired photographer Diana Trent whose sharp-tongue and cynical attitude have left her rather lonely - though she’d rarely admit it. Enter Tom Ballard (Graham Crowden), former accountant, daydreamer extraordinaire, and Diana’s new neighbor at Bayview. While Tom’s generally jovial manner should make him the target of Diana’s brutal disdain, the pair realize they are kindred spirits when Tom organizes a hunger strike in protest of the substandard fare served in the dining room.
