User reviews

You could be forgiven for thinking a comedy set in a Nursing Home could be anything other then magically funny, I can think of few with such a setting, the closest possibly being You're only young twice from the 1970's. Running in the early 90's from 1990-1994, the series comprised 5 series, totalling 47 episodes. The standard does not drop at any point, it's a glorious mix of bittersweet humour and slapstick from start to finish. You cannot help but utterly love the cynical black heart of Diana, or the boyish innocence of Tom. They make a wonderful duo, and truly feed of one another, their different styles of humour contrasting beautifully. As the show goes on you see a slight softening of Diana, and a slight toughening of Tom. The final episode is delightful, and shows you how far the characters have come, and how much they know one another. Jane and The Idiot Bains provide constant laughs, but it's the ageing Lothario Basil who has me in stitches.

It always challenges Society's views towards the elderly, sometimes dark, but always comedy with a heart. 9/10

I have been waiting for some time for this to appear on DVD and here it is. Loved it when it first appeared, like it even more now. Diana is a role model, ie just the sort of person I want to be when my children do what they threaten, and put me in a home, and Tom would be an irritating but useful companion. Our bodies may give out on us, but the brain does not always follow suit, and from this we get this glorious programme. Jane, (an undersung hero of UK TV) the long suffering P. A. to the obnoxious Harvey Bains who is the only person to be fooled by his facade of niceness, tries so hard to bring Diana and Tom into some sort of religious salvation before its too late, and plays one of the best characters in the programme. Not to forget the randy little chap (Bas?) who has his own way of enduring old age, and Tom's poor son and his dreadful wife. Truly a TV sitcom of brilliance. More, please!

Aging happens to us all. Much to our gratitude and dismay, my wife and I reside in "assisted living", complete with our very own "idiot Baines". In these circumstances the often grim humor of "Waiting for God" often rings true, and nearly always entertains hilariously. We wish it were still in production!

Here we have a programme centring around two elderly and cynical people in a retirement home located in Britain's version of Florida: Bournemouth. Did I say elderly? Well, only in age, not attitude. Take one Tom Ballard, a gentleman deposited by his son into the retirement home who is one half of the cynical pair. Although cynical, his character expresses this with good humour and resignation, philosophy, and plays upon the ageist attitude that old people are helpless and eccentric, leaving one to wonder whether he is actually mad, or just pretending to be.

The other half, Diana, a worldly woman who sees the effects of society's attitude toward the old now that she is of retirement age and, in contrast to Tom, vents spleen any chance she gets, usually towards Harvey, the young man who runs the Home whose character is a composite of the 20-40 yuppy age group's attitude towards those beyond 65.

The humour is quick-firing, very British, and also pulls no punches with regards to attitudes and observations of society during the latter half of the 80s and into the 90s. All told, an excellent series that will take a long time in the future before it seems dated.

This is one of my all-time favorite TV shows. The acting is incredible and the characters and story lines seem real. It doesn't sugarcoat the aspect of aging and the show deals with issues our elderly face every day. My children even watched this program when they were young and found it hilarious! Diana Trent is gritty, cantankerous, and possesses a dry wit. She also knows how and when to apply her cane to those in need. I want to be just like her when I am older! Harvey Baines is hilarious and ever so patient with a somewhat demanding Diana. Diana and Harvey are the central characters but the rest of the cast of characters all add their own personal charm. The show is timeless and unlike any I've ever seen before or will probably see again.

One of the funniest shows to come out of England in the nineties, it has a terrific cast of veteran television and stage players. It's funny and timeless comedy with a bit of slapstick humor and a polished verbal English wit. The wonderful relationship between atheist feminist single Diana and the widowed Tom Ballard is fascinating to watch unlike most relationships, they get better when they're together than apart. Tom's boring son, Jeffrey, can bore anyone to death but he is in a marriage to unfaithful, drunk, and pill popper, Marion, who despises and resents Diana as a threat to their inheritance. The cast includes another heterosexual relationship between old maid plain Jane and the Bayview manager, Harvey Nigel Bains. Harvey constantly mistreats the wonderful sweet Jane. He doesn't know what he's got until he almost loses her. Three great love stories and romances in a wonderful sitcom. The wait is over.

What a wonderful antidote to the usual crap on television--especially in its depiction of old people. All too often, in films and TV, old people are endowed with either great wisdom, insight or are gosh-darn cute. WAITING FOR GOD throws all these clichés out the window, showing us that old people can be nasty--just like anyone else! The film has two leads--Diana and Tom. While Tom isn't a major grouch, he is a bit of a trouble maker and loves being eccentric. Diana, on the other hand, is a nasty old crank that could care less about people she deems are beneath her--and that is practically everyone! And her anger and clever meanness is given plenty of righteous opportunity to come out at the old folks home they live in, as Harvey (the manager) is a total moron and his assistant, Jane, is just...well, pathetic.

Week after week, Diana (with assistance from Tom) make their lives miserable--along with Tom's truly awful son and daughter-in-law. There is a lot more I can say about the show, but the bottom line is that excellent writing, truly original characters and a nice sense of irreverence make this a must-see...especially if there is a little Diana within you.

This show is funny & bittersweet - great entertainment. The acting is very good and the writing is excellent. Too bad they could not have left the laugh track in the very distant past! If not for the laugh track, I would have given this 8/10 and just might anyway by the end of the series!

These classic British comedies state timely and their humor. I rate this one up there with Their best. I wish it would come back.

Anyways...as a young snot-nosed pike I did watch glimpse of this show. Yea even while a little kid I would watch anything. The show was interesting and very different from my usual brainwashing programs.

However, It was a good little English show made for English people. I didn't understand the jokes at the time because I'm not English even though I speak English.

"Waiting for God" takes place in the corners of the earth in the Bayview Retirement home. This program goes beyond the normal rules of the sitcom and instead takes television to a new level. This program brings a new light to the treatment of the elderly, religion, the meaning of life, and love. I have never seen such a good TV program, I doubt that I ever will again.

I love this show from the very first episode Diana and Tom were a hoot. Please put on Brit box so I can watch again and again

Diana totally makes this show I love her and Tom is such silly fun I love it I love it I can't wait for it to be on Brit Box The people combined in this show make me want to go live here

I want to be just like them when I grow up they are a hoot and so is this place Poor Harvey Bains ba ha ha

Stephanie Cole is a fabulous actress who manages to pull off the portrayals of playing elderly woman really well even in waiting for god she was in her late 40s here she plays the gritty, no nonsense Diana trent alongside Graham Crowden who plays tom ballard and their antics together make it hilarious viewing this comedy is a must watch.

I watched this show when they aired the series on PBS many years ago - another unforgettable British comedy that I would love to view again.

The show surrounds a retirement village where Tom meets the crabby Diana. The two form a friendship which turns into a romance. Diana remains crabby while Tom is a bit nicer which leads to some of TV's funniest moments.

10/10.

I love this show very, very much. I feel like it's really underrated, because it is. Waiting for God is without a doubt one of the best british sitcoms of all time, and I could watch it over and over again. It's brilliant. The actors are beyond amazing, and the episodes are always absolutely hilarious. Stephanie Cole, Graham Crowden, Daniel Hill and Janine Duvitski are some of the best actors in the buisness if you ask me and not one of them have ever had a bad scene in this show, they are giving it everything they've got and it certainly pays off. I would recommend this show to anyone, anyone of any age because there is no way you will not enjoy it. It's a feel good show, it's packed to the brim with actually funny jokes, mostly about old people but it is still funny beyond belief, and it's honestly one of best shows I have ever watched. Stephanie Cole is just the absolute best as Diana, Graham Crowden shines as Tom, and Daniel Hill and Janine Duvitski make the perfect sideline characters as Harvey and Jane. Each episode is always so funny, it's impossible not to have a fit of laughs. I love the earlier seasons the best, but the later ones always amaze me as well. It's hilarious, very funny and real. If you are every having a bad day, this is the show to watch!

I watched the 3 seasons on Britbox and they were quite humorous for the most part. The leads are well cast and have chemistry. After their relationship changed a bit, the the show seemed to trend downwards somewhat. Certainly worth streaming.

I'm someone more like Tom who wishes he was like Diana.Would like a prequel dealing with her earlier life.Also-if Diana had met Victor Meldrew...