Still Game is a Scottish sitcom series, following the lives of a group of pensioners who live in Craiglang, a fictional area of Glasgow.Craiglang recreated inside the Hydro ahead of Still Game's long-awaited return , Scotland Now. scotlandnow.dailyrecord.co.uk. 18 September 2014. Retrieved 30 September 2014. The show was created by and stars Ford Kiernan and Greg Hemphill,Still Game – Overview , British Comedy Guide. comedy.co.uk. Retrieved 30 September 2014. and first aired on BBC One Scotland on 6 September 2002.Still Game – Episodes – Series 1 (2002) , British Comedy Guide. comedy.co.uk. Retrieved 30 September 2014.

The main characters are Jack Jarvis and Victor McDade, two lifelong friends who are neighbours in Osprey Heights, a tower block.BBC – Still Game – Tour , BBC. bbc.co.uk. July 2005. Retrieved 30 September 2014. They like to visit their local pub together where their friends Winston Ingram, Tam Mullen and Eric spend most of their time. Other main characters include: Boabby the barman, Navid Harrid, owner of the local corner shop, and Jack and Victor's nosy neighbour Isa Drennan.

Many of the main characters' relatives make recurring appearances in the show such as Navid's wife Meena (whose voice is heard but whose face is never seen until the final episode), Tam's wife Frances and Isa's ex-husband Harry. Jack's daughter, Fiona and Victor's son, John make few appearances in the show, but have major plot roles in the few episodes they do appear. Other recurring characters include Shug, Chris the Postie, Stevie the Bookie, Pete the Jakey, Joe Douglass and several other Craiglang residents.

Main characters

Jack Jarvis Appears in all 62 episodes from "Flittin'" to "Over the Hill" Jack Jarvis, Esq. is played by Ford Kiernan. He is a stout, squat man with white hair and a moustache; and is frequently seen wearing a bunnet and smoking a pipe when outdoors. In his youth, he worked in his father's grocery shop and was an amateur boxer. He has been best friends with his neighbour Victor for over sixty years, both living on the same floor of Osprey Heights, a tower block in Craiglang; the two first met when a young boy named Frank McCallum was knocked down by a tram. Jack occasionally struggles with loneliness as his wife, Jean, died in 1991, and their daughter Fiona has emigrated to Canada. Nevertheless, Jack spends almost all of his time with Victor, most frequently at their local pub, the Clansman. In contrast to Victor, Jack demonstrates slightly lower intelligence, a higher chance of being swayed by peer pressure from others, and less of a way with words; often trying to be witty but instead only producing a banal remark, and using malapropisms (such as saying "discretion" instead of "desecration"). Additionally, he seems more easily offended and quick to anger than Victor. However, Jack has shown himself to be more observant than Victor on several occasions; notably, in the episode "Wummin", he notices that Bert Findlay's strange behaviour shows signs of an impending suicide, although this is ultimately not the case.

In the first episode, "Flittin'," Jack is said to be 74 years old (the same age as Victor); confusingly, in all other episodes his age is stated as 72. In a sketch on the sister programme Chewin' the Fat, his surname was given as McAlpine.

Victor McDade Appears in all 62 episodes from "Flittin'" to "Over the Hill" Victor McDade is played by Greg Hemphill. He is a tall man with grey hair and a moustache. Initially, Victor wore a bunnet like Jack but this was changed after the first episode to a trilby hat to add visual distinction between the two characters. In his youth, Victor worked with Babcock & Wilcox (possibly as an engineer) and he has been best friends with Jack for sixty years, with whom he lives on the same floor at Osprey Heights. Victor has lived in Osprey Heights since 1975, with Jack moving into a deceased neighbour's flat in "Flittin'". Victor is, like Jack, a widower; his wife Elizabeth (Betty) died in 1993. His son, John, lives in Johannesburg with his family; Victor often laments how little he sees of him due to the distance and John's busy schedule. Victor demonstrates slightly higher intelligent than Jack, sometimes correcting him or cutting him off when he begins to ramble by stating "that's plenty, Jack." Of the many pensioners in Craiglang, Victor is shown to be the most honest; for example, in "Cauld" Victor is last to succumb to the pensioners' scheme of stealing electricity (he condemns those who participate in the scheme as thieves) and expresses disapproval at Winston's decision to fake a "bad leg" in order to acquire a home help in "Wummin'". Victor is 74 at the beginning of the series and celebrates his 75th birthday in "Smoke on the Water".

Winston Ingram Appears in all 62 episodes from "Flittin'" to "Over the Hill" A good friend of Jack and Victor's, Winston Ingram is played by Paul Riley. He wears glasses, a bunnet similar to Jack, and often sports a burgundy jacket and joggers. More so than the other pensioners, Winston is quick to anger, passive-aggressive and foul-mouthed. He is known for his scheming and attempts to cheat the system, often in search of extra money; examples include committing benefit fraud and bypassing his electricity meter to survive the winter. In the episodes "Dug" and "Holiday", he pretends to have a relationship with Isa (despite finding her annoying) to fend off the attempts of her ex-husband, Harry, to get back with her; although he often takes advantage of Isa's kindness and soft spot towards him, receiving free food from her in the process. However, he seems to have some sense of morality, often reprimanding Tam for his meanness. He has several enemies, including Stevie the Bookie, with him he has a long-running feud. In the episode "Scran", it is revealed Winston used to work in the Clyde shipyards, at Yarrows. Winston has his lower leg amputated at the end of the third series after his eighty-a-day cigarette habit catches up with him; this is replaced by a feminine prosthetic leg with painted nails, much to the amusement of the other pensioners. He has a daughter named Margaret, a son named Brian, and two grandsons, Joe and Thomas. In the ninth series, he meets Winnie, a wheelchair-using woman that he first meets on Tinder. The two marry in the episode "Hitched".

In the earlier stage play, he mentions a brother named George living in Nevada and a son who died in a car accident in 1967, but it is unknown if this is consistent with the television series. In the TV canon, he does have a brother named Walter.

Boabby Appears in 61 episodes from "Flittin'" to "Over the Hill" (excluding "The Party") Robert "Boabby" Taylor is played by Gavin Mitchell. Boabby is the landlord of the Clansman, the local pub. He is often the butt of jokes from the regulars, and usually has a double act-related nickname for Jack and Victor when they arrive at the Clansman, but the duo always have a wittier comeback to put him in his place; often with the retort "two pints, prick!". He does not believe in the phrase "the customer is always right" and prefers to hand out snide comments with his pints, though the locals are not the type of people to take them lying down. It has been revealed that he had a brief career as an amateur porn star, where he went by the name of "Troy the Gardener". In the episode "Who's the Daddy?" Boabby reveals he has been working behind the bar of the Clansman since he was eighteen, though he also claims to have previously worked as a bouncer at the Queen Margaret Union. He usually has grievances with either Winston; often barring him for various antics; or Tam, who almost never pays for his own drinks. Although Boabby is sarcastic and mouthy by nature, he occasionally displays a charitable and honourable side, especially toward Isa whom he often trusts to run the bar while he cannot.

In the episode "The Fall Guy", Boabby is revealed to be fifty years old. In the last scene of the final episode, "Over the Hill", Boabby is seen some years later as a substantially older man still working in the Clansman, where he welcomes the viewers to the pub.

Isa Drennan Appears in 60 episodes from "Flittin'" to "Over the Hill" (excluding "Drama" and "Saucy") Isa Drennan is played by Jane McCarry. She is the third resident of Jack and Victor's landing in Osprey Heights, and is Craiglang's local gossiper. She is aware of her reputation, confessing in "Gairden" that she is a "nosy bastard" and will stop at nothing in her quest to find out the latest news. Isa works as a cleaner in Navid's shop and is shown to be a practising Roman Catholic. She has an estranged husband named Harry, who frequently had affairs with other women and robbed money from her during their relationship. Also in the episode "Gairden," she mentions that she has a son named Colin. In "Dug" and "Hoaliday", she has a pretend relationship with Winston; although unrequited, Isa has a secret fancy for Winston but her obsession with gossip and tendency to be nosy often sabotages her chances with him, as he finds these qualities highly irritating. Isa is heavily involved with community projects and charities, attends dance classes and enjoys helping others. Winston maintains this is her way of keeping in touch with people to "keep on tap (top) of everyone's business". Despite many people outwardly professing to be annoyed by Isa, she is still regarded as a vital member of the community, with the other pensioners immediately leaping to defend her if they feel she is being treated unjustly.

Tam Mullen Appears in 61 episodes from "Flittin'" to "Over the Hill" (excluding "Shooglies") Thomas "Tam" Mullen is portrayed by Mark Cox. A self-confessed "miserable bastard", he frequently tricking people into giving him free belongings or buying him a drink, and is infamous for his unapologetic greed. In some episodes, he is shown to be delirious at the thought of getting freebies. Methods of Tam's to attain these include frequently entering competitions (much to the other's annoyance, he always wins) and conning the ill (sometimes even the terminally ill) out of their valuable possessions while working as a DJ at the Western General Hospital, to the dismay of his friends.

He marries the local librarian, Frances Kirkwood, in the episode "Ring". His materialistic attitude often causes a rift between himself and his wife, but, at 70, Tam becomes father to Tam Jr. and Frances becomes Britain's oldest mum. Their son is retconned for the series's return in 2016, with the couple celebrating only their second wedding anniversary in that year's episode "The Undrinkables". A good friend of Winston, Tam tends to be his 'double act' partner - Winston serves as best man at Tam and Frances's wedding. Despite his nature, Tam occasionally demonstrates a more generous side, sometimes paying if the situation absolutely requires it. For example, in "One In, One Out", he uncharacteristically offers to buy his friends a round of drinks as they await news of Jack's potentially life-threatening heart operation.

Navid Harrid Appears in 57 episodes from "Flittin'" to "Over the Hill"