The Vicar of Dibley

The Vicar of Dibley is definitely in my top five British sitcoms of all time. It is genuinely funny without being cruel, malicious or cheap. The humour is affectionate yet glorious and it often gives me faith in humankind when sometimes I appear to have lost it.

OK, so there may not have been that many episodes over the last twelve years (a surprising 20 with three mini episodes for various Comic Relief shows) but the characters are so lovable, they have remained with me all the time.

I will happily admit that there was a bit of a lull in the quality of the writing during season three, particularly with the episodes 'Spring' and 'Summer', but to my mind, they were still a lot better than some other comedy offerings around that time.

I think one of the most understated performances comes from Gary Waldhorn as David Horton; millionaire, proud Tory and chairman of the local town council.
Poor David has to keep his mind sane as his fellow parishioners giddy about in a whirl of madness and naivety. When Geraldine Granger comes along as the first female Vicar of Dibley, he is initially appalled and finds the whole notion abhorrent. However, over time, he sees this woman as a paragon of good morals and decency and perhaps the closest thing to sanity in a world of lunacy.

Their relationship is the most grounding thing in the whole series and the chemistry between the two actors is marvellous. Gary Waldhorn is an expert at pathos when the time comes and has genuinely brought a lump to my throat when giving one of David’s more humanitarian speeches.

The rest of the cast are magnificent in their own potty ways. John Bluthal as the pedantic and boring Frank Pickle, Trevor Peacock as the sex-obsessed stuttering Jim Trott, Roger Lloyd-Pack as the revoltingly pungent and eerily sadistic Owen Newitt, Liz Smith as the batty but endearing Letitia Cropley, James Fleet as the innocent and often bewildered Hugo Horton…
But without doubt, the daftest and most certifiable is Alice Tinker, the Verger played exquisitely by Emma Chambers. Here is a girl who thinks it would be nice if kittens were born with pink fur so you wouldn’t have to paint them, who seriously can’t believe that ‘I can’t believe it’s not butter’ is not butter and also has a theory that she might, in fact, be the direct descendant of Jesus Christ.

And what a wonderful selection of special guests the show attracts! Kylie Minogue, Johnny Depp, Sean Bean, Darcey Bussell, Rachel Hunter, The Duchess of York!!

Despite its limited number of episodes, I would happily place The Vicar of Dibley in my top five British sitcoms of all time.

I am aware it isn't everybody's cup of tea and we all have different tastes in comedy. However, I just wanted to share my love for this show with you.

Richard Curtis, Dawn French et al… God bless you all. Amen

I did like the show when it first started but it was the Christmas specials about 5 years ago that put me off it. I haven't really watched since but it was certainly a well written, well acted sitcom when it began.

I have a feeling that those Christmas specials you mention are the series three episodes which I felt were lacking. Thankfully it all came good again!

The earlier season was definately the better of the bunch. Also, when they were extended to 45 mintues or whatever it was, I felt they started to drag on a bit.

My favourite Vicar of Dibley moment is when we see jims wife, who dithers in the opposite way to him, (yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, no!)

I agree that they can drag when more than half an hour, especially those in series three, but I think richard Curtis managed to perfect the management of time Vs comedy in the later episodes.

My favourite moments are withing the first two series though;

Th Window and the weather (series 1)with the discussions about the various Great Storms, Great Winds etc and the later discussions about what was in the old stained galss window. Priceless.

Also, 'Love & Marriage' (series 2) and the woman who bursts in to announce Hugo is already married. I cried laughing!

Apart from that Christ-punchingly God-awful 2005 special which basically raped the whole format for the sake of Make Poverty History, yes, The Vicar of Dibley is a really rather great show. It's not high-brow or especially clever, but it doesn't pretend or want to be. A great mixture of shock (particularly regarding Owen's frequent revelations about his private life) and 'comfortable' comedy, it offers a little twist on the stereotypical village-life in order to convey a subtle message in each episode.

Good, old-fashioned, inoffensive stuff. I really wish that there was more of it about.

Have to agree with you there Aaron - it's all good apart from those 2005 episodes in which they tried to put a 'message' across - hated having that shoved down my throat.

FYI Everyone - There's a Dibley documentary thing on BBC1 at 9pm tonight (Wednesday 10th Jan 2007)

Agreed with both Aaron and Mark Re 2005 episodes

Frankly I felt cheated and trick into watching a Curtis political broadcast

Other than that I think it’s a fine example of a great British sitcom a strong leading performer with a fine group of supporting characters.

I do have three question about the last episodes, a man move to village then for no reason ask the vicar to marry her and she says yes.

Why? Why and Why

Smacks of lazy writing to me, not that there weren’t funny moment when the dress got splashed had me roaring, perfect comic timing.

Barry

Mark Thanks for the warning about "The Story of Dibley" I would have miss that

Yes, I probably would too. Thanks Mark!

Interesting though. I got the impression that James Fleet wasn't really convinced about the Make Poverty History thing, but Dawn French is one of those brainwashed into loving Blair and all that kind of nonsense. Such a shame. That episode ruined the whole Dibley legacy. It's fair enough to make a point, but not so shamelessly and tackily as that. Awful.

I know I'm a bit of a freak, but the 'Make Poverty History' bit didn't bother me at all. (Maybe it's because I was drinking red wine at the time).
I actually like it when comedy shows make moving statements from time to time - like the finale of Blackadder for example.

Although heavy-handed, it did make its point and its a point that needs to be made. I thought it interesting the way the Dibley villagers were saying the negative lines that your average joe would say in response to the charity angle.

I understand why others don't like it though, my best mate despised it too. She said it ruined the episode which she had enjoyed up until then.

Fair play Ben - I too normally don't mind it when a message is put across. It needs to be done in a smart and clever way though (i.e. Brass Eye).

I love that Blackadder 4 ending - I think they achieved it in a more subtle way there though, whereas (from what I remember), in the 2005 Dibley special they just bunged in a video of starving children. It probably was their intention to shock but for me it was just a little too jarring - it wasn't possible to find anything funny for a while after that segment aired.

I'm probably going to hell as a result but I record Red Nose Day and watch it later so I can fast forward over the depressing bits - comedy and deep depression don't go well together.

I just watch. I mean, maybe I have no heart, but shit happens.

I'm probably going to hell as a result but I record Red Nose Day and watch it later so I can fast forward over the depressing bits - comedy and deep depression don't go well together.
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I do the same!!!!!!

I think the ending of "The Vicar in White" was good. The fact that they showed them in real life broke the reality of the show. But it'll be hard bringing it back for Comic Relief in March.

Quote: Aaron @ January 10, 2007, 1:48 AM

Apart from that Christ-punchingly God-awful 2005 special which basically raped the whole format for the sake of Make Poverty History, yes, The Vicar of Dibley is a really rather great show.

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Just watching this again now, and so wanted to reiterate the point in case anyone missed it. But 1,000x stronger.