The Vicar Of Dibley - Holy Wholly Happy Ending (DVD)

...review. Thanks!)

The Christmas season just wouldn't be complete without British sitcoms; after suffering with deaf relatives, who seem to have the habit of saying how much you'd grown in spite of seeing you only the other week, some comic relief is certainly needed, or is that just in my household where relations unite to discuss such delights as your Granddad's impending heart surgery?

In the past, British sitcoms have ...
...plots aren't fully focused with the idea of Christmas. Dad's Army got it right three years running from 1974, starting with the 'Turkey Dinner' episode, moving onto 'My Brother and I', in which Lowe gave an impeccable performance as both Mainwaring and his brother, Barry, and finally 'The Love of the Three Oranges' which all subconsciously related back to Christmas with turkey, awkward family and unwanted gifts galore!

The same goes ... more

(Please note: This is a film - or TV - only review. Thanks!)

The Christmas season just wouldn't be complete without British sitcoms; after suffering with deaf relatives, who seem to have the habit of saying how much you'd grown in spite of seeing you only the other week, some comic relief is certainly needed, or is that just in my household where relations unite to discuss such delights as your Granddad's impending heart surgery?

In the past, British sitcoms have really made the most of the festive season, even if their plots aren't fully focused with the idea of Christmas. Dad's Army got it right three years running from 1974, starting with the 'Turkey Dinner' episode, moving onto 'My Brother and I', in which Lowe gave an impeccable performance as both Mainwaring and his brother, Barry, and finally 'The Love of the Three Oranges' which all subconsciously related back to Christmas with turkey, awkward family and unwanted gifts galore!

The same goes for Only Fools and Horses who always seem to excel in their Christmas editions. Who can forget the immortal Batman and Robin style dash by Del-Boy and Rodney or the infamous 'Gary' storyline where they manage to sneak an 'illegal immigrant' into the country?

The Vicar of Dibley can be seen as maintaining a similar calibre as its BBC comedy predecessors; the 1999 Christmas special, 'Winter' where the dim-witted Alice gives birth during the Nativity performance is more treasured, in my eyes, then the more recent Christmas editions, in which serious issues such as AIDs were tackled. Yes, the episodes served their purpose of getting a stern message or two across, with the goodwill of the Vicar (Dawn French) coming out in full force. Yet, something was lacking in the comedy department which is -after all - the reason why so many people would tune in the first place, right?

Two years after the delights of an incurable disease were highlight, a bombshell was dropped; the Christmas and New Years editions of The Vicar of Dibley, shown in 2006 and 2007, would potentially be the final ever episodes of the programme. The producers made no secret that there could be a one off special here or there and indeed there was, with a Comic Relief skit in the following March. However, the writers also revealed that the Vicar would be married off in the final official episode, which was never meant to be kept a secret anyway as they saw it as a fitting ending to the Vicars long and often laborious search to find 'The One'.

The only secret in this instance was the question of who the lucky man was to be. Or should I say the lucky Vicar?

THE LOVABLE LUNATICS OF THE VICAR OF DIBLEY
What I think has always been a striking feature about the Vicar of Dibley is how insanely realistic the characters are; sure, it's a sitcom so their quirky personality traits are amplified. However, within this particular set of episodes, the characters personas were magnified to such a degree, it was difficult to accept that these were the final episodes of the show and were often in complete contrast to the personalities that we'd grown to love over the course of the show. There was never much character development but as there weren't necessarily seasons of the show it didn't seem to matter, but some of the characters were disfigured rather alarmingly by the finale. Not literally.

With exception, Geraldine Granger, the Vicar, still maintained her regular charm; French's portrayal is one of the most solid in the programme but part of this is undeniably down to the scripting. Whereas many other characters were mutated for the sake of cheap laughs in these particular episodes, the Vicar's wasn't and her sense of loneliness and melancholy was played very well and for all the right reasons. It worked because it wasn't over the top. Instead, Dawn managed a contained and believable performance and you did find yourself genuinely thrilled because the character had met the man of her dreams (and seemingly mine).

In contrast to this, the other primary characters of the series really suffered as a result of the writers wanting to make the finale as funny as possible. It shouldn't have been a problem; the characters were oddities in themselves, from David Horton's (Gary Waldhorn) complete and utter cynicism, Owen's (Roger Lloyd-Pack) 'fondness' for animals and Jim Trott's (Trevor Peacocks) tendency to say the word 'no' over and over again in rapid succession. In the final two episodes, Horton was written to be overly sentimental which can be excused because, well, there was a wedding about to take place! However, it was a bit cringe-worthy, over the top and unnecessarily corny. Owens wild ways with farm animals just got silly. The jokes got far too disgusting and you could honestly see the programme veering further and further away from its initial notion of goodwill into something vulgar and needlessly so.

And Jim? Well, I couldn't say the word 'no' for weeks following these episodes for the fear of developing his annoying habit!

Emma Chambers as Alice is usually my favourite character in the show; next to her husband Hugo Horton, the son of David played by James Fleet, her foolish nature is admirable because it's so simple and easily effective but still well acted. Alas, in this instance, Chambers' acting was a little wooden although Fleets performances were spot on, as were John Bluthals as the remarkably boring Frank Pickle. Frank is a good-natured character that didn't lose his appeal during these episodes, thankfully, and kept the sentiments of the show alive in a believable way.

Oh and who played the husband to be I hear you cry? Two words: Richard Armitage.

Normally when I say this name, people look puzzled until I mention that he was the bloke who married the Vicar and played the Guy of Gisborne in the latest BBC adaptation of Robin Hood. Oddly enough, the name Richard Armitage pops up in conversation quite a lot, for one reason and one reason only: he's bloody gorgeous! That and the fact he will one day be my husband. I am a little obsessed and I have this show to thank for that. Really, I do; I remember watching the first episode with my Mum and seeing her eyes widen - as did mine - the moment he first popped up on screen.

Not being bias, which is difficult I'll admit, Richard does come across as every bit the gentleman and certainly shows off his comedic charms which he hadn't had the opportunity to do in a show like Robin Hood as he plays the lead villain's henchman. I read in an interview that Richard thinks he is most like Harry Kennedy out of all of the characters he's played up till now in the sense of being the sweet, romantic type.

Suits me fine!

Away from my disillusion, and back to the programme in question, you cannot fail to like the way the love story between the two progresses; Geraldine is clearly smitten (as we all would be) from the start and Dawn and Richard's performances are both comedic and dramatic enough to make it seem like a genuine love story with some of the best scenes in the history of the show cropping up between the two in the final episodes. I think the producers did very well to cast a guy for the role of the Vicars husband that kept to her previous male fantasies; Sean Bean and Johnny Depp have both cropped up in the show before, both of whom she loves just as much as chocolate, so it made sense to keep to the handsome types that we would normally associate to be Geraldine's taste.

THE FINAL EPISODES?
The 'final episodes' of the Vicar of Dibley were broadcast on Christmas Day and New Years Day. The first of the two episodes, the aptly titled 'The Handsome Stranger' was my favourite out of the two for a number of reasons but the basic plot of this episode was to portray the Vicars rush of falling madly and insatiably in love with someone who would appear to be polar opposites in some ways. They say that opposites attract but the main difference between the characters here were their careers although this isn't really a central aspect of the episode but something that you do take notice of and does open up to the question of 'will they, won't they' because of one of these differences in particular.

Again, the career and other differences weren't necessarily played up in such a way to make them the central sub-plot of the episode but the undercurrent of these dissimilarities were certainly there and helped kept the episode as a whole moving well.

The reason why this was my favourite of the two episodes was because it was largely centred on Geraldine and Harry becoming an item; both actors gave sweet and convincing performances that worked very well. I'm not going to say why Geraldine doubted her soon-to-be husband but the resolution of that particular problem was wonderfully written and very believable, which made the conclusion to the episode seem even lovelier, even if you were aware of what was to come next. It was easy to get carried away in their story, which was as a result of both the acting abilities and script.

One of the most predominate reasons why I preferred 'The Handsome Stranger', other than the fact that it really concentrated on the love story of the couple, was that it played out the way that, as a fan, I would want it to. There were plenty of ups and downs throughout the episode and although you could guess the conclusion in some ways, if you were already aware of what was to take place in the next episode, it still played out perfectly and was a fitting way to the finale.

The comedy of the first episode was also a lot more endearing than in the second episode. By 'The Vicar in White', you did unfortunately got the impression that the writers were taking liberties with the comedy and instead of really staying true to the characters initial personalities and their defects, decided just to whip out the biggest dog collar out of the draw and decorate it as garishly as possible. Does that make sense? Perhaps not.

What I'm trying to get across is that the jokes were just getting more and more ridiculous with each passing second and they'd slowly been succumbing to this death in the first part of the two. However, whereas beforehand you were willing to laugh inanely for the sake of it being a good comedy in respect to its past, by 'The Vicar in White', it was all a bit too much and a little insufferable. There was a key point just after the middle of the episode where, if the door had been literally knocked just once, it would have been funny. However, the repetition of the same question by various different characters was just truly silly, and you did get the distinct feeling that the writers only scripted that scene as a way to fill up some time before the big moment arrived.

My final gripe of the final episode was the way it concluded with Geraldine seemingly flying around the world. I nearly lobbed the remote at the tele when that bit happened. It just made no sense what-so-ever, looked ridiculous and was a pretentious, metaphorical way of trying to depict how thrilled the Vicar was to be married. Yes, we all would be if a guy like Harry Kennedy turned up on our doorsteps too but it defies the laws of gravity to fly. It was just stupid.

Rant over!

On the plus side, the love story was again well acted although I do have to say I was overwhelmed with jealousy every time Harry kissed Geraldine. The remote was also almost thrown at the TV for that reason, too...

BUT ARE THEY BETTER THAN THE PREVIOUS CHRISTMAS SPECIALS?
In a way, yes, and in a way certainly no. I have to say that the love story didn't seem hasty although it perhaps should have done; in the past, the Vicar has fallen in love with complete slime balls but the chemistry that not only Dawn and Richard shared on screen but the characters was wonderfully written and made sense; it looked and felt right from a viewers perspective and really lightened the mood of the specials.

Yet it is very difficult to ignore the rapidly degenerating comedy of the show; it all came across as a bit tasteless and crass for the sake of being crass. Many of the jokes just seemed like an excuse for the show to prove that they could get away with anything but to be fair, the thought of a man and beast exploring each other in a sexual manner is about as far away from the idea of festive cheer as it could possibly get! Alas, it got to the point where it just wasn't funny. In the past, the show got away with it because the bestiality jokes were seemingly more subtle. But here, they were just obtuse.

Previous Christmas specials of The Vicar of Dibley can be viewed in a more favourable light; a show centred on the occurrences of a religious village could get away with really exploring the real meaning of Christmas, and thankfully in the aforementioned 'Winter' episode, the writers did just that with the said nativity scenes. Sure, it wasn't as in your face as it could have been; the entire story of Jesus' birth wasn't shown. But there were moments amongst the genuinely funny quips that again stayed true to the idea of the Vicar being just that; the religious leader of the community. These moments seemed more genuine and in contrast to the later Christmas specials, you rarely forgot about Geraldine's career and when she did mention the real meaning behind Christmas, it seemed logical and authentic, rather than the show realising where its initial themes lie.

You could argue that the later Christmas specials were designed to be less about the season of goodwill and just to be scheduled at Christmas time. However, with an episode like the 1996 Vicar of Dibley, in which she has to face the mammoth task of eating more than one Christmas meal as a way to avoid disappointing the villagers, just seemed more fitting; a show like Dad's Army of Only Fools and Horses could get away with only having the backdrop of Christmas, with decorations and snow. Yet, a show which has strong roots in the Christian calendar really should make a bigger deal of the festivities and although 'The Handsome Stranger' and 'The Vicar in White' could be seen as accessible to this time of the year, with the mention of Christmas being romantic, it just seemed a little lacking which was a great shame.

OVERALL
You may have noticed that this is a film - or TV - only review. To the less observant of you, it is indeed a TV only review. This could beg the question of why have you not bought the DVD? Surely your the love of Richard Armitage could be enough to purchase it, right? No. Yes, I am quite partial to the tall, dark and handsome one but I think that if you wanted a DVD which wasn't based on you fancying the lead male, then this is not for you.

The biggest issue with the episode are that they are just quite weak. Then again, in my opinion, the shows had been on a slippery slope and never managed to really maintain the comedy and sparkle that episodes from 1998 to 2000 had. Here, the comedy was lacking, some of the acting over the top and the writing a little pretentious.

And another reason not to bother with the DVD? The repeats are always on the Sky Channel G.O.L.D and will do doubt be over this Christmas season too!

Tape them and admire them from afar (or at least Harry Kennedy): the Vicar of Dibley finale was certainly better than a lot of Christmas programmes from 2006 but for me, as someone who really does love the show, it just wasn't as fitting an ending as it could have been for the show that came third in the Britain's Favourite Comedy list.

A real shame but certainly worth a watch, even if it is just to reach for the onions when the Vicar finally says 'I Do'. 

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