The Vicar Of Dibley The Complete First Series (DVD)

Like many sitcoms in the 90s, I missed this when it was first shown on TV because I was living abroad at the time. However, after having seen a couple of specials at Christmastime, I became hooked and am now the proud owner of most of the episodes and specials that have been shown. This particular DVD contains all six episodes from series 1, shown in 1994, and the first Christmas special, which was shown in 1996.

At the time the show ...
...issue is clearly highlighted in the first series, which shows the reaction of the community of Dibley to the sudden appearance of a female vicar. The show goes on to gently mock those that are against the introduction of women into the Church; here gently is the key word, because the humour really is very inoffensive.

The first series, consisting of six episodes, documents the death of the old vicar of Dibley and the appearance of ... more

Like many sitcoms in the 90s, I missed this when it was first shown on TV because I was living abroad at the time. However, after having seen a couple of specials at Christmastime, I became hooked and am now the proud owner of most of the episodes and specials that have been shown. This particular DVD contains all six episodes from series 1, shown in 1994, and the first Christmas special, which was shown in 1996.

At the time the show was first released, there was still a large amount of controversy about female priests and this issue is clearly highlighted in the first series, which shows the reaction of the community of Dibley to the sudden appearance of a female vicar. The show goes on to gently mock those that are against the introduction of women into the Church; here gently is the key word, because the humour really is very inoffensive.

The first series, consisting of six episodes, documents the death of the old vicar of Dibley and the appearance of the new one, much to the horror of David Horton, Chairman of the Parish Council and to the surprise of the other members of the Parish Council. Despite David's attempts to get rid of her, he is thwarted by his fellow council members, all of whom quickly warm to the larger-than-life Geraldine (the vicar) and want her to stay. In turn, Geraldine is slightly taken aback by her rather in-bred (read very very strange) villagers, most of whom are downright strange, but she quickly comes to realise that they have good hearts. Slowly, after a number of confrontations, David comes to realise that Geraldine may, after all, be the best vicar they have ever had.

The Christmas special, called The Christmas Lunch Incident, involves the kind-hearted Geraldine being invited to three different lunches held by her parishioners. Each of them has a particular reason for inviting her and she is unable to say no, so ends up having to eat three lots of lunch whilst not letting on that she is also eating with others.

I'm not particularly a fan of Dawn French. I don't like a lot of the work that she has done with Jennifer Saunders; she can be overly stupid at times and frankly quite annoying. However, here, she is absolutely perfect in the role of the vicar, Geraldine Grainger. Along with David, she is just about the only full-witted person in the village, yet her ability to accept her parishioners strange foibles is deeply touching and Dawn French manages to convey this in such a way that it is wholly believable. The excellent screenplay gives her a chance to show that she can really act without just being silly, although she does get the chance to pull some very interesting faces at times, and she certainly gets lots of practice in comic acting! I would not normally comment on an actor's looks, but she does really manage to look like a vicar, while looking totally appealing at the same time. She is a very attractive woman and does not let the fact that she is overweight get in her way - she always looks stunning - and all this adds to the realism of the role.

I have always liked Gary Waldhorn, who plays David Horton. My most familiar memory of him is in Brushstrokes, in which he plays the father of a young twenty-something girl. He was excellent in that and certainly doesn't disappoint in this either. Arrogant, yet with the ability to be touched at times, he is hilarious as a typical village leader. His ability to be deeply sarcastic and have perfect timing adds another superb role to this comedy.

Despite my praise for Dawn French and Gary Waldhorn, my favourite character in this show is Emma Chambers who plays the delightfully dim-witted Alice Tinker, verger and boon companion to Geraldine. Although obviously highly far-fetched, she plays the role with enough verve to be completely believable and does provide most of the comedy, whilst also providing some of the most touching scenes. Again, her comic timing is impeccable. My favourite part of each episode is the last few minutes right at the end when Geraldine tells a joke and Alice doesn't get it. I have never tired of this in all the episodes that I have seen. I have never seen Emma Chambers in anything else, but I do hope that now the Vicar of Dibley has finally finished, she will move on to something equally successful.

And now on to the fab five (or four as they became). Also on the village parish council board are Hugo Horton (David's son), Owen Newitt, Jim Trott, Frank Pickle and Letitia Cropley. Hugo is played by James Fleet, probably most famous for his role as the dippy posh git in Four Weddings and a Funeral. His role in this is very similar. This is not to say he isn't good; he is - it is just that for this reason, he isn't quite as surprisingly good as the others.

My favourites of the five have to be Owen Newitt, played by Roger Lloyd-Pack and Jim Trott, played by Trevor Peacock. Roger Lloyd-Pack, well-known as Trigger in Only Fools and Horses, is a very talented actor, who can play comedy and drama equally well. As Owen, he is a farmer who has frequent bowel problems, and when he doesn't, he has his arm up one of his animal's backsides. Despite the toilet humour, however, he manages to bring another level of humour to the role to make himself one of the strongest side roles in the series. I also love Jim Trott, who has great difficulty in saying anything without stammering 'no..no..no..no' beforehand, even when he is trying to say yes. Far from being annoying after a while, his talent allows him to carry it on. He also has a very expressive face, which makes him funny before he's said anything!

The final two, Frank Pickle and Letitia Cropley, played by John Bluthal and Liz Smith (of The Royle Family fame). John Bluthal is not an actor I am familiar with, although he has a long list under his filmography on imdb. He plays the very boring Frank, who is gay, but no-one seems to realise it. Despite being boring (he apparently bored his parents to their death), he is a deeply amusing character who brings a lot of reality to the show with his penchant towards bureaucracy. Letitia Cropley does the flower-arranging for the church, which more often enough involves something bizarre, like a pineapple, and is also an enthusiastic cook who experiments with odd ingredients like Marmite in a cake. Not having begun her acting career until she was in her 50s, Liz Smith left after the first series, presumably to go on and do other things such as Nana in the Royle Family. At first, I thought she would be sadly missed, but luckily the other roles are strong enough to cover up for her and it becomes clear in later episodes that she was probably the weakest character.

I adore The Vicar of Dibley and it is no surprise to me that the two specials shown over Christmas won the viewing wars for the BBC. Something like 11 million people watched the Christmas Day one; incredible when you think of the population of Great Britain and the amount of other TV channels that now exist. However, I think that the producers were right to make these the last episodes of an excellent series that has now run for 12 years.

This first series was written by Richard Curtis, who is also responsible for some of the Blackadder series, as well as the screenplays for both the Bridget Jones' films, Notting Hill and Love Actually. Praise where it's due; I am sure the actors bring much of the comedy to the series with their hugely talented performances, but it has to be based on Richard Curtis' writing, and for this he deserves an Oscar. The humour is sometimes downright crude and often sacrilegious, yet it is delivered in such a way that I have rarely heard criticism, even from the religious. He is clearly a very talented man. The director of the first series, Dewi Humphreys, also deserves praise for getting such a sterling show on the road.

I have watched this series many many times now and each time it makes me laugh. There are not many comedies that I don't tire of after so long, so that is truly incredible. I am personally not religious and I don't mind crude humour, but I can imagine that some may find it slightly offensive. For example; although not so evident in this series, it is clear that Geraldine has a sex life, and as she is a vicar, I would think that some may find this irreverent. That honestly is the only criticism that I can find for this show though and it certainly isn't a problem for me.

If you are an extras freak, you will be disappointed to know that there aren't any, unless you count the Christmas special as an extra.

If you are one of the few people who haven't seen this series, I highly recommend it. It is one of the few comedies that is relevant for people of all ages and both sexes. I'm sure you'll find it is one of those DVDs that is watched time after time, like mine.

The first series is available from play.com for £11.99. A bargain for over three hours of pleasure.

Classification: PG
Running time: 3 hours and 10 minutes
 

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