On a happier front

While I was incredibly annoyed during my movie outing this weekend, I did discover a favorite new tv show. Well, I didn't really discover it, and it's by no means new, but I do love it. My friend Heidi told me I should check out The Vicar of Dibley and I'm glad I did. It's a wildly popular BBC show that started back in the 90's. Unlike US shows that serve up 13 shows per season, and tend to go on and on long beyond their usefulness, the BBC offers an unpredictable number of shows and tends to produce them only as long as they are genuinely welcomed. From what I can gather, The Vicar of Dibley's first "season" was one made up of 6 episodes. Other seasons and some specials followed from 1994-2006.

I love TVOD because the humor is particularly British, which I adore, and it stars Dawn French who slays me. Because the show is from the UK it manages to get away with murder in terms of inappropriate gags, something I'm particularly fond of. I love the kooky characters in the village (Yippee... a village!) of Dibley and the I literally laugh out loud several times per episode, which is a rare thing for me. I think I can safely say that it's becoming a new comfort show for me (the ones you go to when times are tough). I own seasons of The Bob Newhart Show, Mary Tyler Moore and Northern Exposure. They are my current comfort shows but The Vicar of Dibley is right up there with them.


My only regret is that when I Netflix'd the show I inadvertently requested what seems to be the final two episodes. You'd think that title, A Holy Wholly Happy Ending, might have been a tip off, but no, I cluelessly popped the disc in and was soon a goner. How could I not love it? The finger in this clip alone will forever make me LOL. Not to mention, that it stars Richard Armitage who is adorable (have you seen North & South? It features yet another misunderstood dreamboat. *sigh*). I watched the two episodes back to back and immediately requested season 1. I'm starting from the beginning of the shows and am making my way through the entire series.

I hesitate to recommend it entirely only because so many people don't appreciate British humor as much as I do. I admit, the humor took me a while to appreciate. My Mom and brother would howl every Saturday night of my childhood while watching Monty Python's Flying Circus. I, on the other hand didn't get it. I eventually caught on and was sold by middle school. But if you enjoy that sort of quiet silly humor the Brits specialize in then you too may become a fan of Dibley. Try it on Netflix and let me know what you think. (Trooperdog, you of all people would probably get a kick out of how this fantastic Vicar handles her crazy flock. Here's a taste.)