Last night I volunteered for the phone bank at a PBS station.
One of the shows was a special titled “Funny Ladies of British Comedy”. There were clips from a number of shows, including “Vicar”
So, is it as good as it looked? We phone workers were laughing at it, as well as the others of course. There’s a store I know of that has tapes of the show, would it be worth buying? Any particular episodes that are standouts?
I’ve seen a couple of episodes, and while it’s no Blackadder, it’s definitely charming and worth watching, though I don’t know if I’d run out and buy it. Dawn French is excellent in the part, very charming and likeable without being insipid. I don’t know enough to recommend specific episodes to you.
It’s worth buying the DVD collection. I believe Best Buy has it for cheap. As noted, not as funny as Blackadder, nor as well-acted as Ballykissangel. But all in all, not a bad little show. 
Jesus. H. Christ.
Baker, if the people who are telling you it was a good show are British, you’re being whooshed.
If they aren’t, then they never actually watched it. TVOD is the least funny program the BBC has ever cranked out, and that includes everything with Peter Snow in it.
Get your PBS affiliate to buy Red Dwarf instead. I’ve been campaigning for mine to do it for years… no luck yet, although they did cave on Only Fools and Horses.
I’m British, I’ve seen it … I’d class it as moderately funny, in a fairly obvious way. Bland light entertainment, rather predictable … I suppose it had its moments, but I’m blowed if I can remember any offhand. Not worth getting excited over.
It is quite funny. I enjoyed every episode! Especially the joke at the end. My all time favorte line is, “It’s these, isn’t it? They are such a dead giveaway!” While vigorously pointing to her breasts.
It’s exactly the sort of prime time thing that large numbers of people watch in their millions.
Make of that what you will.
I’m NOT British, nor am I a huge fan of “teddibly British, old chap” comedy, but I always enjoyed Vicar of Dibley. It’s true, it’s not side-splittingly funny, but it is a cute show. I think the only other really British show I enjoy is Keeping Up Appearances.
it’s a typically awful comedy by numbers effort from Richard Curtis et al.
Not a fan.
It isn’t one of the best shows around, but I enjoy watching it. It can be quite funny.
Undoubtedly. While not great, The Vicar is entertaining.
Off the top of my head: “The Easter Bunny” and “The Christmas Lunch Incident”.
It features ineffectual, permanently embarrassed, ever-so-nice, middle class English people.
It has a vicar in it.
Don’t be fooled by the track record of the writer and the star; it’s awful.
Dull bland inoffensive mush.
If you want cutting-edge British comedy, investigate The League Of Gentlemen instead. But that’s unlikely to reach American public broadcast audiences 
The League of Gentlemen was a great show! I even got to see them live. I personally didn’t like series 3 though (in fact, I don’t know of anyone who did). However the first 2 series are brilliant.
“The Vicar of Dibley” is funny, not uproariously so, just kind of a gentle humor. Most of the enjoyment comes from the village idiots[everyone BUT the vicar] that populate the series. Dawn French is like a ringmaster, letting each have their say, in their weird and wacky ways. There are a lot of “in” jokes that completely escape me[wish they posted footnotes, or a glossary] Give it a try, I watched each episode several times.
I’d agree with everything Steve Wright said and the last paragraph of what Really Not All That Bright said. It’s not bad as such, it’s just that there are so many other Britcoms that are better, especially Red Dwarf and Blackadder
For the record, Gimme, Gimme, Gimme is far and away the least funny comedy show the BBC has ever cranked out. How that got several more series after the first I will never know.
I want to thank all those who are replying. I’ve seen a number of British television shows, it’s just that very little of what I saw was comedy.
I have seen some of Red Dwarf. Probably need to watch again, based on comments here, because I don’t remeber being all that enthralled by it.
I suggest the “Camille” episode of Red Dwarf. Lister teaching Kryten to lie is absolutely hilarious!