# Tell me about "The Vicar of Dibley" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 22, 2004, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-vicar-of-dibley/235692 "2004-03-22T05:28:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2004, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-vicar-of-dibley/235692/1 "2004-03-22T05:28:05Z")
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? ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2004, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-vicar-of-dibley/235692/2 "2004-03-22T05:34:50Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2004, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-vicar-of-dibley/235692/3 "2004-03-22T05:57:26Z")
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. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2004, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-vicar-of-dibley/235692/4 "2004-03-22T07:43:50Z")
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_. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_Wright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Steve\_Wright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_Wright)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2004, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-vicar-of-dibley/235692/5 "2004-03-22T11:27:57Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2004, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-vicar-of-dibley/235692/6 "2004-03-22T12:14:33Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Ross](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@Ross](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ross)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2004, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-vicar-of-dibley/235692/7 "2004-03-22T13:22:13Z")
It’s exactly the sort of prime time thing that large numbers of people watch in their millions. Make of that what you will. ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2004, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-vicar-of-dibley/235692/8 "2004-03-22T13:22:16Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Patr100](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@Patr100](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patr100)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2004, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-vicar-of-dibley/235692/9 "2004-03-22T13:52:38Z")
it’s a typically awful comedy by numbers effort from Richard Curtis et al. Not a fan. ---
**Author:** ![AngelicGemma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@AngelicGemma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelicGemma)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2004, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-vicar-of-dibley/235692/10 "2004-03-22T19:15:36Z")
It isn’t one of the best shows around, but I enjoy watching it. It can be quite funny. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2004, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-vicar-of-dibley/235692/11 "2004-03-22T21:50:03Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > There’s a store I know of that has tapes of the show, would it be worth buying? Undoubtedly. While not great, _The Vicar_ **is** entertaining. > [@](#): > > _Any particular episodes that are standouts?_ Off the top of my head: “The Easter Bunny” and “The Christmas Lunch Incident”. ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2004, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-vicar-of-dibley/235692/12 "2004-03-22T22:06:37Z")
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**. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2004, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-vicar-of-dibley/235692/13 "2004-03-22T22:16:19Z")
Dull bland inoffensive mush. If you want cutting-edge British comedy, investigate [The League Of Gentlemen](http://www.leagueofgentlemen.co.uk/) instead. But that’s unlikely to reach American public broadcast audiences 😉 ---
**Author:** ![AngelicGemma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@AngelicGemma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelicGemma)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2004, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-vicar-of-dibley/235692/14 "2004-03-22T22:48:07Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > Dull bland inoffensive mush. > If you want cutting-edge British comedy, investigate [The League Of Gentlemen](http://www.leagueofgentlemen.co.uk/) 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. ---
**Author:** ![quiltguy154](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/ad7895/32.png) [@quiltguy154](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quiltguy154)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2004, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-vicar-of-dibley/235692/15 "2004-03-22T23:25:41Z")
“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. ---
**Author:** ![Legolamb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4491bb/32.png) [@Legolamb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legolamb)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2004, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-vicar-of-dibley/235692/16 "2004-03-23T01:54:30Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2004, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-vicar-of-dibley/235692/17 "2004-03-23T03:08:11Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2004, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-vicar-of-dibley/235692/18 "2004-03-23T17:48:31Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > 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!