The Britcompilation: Day 19- The Vicar of Dibley

We've had Saunders, now let's try French. Absolutely Fabulous was definitely a landmark series in that it kind of pioneered a new breed of female fronted Britcoms, and I think that The Vicar of Dibley, which premiered two years after, also played a hand in this. And what's better, it kind of knows it, too. Essentially it's about the first female vicar in the village of Dibley, Geraldine Granger, played by Dawn French. And if a show is as good as it's protagonist, Vicar of Dibley is absolutely great for a multitude of reasons, many of which are down to French and her impossibly optimistic vicar.

I said that this is a series that's aware of how interesting and different it was, and I really think it is. Because although there were female oriented sitcoms before this (Keeping Up Appearances and Absolutely Fabulous being two key ones), few were this self aware and even subversive about it. It's not impossible to read the liberal female vicar arriving at a fiercely old fashioned village as a mirror to a fresh and bold new voice in the generally male oriented world of British comedy. That it also works as its own genuinely hilarious and charming series is actually really special.

French's Geraldine is a wonderful character; incredibly charming and very, very funny. Her optimism is infectious, and she's definitely the heart and soul of the show. Throw in the late Emma Chambers as the loveable and naïve Alice, Gary Waldhorn as the old fashioned and conservative (yet weirdly likeable) David, and James Fleet as his clueless yet good natured son Hugo, and you've got one hell of a main cast.

The Vicar of Dibley is just such a charming, funny and pleasant show. It's a fantastically uncynical watch, and I think that it hold up very well twenty odd years on. As the series progresses, ideas of community begin to really be discussed, and when Geraldine eventually adjusts to life in Dibley (and they adjust to her), the series seriously begins to benefit from its rich, character driven comedy, and solidifies itself as a definite favourite. It's yet another series that defined and redefined the Britcom and what it could be, and it's still great today.