Jam & Jerusalem

I thought the first episode was quite poor.

However, it improved and from week 3 I was very happy with it. Although, I watched them in a block over four nights, having taped them with Sky plus. The acting is consistently good and the scripts have little gems all the way through - e.g. Rosie's holy potato and the vicars blessing of the stones.

There is a refreshing lack of typical sitcom situations and characters. Whilst to some it may be quaint, there is a subtle edge to the whole thing which gives moments of sadness and joy.

I know this is at odds with prior posts, but, having sat through the whole series I feel that it does not deserve to suffer for the couple of episodes that it took to establish the characters and the situation.

So to sum up, it is well worth watching in my opinion and I am really looking forward to the second series.

After the first episode, which was disjointed and not funny, the show did a remarkable turnaround. My daughter and I watched all 6 shows of the 1st series, plus the Christmas show. The more the series went on, the more we liked it. As has been mentioned, it is not meant to be like AbFab. It is funny and heartwarming at the same time - a character driven show. Though at first it was disappointing to not see much of Jennifer Saunders on screen (she plays only a minor character), I found that I really enjoyed watching Sue Johnston (Sal Vine) and Pauline McLynn (Tippi Haddem)develop their characters. Dawn French as Rosie was endearing and hilarious. I am looking forward to Series 2.

I think it well represents English village life - and indeed family life, well known to us middle-aged women. I grew up in a village like this, where the Village flower show, for my grandparents who lived in the same road as us, was the highlight of the year and the stage for great rivalries.

I think it's not so much instant comedy as a comic look at the lives of a cross-section of women in a small community, who each have their problems. It feels as if it written from experience.

It is affectionate and not driven by sensational story lines. Most of the characters are ones that you recognise - and they are all concerned with looking out for each other, even if sometimes their help is misdirected.

It is more mature than Absolutely Fabulous, and nearly as enjoyable.

This is a lovely program about life in a small village. Having grown up in a small town I can identify with the different personalities you find in small villages and towns everywhere. It's not supposed to be side split-tingly funny but a gentle poke at the small town politics that occur in a "ladies guild" sort of organisation. We had them in my home town and I would imagine just about every small town has them still. If you have never encountered this sort of life I pity you and this program will bore you but if you have the luck to live in such a place you will see the funny side of things and maybe even see yourself in one of the characters. I look forward to series two!

It's sharp and dry and very,very good. Tip and Tash are wonderful. Odd moments are brilliantly done, such as when Queenie receives applause and a bouquet for directing the panto, she says on stage 'I can't take all the credit', and Eileen, Maggie Steed, remarks to Sal '...but she will' while smiling and clapping with all the others.

Sue Johnston is a real professional and totally believable as a widow without being cloy.

And Kate...well done for playing such a wimpy do-gooder full of good intentions but without a real life of your own.

Jennifer Saunder's stiff upper lip is a perfect antidote for Rosie's loopy behaviour, which I thought was ridiculous at first, but now I've got used to it and it is nice to see how she is protected by the other Guild members.

The vicar is a bit cardboardy and OTT as a character, but that is my only criticism and he became more believable when apologizing to Rosie.

The episode with the Doctor unable to examine his old headmistress was priceless.

This is a wonderful show that needs to be allowed to mature as the characters develop, but I love them all already.