Rev.

This meditation on how a a Good man might fare as a Priest in modern inner city London is so real that, as in life, it's often almost impossible to know whether you want to laugh or cry. Often I did both. And at the same time. The story arc leads to flirting with the old postulation on what would we do to Jesus if he walked among us today, but the deeper insight is into what it means for us mere mortals, just to try to be good, even Christian, in this world, surrounded by the selfish and the self involved, the deluded and the indifferent. As writing it isn't being bettered anywhere on TV. As a company, all the players are brilliant, as the protagonist, Tom Hollander stakes a claim of such star quality, warmth and truth, as should make every writer and director beg to have him work with them. Along the way to the denouement, guest stars Ralph Fiennes and Liam Neesons involvement points to the richly deserved recognition that this show has received. The end is almost too much to take...but by a God I'm grateful that it got made.

This is a series I had to watch alone. My wife didn't enjoy it, found it to be odd and boring. Maybe it caught me at the right time. I was going through a faith transition, mini crisis, of my own and I was looking for alternatives to how I had been religiously programmed.

Not that Rev provides answers to existential crisis. But, he shows a religious order that though it is built on money and returns, it is handled by Rev with care and love. There is a tension throughout between the institution of church and the care of the parishioners. I felt Rev's acceptance.

There is the struggle over the popularity of Orthodoxy (as Rev compares the packed church next door with its harsh rules and dogmatics to his own sparsely attended sacrament administered based on the two great commandments of love).

The series seemed to climax in season three and it became a little sentimentally dramatic in the end with the comparison of Rev to a Christlike role. But, I still watched with interest through to the final scenes with the Cross.

It was humorous, ironic, thoughtful and timely for me.

I couldn't eat cereal while watching, because the crunch in my ears caused me to miss some of the dialogue.

Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

If only Olivia Coleman weren't in this. Basically, this should be the story of an inner city vicar who is not really sure if he's making a difference. So if Olivia Coleman's character didn't exist, everything would be fine.

He could lust after the beautiful principal of the school, he could question his vocation and he could get a chance to openly discuss religion in a modern sitcom and that might be really helpful.

But it's hard to understand how these two people would even meet, let alone have sex or get married. They don't seem to know each other and they don't seem to have anything in common. It's like they just added her in as an afterthought.

So she is dressing up like a prostitute in the local convenience store to enhance their sex life and he's questioning the nature of existence. Just doesn't make any sense.

You would think that someone in his situation who decided to marry would be really in love and pretty certain about what they want to do with their life. I almost think she forgets what his job is.

Anyway, they have wonderful actors and they are all wasted with an absurd plot line.

What a wonderful series; I had heard about it but never seen it and finally the chance to hire it came about. I had my doubts, having been scarred by the rector's wife a couple of weeks ago, but this is a totally different kettle of fish, and funny, serious, and real. Great acting, wonderful characters and gentle humour. And upbeat!! The vicar is a highly likable character and he brings a reality to the fact of a man with faith that many series would scorn. Here he is not a villain, but a man trying to do the best he can with the lot he has chosen. It's refreshing to see a clergyman portrayed as a real human being, not a warped or bitter character, and a normal non-resentful wife.

I'm not up on British religion -- I'm not up on any religion once it left behind the teaching of tolerance, peace and love and took up the search for power through politics -- so if I say something offensive to someone who follows the Church of England, just let me say up front that I apologize. That said, I must say I adore this vicar. He's often unsure, terribly vulnerable and flawed, but he means well by his congregation, his friends, his wife. He just has trouble sometimes keeping his human-ness in check. And that is why I loved this show. I also loved the last episode with its poignancy and doubt. The Rev. remained true to his character, as much as he always tried to be what he thought he was supposed to be, he was in the end just a human being.