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.

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.

When this appears on U.S. TV, it will be compared to "The Golden Girls." It is my fondest wish that NO ONE take such a comparison seriously. J&J is NOT a sitcom, thank Jennifer Saunders.

It is a sweet, charming, funny slice of life in a West Country village filled with eccentric, idiosyncratic folks. There is no one there I don't like and many I would love to know.

It has so far been a complete delight, filled with Jennifer's trademark wit, a delicious cast, beautiful locations and wonderful music. No laugh tracks, no dumbed-down humor here. It has an almost Robert Altman-like quality with overlapping dialogue and wonderful set pieces (episode five has several, my favorite being the pony trials). U.S. viewers might not get some of the references but for those of us who grew up in large towns and now live big cities, it is a temptation to chuck it all and move in with these people.

British TV is noteworthy for not padding episodes with exposition and back story which is a refreshing change. You'll pick everything up, trust me.

While Jennifer plays a small role as perpetually nettled Caroline Martin, it is Sue Johnston's show. I loved her work in "Waking the Dead" and am delighted that she gets to show off her comic side. The rest of the cast is really solid, particularly Sally Phillips as Tash, (you haven't lived until you've seen her UK Valley-girl/hippie/stoner routine), and Dawn French's Rosie takes turns making me laugh and breaking my heart. Pauline McLynn plays Sue's best mate and has totally won me over.

The only weak spot might be Joanna Lumley's Delilah Stagg. It's pretty clear that Delilah is a somewhat re-worked version of the aged Patsy Stone from "Ab Fab." She seems to turn up, do a bit of business each episode and disappear. Not sure where Jennifer's going with Delilah, but who knows maybe that's the point.

Really first class TV. Can't wait for Series 2. Get busy ladies.

(Each episode runs a full 30 minutes.)

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!

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.