THE Vicar of Dibley viewers branded the first new 10 minute show everything from “massively unfunny” to an “abomination.”
Fans of the iconic BBC series, starring Dawn French, 63, told how in their eyes the 2020 re-vamp had “fell flat.”
Dawn’s character, Geraldine Grainger of the Parish of Dibley, made her long-awaited return in the lockdown themed episode.
It showed her taking sermons on zoom during the social-distancing period, while one scene saw her reuniting with bumbling Hugo Horton (James Fleet) on a video call – but cutting him off as he rambled on about nothing.
The show, of which there will be three instalments in total, will also feature a Black Lives Matter scene where the bubbly vicar will take a kneel in support of the movement.
Yet despite the return of some familiar faces from the original, first aired in 1994, some fans weren’t left with that warm, fuzzy glow.
One took to Twitter to muse: “Still waiting for the bit where I’m supposed to laugh #vicarofdibley That was an abomination. Yet another reason to @DefundBBC.”
Another harshly suggested: “Dawn French thinks she is funnier then she is.”
One then posted: “I wish I could laugh.At it. I have really tried,” as a BBC viewer surmised: “Absolutely fell flat. Disappointingly unfunny.”
A Vicar of Dibley fan posted: “Well that was a massive unfunny let down #vicarofdibley.”
Another made reference to the condensed nature of the episode and put: “What on earth was that weird little Vicar of Dibley thing? Totally unfunny, and a waste of 10 mins . Whoever thought of that should be sacked immediately.”
One then wailed: “No, No, No ,No, No …..New not funny, not needed,” as a viewer insisted: “Vicar of Dibley in Lockdown. Absolute rubbish. I didn’t even come close to cracking a smile.”
Yet one stuck up for the show, which wrapped in 2007.
They commented: “Can’t please all of the people all of the time. It didn’t seem as good as the originals, but it has potential. The biggest problem with trying to make more is so many of the original cast have gone. Stay Safe.”
Meanwhile, in one of the three 10-minutes episodes due to air in the coming weeks, Geraldine addresses the murder of George Floyd by American police officers and racism as a wider issue.
Geraldine acknowledges that Dibley – the fictional Oxfordshire village the show is set in – isn’t the most racially diverse, she says: “‘I don’t think it matters where you’re from.
“I think it matters that you do something about it because Jesus would, wouldn’t he? Until all lives matter the same, we are doing something very wrong.”
“We need to focus on justice for a huge chunk of our countrymen and women who seem to have a very bad, weird deal from the day they’re born.”
The episode differs vastly from the rest of the series, which is written by Richard Curtis and Paul Mayhew-Archer.
While some critics might argue the episode could be seen as the BBC undermining its position of being impartial on the issue of Black Lives Matter, a spokesperson for the Corporation has insisted this is not the case.
Additionally, Vicar of Dibley loyals will appreciate the reference to loveable Alice Tinker, played by Emma Chambers.
The actress sadly passed away aged 53, in 2018, and bosses have vowed she is “still an important presence in the village.”
