The Vicar of Dibley - 10th Anniversary Specials
The Vicar of Dibleyfans rejoice! These two hour-long 10th Anniversary episodes rank with the very best. Even though the last full series was 4 years earlier, the cast hasn't lost their fantastic rapport--particularly the delightful chemistry between feisty Vicar Geraldine Granger (Dawn French,French & Saunders) and her sweet-tempered but dimwitted verger, Alice (Emma Chambers,Notting Hill); these two bounce off of each other like a classic comedy duo.  The first episode is Christmas-themed and features a contest to write a new Christmas carol and an implausible (yet very funny) visit from amazonian supermodel Rachel Hunter, which leads everyone to believe that Gerry is gay. The other is supposedly a New Year's episode, but it's really about Gerry's impending birthday, speed-dating, and writing a letter to the Prime Minister about world poverty (culminating in a serious and surprisingly moving plea aimed at the 2005 G8 Summit meeting). As ever, French is the barely-calm center of wildly spinning carousel of village eccentrics and the results are wonderfully funny. Co-written by Richard Curtis (4 Weddings and a Funeral,Bridget Jones'  Diary,Love Actually). Also featuring a 14-minute mini-episode created for Comic Relief, also excellent.--Bret Fetzer