Jam & Jerusalem

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.

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.

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.)

I think that this show has been very good for the first three episodes. It is nothing like Jennifer Saunders's previous comedies and so lots of people seem to be disappointed by it. The BBC promoted too much as a comedy and gave it a slot normally reserved for more obvious comedies. I would call it more of a comedy drama which would have been much more appropriate on a Sunday evening. I think when watching this show, you should expect gentle comedy which feels very warm, not the non-stop laughs of Absolutely Fabulous and then you won't be disappointed. All the actors give great performances, with Dawn French and Joanna Lumley providing most of the comic relief from most of the story lines, some of which are actually quite serious at times. Shows should never be judged on their pilot episodes and this is the perfect example - it was just setting the scene and creating openings for future story lines. I personally can't wait to see how all the characters develop over time and hope it is given the chance it deserves to grow into a lovely cosy drama. People are often too quick to judge, and with this show they absolutely mustn't.