Rev.

I like ‘Rev.‘ In case you don’t know, it’s a television comedy programme  about a vicar at a less-than-thriving inner-city church.

Adam (the Rev. of the title) is somewhat hapless, and many extremely silly things happen to him, but the great thing about him is that he’s not a one dimensional character. He’s not just a silly vicar for us to laugh at. He does silly things, but he also displays great love and self-sacrifice. He has what I would say is a realistic relationship with God – uncertain, questioning, confused, but also with moments of great joy and sanctity that he holds on to when the going gets tough.

The storylines can be quite daft (but in an amusing, rather than an annoying way) and yet the series also manages to be quite moving and thought-provoking at times. A couple of lines of dialogue can touch on some of the deepest questions we face as humans, about life, the universe and everything, and then we’ll be back to Colin and Adam shooting drug-addled squirrels in the churchyard, or similar.

‘Rev.’ may take an affectionate jibe at the Church of England now and again, but, watching it as a Christian, I never feel like my faith or the community I belong to is being mocked, nor are Christians  being stereotyped. Adam might be a bit hapless, his curate lay reader [and I call myself an Anglican!] might be extremely annoying, the archdeacon might be the stuff of nightmares and the congregation is certainly motley to say the least, but they all display love and compassion for their fellow human beings in various ways (even the scary archdeacon on occasion), and no one is ever beyond redemption. And it is very funny.

Edited on 18/12/2011 to add: A few people have arrived at this post after searching to try to find out the details of the song played at the end  of episode 6 of series 2 (first aired 15th December 2011). The song was “Our Love Will See Us Through”, performed by Nina Simone. Thanks to Steve, who commented on this post (see below) for the answer!

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19 thoughts on “Rev.

  1. We like Rev too. My favourite scene in it ever was from the recent episode where he had nightmares – the archdeacon on his toilet, pooing snakes :D I’m still laughing now!

  2. I haven’t seen it before so watched the first episode (of series 2) on iplayer last night. I thought some of it was very funny, although there were bits of it I wasn’t sure about (not suitable for my delicate ears :) )

    Although having said that I thought Father Ted was hilarious but when my sister in law watched it for the first time with us I think she was a bit shocked. So maybe you just have to watch it for a while to get used to it :)

  3. Just love this programme. So refreshing to see something funny, poignant, true to life and so well acted. I love especially Tom H’s portrayal of the vicar and Simon M’s role as the bishop although they are all so good. A glorious mix and muddle of life and characters that together make great story lines and manage to portray a group of Christians in a truthful way.

    • I absolutely agree funny and a breath of fresh air on the TV – realistic and dare I say it a wise and moral stance on life – aswell as funny!. I’m an atheist so was initially a bit put off by title but very glad I overcame that. It shows how good British Comedy can still be. The characters and actors are brilliant. The best of British comedy and I can’t wait for the next series

  4. Rev just gets better and better. I think series2 episode6 is perfect. It sums up what Rev is all about. Congrats to all those involved in the creation of a gem of a series.

  5. Got to feel sorry for poor old Rev at times …and yet you have to admire what he has gone thru nevermind what he’s going thru …you just wonder what else he has coming to him. Totally agree with previous comments …”Gets better and better” ..and the “Christmas special was the best yet”. Looking forward to the next series :-)

  6. Pingback: 11 things for 2011 | Musings of a librarian

  7. I am so happy that I can watch bbc even though I am not in the uk :D
    I absolutely love Rev!
    I can’t stand to wait so long for another series haha! :P

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