Rev – BBC 2

Wayne Alexander — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 18:51:07 +0000

I’m not sure about ‘Rev‘ yet as I’ve only seen half an episode. It had some funny lines and Tom Hollander who plays the ‘Rev’ is a good actor who I’ve enjoyed in other roles. Yet it struck me as slightly odd that this is the subject of a sitcom, particularly as Father Ted – which I loved – and Vicar of Dibley – have both been there and done that, even if this is about an urban vicar rather than a rural or Irish one.

The church, like any organisation, is easy to laugh at and it’s healthy that we do.Wherever there are lots of people there is always opportunity for humour. Adrian Plass, a lovely man and a brilliant writer, has had me and thousands of others in stitches with his bestsellers about church life. Laughter, as the saying goes, is often the best medicine.

As a fellow ‘Rev’ I guess a main concern I have is that I regularly meet people who have no idea what church is really like and so base their views on the caricatures in sit-coms or soaps. That’s what I did until I actually went to church for the first time when I was 15 and all my preconceptions were blown to bits. My fear with ‘Rev’ – but its a challenge too – is that it will once again ‘market’ church to those who never go, only confirming in their minds why they should never go. I have never seen the kinds of vibrant, effective, community churches that I’ve had the privilege to know represented on TV. I would disagree with AA Gill who expressed his opinion in his review in the Sunday Times this week and said, ‘It’s not that the audience doesn’t believe; it no longer cares about the church…’ Many, many people do.

I’ll watch the next few to see where it goes. It’s on tonight at 10pm. Any views anyone?

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Rev – BBC 2