Radio Times

My initial reaction was dismay that the magnificent Sue Johnston was persuaded to ally herself to such meretricious dross. That a second run was commissioned also beggars belief. Jam & Jerusalem just doesn't know what it wants to be. As comedy it’s mirthless, as drama it's unengaging and as "gentle cosy entertainment" it's constipated.

With an impressive, predominantly female ensemble, J&J is reminiscent of Victoria Wood's superior dinnerladies, but it wastes all comedic talent at its disposal. Characterisation is minimal - one or two oddballs stand out but, frankly, they'd be more at home and get better material in Royston Vasey. There are even echoes of Last of the Summer Wine: in episode one, an old codger performed a ridiculous pratfall falling from a wobbly bike.

The focal character is weather-beaten widow Sal, played by Johnston. She puts on a brave face while her 30-something children continue to make demands on her, as do the various bewildered, egg-shell personalities in Clatterford St Mary's Women's Guild. There's at least one overwrought heart-to-heart in every episode. Is that just me yawning?

Dawn French's Rosie, an unconvincing dim/jolly/disturbing split personality, has tumbled out of the same tired old comedy cupboard. Supposedly "unrecognisable" (no, she's not), Joanna Lumley is heavily made up as moth-eaten derelict Delilah, a tone-deaf church organist - nowhere near as amusing as Lumley's Ab Fab comic-grotesque Patsy.

Flickering in and out of scenes with nothing worthy of their talents are Pauline McLynn (Father Ted's Mrs Doyle) and Doreen Mantle (One Foot in the Grave's Mrs Warboys). Also poorly served is the glorious Maggie Steed. As chair of the Women's Guild, she should be monstrously funny, not just a weary old nag chomping on chicken-feed dialogue.

David Mitchell, one of the few men in the cast, plays Sal's son James. As a tactless GP, he waddles through each episode with a perpetual sneer, perhaps keenly aware just how much this stinks.

Saunders, in a minor role, that of an expressionless, stiff-lipped toff, wanders around the periphery of events misunderstanding pop cultural references and terms for unusual sexual practices. But don't worry, viewers: if anyone's in the dark about the unsavoury meaning of "rimming", Jen's buddy (Suzy Aitchison, daughter of June Whitfield) will explain things in no uncertain terms. Where's the humour in that?

Can you imagine the reaction if you were not Jennifer Saunders, with a contract to fulfil and a coterie of comedy buddies to call upon, but a fledgling writer delivering these dismal scripts to a panel of TV executives? The only laughs you'd get would be derisive guffaws as you were shooed from the building.

Jam & Jerusalem? Move away from the display, ladies. There's nothing worth preserving and precious little to sing about.

Like all Jen Saunders' scripts, you have to be a little patient until you understand the characters. She develeops them beautifully so that by the 2nd installment you find yourself interested, by the 3rd you're entranced, and thereafter you wouldn't miss an episode for anything.

I couldn't disagree more. I love this show, with it's subtle humour and masterful characterisation.

I agree with your comments. I find this programme dreary and boring. So many good actresses seem to have wasted their time. I just don't understand why people are getting upset with your comments. Can they please scroll to the top of the screen and read those few words written very bold that say "WHY I HATE". We don't have to watch J&J and they don't have to make nasty comments.

I detest it because I am the owner of a real rural accent, Worcestershire. It is excrutiating to listen to BBC mummerset masquerading as something real. Dawn French in particular is so obviously drama-school rural. I would illustrate it with examples, but lack the phonetic symbols. Anyone should know that in rural areas, national estuary-nondescript is now the norm. People with local accents are an increasing rarity.

I thought it was just me, but this show is crap. I am quite intelligent and educated and can understand what is supposed to be portrayed, but it is still crap. Dawn French is still playing the same old same old, Cranford, F&S, V of D and now this. Get her off!!! What a waste, please say it won't be back. I know we have the choice to switch off, but it would have been better not to have had it return and put on something more enjoyable - hmmmm. Like the painter's wheel?

I've watched the first two series of Jam and Jerusalem and thought that they were ok - the second improved upon the first. However, i'm really enjoying the third series, the characters are a bit more rounded this time I think so the comedy is more subtle but very recognisable. I like it, perfect for sunday evening, I just wish the BBC would get out of the habit of sandwiching two episodes together - they seem to be doing it to the Tudors too!

Don't forget the blog article above was written in Jan 2008 when the characters were more caricatures in all fairness!

OK I understand because I used to feel the same way. I loathed the Vicar of Dibley when it started and I hated J and J. The secret, dear people, is to relax, turn off your expectations of what the programme should be, and just go with it. By the time Hugo married Alice in V of D I was falling off the sofa. By the latest episode of J and J I was smiling quite a lot and at one point moved to tears. The problem arises because it's Saunders [and French] and people approach the programme as they would a comedy. It's not a comedy - it's a gentle drama with comic overtones. And Jennifer Saunders has revealed herself to be a great actress.

Ah, you must live in the city...

I wasn't overly impressed by the first series, but the acting was beyond dispute, and Rosie Cavaliero's grief counsellor was wonderfully funny from the beginning - in a subtle way, of course, which might well be dismissed by many. It's possible for a subtle, observational humour to co-exist with more outlandish or visual gags - J&J does both, and does them well. If you've ever lived in a village, you'll recognise how true the characters are, by and large - and any fans of great actors and character-based comedy will enjoy this series.

This is one of the best TV programs on at the moment. The gentle, intelligent humour and pathos is comparable to Alan Bennett. Each episode of this current series has had me laughing out loud. I love it. The characters are flawed, but real and lovable. I have not seen a better portrayal of the effect of a son being sent to Afghanistan than the episode on 16th August. There is so much crammed into it that you can watch it again and again and still get things that you missed at first. Some characters are a bit 'overdone', eg Joanne Lumley's dotty old lady and Rosie/Margaret, but the point is how the other characters relate to them.

After watching the first few episodes of the first series I had formed the same opinion as Patrick Mulkern, a bucket full of comedy talent, but it did not raise a smile. On seeing that the third series was upon us we tuned in not expecting it to be any better. Do you know what? I was right. Even my wife who enjoyed the Royale Family so much (which also left me cold) could not summon up so much as a smile. The production itself is excellent but why waste the resources on this mind numbing tat?

I have been awaiting the return of this series, and it has not disappointed. Don't watch it if you are after belly laughs or high drama. DO WATCH if you like being enveloped in the kind of warm, gentle humour that wraps around one like a favourite blanket and allows a few moments of relaxation.

I live in Devon and I love it. It is gentle, silly, sad and in my opinion, very funny. Perhaps you have to live with people like the characters in the show to really get it!

first time i have seen this, surely nobody has been paid for writing this crap

what a load of crap

Dawn French alone is good (Vicar of Dibley), Jennifer Saunders alone is good (Ab Fab). Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders together are dire. They somehow manage to lose all sense of what is genuinely, laugh-out-loud funny and go instead for odd, unlikeable characters who make you wince rather than smile.

And making fun of old people's infirmities? Tacky, tacky, tacky. Why don't we point and laugh at disabled war veterans while we're at it?

'you must have the attention span of a rock.'

What does that even mean? Is it comparable to the attention span of a faint breeze? Seeing as rocks have been around forever I'd have thought they'd have fairly decent attention spans.

Anyway, I've always turned off after a few minutes when this has been on. I didn't find it funny. Some people seem to have taken this article a bit too much to heart. The article isn't being rude, it's having an opinion.

It's always a little painful when a favourite actor hits a bum note, but to see it done en masse, and for them to be cheered for it is depressing(mildly depressing anyway). With performances as thin and lifeless as these you'd be forgiven for thinking they were the rehearsals or even the initial read through of the script. This show makes Last of the Summer Wine look fresh and vital.

ps I wish Dawn French would give the west country accent a rest.

What a refreshing change - a reviewer who isn't afraid of being truthful about pedestal-dwelling celebrities. Saunders is capable of brilliance, but I couldn't disagree with any of the reviewer's comments. Nice to know I'm not alone. Well done Patrick Mulkern!

why don't you people just grow up there's wrong with jam &jerusalem

I've just caught up with all your comments. The purpose of this section of the website, as some have pointed out, is for the writer to say why they "hate" or at least greatly dislike a programme.

Sorry to Lauren who thought I was "narrow-minded and stuck up", but I simply did not find this series funny. What I saw of it left me cold and at best annoyed that so much talent was being squandered.

However, I do share some of your tastes. Jennifer Saunders has given me some of the greatest laughs of my life with other material. I thought Ab Fab was the top comedy of the early 90s and watched every episode many times over. I enjoyed a lot of the early French & Saunders sketch shows, even saw part of the first series being recorded at Television Centre. F&S's first big live show in the West End was one of the most agonisingly side-splitting nights out I can remember. But it's a shame when your comedy heroes seem to lose the spark that used to be SO electrifying.

Erm, as TV Licence payers are we not allowed to comment on BBC programmes, or is only praise permissable? Personally, I find J&J to be some kind of watered down SCUM manifesto for middle aged women (before the feminists yell, I'm a 36 year old female). Anyone under 40 is either stupid or selfish and any male in the programme is usually both. And as for Dawn French's character, I found the way she has been used for comic relief for nearly two series only to have her supposedly amusing condition inferred to be the result of childhood trauma absolutely vile. A truly awful programme that thankfully doesn't seem to be returning.

I only ever watched about 15 minutes of the first episode and while I am aware that new shows need to "bed in" this was so awful I could not bring myself to give it a chance. It was beyond rubbish.

Don't watch if you've got no clue of humour. I don't think there is still a great variety of good comedy shows but J&J is one of the few that really reminds me of all the "old" comedians who still knew what to do and how to write.

Jennifer Saunders is one of those talented writer and also the well-chosen cast does a wonderful job!

I don't care what anyone else might think, J&J has continually tickled my belly and made me laugh out loud. I am not easily pleased and have high standards as far as comedy is concerned. While I can see where others are getting there views from, you are letting presumptions or first impressions make your judgements. This show is loveable and has made me laugh like few others, I can't wait for the third series!

i didnt like it either, and these comments are making me laugh is the title of this blog not "why i hate..." and yet there is still surprise that its full of criticism

I really love J&J. I think that it is a wonderful show with an excellent cast. The beauty of it is in its simplicity. I don't see why it has to be put in any category when considering what kind of show it is - though for some reason people think that everything has to have a label on it. I think we should just let it be. You've tried to take a show with many dimensions and define it as either comedy, drama, or "gentle cosy entertainment." Why is this necessary? Why can't we just let it flow naturally without having to define it? I realize that the first couple of episodes may be hard to get into - not because they are bad - but because the show is more slowly paced than most that we see today. There is a gentleness to it that I find wonderful. I really enjoy all of the characters and I'm thrilled that we will get another series. I wish that you had shown a little more restraint in your assessment of J&J. As a critic, I would think that you would need to be a bit more objective in the way you express your opinions. You can be critical without being rude and disrespectful. Perhaps considering that you are probably not the shows target audience before jumping to conclusions would also have been a good idea.

I have one thing to say to people who criticise such fabululous programmes such as this. Take yourself down the high street, pop into Specsavers, have you eyes tested and while your at it why not pop to the doctor and have your ears syringed. Go home and try watching the series again and if that doesn't work in making you see the quality behind J&J then i can only assume you accidentally tuned in the first time during the ad break for big brother.

i don't know why you feel the need to rant about a show, A GOOD SHOW, and make it sound like rubbish. I personally find the show to be hilarious and I think they have great story lines... maybe you just need to get used to all the characters... and I wouldn't have none it was joanna lumely if i didn't already know before hand... so maybe you were looking to hard. && the writing was excellent in my opinion

You are very narrow minded and stuck-up. Clearly you have the attention span of a rock and taste to match. Jennifer Saunders is one of the most brilliant comediennes and writers of all time and Jam & Jerusalem, just like Ab Fab and F&S and Vivienne Vyle, is a work of utter genius from her. If you don't have the ability to recognise and appreciate good comedy, then (as Dawn once said in a French & Saunders sketch)...GET OUTTA THE POOL!

Sorry, dont watch the show then if you cant appreciate the humour. I think the fusion of comedy and the heartfelt storylines works magnificently. The first few episodes were a bit dull, Sal's husband had just been killed off, what would you expect? After that, though, I felt that it really took off. I suppose if you would have kept watching you would have seen more character development, more laughs, and more interesting storylines, but youre just too close-minded.

So do you feel a lot better now you got that off your chest? Feel acomplished? Let people make their own decision and dont bother being so rude.

Don't watch it then. i feel sory for all u critics u can't just watch a show and enjoy it. its a well funny show

Pretty much the same concept as the talking head clip shows we never tire of watching ... jobs for the girls when they've nothing else on.

Mind, I'll bet they all had a jolly old hoot making it.

Couldn't be further from the truth. Are they watching the same show as the rest of us?

Sorry a load of rubbish. No fluidity. Some of actresses taking part are one dimensional simply repeating characterisations from previous programs, in particular Lumley; French and Saunders. Second episode of the first series was my limit.

I quickly came to the same conclusion after the first two episodes of series one. I saw a little of the most recent episode and it occurred to me that J & J is in danger of becoming a descendant of Last of the Summer Wine: a pension fund for aging comedians.