The late Richard Briers has assumed many guises over the course of his career. He was a nervous newlywed in 'Marriage Lines', an office clerk turned naturist in 'The Good Life', a boastful liar in 'The Other One' and an obsessive know-it-all in 'Ever Decreasing Circles'.
In 1985, he donned a dog collar for the role of a well meaning but clumsy vicar in 'All In Good Faith', which was his first ITV sitcom. Despite running for three series, it has never been regarded as one of the most memorable points of his career, which is a pity as it is superior to some of those that are.
John Kane, who appeared in a couple of episodes, was responsible for the scripts. Philip Lambe is an ensthusiastic priest who lives in a cosy Oxfordshire parish with his wife Emma and children Peter and Miranda. Episodes would mainly concern him trying to do things as diverse as playing golf or helping homeless people. By the end of the first series, he has moved from Oxfordshire to the fictional area of Edendale ( a run down district of the Midlands ) after being offered a new job there. By the third series, his children have grown up and left home.
'All In Good Faith' was not a wonderful show, far from it, but it was charming, helped by the energetic performance from Briers. Barbara Ferris was also impressive as his dutiful wife, though I never took to Susan Jameson, who replaced Ferris in series three. Appearing from time to time were James Cossins, Noel Dyson, Jeremy Gittins ( who went on, ironically enough, to play a vicar in 'Keeping Up Appearances' ), Raymond Francis and Frank Middlemass.
'All In Good Faith' was made available on DVD some time back and enjoyable stuff it is too.
In 1985, he donned a dog collar for the role of a well meaning but clumsy vicar in 'All In Good Faith', which was his first ITV sitcom. Despite running for three series, it has never been regarded as one of the most memorable points of his career, which is a pity as it is superior to some of those that are.
John Kane, who appeared in a couple of episodes, was responsible for the scripts. Philip Lambe is an ensthusiastic priest who lives in a cosy Oxfordshire parish with his wife Emma and children Peter and Miranda. Episodes would mainly concern him trying to do things as diverse as playing golf or helping homeless people. By the end of the first series, he has moved from Oxfordshire to the fictional area of Edendale ( a run down district of the Midlands ) after being offered a new job there. By the third series, his children have grown up and left home.
'All In Good Faith' was not a wonderful show, far from it, but it was charming, helped by the energetic performance from Briers. Barbara Ferris was also impressive as his dutiful wife, though I never took to Susan Jameson, who replaced Ferris in series three. Appearing from time to time were James Cossins, Noel Dyson, Jeremy Gittins ( who went on, ironically enough, to play a vicar in 'Keeping Up Appearances' ), Raymond Francis and Frank Middlemass.
'All In Good Faith' was made available on DVD some time back and enjoyable stuff it is too.