......................................................from Pasto,Colombia...Via: L.A. CA., CALI, COLOMBIA and ORLANDO, It's fair to say that we Americans fall into 2 categories: Those who don't particularly care for British humor; and those whose appetite for it is simply insatiable! Would you care to venture a guess as to where I fit in? Yes, from the country that gave us "Monty Python's Flying Circus" and "Benny Hill", we present a veritable panacea for that pandemic feeling Americans have been grumbling about in a chorus that has grown constantly more vociferous in recent years: "American comedies just don't seem to be that funny anymore!" Unless you find chronic flatulence amusing, because a rather entrenched "I never met a fart joke I didn't like!" mentality, more often than not, prevails.Mr. and Mrs. John Q. Public, we proudly present, Ms. Vivienne Vyle! You'll love her one minute, loathe her the next! She's one TV talk-show host who can instantly discern crass, exploitative, manipulative, ratings-driven interview situations from serious, balanced, well-grounded, the-truth-must- be-served interviews! And, of course, never flinches one single instant....... in taking the cheap shot! In going for the jugular! 6 episodes of 29 minutes each (Unlike their American counterparts, here the half hour shows are just that! Sure beats 22 minute ones!) Usually I can't countenance the little explanatory blurbs associated with each title, because they're, more often than not, so far from the truth. In this case, it's decidedly spot on! The "humour" (British spelling, mind you!) is so wretchedly invective, so perfunctorily twisted, at times you won't know whether to laugh or to cry! The interaction between Jennifer Saunders and Miranda Richardson is fiendishly inspired! The only "Vyle" misfire was during a turn-on-a-dime effort to switch gears into heavy drama. Fortunately, this ill-fated effort was a scant 10 or 12 minutes, so not difficult to overlook! 9* STARS*....ENJOY/DISFRUTELA! Any comments, questions or observations, in English or Español, are most welcome!

This series will definitely have its detractors, but I'm sure that both Jennifer Saunders and Tanya Byron already knew that going in. Still, they are holding up a mirror ...Sometimes it's incredibly brutal and tragic; sometimes shockingly so. Take a look around at our world. If you're honest about what you see, you'd see this show as an indictment of media corporations and the celebrities they produce for worship, true that. However, you'd also see regular, vulnerable people who don't even try to communicate anymore unless there's some bit of technology between them and others, be it television or the Internet or their celphones. A character says 'association by disassociation' and I think that's such an accurate and succinct description of the contradiction that many of the more vicious daytime talkshow hosts thrive off of.Meanwhile, we're all still here together: wanting to connect with others and struggling with our own difficulties wherever they find us.This show is brilliant. I'm actually surprised that it made it this far. Yes, there is hilarious comedy in there, too, but this is not garden variety satire merely for the sake of laughs. And Jennifer Saunders' amazing portrayal and that of her supporting cast is only heightened by the outstanding writing and direction. There were so many moments that literally took my breath away.

When the first episode of Vivienne Vyle premiered in the UK in October 2007, the critics knives were out for Jennifer Saunders latest venture into sitcom territory. A sharp shock for anyone expecting Absolutely Fabulous or Jam and Jerusalem, Vivienne Vyle is a disturbing, all too real insight into the world of TV talk shows and celebrity culture.Jennifer Saunders relishes her role as the ambitious, uncompromising Vivienne Vyle - host of a trashy morning talk show. Miranda Richardson excels as the heavy drinking, manic editor of the show who, after a fight breaks out on the show, decides to take the programme in a new direction.Over six thirty-minute episodes, The Life And Times Of Vivienne Vyle perfectly balances comedy, tragedy and a disturbingly authentic view of the celebrity culture in which we live.Ignore the critics and give it a chance - this is Jennifer Saunders at her very best.

This so called comedy is probably one of the unfunniest that I have ever had the misfortune to watch. For a start off it is years too late to parody trash talk shows. Anyone going to do it should have done it years ago when they were relatively new. Secondly, it seemed to rely on the use of obscene language throughout to try and get laughs. Absolutely Fabulous was a genuinely funny classic piece of TV, but is this puerile nonsense the level that Jennifer Saunders has sunk to? Similarly Miranda Richardson, what on earth was she thinking taking part in this garbage? There wasn't a single thing in the half hour that even made me smile let alone laugh. How on earth it was ever commissioned is beyond comprehension. Truly, truly awful and definitely not worth watching again.