A lot of the really quality shows on television do not have long seasons.  The Sopranos only makes 13 episodes a year, as did Monty Python.  Fawlty Towers only had six episodes in each of its two seasons.  The advantages of a short season are that the writers are not under the pressure of time nearly as much as a weekly series.  They have time to refine their ideas, and throw out the weaker plot devices, and construct a few really well built shows.  Of course, you can take it to extremes, as The Vicar of Dibley did in its second season.

The first season consisted of six episodes that aired in November and December 1994.  The second season, consisting of three episodes, did not air until January of 1998.  During the three year absence, there were three television specials broadcast.  That's a lot of time between seasons.  They did use the time to thier advantage.  This set of shows is tightly scripted, and is supperior to the first season.

This DVD starts off with the three 40 minute specials, aired in 1996 & 1997.  It is filled out with entire second season of only three 30 minute shows.

The Easter Bunny:  With Lent approaching, Geraldine suggests that everyone give up something really special to them for Lent.  When David goads her into giving up chocolate, she finds it hard going.

The Christmas Lunch Incident:  Geraldine finds that she has accepted everyone's invitations for Christmas dinner.  Can even she eat four meals?

Engagement:  The Vicar plays matchmaker and gets Hugo to finally kiss Alice.  But will David stand for his son dating her?

Dibley Live:  Geraldine gets a one week radio license for the town.  Everyone gets their own show, with the week culminating in a quiz show where David pits his intellect against Alice.

Celebrity Vicar:  The Times writes an article about Dibley's female Vicar.  Soon the offers to appear on the radio come pouring in.  Will all this fame go to Geraldine's head?

Love and Marriage:  It's time for a wedding in Dibley, but will it be the Vicar's last?

This show has grown and matured since the first series, and the changes are for the better.  David Horton is no longer the Vicar's foil.  Though he still doesn't accept her, he is no longer trying to get her fired every week.  It was refreshing to see this evolution in his character.  It made the plots more interesting and avoided the crutch of a using a  "scheme of the week" formula every episode.

There is also continuity in this series, something the first season had only the smallest amounts of.  The awkward attraction that Hugo and Alice have for each other is the main theme for this season.  Though paced a little quickly, this romance adds a nice sub-plot to the series.

The only down side to this season, aside from its brevity, is that the Vicar frequently insults Alice.  All of the insults are funny, of course, but many of them come across more mean than funny.  It just doesn't work for me.

Overall, it is still a very good show.  The jokes are funny, and the situations hilarious.

The DD 2.0 sound track was acceptable.  It was fairly clean, and the dialog was easy to understand.  The sound effects and incidental music were at an appropriate level. There were not any stereo effects that I noticed.  There are no subtitles present.

Video:

As with the first series, the video on this set is not very good.  The picture is soft, and slightly blurry throughout.  There are many digital artifacts scattered through the shows, the worst example of which is a slight halo effect that seems to be constant.  In the opening credits the camera flies over the English countryside.  The plowed rows in the fields flicker as the camera moves over them, and in some cases they even disappear.

On the positive side, the colors are accurate, the picture is bright and the image isn't grainy.  Not a great looking DVD, but watchable.
 

The Extras:

There are no extras on this disc.  There is a trailer for "French and Saunders" video tapes and DVDs and a BBC America commercial that automatically play when the disc is inserted, but they are not accessible from the main menu for some strange reason.  (Thankfully, they are skipable.)

Final Thoughts:

A very nice continuation of the series.  The added continuity made the show more enjoyable.  The three specials were the better, on average, than the shows from the second season, but every episode had some very funny parts.  The last episode on the disc, especially, was laugh out loud funny.  Recommended.