Surprisingly incoherent and boring

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Highly Overrated But Still Good

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

I was directed to all 14 episodes of this on a well-known video hosting site by an article in The Grauniad (sic), and as it seems to be a fondly remembered, I watched three episodes. I am not going to give it a full-blown review as I expect it would turn into a rant about why I don't enjoy "Only Fools and Horses" (written by the same person who wrote "Dear John"). Suffice to say it is an ensemble piece that revolves around the excellent Ralph Bates, who has the same sort of shy, nerdy charm that John Alderton displayed in "Please Sir". It won't take you long to twig the main traits of the other characters; they are all a bit one dimensional but I gather that their back-stories fill out a bit in later episodes. Did I laugh? Yes. I laughed out loud about twice per episode, and smiled a lot. Whatever reservations I have about John Sullivan's characters, he could pen a funny line.

In my opinion, this is the best comedy John Sullivan wrote. The characters are superb, the cast are amazing talents and the jokes funny.There are many repetitive jokes, especially by the character, Louise and also Kirk. Peter Denyer plays the role of the 'loser' Ralph perfectly.The two episodes Kevin Lloyd is in at the start of Series 2 are probably the two funniest.Although it is a serious subject of marital breakdown, John Sullivan has managed to pitch this perfectly.It is well worth a watch.

John Sullivan was one of the best comedy writers that Britain has ever produced and while this sitcom doesn't get as fondly remembered as perhaps Just Good Friends or Only Fools and Horses it is a fine sitcom and produces more laughs per episode than anything on television today.It has charm, it has genuine warmth and actors who play their roles to perfection with Ralph Bates being at the centre of this as the unlucky but nice John Lacey. Sullivan writes characters like the meek yet hilarious Ralph with such skill while making others like the ridiculous Kirk seem so real.From catchphrases to a rich sense of pathos this show has it all and if you are a fan of John Sullivan's other works then this is one well worth searching for on DVD.

I had always thought 'Dear John' ran for years on B.B.C.-1, until I checked I.M.D.B., and it turns out there were only 13 episodes, plus a 50-minute special. Maybe I got it confused with the U.S. version ( of which there were 90 ). Anyway, it was John Sullivan's fourth big comedy hit in a row, following 'Citizen Smith', 'Only Fools & Horses' and 'Just Good Friends'. The late, much-missed Ralph Bates played the 'John' of the title, a mild-mannered schoolteacher who goes home one day to find wife 'Wendy' ( Wendy Allnut ) gone, and a note on the kitchen table explaining that she has run off with his best friend, who happens to be Welsh ( the swine! ). Depressed beyond measure, he joins an encounter group for divorced people - 1-2-1 - headed by 'Louise' ( Rachel Bell ), a jolly hockey sticks type with an abnormal interest in other people's sex lives. His first visit is almost a disaster - he goes to an alcoholics anonymous meeting by mistake.The other group members are nerdy 'Ralph' ( Peter Denyer ), 'Mrs.Arnott' ( Jean Challis ) who never spoke, frigid 'Kate' ( Belinda Lang ), and, last but by no means least, 'Kirk St.Moritz', a man so boastful and vain as to give 'Ralph Tanner' of 'The Other One' a run for his money ( in a later episode, it was revealed that 'Kirk' was a fraud with no existence at all. He was the alter-ego of 'Eric', who was even more nerdy than Ralph! ).As the group slowly got to know one another, newcomers joined, such as faded pop star 'Rick' ( the late Kevin Lloyd ). In one of the most memorable episodes, Rick's comeback at a charity event was unexpectedly usurped by Freddie & The Dreamers. You would have needed a heart of stone to be unmoved by Rick's humiliation. Another strong episode had Ralph agreeing to a date with an attractive young girl, only to discover she was a pupil at the school where he taught. Ralph ran a mobile disco in another - adopting the alias 'Dazzling Darren Drang' - who delivered phrases like 'get on down then' and 'boogaloo' in a deadpan tone. Irene Prador played 'Mrs.Lemenski', a Polish woman from the flat upstairs to John. Terence Edmond was John's teacher friend 'Ken'.This was adult comedy alright, not adult comedy in the sense of lots of swearing and vomiting and so on, but comedy by and for adults. It had characters you cared about and laughed with, not at. Holding the thing together was Bates, a one time star of Hammer horror movies. His early death from pancreatic cancer in 1991 robbed us of a great talent.The American version began a year after the British version ended. Starring Judd Hirsch ( from 'Taxi' ), it was shown over here as 'Dear John U.S.A.' and occupied a 10.45 slot on Sunday nights. John Sullivan rewrote many of his scripts, and the theme tune was retained. British actress Jane Carr played 'Louise'. The 'Rick' episode featured Trevor Eve in the Kevin Lloyd role.'Dear John U.K.' has just been released on D.V.D. and is a must for John Sullivan fans.