Father Ted

Father Ted
Premiere	April 21, 1995
Finale	May 1, 1998
Creator	Graham Linehan, Arthur Mathews
Network/Provider	Channel 4
Style	30-minute comedy
Company	Hat Trick Productions
Seasons	3
Episodes	24 + 1 special
Origin	UK

Father Ted is a 1990s television situation comedy set on the extremely remote fictional Craggy Island off the west coast of Ireland. It was written by Arthur Mathews and Graham Linehan, who also co-created Big Train. All the interior scenes were shot at the London Weekend Television studios in London, while all of the location footage was shot in Ireland.

Three priests preside over the island parish: Ted Crilly (played by Dermot Morgan), the simple-minded Dougal McGuire (played by Ardal O'Hanlon) and the perpetually drunken, lecherous and foul-mouthed elderly priest, Jack Hackett (played by Frank Kelly). The three live together in Craggy Island's parochial house, along with their manic housekeeper Mrs. Doyle (played by Pauline McLynn), who is hell-bent on serving tea to all and sundry.

Responsible for the three priests' exile is fierce, uncompromising Bishop Len Brennan (played by Jim Norton). Bishop Brennan makes frequent visits to the island, often to cast his disapproving eye over the three and their backwater parish. The reasons for the priests' exile are only hinted at, but appear to stem from a mixture of incompetence and embarrassing conduct:

• Ted, a bon vivant, for something referred to only as "That Lourdes Thing." This apparently involved him misappropriating church funds which were intended to be used to send a poor child to Lourdes to go on a gambling trip to Las Vegas, Nevada. Ted has frequently claimed that the money was "just resting in my account", although Dougal points out "it was there for a very long time Ted...a good long rest". Ted was previously in Wexford.
• Dougal, for a mysterious incident in Blackrock involving a group of nuns, presumably caused by his stupidity.
• Jack, for being permanently drunk and violent and a basic inability to function normally as a priest. There is also mention of a 'blue nun' (blue as in sexually promiscuous) and a wedding that Father Hackett performed as to his direct banishment to Craggy Island.
• Mrs. Doyle, housekeeper to the three priests, she must once have been married though no mention of her husband is ever made. Serving tea is her mission in life.

A number of parishioners and other characters appear regularly on the show. These include:

• Local shop-owners Mary and John who, whilst striving to appear sweetness and light to the clergy, are in reality at each other's throats and making numerous attempts to murder each other.
• Tom, a bizarre maniac but with a polite tone to friends. He also wears a T-shirt on which he claims 'I shot JR' (a reference to Dallas, an American soap opera). In the first episode of Father Ted, he confesses to an apparently unconcerned Ted that "I killed a man, Father."
• Father Noel Furlong (Graham Norton) and his reluctant St Luke's Youth Group, who turn up in uncompromising places such as a tiny caravan and a dark cave. Father Noel occasionally turns up on his own, for example on a plane with a lack of fuel.
• Father Larry Duff, a priest with a zest for life whom Ted claims is 'tremendous fun' around others. However, when Ted calls him on his mobile phone, he suffers a horrible accident yet always reappears unharmed in a subsequent episode (much like Kenny in the animated series South Park). These events include car and skiing accidents, a disastrous donkey derby, a very painful mishap with a stapler, an unlucky incident with a knife thrower, and being savaged by a dozen Rottweiler dogs.

Although superficially about Roman Catholic priests, the show actually deals with many different situations, often using the church as a microcosm of Irish society as a whole. This includes dishonest, corrupt and insane priests and nuns. This last detail has led to the show being criticised as anti-Catholic, though most Catholics do not take such accusations seriously and many count themselves fans of the programme. However, it is true to say that many Irish Catholics can draw parallels to the behaviour of priests in their own parishes that they may have encountered over the years. This includes financial scandals and priests having sexual relationships.

The show also gave birth to many catchphrases that are well known in Ireland and Britain, most notably Mrs Doyle's "Go on, go on" and Father Jack's cursing, with short words including, and usually limited to, "Drink!" "Feck!" "Arse!" and "Girls!" The word 'feck' is assumed in the UK simply to be an inoffensive, made-up substitute for "fuck". Such a cagey neologism would seem to be part of a long line of made-up profanities in British sitcoms, like 'naff' in Porridge and 'smeg' in Red Dwarf. However, as in the examples given, 'feck' was not invented by the creators and has in fact long been used widely in vernacular speech in Ireland. Its use in Ireland is relatively inoffensive; but while it seems to be just a corruption of the 'fuck', it is not a precise synonym, and none of its common usages in Ireland includes intercourse. The word's strength is debatable.

Seasons

Season	Premiere	Finale				#
Channel 4
Season One	April 21, 1995	May 26, 1995				6
Season Two	March 8, 1996	December 24, 1996				10 + 1
Season Three	March 15, 1998	May 1, 1998				8

DVD Releases

Title	Release Date	#
Complete Series: Region 1
The Holy Trilogy	March 2, 2004	5	purchase
The Holy Trilogy: Special Edition	February 19, 2008	5	purchase
Season Sets: Region 1
The Complete Series 1	June 5, 2001	1	purchase
The Complete Series 2	March 5, 2002	2	purchase
The Complete Series 3	March 4, 2003	2	purchase

External Sites

• Father Ted at the Internet Movie Database
• Father Ted FAQ