There have been many sitcoms over the years with a religious theme - 'All Gas & Gaiters', 'Oh Brother!' ( which was followed by 'Oh Father!' ), 'Our Man At St. Mark's', 'All In Good Faith', 'Bless Me Father' and 'The Vicar Of Dibley'. 'Father Ted', in my view, wipes the floor with all of them.
Father Ted Crilly is a priest who is banished to the desolate Parochial House in Craggy Island, off the Irish coast, for stealing charity money ( which he claims was 'just resting in his account!' ). Also living with him are Father Dougal MacGuire ( who is sent there following what is only known as 'the black rock incident'! ), a man so dense as to make Homer Simpson look like Sigmund Freud and Father Jack Hackett ( who is sent there following the unknown events of a wedding he performed in Athlone ), a cantankerous old git who is interested mainly in women and alcohol. Their mad housekeeper is Mrs. Doyle who is always seen supplying the priests with endless cups of tea, whether they want it or not.
Other characters appeared from time to time including Ted's arch nemesis and rival priest Father Dick Byrne ( Maurice O'Donoughue ), bickering shopkeeping couple John ( Patrick Drury ) and Mary ( Rynagh O'Grady ), grotesque village idiot Tom ( Pat Shortt ) and fearsome Bishop Len Brennan ( Jim Norton ).
'Father Ted' is a prime contender for the comedy hall of fame. Every episode is intelligently written ( though there is a fair share of slapstick on display as well ) and the fine cast - Dermot Morgan, Ardal O'Hanlon, Frank Kelly and Pauline McLynn - do the wonderful scripts more than justice. Like Dave Allen's comedy shows, 'Father Ted' attracted criticism in some quarters for its bashing of the Catholic church, though nationwide popularity defied all odds. Among my favourite episodes were the appropriately named 'Speed 3' ( a milkman exacts revenge on Ted and Dougal after they cause him to lose his job ), 'Song For Europe' ( home of the hilarious 'My Lovely Horse' song ), 'Flight Into Terror' ( a spoof of 'Airport '75 in which Ted endeavours to save the lives of passengers when a plane's cockpit goes into difficulty ), 'Cigarettes, Alcohol & Rollerblading' ( Ted, Dougal & Jack agree to give up their vices for Lent ), 'Entertaining Father Stone' ( the dour Father Stone makes himself an unwelcome guest in the Parochial House ), 'The Mainland' ( in which they meet Richard Wilson from 'One Foot In The Grave' ) and 'Kicking Bishop Brennan Up The Arse' ( Ted has to carry out the aforementioned task as a forfeit for cheating at a football match ).
'Father Ted' ran for three series on Channel 4. Its star, Dermot Morgan, said prior to the making of the third series that it would be the last ( ''I don't want to be another Clive Dunn and go on playing the same character for years!'' he said in an interview ) but alas after completion of the final series, Morgan sadly dropped dead of a heart attack. He was 45. As a mark of respect, the first episode of series three was postponed for a week after its planned broadcast date. The final scene in the final episode in which Ted planned to commit suicide was removed in the interests of good taste and replaced with clips from the earlier series, backed up by the show's theme tune.
Many of the surviving cast and crew went onto other things ( Ardal O'Hanlon went on to play George 'Thermoman' Sunday in 'My Hero' ) but 'Father Ted' remains unequalled. For those not already acquainted with it, go on, give it a go. Ah go on, go on, go on, go on.
