"Father Ted" (1995) TV series 1995-1998

User Rating:

9.3/10   

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3

Release Date:

21 April 1995 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Crazy sitcom about 3 priests and their housekeeper who live on Craggy Island, not the peaceful and quiet part of Ireland it seems!

Plot Keywords:

Island | Ireland | Sitcom | Priest | Housekeeper

Awards:

15 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Dermot Morgan	...	Father Ted Crilly (25 episodes, 1995-1998)
Ardal O'Hanlon	...	Father Dougal McGuire (25 episodes, 1995-1998)
Frank Kelly	...	Father Jack Hackett (25 episodes, 1995-1998)
Pauline McLynn	...	Mrs. Doyle / ... (25 episodes, 1995-1998)

Runtime:

25 min (24 episodes) | 50 min (1 episode)

Country:

UK | Ireland

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

USA:TV-14 | USA:TV-MA (some episodes) | USA:TV-PG (few episodes) | Australia:M (some episodes) | Australia:PG (some episodes) | UK:15 | Ireland:15

Filming Locations:

Betchworth Quarry, Betchworth, Reigate, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

Hat Trick Productions

Trivia:

The theme tune to Father Ted was written by 'Neil Hannon' of 'The Divine Comedy'. It was later given lyrics and became Songs of Love on their album Casanova.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: In the episode "Cigarettes, Alcohol & Rollerblading", we see a shot of the living room of Rugged Island Parochial House through the outside window. Father Cyril MacDuff is seen rolling past on a skateboard and a rope attached to the skateboard can be clearly seen.

Quotes:

Father Ted: Ah, Sister Assumpta!
Sister Assumpta: Hello Father!
Father Ted: Dougal, Dougal, do you remember Sister Assumpta?
Father Dougal: Er, no.
Father Ted: She was here last year! And then we stayed with her in the convent, back in Kildare. Do you remember it? Ah, you do! And then you were hit by the car when you went down to the shops for the paper. You must remember all that? And then you won a hundred pounds with your lottery card? Ah, you must remember it, Dougal!
[Dougal shakes his head]
Sister Assumpta: And weren't you accidentally arrested for shoplifting? I remember we had to go down to the police station to get you!... And the police station went on fire? And you had to be rescued by helicopter?
Father Ted: Do you remember? You can't remember any of that? The helicopter! When you fell out of the helicopter! Over the zoo! Do you remember the tigers?
[Dougal shakes his head some more]
Father Ted: You don't remember? You were wearing your blue jumper.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Hitler: The Comedy Years (2007) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Songs of Love

Ah, go on, go on, go on ...

Where to begin in praise of Father Ted? This hilarious Irish comedy about three dysfunctional priests and their crazy tea-obsessed housekeeper came from nowhere to light up the Channel 4 schedules in 1995. Then it was critically slammed but gained a viewer following right from episode one, where Dougal thought a spider baby was real.

Episodes to come featured boring Father Paul, mad Father Noel, gloating Father Dick Byrne, accident-prone Father Larry, and the permanently bewildered Bishop Brennan. But it was the core quartet of characters that kept you watching - Father Ted himself, the much missed Dermot Morgan; drunken and obscene Father Jack, Frank Kelly; vacant Father Dougal, Ardal O'Hanlon (who hasn't done much of interest since - 'My Hero' was awful); and Mrs Doyle, Pauline McLynn.

Too many happy moments to list here but if you haven't seen this, prepare for a laugh. Life is never without incident on Craggy Island!