4 ms·

It’s funny, it was just the other day I was trying to convince my other half to watch Father Ted. She thought it’d be like that dreadful Mrs Browns Boys. Ahhh

It’s funny, it was just the other day I was trying to convince my other half to watch Father Ted. She thought it’d be like that dreadful Mrs Browns Boys. Ahhh I loved this show. Sadly they chose not to make more because the guy who played Father Ted tragically died of a heart attack after the first series. Father Jack makes me piss. I love the episode where they’re trying to teach him how to say phrases like “that would be an ecumenical matter” instead of his usual “Drink, arse, feck, girls”, ready for a visit by a group of Bishops. They ultimately succeed and one bishop is very interested in what Jack has to say after he successfully responds with “that would be an ecumenical matter”. Or, in response to “what you say to a cup (of tea)?”, he shouts “feck off cup!” Hilarious. I’m not Irish but I was brought up Catholic so maybe that’s what makes it so funny.

paulmac_ie 5y ago
Dermot Morgan died just after making the third series. Before Ted, he was best known for Scrap Saturday, a radio show that parodied and mocked the Irish politicians of the day. Scrap Saturday was arguably a watershed in Irish culture. It was broadcast on the national broadcaster (RTE) that even today is criticised for being too close to the government. By making fun of powerful figures, it opened peoples eyes to how ridiculous and corrupt Irish politics could be. Ironically, Fr. Ted was commissioned and broadcast on Channel 4 on UK TV. At the time, the talk was about how RTE refused to commission the series because they didn't want to mock the Church, although this has been refuted by the writers. Over the course of two series, Dermot Morgan mocked both the political and religious establishment and brought both closer to the common person. Whether this reflected the changes that were happening in modern Ireland, or lead the way can be debated. But we're certainly poorer for his loss.
- jwdunne 5y ago
  Oh wow. I’m not sure where I got first series from. I must have binged in one continuous session! Thanks for the history on a show I remember fondly from my youth. I love that :)
  - paulmac_ie 5y ago
    They're short series, and with very few arcs, there's not much to differentiate between series. And it's easy to binge watch the entire box series! My favourite part of my job is naming internal tools and applications after characters and quotes... it helps that the owner of the company is a huge Ted fan.
vmilner 5y ago
They weren't planning to make any more even when Dermot Morgan died - though I suppose they might have changed their mind. Great Father Ted doc at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsIxJZ8u0H0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsIxJZ8u0H0 I always find this bit moving: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsIxJZ8u0H0&t=6m24s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsIxJZ8u0H0&t=6m24s

paulmac_ie 5y ago

Dermot Morgan died just after making the third series. Before Ted, he was best known for Scrap Saturday, a radio show that parodied and mocked the Irish politicians of the day. Scrap Saturday was arguably a watershed in Irish culture. It was broadcast on the national broadcaster (RTE) that even today is criticised for being too close to the government. By making fun of powerful figures, it opened peoples eyes to how ridiculous and corrupt Irish politics could be. Ironically, Fr. Ted was commissioned and broadcast on Channel 4 on UK TV. At the time, the talk was about how RTE refused to commission the series because they didn't want to mock the Church, although this has been refuted by the writers. Over the course of two series, Dermot Morgan mocked both the political and religious establishment and brought both closer to the common person. Whether this reflected the changes that were happening in modern Ireland, or lead the way can be debated. But we're certainly poorer for his loss.

jwdunne 5y ago
Oh wow. I’m not sure where I got first series from. I must have binged in one continuous session! Thanks for the history on a show I remember fondly from my youth. I love that :)
- paulmac_ie 5y ago
  They're short series, and with very few arcs, there's not much to differentiate between series. And it's easy to binge watch the entire box series! My favourite part of my job is naming internal tools and applications after characters and quotes... it helps that the owner of the company is a huge Ted fan.

vmilner 5y ago

They weren't planning to make any more even when Dermot Morgan died - though I suppose they might have changed their mind. Great Father Ted doc at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsIxJZ8u0H0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsIxJZ8u0H0 I always find this bit moving: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsIxJZ8u0H0&t=6m24s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsIxJZ8u0H0&t=6m24s