Father Ted

Father Ted is an Irish sitcom broadcasted 1995-1998 on channel4 in the UK. It was written by the Irish scriptwriters Graham Lineham (writer of the IT-Crowd) and Arthur Mathews. The setting of the sitcom is the fictitious Craggy Island which is situated at the west coast of Ireland; or as Father Ted puts it in the first episode: “The best way to find us is to head off from Galway go slightly north until you see the English boats with the nuclear symbol on the side.” (5:30). The sitcom focuses on the daily business of the main characters Father Ted, Father Dougal McGuire, Father Jack Hackett and the housekeeper Mrs. Doyle. The three priests share a shadowy past and are in a way out-manoeuvred on the island. It is mainly a persiflage on the catholic church, with an interspersal of satire dwelling around Irish mannerisms and contemporary culture. Father Ted overthrows a romanticised rural chastity with an “against the tide” presentation of Ireland and “its ‘grotesque’ elements acting ‘as a potential agent to critical realism’.” (David, 88). The display of the Irish priesthood is of course highly exaggerated but it is served in a wonderful arrangement of Irish black humour. The sitcom was quite a success and even won the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award. These days, one can still participate in Father Ted Tours. Just check out the web-site: www.tedtours.com.

Sources

IMDb-Movies, Television and Celebrities. “Father Ted”. 30 April 2015<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111958/>. Channel 4. “Father Ted”. 30 April 2015. <http://www.channel4.com/programmes/father-ted>. Tobin, David, and Patricia Neville. “Cosmopolitan Kitchen: The Representations of Nation-ality in the Irish TV Series, RAW.” Critical Studies in Television: The International Journal of Television Studies 6(2) (2011: 87-99.