"Father Ted" was a popular British-Irish sitcom that ran from 1995 to 1998 and featured three deadbeat priests living on the fictional Craggy Island. The show follows Father Ted (Dermot Morgan), a disgraced priest sent to the exaggeratedly bleak Craggy Island as punishment, as well as Father Dougal (ArdalO'Hanlon) and Father Jack (Frank Kelly), two other incompetent priests who live with him. Much of the show's humor comes from Father Ted's interactions with the sweet but slow-witted Dougal and the incoherent, alcoholic Jack. While Father Ted mainly acts as the show's straight man, his egotism and lack of reverence for the priesthood often lead him into embarrassing, comedic situations himself.
The show, with a predominantly Irish cast and set of writers, also plays upon Irish and Catholic culture for laughs. Another recurring character is Mrs. Doyle (Pauline McLynn), the priests' housekeeper, whose constant refrain is "Ah, go on," as she forces tea upon the priests and their guests. Doyle's catchphrase is indicative of the typical Irish tendency to offer one's guests tea and react in incredulous manner if it is refused. When I was in Ireland, my family and I visited the house that my grandmother's grandmother grew up in, which is currently occupied by a new family. When we showed up - completely unannounced and feeling rather embarrassed - the family invited us in for a cup of tea. They even offered us biscuits. We are now Facebook friends.
In addition to satirizing Irish hospitality, "Father Ted" also makes fun of Catholic theology and customs, as well as its religious hierarchy. Father Ted is always at odds with his superior, Bishop Brennan, most notably in the episode "Kicking Bishop Brennan up the Arse," in which Ted loses a bet and - this is rather self-explanatory - has to kick Bishop Brennan up the arse.
As indicated by the Bishop Brennan episode, "Father Ted" mixes outrageous silliness with subtle wit. Much of this wit, however, comes from cultural references that could be lost on the American viewer. I frequently find myself having to look up some of the allusions and there are many that only make sense to me because of my time abroad in Ireland. One of my favorite moments in the series is an allusion to Roddy Doyle, whose famously foul-mouthed novels are blamed after Dougal suddenly develops a penchant for profanity.
Like the works of Roddy Doyle, "Father Ted" leaves a huge cultural legacy. Just a day after shooting for the third and final season ended, Morgan tragically died of a heart attack at age 45. His death deprived the public of any hopes of a "Father Ted" reunion or special. In my opinion, this only increased the cultural mystique surrounding the series, which remains immensely popular today. In 2007, Inis Mor and Inis Oirr, two of the Aran Islands, got into an argument over which one was the real-life Craggy Island. It seems odd that anyone would want to claim their home as the inspiration for Craggy Island because, throughout the series, it is depicted as having bad weather, strange inhabitants and a lack of culture. The competition over the seemingly unwelcome title of "the real Craggy Island" just proves how beloved "Father Ted" has become.
It's definitely more fun to watch comedy than to read about it, so I suggest that you put this paper down and go watch an episode of "Father Ted." Ah, go on.
Next week's film: "Some Mother's Son" (1996).
Megan Clark is a senior who is majoring in English and history. She can be reached at Megan.Clark@tufts.edu.
