Will You Have a Cup of Tea, Father? (Father Ted - The Complete Box Set (DVD))

Member Name: Tupps

Product:	Father Ted - The Complete Box Set (DVD)
Date:	24/06/09 (52 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Makes you laugh till you ache

Disadvantages: There'll never be any new ones!

INTRODUCTION

I remember the very first time I saw Father Ted. I'd never heard of it but was idly flicking through the TV channels on a Friday night. I stumbled across this weird programme on Channel 4 about some priests and their mad housekeeper who kept banging on about tea! I didn't know what to make of it at first, but stayed with it till the end of the episode and quickly found it hilarious! I never missed an episode after that.

I bought the various different series/half series on video when they were released; these were replaced with the DVD box set when it became available. I have the original DVD box set; they've since released a newer box set which contains footage from the first two Tedfests. (More about this in a mo).

My boxset contains all of series 1, series 2 and series 3 plus the Christmas special, 'A Christmassy Ted'. This was slated by the critics when it first aired; they called it "just a long drawn out episode of the norm" - isn't that what Christmas specials usually are?!

MAIN CHARACTERS

Anyway, the very first episode, "Good Luck Father Ted", introduces us to the main characters:

Father Ted Crilly - the priest for Craggy Island (played by Dermot Morgan)
Father Dougal McGuire - Ted's curate (played by Ardal O'Hanlon)
Father Jack Hacket - a "retired" priest whom the others have the misfortune to be sharing their days with (played by Frank Kelly)
Mrs Doyle - their mad housekeeper who looks after their every need, mostly with copious amounts of tea (played by Pauline McLynn).

PLOT

These 3 priests have been shoved away from the wider religious community and installed on an island (Craggy Island) off the west coast of Ireland. The story behind it is that Ted's been suspected of stealing church funds ("that money was just resting in my account!"); Dougal's not fit to be a proper priest anywhere and neither is Jack; both are deemed not suitable to be trusted anywhere near the parishoners. We see snippets of this by way of flashbacks to Jack's younger days, and Dougal's hilarious attempt at conducting a funeral in Ted's absence.

As far as plot goes, that's pretty much it - well, it is a silly comedy after all. Each episode has it's own mini "plot"; such as The Passion of St. Tibulus where Ted and Dougal are told by the fearsome Bishop Len Brennan to go down to the local cinema and protest against a blasphemous, erotic film. "Careful now!" and "Down with this sort of thing!" they chant.

QUICK GUIDE TO SELECTED EPISODES

Other episodes are just as daft: Hell (a caravan holiday from Hell); Tentacles of Doom (where 3 bishops come to Craggy Island to upgrade the Holy Stone of Clonrichert from a Class 3 to a class 2 relic); A Song for Europe (with a song called "My Lovely Horse" written by the Divine Comedy who also penned the theme tune to Father Ted and one of the best episodes of all I think); Cigarettes and Alcohol and Rollerblading (where our trio attempt to do their bit for Lent ("this is a giving things up competition!"); and Speed 3 (where Dougal decides to become a milkman and puts everyone in danger thanks to the dastardly Pat Mustard).

The episodes mentioned above are just a flavour of the silliness you can expect from this programme; but honestly there isn't a bad episode at all. They're all hilarious and even though I've watched them countless times, they still have the ability to make me laugh till I ache (or wet myself!).

A CHRISTMASSY TED

Regarding A Christmassy Ted, this centres on Ted taking the lead and managing to avoid a church scandal when dozens of priests get lost in the lingerie department of a large store and can't find their way out. Their eventual exit from the store pokes fun at various war films and acts of heroism. Ted is awarded the Golden Cleric as a result of his success; enter the "baddie" Father Todd Unctious to try to mar the event! Just as daft as all the other episodes but just as funny too.

DVD BOXSET CONTENTS

The DVD boxset I have also includes various "extras" such as commentary by the writers on the series 1 disc; commentary by the writer and Ardal O'Hanlon on the series 2 disc; and on the series 3 disc, Dougal's Favourite Sound Effects!

TEDFEST

I have no idea who came up with this but they ought to have a medal! Think Glastonbury meets a celebration of Father Ted! For the past 3 years now, the island of Ennis Mor, one of the Arran Islands and the location for Craggy Island, has played host to weekends known as Tedfest. There are a variety of activities you can indulge yourself in over the weekend such as the Lovely Girls Competition; the All Priests Over 75 5-a-side Football Match; A Song for Europe; and Competition Time (where the 3 priests all dressed as Elvis Presley in the episode of the same name). As you might expect, there are endless cups of tea to be enjoyed at Tedfest for anyone who's interested!

I really want to go to this but they hold it at a daft time; Feb/Mar when let's face it the rugged islands off the west coast of Ireland are going to be freezing. Why don't they hold it in August?

Father Ted is the funniest sitcome ever in my opinion and nothing else has ever, or will ever, match it for sheer hilarity. It's just such a shame that Dermot Morgan died the day after filming on series 3 ended and hasn't been able to enjoy the enduring popularity of this show.

Summary: Hilarious, bizarre, surreal, just the best sitcom ever!