User reviews

The day I moved to Ireland, I didn't know I was about to discover one of the greatest comedy series of all times as "Father Ted" certainly is!

The basic plot in itself is amazingly simple, a stroke of genius: three "peculiar" priests and a housekeeper in an island off the Irish West coast. It's unbelievable how much fun, irony, satire, surreal humour and great characters can come out of so little. And if you are of Catholic extraction, the fun is even greater (we all have met a Dougal, a Ted or a Jack at some stage...)

It's even too hard for me to pick a favourite episode: Ted and Dougal entering the "EuroVision Song Contest" with the excellent pop hit (and video clip) "My lovely horse"? Ted is believed a racist by the islanders and organises a great multi-cultural event? Dougal becomes a milkman only to discover that his life is in danger at Speed 3? Father Stone comes for a visit and for playing a bit of mini-golf? "The Passion of St. Tibulus" is being shown at the local cinema? Cigarettes, drink and rollerblades are given up for Lent? Bishop Len Brennan is kicked up the arse? Impossible to decide.

I would recommend to anyone buying the complete series 1, 2 and 3 as they come out in DVD. You can watch "Father Ted" over and over and still laugh your head off.

One of my favourite quotes:

Dougal: "Ted, was Jack really dead? How could he come back to life?"

Ted: "I don't know, Dougal. I'd say he's resurrected from the grave...Like that fella...what's he called...E.T.!"

Never has there been a comedy series like this and never will there be one like this again. I've never been an avid fan of Father Ted (don't know why) but as a person who doesn't watch that much television anymore this certainly gives me an excuse to turn the tv on and be entertained. Has done for years. Extremely unique and funny i would gladly sit down and watch a Father Ted marathon and watch every episode back to back. What is rare for a tv programme/movie is that i actually havn't met a single person who dislikes Father Ted! My favourite episode is the one where the whistle gets stolen. Fantastic. Shame there will be no more series but thank ourselves lucky they made three fantastic series. An all time great.

Father Ted still ranks as one of the best sitcoms ever made, it is three series of the most glorious, zany, scream out loud comedy ever made.

Whenever I think of Morgan's tragic death I always get so incredibly sad, it's one of those shows that needed to go on, go on, go on, go on......

What can I say that hasn't been said before? I'll try something a bit different, whenever I feel sad or down I reach for this show, and within minutes I'm back to myself, such is the power of comedy here.

I love each of the characters, but there was just something about Father Jack Hackett, he didn't need to speak, he just had an air of comedy about him.

Speed three, Are you right there Father Ted and Hell are three favourites, but genuinely they're all classics.

Will there ever be a show that's so funny?

Thanks for the laughter Father Ted, 10/10.

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!

I have to say that I was surprised at my amazement of enjoying this Irish comedy. Sadly, the actor played Father Ted died in 1998. But he left us with lots of laughter and unforgettable scenes. It used to be shown on WLIW and they began putting warnings before the show. Then, it may have gotten a little too offensive for a New York Catholic audience. But despite everything, it is a classic comedic series. You'll laugh more than be offended. Maybe a few people in the television audience might answer their true callings of priesthood and sisterhood. We need more religious people. Maybe in a way, Father Ted shows a fun side of priest life without the stuffiness associated with it. Priests can and do have fun. They're even hysterical to watch over and over again. You can't forget the wonderful Mrs. Doyle as the bit crazed housekeeper to the priests. Don't miss the Lent episode and Father Stone episode. They are just too funny to miss up this show's offer.

To this day my friends and I still quote this show on a daily basis.

Dermot Morgan was an absolute genius delivering his part of the quirky Father Ted. Along with his fellow clergy men and of course his moronic house keeper, Mrs. Doyle, Graham Linehan created the perfect cast for my favorite show of all time.

Although it has been nearly 20 years since this show was on TV, it is still regularly shown here in Ireland and many people still watch it. It even has its own annual festival on the west coast, that is its impact on this island.

If you ever want to cry laughing, and have a silly sense of humor, watch any one of the episodes. I promise you won't regret it.

Taken too soon, RIP Dermot Morgan.

Yes, Father Ted is my favourite TV show of all time. In the UK and Ireland, we quote this show as much as the rest of the world quotes The Simpsons, with so many lines and terms from the show becoming implanted into our psyche. I've been watching Father Ted since I was a kid and even though I didn't get off any of the adult jokes back then, the wacky and surreal humour always had me in fits of laughter. I don't think there's been a month in the last 17 years that I haven't watched one of its 25 episodes, yet I still can't pick a favourite!

Every joke in Father Ted works on so many levels. The setting of the fictional Craggy Island is surely the most backward ended place on Earth but this is all brilliantly downplayed. Whenever anything absurd happens, the characters react in an unsurprised or not surprised enough manner. For example, when Ted discovers Craggy Island has its own Chinatown. Just how does an island off the coast of Ireland have a significant Chinese population and how does a person living there not even know about it?! I could take any joke from this show and list on multiple levels as to why it's so absurd and surreal. The inconsistencies and even the odd plot hole just makes everything funnier.

I suspect one of the reasons Father Ted became so successful is that it dispelled the notion that the Irish are completely oblivious to the outside world in the sense that the characters talk about popular culture just like people in any other civilized county would. Granted the characters in every other sense don't act like people in the real world but I believe this one aspect made the show more relatable to a wider audience, from references to bands such as Oasis and Radiohead to various film references (Dougal, we are not watching Aliens!). I'm from Ireland and even to this day, I hear stories from Irish people who have gone abroad and meet people who think Ireland is technologically un-advanced country and that we all live in cottages. One story I always remember was an Irish guy telling me of how he told an American he owned an Xbox 360 and the American couldn't believe it.

Allow me to hold up my cup of tea to Father Ted. May I continue to watch it for years, with Dougal and Mrs. Doyle and Father Jack forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever...

God told me that this is his favorite comedy show to date. He also said that anyone who doesn't like the show may have difficulty with getting into heaven. (Hint)

I've watch all 3 seasons of father ted multiple times over the years.

On another level Comedy when you were allowed to be funny without offending the PR brigade. The only thing wrong with Father Ted is 25 episodes is not enough.

An often overlooked or underrated sitcom (especially outside the United Kingdom), Father Ted is a charming show with a rustic old-time vibe to it. Even if the characters apart from the eponymous priest are mostly one-note caricatures instead of nuanced individuals, their interactions and the numerous tangles they find themselves in make for an excellent comedy.

While the show made for a hilarious watch, I did feel that some episodes could have been linked together better (even if that isn't always typical for sitcoms) - there are almost never any implications or consequences of the happenings in one episode to future episodes. I also felt that we never see the priests do any "priesting": there are references but none of the episode plots use the Church as a setting, an aspect which could have been enjoyable. Also, I found that the show was much more amenable to leisurely watching in small doses; binge watching had me feeling more aggravated due to the stereotypical nature of most characters.

Apart from these pet peeves, I thoroughly enjoyed Father Ted and would heartily recommend it to anyone enjoying sitcoms, especially fans of British/Irish humour.

I know what Heaven is...Heaven is where they show endless, back-to-back episodes of Father Ted, non-stop, for all eternity. Now I'm going to be a good little girl, behaving well and obeying the Ten Commanments. That way, when I die, I'll go straight to Heaven, completely bypassing Purgatory (where they only run Seinfeld episodes). When in Heaven, I'll take my seat right there in the front row in the Heavenly Rec Room, right in front of THE VERY BIGGEST BIG SCREEN T.V. Wait...who's that blasted chain-smoker sitting next to me?! Why its Dermot Morgan!!! And because its Heaven, his smoke doesn't bother me in the least!!! And there we'll sit, watching eternal episodes of Father Ted...a very good reason to be at your very best behavior whilst still here on good ol' Terra Firma!

"Father Ted" is the kind of show that's funnier when you're drinking. It's not particularly witty or even well-written -- it's more about sight-gags and potty-humor. The cast is great, especially Ardal O'Hanlon, but they don't have much to work with. The laugh-track gets pretty annoying as well. I know the loyalists will vote against my review, but an objective viewer will admit that this is far from a perfect series. This is FAR from Monty Python and not nearly as thoughtful as VoD. Good for a few laughs, especially over a Guinness, but the forced laugh-track says much. I'm not sure why they are even considering an American version -- these shows rarely work outside their original context.

I wanted to be fair so I watched all episodes in the three seasons of this show and I only laughed once, while chuckling perhaps twice that in the 25 odd episode run. It's just not funny. The characters are completely one dimensional, and worse, extremely annoying. A few shows in, you know exactly what they are going to say, destroying whatever punchlines this poor excuse for writing had in store. Pretty much every episode is copy/pasted from the last one. You got Father Ted, who's the "normal" guy, and the other three. If your idea of hilarity is some dirty old man yelling "DRINK! FECK! ARSE! GIRLS!" all the time, then I guess this bland show is for you. In case you are wondering which episode I thought was actually funny, it was "A song for Europe," when Dougal and Ted are writing their song. None of the characters develop at all during the course of the show. The closest is when they give up their vices for lent, and you see a different side of Father Jack. It would have been nice if Dougal wasn't a complete "fecking" moron all the time. It's frustrating really, along with Mrs. Doyle. I've watched other Britcoms and I liked most of them (yes I know it's from Ireland). I started watching it to have a talking point with my European friends, since most of them love this show. I was hoping I would like it, but it turns out I didn't. A lot of people seem to love it, and good for them, but I feel it just isn't entertaining at all.

How anyone can fault this remarkably funny sitcom is utterly beyond me. The comedy ranges from the most crude to the superiorly intelligent. I particularly like Dougal's (Ardal O'Hannon) take on the death of Kurt Cobain, offensive as it was.

There is nothing to dislike about this; the characters are lovable (especially Dougal), they're hilarious and it is the most Irish humour possible. It's a big pity this show was not as renowned around the globe as it was in Ireland.

Eleven out of ten, just for showing us how unsophisticated comedy can win over every time.

Irreverent, politically incorrect, and absolutely hilarious, Father Ted is a phenomenal series about three priests living on Craggy Island in Ireland. Talk about an outpost - the opening shot shows a house with nothing around it.

The late Dermot Morgan plays Father Ted, not above a shady deal or two. He lives with Father Dougal McGuire (Ardal O'Hanlon) an impossibly stupid young priest, and Father Jack Hackett (Frank Kelly) an old priest who hasn't drawn a sober breath in probably fifty years. Helping them out is Mrs. Doyle (Pauline McLynn), a somewhat unstable housekeeper. It's obvious the priests have been sent as far away as possible to dwell in obscurity.

It's very hard to choose a favorite episode, but I'm partial to Speed 3. My favorite part of that is Ted working feverishly at the blackboard while lots of discussion is going on. One poster mentioned the stolen whistle - I just saw that one, and it is hilarious. I also love the raffle, when they raffle a car in order to fix their leaky roof. And the vacation episode is a classic as well.

A no-miss. There are only three seasons of this wonderful show, all well worth seeing. Great when you need a laugh.

This has to be one of the funniest comedy sitcoms made. Certainly the best one from the nineties by a mile. The stories and characters are hilarious and played perfectly. Hilarious.

One of the funniest ever on T.V. No weak characters , no weak jokes . Such a shame that even though the 3rd series was the last that the tragic death of Dermott Morgan the day after filming ended the 3rd series as we may have had more specials.

As it is The 3 series we are left with and a Christmas one.

If you have not watched this do so, it took me over 10 years before i did by chance.

This show is extremely funny. One of the best sitcoms ever, end of story.

When the sitcom idea to portray the adventures of three priests in Ireland - a drunk, a dimwit and the main character in between - was pitched to TV executives, the reaction was lukewarm at best. Religion, a joking matter? Impossible! But well, "The Vicar of Dibley" with comedy heavyweight Dawn French worked, so the OK was given, all doubts aside. And thus it so happened that Arthur Mathews and Graham Linehan, writers with an edge, set out to delve into the rural conservative catholic setting and run the gamut, starting from the custom sitcom weirdness to out and out absurdity in the parochial house somewhere on Craggy Island. Not with the intention to ridicule the catholic church, but to follow through with everything it has developed into, to satirize its reality and at the same time humanize its unbalanced shepherds. Interestingly, it works.

"Father Ted" gets off with a slow start, but once the characters and writers have hit their stride comedy-wise, the series delivers like no other. The Fathers Ted (Dermot Morgan), Dougal (Ardal O'Hanlon), Hackett (Frank Kelly) and Mrs. Doyle (Pauline McLynn) stumble from one farcical situation into another and the punch lines get sharper and wittier the longer the journey lasts. There's slapstick, well timed cartoonish back and forth, strong language and directness thanks to the naivety of the characters, yes, there's even cursing among priests and still it's entirely inconspicuous thanks to the changing of a vowel. And we get subversive social commentary served the fun way and it's, pardon the pun, a hell of a ride. If you book your trip to Craggy island you'll witness priests struggling through lent, have a crush on a lady visitor, go on a disastrous unholy holiday, turn into racists by trying to demonstrate the exact opposite and help to heal a depressed sheep. You can learn from priests how to get people to watch a raunchy movie thanks to their campaign against it, or how to kick a bishop up the arse - just pretend it never happened. Intrigued? Then off you go to visit undiscovered land in this highly original, creative, addictive and outright hilarious sitcom, a comedy milestone that will last for ages.

This show is soooo funny, has its own style and personality, one of my all time favorite!!

10/10

It is an easy to understand form of comedy, somewhat akin to Fawlty Towers and the ilk!

Nothing in this show is going to task your brain, it is in-your-face type humor that will either bore you or make you laugh.

All the characters have their traits, and they play them out in each episode, it becomes very predictable, but still somewhat enjoyable.

... It's so much better. I've been looking for so long but nothing seems to come close to the brilliance of Father Ted.

The jokes come thick and fast but are so deep that even the distant memories of them can make you cry with laughter. I don't believe anything will ever be made that is as perfect as this.

Unlike most other comedy series, the jokes get better the more watch them and familiarise yourself with all the characters. Most of which have something to do with religion, but in the general sense of the characters and playing on stereotypes rather than being either for or against religion itself.

It's such a tragedy that Dermot Morgan (Father Ted) died. This series gave so much laughter to many and in my opinion; it just kept getting better and better as the characters developed.

So don't miss out on watching this rare TV treasure.. 'Go on, go on, go on...!'

Don't get me wrong, I'm a BIG fan of BBC comedy ! Maid Marian & Her Merry Men, 2Point4 Children, Bottom, Black Adder, Red Dwarf, AB FAB, The Comic Strip... etc; funny, witty and un-PC, in a distinct class of its own and universally appealing ! But that all came to an end at the end of the early 90s, and in its place we were left with all these inferior, mediocre, trendy and really-not-at-all-funny 'comedies' from the other UK TV channels, and this pile of crap just about tops it ! (Not to mention all that American Friends crap other kids my age seemed to like !)

So, I watched this properly for the 1st time a few days ago afer finding a VHS in the charity shop. I assumed it would be crap, considering the year, channel of airing and excess mass appeal I remember it having. OK, so there was the odd moment I found funny, but for the most part it was the usual post-early-90's pursuit of sitting through a show and thinking "Was that supposed to be funny? Didn't hear a bloody thing funny me !" I think by the late 90's, which incidentally is when EVERYTHING turned to shit - not only the media but the entire socio-politico-cultural landscape - good old BBC + other traditional English comedy was considered too un-PC and we had to resort to this feeble apology for wit + humour !

So I'll give it 2/10 for at least having the odd funny moment (itself typically of a slapstick nature rather than a genuine, classy and witty one.)

With reference to previous comments, nobody in the Catholic Church (including me) has a problem with this show. It's absolutely hilarious, as will be evident to almost any viewer (assuming you have a decent sense of humour). In 5 words: Surrealist irreverent Irish priest comedy.