Watch Father Ted
- TV-14
- 1995
- 2010 Seasons
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8.7 (41,393)
Father Ted was a sitcom produced in Ireland for the U.K.'s Channel 4 network that revolved around the lives of three Roman Catholic priests living on a small island off the west coast of Ireland. The show was created by Arthur Matthews ans Graham Linehan; like the other comedy shows created by the pair, such as Black Books and Big Train Father Ted uses a surreal comedy style. The three main characters of Father Ted are Father Ted Crilly, Father Dougal McGuire and Father Jack Hackett; all three priests have been sent to the remote Craggy Island as punishment by Bishop Len Brennan. Ted Crilly finds himself on the island because of an often mentioned scheme to defraud money from a sick child for a trip to Las Vegas; Ted's answer to the accusations is that the money was merely resting in his account. Father Dougal McGuire is often accused of being to blame for the unexplained Blackrock incident and Jack Hackett is stranded on the island because of his alcoholism and attraction to women. There is no overreaching story arc that progresses through the three completed seasons and single Christmas special; instead each episode tells a stand alone story revolving around a scheme of Father Ted to get rich quick or to try to outdo his rival Priest Father Dick Burne. For the majority of episodes the Priests spend most of their time attempting to avoid their schemes being uncovered by Bishop Brennan. Father Ted is the only character in the sitcom that is not an exaggerated caricature; for example, Father Dougal is unintelligent beyond any belief and even questions the workings of the Catholic Church and the faith he is supposed to have as a Priest. Three seasons of Father Ted were produced between 1995 and 1998 before actor Dermot Morgan who played Father Ted Crilly died of a heart attack after completing filming on the third season. Father Ted was one of the most successful and critically acclaimed British sitcoms of the 1990s.
