Father Ted: The Complete Series 3 (1996)
Review by Dindrane
Film:
DVD:

Written by Graham Linehan and Arthur Matthews
Directed by Andy de Emmony
Starring Dermot Morgan, Ardal O’Hanlon, Frank Kelly, and Pauline McLynn

Features:

• Interview with Ardal O’Hanlon
  
• Interview with Graham Linehan and Arthur Matthews
  
• Fathers Ted and Dougal host Comic Relief
  
• "Fundraising with Father Dougal"
  
• Photo gallery with production notes
  
• Cast and crew bios
  

Released by: BBC Home Video
Rating: NR, safe for 16+
Region: 1
Anamorphic: N/A; episodes appear in their original 1.33:1 format

My Advice: Buy it today.

Father Ted is one of the legends of Britcoms; fresh and funny, irreverent and unafraid, this show has been entertaining audiences for a decade. After all, priests just wanna have fun, and there’s no reason why they shouldn’t.

The show centers around Father Ted Crilly (Morgan), living in exile on a small fictional island off the coast of Ireland. Fellow inmates at the asylum are: Father Dougal McGuire (O'Hanlon), free of the burdens of memory and, well, sense; Father Jack Hackett (Kelly), whose dotage vocabulary basically consists of “feck,” “drink,” and “girls"; and the sweet, tea-obsessed housekeeper, Mrs. Doyle (McLynn).

While the show may offend some Catholics, the humor is so fresh and honest, that it usually wins over both Christians and non-Christians alike. It’s just plain funny, and this cannot be denied. Besides, while it pokes fun at many of the more ridiculous aspects of country curates, it never intends harm to either the Irish people or Catholicism in general, and a tolerant affection pervades most of the episodes. The authors, after all, are themselves Irish Catholics. The humor is at times scatological and often sexual, but older teens and adults shouldn’t have to be ashamed to laugh out loud. Watch for the all too rare cameos by Graham Norton and other British comedians; even distinguished English actors occasionally pop up here.

The audio and video quality is comparable to a relatively recent digital TV show. The colors look good, and the sound is nice and clean. As sound effects are often quite important on this show, it’s good that the sound is so high-quality, as otherwise, we would miss some of the more subtle comedy.

The features of this disc are quite marvelous, really. “Fundraising with Father Dougal” is a collection of shorts that aired with the Father Ted episodes during an NPR fund drive, with Dougal importuning viewers in his own special way to send in funds and keep the show on the air. The interview with Ardal O’Hanlon is both hysterical, as you would expect, and informative, as you might not expect so much. The interview with the writers is even more informative, as it touches upon such issues as how they created the characters, where the idea came from to begin with, and how they approached plot ideas. It’s a wonderful resource for fans, as well as writers in general.

Overall, if you are a fan of British comedy or just like irreverent and hysterically funny sitcoms, then give Father Ted a try. If you enjoy such shows as The Vicar of Dibley or Red Dwarf, then you will love this one. You won’t be sorry, at all, at all.