Does anyone think Father Ted is overrated?

ProudDUB · 29-01-2012 1:21am

Down with this sort of thing !

While I do think it was brilliant for its time, I can see the pov that it may seem a bit dated now. We have been so battered by years of sex abuse scandals and bishops fathering kids, taking the piss out of the clergy is the norm now, and has been for a long time. But by jazus, when it first came out, it was ground breaking stuff.

Saw the Brendan Grace tribute (yes I know, I have no life) on the Late Late last month. Best thing he ever did was his stint on Fr Ted. Shame it got no mention & all that Bottler shyte did.

MRPRO03 · 29-01-2012 1:24am

monkey9 wrote: »

Does anyone have the photo of Fr Dick Byrne giving the Ted the middle finger with a smile on his face in the Song For Europe episode. That always cracks me up!!

don ramo · 29-01-2012 1:49am

Richard Dower wrote: »

Listen, i get all the love for it here and i personally think it's great....but, one must at least allow for an opposing view to be aired. So if you're of the persuasion that Fr. Ted is not the bees knees chime in a state your case.

mikemac1 · 29-01-2012 4:29am

No!

deccurley wrote: »

Father Ted was years ahead of it's time. RTE sure missed out on that but it goes to show how reluctant they were to support something satirical where the Catholic church was concerned as late as the mid-nineties.

Myth

Da Shins Kelly · 29-01-2012 7:43pm

Not a chance. It's got to be one of the most quotable shows ever, and the jokes just never get old. It's just so well written and is a very sharp piece of satire. Any show that can churn out so many one-liners that are funny no matter how many times you quote them is a great show. Such a great, great show.

darkdubh · 31-01-2012 9:42pm

I wouldent really say FT is overrated but what I will say is I never really found Mr's Doyle all that funny.i think it's down to Pauline Mcglynn, she was probably too young to play the part and somehow she never really convinced the way the rest of the cast did in their parts.

tunguska · 31-01-2012 10:05pm

Im glad somebody finally came out and said it because I always thought Father Ted was massively overrated. As a comedy its not even in the same league as shows like seinfeld, Larry sanders and 30 rock. The humour is weak and unsophisticated, an 8 year old could've written those episodes.

Tenger · 31-01-2012 10:42pm

Malice wrote: »

Fr Ted is an absolute classic of a television show. I can't imagine anyone thinking it's overrated. Sure if you're not a born and bred Paddy you mightn't get some of the humour but even the visual gags stand up by themselves.

It does indeed stand up to repeat viewing, I would compare it to Fawlty Towers. Another show with great longevity. Both were very short lived so never had to suffer a decline in material which would spoil their reputation.

No saying that I can see how some people would not warm to it as much, many of the gags are 'in jokes' and hard to spot immediately. The setting as well may be unrecognisable to a guy who lives in a UK city, may instantly placeable by an Irish person.

Da Shins Kelly · 01-02-2012 6:23pm

tunguska wrote: »

Im glad somebody finally came out and said it because I always thought Father Ted was massively overrated. As a comedy its not even in the same league as shows like seinfeld, Larry sanders and 30 rock. The humour is weak and unsophisticated, an 8 year old could've written those episodes.

30 Rock is very hit and miss for me. Sometimes I laugh out loud, sometimes I don't laugh at all. Tina Fey acting in it is the biggest problem for me. Alec Baldwin is a legend, I could watch his character all day, but Fey can f*ck off.

Also, I think Father Ted is very culture specific. A lot of the humour is based on rural Irish society and Catholicism, which is not something that everyone in the world is going to get. I don't think it was unsophisticated at all though. Like someone here was saying before, it's become so common to bash the Church these days, but people forget that when Father Ted came out it just was not the done thing at all to make fun of the Church. Sure, I remember when we were in school in TY and we asked the teacher could we watch an episode of Father Ted because we had an hour of doing nothing. The teacher had to go and ask the principal who then refused, saying that it was against the Catholic ethos of the school. I think that's a fairly good indication of how offensive some people found it at the time. It was part of a sea change in Irish society, it's bigger than just a television show. That's more than can be said for Seinfeld, 30 Rock or Larry Saunders. Sure, those shows are funny, and maybe more universal and influential on comedy as a whole, particularly American comedy, but Father Ted was part of a transition in a culture, and that transition has been and continues to be a big deal in Ireland. I honestly believe that Father Ted will be remembered as a cultural milestone and a symbol of what was beginning to happen in Ireland.

windingo · 09-02-2012 10:32am

I think there are parts of it that are funny but I also think that it can become boring/monotonous sometime. Though I do think that Christmas Special is Funniest Father Ted by far!

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar · 09-02-2012 10:34am

i can not believe someone said 30 rock was funnier than father ted
just..
what

Goldstein · 09-02-2012 11:05am

Father Ted cannot be over-rated.

noel farrell · 09-02-2012 11:12am

father ted was great tv for its time, and in light of what came to light in the roman church was not far off the mark

Does anyone think Father Ted is overrated?

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