RTE were never offered Father Ted

DEFTLEFTHAND

Seems to be the biggest myth ever floated that RTE turned down Ted.

It was never offered to them in the first place.


It was produced by Hatrick and aired intially by Channel 4.

poisonated

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

Seems to be the biggest myth ever floated that RTE turned down Ted.

It was never offered to them in the first place.


It was produced by Hatrick and aired intially by Channel 4.

Do you have proof of this? Sorry, I’m not sure what the best way to refer to you is..is Ryan ok?

DEFTLEFTHAND

poisonated wrote: »

Do you have proof of this? Sorry, I’m not sure what the best way to refer to you is..is Ryan ok?

The writers Mathews and Linehan.

They were based in London at the time and have said that they didn't even consider RTE as an avenue to go down.

Tikki Wang Wang

poisonated wrote: »

Do you have proof of this? Sorry, I’m not sure what the best way to refer to you is..is Ryan ok?

Down with this sort of thing

DEFTLEFTHAND

Please don't turn this into a Fr Ted quote thread.

If you do, I'll put your head through the wall.

Autecher

I thought this was well known already? It was to a nerd like me anyway!
Graham did say that RTE were very unprofessional when making The Walshes.


From 2015


"But that rumour persists, the one where we offered Ted to RTE and they turned it down. Not true. Channel 4 asked us to write it. As Arthur used to say, "Why would we give it to RTE? That'd be like giving it to Waterford Glass." At that time, early '90s, they were useless, but I thought things might have changed, so last year I asked them to come in on The Walshes. They put some money into the budget of the three ep run. Every so often we'd write to them, asking if they had any notes etc. No response. Then, when BBC2 passed, we wrote again, asking if RTE would like to take over. No response. This is the first show set in Ireland I'd done since Father Ted, remember, and I couldn't even get the head of comedy to reply to us. So we did a bit of research and found some other names, went over his head and wrote to them. THEN he gets back to us and passes. After *months* of trying to get him to respond to us directly. Can you imagine what would have happened to Father Ted in that kind of system? And since then I've heard many similar reports--they just don't get back to people. It's unbelievably unprofessional. A joke. The nepotism there is the stuff of legend, maybe this is the result. It just seems to be a place where people get paid to sit in a building."

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

It's not one of the biggest myths, as it's well know they didn't offer it to RTE.

uck51js9zml2yt

Violet Purring Seaweed wrote: »

It's not one of the biggest myths, as it's well know they didn't offer it to RTE.

Not that well known. First time I heard that in my hundred years of watching Ted.

whisky_galore

Every pub bore in the country has spread this myth since FT aired.

It's a bit sad that people endlessly quote something that's now over 20 years old, like nothing of note has been produced since.

FrancieBrady

I wouldn't have blamed RTE for rejecting it if they had been sent it nor the BBC etc.
C4 were the masters of edgy stuff back then, they were the ones taking a punt and sometimes it worked and other times it didn't.

Ted was more than the writers talent too, it was an aligning of the stars in a lot of ways.

Poor Uncle Tom

whisky_galore wrote: »

Every pub bore in the country has spread this myth since FT aired.

Steer away from that it's contagious.

alta stare

I mean sometimes it was a small bit funny but lets be honest it is/was way too overrated. I remember some lads i hung around with who just thought it was hilarious to quote every epsiode word for word.......tbh they just acted like twats who thought they were funny.

I know tv is another topic which is subjective but fu(k it that show was not as good as some make out.

Now Mrs Browns Boys.....what a funny show.........

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

The writers Mathews and Linehan.

They were based in London at the time and have said that they didn't even consider RTE as an avenue to go down.

And they were right, it would seem; so bit of a moot point. It would havewound up on C4 anyway.

IAMAMORON

MOD: thats 2 terms that are out of order. refrain from using them again.

Not to be a name-dropper but Graham Linehan told me this personally. He has no idea how that whole myth ever got around, he says he certainly played no role in creating it. He told me RTE simply didn't have the resources or the money to put in to the program, and the very idea of ever even pitching to them was a total non-runner. The fact that RTE were happy to broadcast it after someone else ponied-up to make it would suggest the whole idea that RTE were just afraid of incurring the wrath of some real life Bishop Len type was BS.

I read a daily newspaper, I like to think I am not completely stupid, and didn't know that this was a myth. It's bizarre that someone would make that up, but it's also a bit odd that à small number of people are being so indignant about the fools who believed it. I don't think I've ever researched a light-hearted TV comedy in any detail.

up for anything

alta stare wrote: »

Now Mrs Browns Boys.....what a funny show.........

Wake me up when it's over. Thanks.

Fr Tod Umptious

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

I read a daily newspaper, I like to think I am not completely stupid, and didn't know that this was a myth. It's bizarre that someone would make that up, but it's also a bit odd that mall number of people are being so indignant about the fools who believed it. I don't think I've ever researched a light-hearted TV comedy in any detail.

I think it has its basis in the radio show Scrap Saturday.

It was a potitical satire radio sketch show staring Dermot Morgan.

It had one very successful season and was the talk of the town.
But it was never brought back for a second season.

Rumors at the time were that RTE bowed to pressure from Church and State to can it because it was sailing too close to the wind for their liking.

Move forward 5 or 6 years and the absence from RTE of Morgan's next big thing made people put 2 and 2 together and get 5.

branie2

I knew that

FFred

Good morning everyone ....

whisky_galore

whisky_galore wrote: »

Every pub bore in the country has spread this myth since FT aired.

It's a bit sad that people endlessly quote something that's now over 20 years old, like nothing of note has been produced since.

People still quote Shakespeare. Which is hundreds of years old. People quote The New Testament which is two thousand. Is that sad too?

kneemos

Dermot Morgan had no love for RTE,and rightly so.
They wimped out by ending Scrap Saturday.

http://vipmagazine.ie/late-father-ted-star-dermot-morgan-harboured-great-resentment-against-rte/

branie2

I enjoy listening to Scrap Saturday on CD.

Yer Da sells Avon

FrancieBrady wrote: »

I wouldn't have blamed RTE for rejecting it if they had been sent it nor the BBC etc.

Shower of bastards.

marcbrophy

I'd heard this in the early 2000's alright.
But rumours will always persist!
It's how the story gained prominence in the first place

Greyfox

alta stare wrote: »

I mean sometimes it was a small bit funny but lets be honest it is/was way too overrated.

Wrong, it's one of the 2 best comedies ever made. Nothing overratted about it

I think the myth is so strong as rejecting f ted would be the kind of thing you would of expected rte to do. Would rte of been brave enough to show it? Maybe it means people are unfairly criticising rte but then again it hard to like rte with there rip off licence fee

Darc19

Like any good piece of fake news, it was believable.

People also believed that the church had some control over rte too.

It was a lot simpler

As others have said, this was a channel 4 comedy. They were the only channel that would broadcast something that back then was edgy. Not even BBC would have broadcast it or commissioned it.

Imagine rte broadcasting Brendan Grace's line when the kids sports day video was being watched?
"you're imagining what they look like without their shorts on"


No issues today, but 20 years ago, there were simply far too many religious people working in rte and watching rte for such TV to be broadcast.

kneemos

Darc19 wrote: »

Like any good piece of fake news, it was believable.

People also believed that the church had some control over rte too.



No issues today, but 20 years ago, there were simply far too many religious people working in rte and watching rte for such TV to be broadcast.

?

DEFTLEFTHAND

It must be said also that Dermot Morgan was horrible at stand up comedy. Woeful at ad lib especially.

He was a good script actor.

whisky_galore

[Deleted User] wrote: »

People still quote Shakespeare. Which is hundreds of years old. People quote The New Testament which is two thousand. Is that sad too?

Not really the same league, comparing those to a sitcom.

dhaughton99

Who gives a flying ****e?

L1011

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

I think it has its basis in the radio show Scrap Saturday.

It was a potitical satire radio sketch show staring Dermot Morgan.

It had one very successful season and was the talk of the town.
But it was never brought back for a second season.

Rumors at the time were that RTE bowed to pressure from Church and State to can it because it was sailing too close to the wind for their liking.

Move forward 5 or 6 years and the absence from RTE of Morgan's next big thing made people put 2 and 2 together and get 5.

Scrap Saturday had significantly more than one series. RTE panic and can satire shows before elections and it died from that

Yamanoto

Greyfox wrote: »

Wrong, it's one of the 2 best comedies ever made.

Give over

Greyfox

whisky_galore wrote: »

Not really the same league, comparing those to a sitcom.

It's all opinions. Give me f ted quotes anyday over overratted Shakespere. Great films are always quoted decades after release, it's normal enough

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts

Much better that it was aired on Channel 4 anyway. It reached a much larger audience that way.

loyatemu

they were already working with C4 - they'd done Paris with Alexei Sayle before Fr. Ted.

poisonated

Princess Consuela Bananahammock wrote: »

And they were right, it would seem; so bit of a moot point. It would havewound up on C4 anyway.

I think you mean a “moo” point

ILoveYourVibes

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

Seems to be the biggest myth ever floated that RTE turned down Ted.

It was never offered to them in the first place.


It was produced by Hatrick and aired intially by Channel 4.

True but their lack of organization and professionalism on the Walsh's pretty much sums RTE up.
https://entertainment.ie/tv/tv-news/father-ted-writer-has-a-lot-to-say-about-rte-and-none-of-its-good-215216/

That's RTE I know alright.

Cee-Jay-Cee

whisky_galore wrote: »

Every pub bore in the country has spread this myth since FT aired.

It's a bit sad that people endlessly quote something that's now over 20 years old, like nothing of note has been produced since.

Name something of note that was/is as unique and entertaining as Fr Ted that’s been produced since????

alta stare wrote: »

I mean sometimes it was a small bit funny but lets be honest it is/was way too overrated. I remember some lads i hung around with who just thought it was hilarious to quote every epsiode word for word.......tbh they just acted like twats who thought they were funny.

I know tv is another topic which is subjective but fu(k it that show was not as good as some make out.

Now Mrs Browns Boys.....what a funny show.........

In a completely different way. I liked both but Fr Ted was considerably funnier and better than MBB’s

ILoveYourVibes

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

Name something of note that was/is as unique and entertaining as Fr Ted that’s been produced since????

Do you mean with an Irish connection or just in general?

If you mean in general i could easily.

DopeTech

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

Seems to be the biggest myth ever floated that RTE turned down Ted.

It was never offered to them in the first place.


It was produced by Hatrick and aired intially by Channel 4.

Standman

Autecher wrote: »

"... This is the first show set in Ireland I'd done since Father Ted, remember, and I couldn't even get the head of comedy to reply to us. So we did a bit of research and found some other names, went over his head and wrote to them. THEN he gets back to us and passes. After *months* of trying to get him to respond to us directly. Can you imagine what would have happened to Father Ted in that kind of system? And since then I've heard many similar reports--they just don't get back to people. It's unbelievably unprofessional. A joke. The nepotism there is the stuff of legend, maybe this is the result. It just seems to be a place where people get paid to sit in a building."

This echoes exactly what that "secret RTE producer" said on twitter about a certain commissioning editor...

What ever happened to this producer, I wonder? Caused a bit of a storm a the time, and the twitter account suddenly went quiet and is now deleted.

Larbre34

Standman wrote: »

This echoes exactly what that "secret RTE producer" said on twitter about a certain commissioning editor...

What ever happened to this producer, I wonder? Caused a bit of a storm a the time, and the twitter account suddenly went quiet and is now deleted.

Mossad took care of him, he was about to expose Epstein, Trump, Netanyahu, Clinton, the Duke of York and Robert Maxwell.

Paddy Cow

whisky_galore wrote: »

It's a bit sad that people endlessly quote something that's now over 20 years old, like nothing of note has been produced since.

I think it's great that the show had such an impact as to be remembered for so long. Other shows still get referenced and the first one that sprung to mind is Friends. Scrolling down the thread and it's like someone is reading my mind :pac:

poisonated wrote: »

I think you mean a “moo” point

L1011

Standman wrote: »

This echoes exactly what that "secret RTE producer" said on twitter about a certain commissioning editor...

What ever happened to this producer, I wonder? Caused a bit of a storm a the time, and the twitter account suddenly went quiet and is now deleted.

Everything they said was known by absolutely everyone working in TV3/TG4 and most of the radio stations already. Chances they were actually an RTE producer were close to nil; chances they even worked in RTE or as a TV producer were slim also.

d8491prj5boyvg

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

It must be said also that Dermot Morgan was horrible at stand up comedy. Woeful at ad lib especially.

He was a good script actor.

he wasn't fantastic to be honest. The first Ted episode is quite ropey, although he picked up as it went along. Overall he did a good job in the end.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

poisonated wrote: »

I think you mean a “moo” point

Honestly took a few seconds, but well played!