Chris and I love watching Britcoms. We started simple enough: Saturday night in front of PBS with Are You Being Served? and then on to The Vicar of Dibley and Keeping Up Appearances.
I know a lot of people will disagree, but I think those Brits have the best sense of humor — even better than the Jews. I mean, I love me some Mel Brooks and Jerry Seinfeld, but John Cleese can’t be beat (sorry, Rachel, but you must accept the truth here!).
This little addiction of ours blew up in the last year when we started getting episodes from Netflix and finally last Christmas, I gave Chris the entire series of Are You Being Served? on DVD. A preview on those DVDs intrigued us. The show was Father Ted. It was Irish (an Ire-com?). It looked very funny. We Netflixed it.
So far, we’ve watched the first two DVDs of this short-lived series and through them discovered an actor/comedian named Ardal O’Hanlon. O’Hanlon plays Father Dougal McGuire, who is, well, not very smart. I believe the bishop in one episode refers to Dougal as a “cabbage brain” or something like that. It’s a pretty accurate term.
In one episode, Father Ted and Dougal decide to rig a raffle so that Dougal wins the prize. Ted assigns Dougal with raffle ticket 11 and ensures that he pulls that number from a hat. When Ted calls the number, there’s silence in the audience. Ted calls it again. Silence. Finally, Ted calls Dougal up to the stage, where Dougal apologizes for not answering sooner. “I was holding the ticket upside down,” is his explanation.
What I love about O’Hanlon is he plays this utter imbecile with a completely straight face. There’s no irony. He just is. O’Hanlon manages to play the comic relief and the straight man all in one and it’s often difficult to remember that he is just acting. His facial expressions and mannerisms are childlike, yet he’s an idiot savant.
You see, Dougal is a priest who doesn’t believe in God or heaven and hell or anything else fundamental to Catholicism. And he doesn’t see anything wrong with that. In fact, he’s so convincing in his arguments that he manages to turn a conservative bishop into a free-thinking hippy in the course of an afternoon (complete with a VW bus and tie-dye).
I’m so thrilled to have discovered O’Hanlon and hope to see more of his work. Father Ted is not the first nor the last of his work. He even has a Comedy Central special out there. I’m hoping Netflix will be my friend again so I can experience more of this great comic.
After all, what is life worth if we can’t laugh?
FATHER TED IS HILARIOUS!!!!
that’s really all i have to say on the subject. i didn’t even finish reading your post before i had to run down here to the comment box to say that. way, way funny.
I’d never heard of it before we saw the previews on the Are You Being Served? DVDs. I’m so glad we found it. I just wonder how many people were excommunicated for that show!
Will have to look for this, and I agree the British do have the best sense of humor!
Some people think they’re too dry and sarcastic. I think those people are dumb. 😉
I’m right there with you! I haven’t seen Father Ted! I’ll have to check it out…we love Top Gear since Madley is a car enthusiast and John Cleese is a favorite too. British humor can’t be beat! We’re constantly quoting Holy Grail lines 🙂
I agree…and to think that Monty Python started it all. Still my fave, by far.
Lindy and Melissa — I’m not sure if I trust anyone who doesn’t love Monty Python!
I absoultely agree – british comedy is the best!
Ah, Ardal O’Hanlon is hilarious and I just adore his accent! Try ‘My Hero’. Netflix only has the first two series, unfortunately (there were six), but it’s a very amusing sitcom, starring O’Hanlon as a superhero from another planet who doesn’t quite get life on Earth.
I went on Netflix and added everything I could find with him. I’m pretty sure that was one of them.
I guess I’ll be in the minority here when I weigh in on the subject. I don’t get it. The accent annoys me (sorry to my British bloggy buddies) and I don’t think they’re funny.
I realize they probably don’t think I’m funny either!
The Brits have a monopoly on genuine comedy. I watch Keeping up Appearances just so I can gain permission to watch Black Adder or reruns of The Flying Circus.
And I still love Benny Hill!
Cheers!
-John the Shruber.
[…] 6, 2010 by Renee A little while ago, I wrote about Ardal O’Hanlan and a show he was on called Father […]
-Adress me by my proper title you little bollocks!!
The most sarcastic priest in Ireland… “no, we came by southern Yemen!”
the production team of father ted originally proposed the idea to RTE, who would be the irish verion of BBC, however at the team ireland was largely under the rule of the catholic church so they turned it down. the crew then pitched it to channel 4 in england and it was a huge success. lots of interesting facts about the show actually if you look into it, caused massive controversy in ireland upon release.