Did Father Ted do us any favours ?

pedroThePirate

Does anyone share my belief that the "Father Ted" series,
uproariously funny though it was in places, did Ireland (and
particularly rural Ireland) no great service in the eyes of the
rest of the world ?

Chris

JustinDee

No, it was brilliant in almost every facet and showed that Irish people can actually take the p*ss out of Ireland with some clever and smart comedy as well as the slapstick.
It was just a laugh and hasn't done any harm to Ireland.

omahaid

Forgive the copy paste

omahaid wrote:

Clare looked well on the Fr Ted documentary last night I thought. I moved up here a few years ago so anytime a friend or relation comes to stay I always bring them on a tour of all the Fr Ted locations

Clareman

Did Fawlty Towers do hotels any favours? Did Bread do social welfare recipients any good?Did the DinnerLadies do canteen workers any good?

Probably not, but they are comedies, not documentaries and most people enjoy them because they can see something they can relate to and find funny. Also, if just 1 person was to come to Clare just to see the Father Ted house, the site of the over 70s 5 a side, the largest lingerie shop in Ireland, or any of the other sites, then it's a great thing.

Creamy Goodness

it's a comedy.

tim_holsters

Like the rest of the world gives a toss about Father Ted.

Creamy Goodness

tim_holsters wrote: »

Like the rest of the world gives a toss about Father Ted.

they obviously do, there were people in the documentary that had travelled from australia just to see the exterior of the house. if that's not caring i don't know what is...

tim_holsters

Creamy Goodness wrote: »

they obviously do, there were people in the documentary that had travelled from australia just to see the exterior of the house. if that's not caring i don't know what is...

A couple of strays from Australia does not constitute the rest of the world.

Battleflag

Can we not take the piss out of ourselves anymore without people fearing we are going to ruin the country's image? Sure the banks did that for us anyway.

Father Ted was made 15 years ago, I'm sure more people came to Clare because of it, rather than putting people off the county.

tim_holsters

exioot wrote: »

Can we not take the piss out of ourselves anymore without people fearing we are going to ruin the country's image? Sure the banks did that for us anyway.

Father Ted was made 15 years ago, I'm sure more people came to Clare because of it than putting people off the county.

This would have to be right.

Battleflag

Haha, should have read what I typed

Claregirl

I think the only place where Fr Ted would do any damage is in the States where they believe everything on TV is "reality" as another poster said the banking crisis has made us a laughing stock in the eyes of the rest of the world

A friend of mine was in Germany recently and when she went to the bar the bartender asked where she was from he laughed and siad ha you're fu*ked aren't ye?? Then said that'll be 8 billion euro for the round of drink!

CiaranMT

OP, worrying about Fr. Ted's portrayal of Ireland is like an American worrying about the portrayal of the U.S. in Trailer Park Boys.

JustinDee

Claregirl wrote: »

I think the only place where Fr Ted would do any damage is in the States where they believe everything on TV is "reality"

Jeez, don't hold back on the generalisms and misconceptions. Is this because of the Simpsons, Different Strokes and Family Guy? :rolleyes:

mikemac

Claregirl wrote: »

A friend of mine was in Germany recently and when she went to the bar the bartender asked where she was from he laughed and siad ha you're fu*ked aren't ye?? Then said that'll be 8 billion euro for the round of drink!

It's not hard to get a comeback against a German, there is no shortage of issues you can bring up to insult them

I hope the bartender was smiling when saying this

Stuxnet

rural ireland can look after itself just fine

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeashF0XED4

"dont call me Len ya little prick, Im a bishop.." lol

john t

The world and most of out immigrant workers think we are a shambles/ nation full of stupid people..and fr ted funny too us does us no favors...

Latchy

feelingstressed wrote: »

It's not hard to get a comeback against a German, there is no shortage of issues you can bring up to insult them

Yeah but for gawds sake dont mention the war


Fr Ted did no harm to anybody and if anything showed that the Irish humor at it's best ie, Irish people taken the pee out of Irish people .......long before the banks screwed the country

jill_valentine

I think the world of Father Ted is just surreal enough that viewers understand it's not drawing entirely from reality, just an extreme version of something people might sorta recognise. Nobody sees League of Gentlemen or My Name Is Earl as entirely reflective of the places they're set, although there is a kernel of something in both.

Similarly, I think the humour is complex enough that it's not just a case of having a laugh at the thick paddies falling over. Think of the John & Mary stuff - rather than simply holding them up as a grotesque caricature you're supposed to laugh at, the show treats them with a kind of horror. You're supposed to be aghast at what they do to each other, and the fact that Ted and Dougal are completely incapable of noticing it is all part of the very black humour at work.

Latchy

The black humor in Ted re John & Mary is in a strange sort of way ,can also be a metaphor of sorts for indifference that we always had in Irish society ie,we know or have the feeling something is not right with thse people or this situation but we would rather not have to see it face up, close and personell ( and open a can of worms ) but I may be seeing to much into that .

Orizio

...why would a comedy about priests effect rural Ireland?

Shapey Fiend

Excellence in anything only reflects well on a place.

This is like saying The Rubberbandits are making Limerick look bad. They're doing precisely the opposite. It's good to have a place associated with something creative. And everybody loves comedy.

Clareman

As was pointed out in the Limerick City forum, in the past if you mention Limerick all you'd get back is "Stab City", now if you mention Limerick you get "That's Limerick citttttttttttttttayyyyy"

coffeelover

Father Ted was the best ever and nothing will top it

Claregirl

JustinDee wrote: »

Jeez, don't hold back on the generalisms and misconceptions. Is this because of the Simpsons, Different Strokes and Family Guy? :rolleyes:

Nope it's from a relative living and working there for three months and being complemented on how good her english was as she was from Oireland!

Benny Lava

Father Ted has shown how Irish people are insecure about how they are perceived and paranoid about having the piss taken out of them. Seriously, it's a comedy and a surreal one at that. A negative reaction to Father Ted shows us up far more than any episode ever could. Some people seem to just need something to ring into Joe Duffy about. Cop on and enjoy what is one of the greatest comedies this country has ever seen.

pappyodaniel

CiaranMT wrote: »

OP, worrying about Fr. Ted's portrayal of Ireland is like an American worrying about the portrayal of the U.S. in Trailer Park Boys.

That was a Canadian show.

JustinDee

Benny Lava wrote: »

Cop on and enjoy what is one of the greatest comedies this country has ever seen.

...and too cowardly to produce.

It was a class show. Great laughs, subtle digs and great characters every week.

JustinDee

pappyodaniel wrote: »

That was a Canadian show.

Father Ted was a British show.

CptSternn

CiaranMT wrote: »

OP, worrying about Fr. Ted's portrayal of Ireland is like an American worrying about the portrayal of the U.S. in Trailer Park Boys.

Trailer Park Boys takes place in Canada.

MyKeyG

Benny Lava wrote: »

Father Ted has shown how Irish people are insecure about how they are perceived and paranoid about having the piss taken out of them.

I don't think that's very fair. You're talking about a nation that was the butt of British comedy for years. O'Reilly the thick Irish builder in Fawlty Towers, The 'Paddy' painter and decorater in Only fools, Bernie the thick Irish Nurse in Katherine Tate to name just a few.

Yes these shows take the mick out of their own nationality as well but I think you walk a fine line when you pick on other nationalities. It doesn't bother me but I hesitate to judge the people it does. I thought Fawlty Towers was substandard contrived comedy anyway but I love Only fools.