Talk:Father Ted

The claim that Fr. Ted was banned in Ireland is ludicrous nonsense. In fact it is one of the most popular TV shows on Network 2, the second Irish state channel. Some senior Irish Roman Catholic clerics have even described it as their favourite comedy show.

The original idea was not picked up by Radio Telifís Éireann (RTÉ) for reasons other than merely that it was criticising the Catholic Church, which in any case suffered major loss of respect and support in the 1990s due to sex and paedophile scandals. RTÉ had a poor record in producing sitcoms and comedy so lacked confidence in its ability to launch any sitcom. As a result, it opted not to pick up the options on any potentially controversial series, whether in religion, politics, sport or whatever. Only in the last few years has that changed, with successes like the series 'Bachelor's Walk'. In contrast, Britain's Channel 4 had a proven record in comedy and a confidence in its own abilities. As it was a Channel 4 Show, RTÉ didn't initially broadcast it, but that made no difference as 90% of Irish homes watch Channel 4 anyway and so could see the series from the start.

To claim that because it dealt with a religious topic, Irish TV banned Fr. Ted is not just wrong but appeals to the standard clichéd image of a Catholic Church-dominated Ireland, which is as phoney as a Britain full of people wearing bowler hats or a France peopled by men wearing striped jerseys with onions around their neck. (Ireland has some of the most progressive gay rights laws, unlike some US states, hardly a sign of catholic dominance. The Catholic Church also endorsed the first Nice referendum in Ireland. Yet few voters bothered to vote, and those that did voted 'no', even though the Church urged a 'yes' vote. ). JTD 01:31 Jan 29, 2003 (UTC)

Sorry. I wrote that, and I'll admit it was based on my memories of a news report (which may itself have been innaccurate, I don't know) from the time. By the way, do you mean 90% can get Channel 4? If so I've a feeling that the original thing I saw had something about the remaining 10% complaining about not being able to see it. Anyhow, sorry again. Bagpuss 15:50 Jan 29, 2003 (UTC)

... I'm sure that I read in an interview with either Matthews or Linehan that they never even considered offering Father Ted to RTÉ. They were encouraged to expand a sketch with priests into a series by Hat Trick Productions, or someone they were working with at the time.

I can't find a URL to back this up, unfortunately. Nevertheless, they had had all their previous comedies produced in the UK, so the idea that they would take a step backwards and offer a promising comedy to a much smaller outfit like RTÉ isn't really believable, thought it is very widely believed in Ireland, mostly because, if true, it would encapsulate perfectly so many things that are wrong with RTÉ's approach to dramas and comedies. ...