Dermot Morgan plays Father Ted Crilly, a shifty and opportunistic Catholic priest who has been banished to Craggy Island, a remote parish off the west coast of Ireland. If that's not bad enough, Ted has to share the island's parochial house with two other priests: Father Dougal McGuire, an idiotic man-child played by Ardal O'Hanlon; and Father Jack Hackett, a foul-mouthed elderly alcoholic played by the late Frank Kelly. The priests are served by their tea-making obsessed housekeeper Mrs Doyle, played by Pauline McLynn.
The show mainly follows Ted as he tries to resolve issues within the parish. At the same time, he has to avoid incurring the (further) displeasure of Bishop Len Brennan, and often gets involved in contests of one-upmanship with Father Dick Byrne from the neighbouring parish of Rugged Island. The theme of isolation plays a big part in most of the comedy outside the parochial house, while all the main characters get some brilliant dialogue.
Well, maybe. Ted, serving as the straight man, delivers plenty of snark, often to Dougal's often well-meaning but inappropriate questions and remarks. Meanwhile, Jack's vocabulary simply consists of the words "Drink!", "Feck!", "Arse!", and "Girls!".
My favourite episode is probably 'The Passion of St Tibulus'. After being banned everywhere else, the eponymous film is being shown on Craggy Island, and Bishop Brennan instructs the priests to make a stand against it. What follows is one of the most good-natured protests ever, which naturally goes horribly wrong.
While you might need some knowledge of Catholicism to understand the more subtle jokes, it's easily accessible, and definitely worth a watch.
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