Tedfest 2008

A little treat for anyone who couldn’t make it to Tedfest in Clare. It’s a recording of the Q&A wot Arthur and I did there. Link

Thanks to Clare FM (and Artie, for passing it on).

Thank you, Frank

You took a horribly limited character and made every moment count. I probably never said at the time. (He hasn’t died or anything–I just saw this shot and was overcome with gratitude).

Booo! Booooooooooo!

Thanks to everyone who pointed out the ‘Ted’-inspired signs at the Scientology protests. Here’s the skinny on the London event; tremendous fun had by all, it seems.

(More! Feel the shiver as the Scientologist zombie at the end of this report tries to get away with calling the protesters ‘terrorists’.)

Just to be quite clear.

Apparently there’s a show entitled ‘The Real Father Ted’ coming up on BBC. It’s about Father Michael Cleary, who was not a model for Father Ted. Apparently someone in Broadcast connected with the show said something like “He was obviously an inspiration for ‘Father Ted’.”

He wasn’t.

So, just to be clear, ‘The Real Father Ted’, as a title, is bullshit.

“What Whitehead witnessed was disturbing….”

‘Noted Catholic author’ Kenneth Whitehead gets medieval on Father Ted’s ass.

“The second of the three priests depicted on the show, Father
Dougal, is quite deliberately presented as an uncomprehending simpleton, a
cheerful idiot. Father Dougal is the foil for Father Ted; he can always be
depended on to say the wrong thing and, on one occasion, he turns out not even
to know who the pope is. Such a person could never have gotten into, much less
out of, any seminary anywhere.”

Oops! Busted!

(Thanks, Notacrook!)

Update: I’m fond of the way every American seems to think the show is a case of British people making fun of Irish people. Even John Michael Higgens, who is supposedly playing Ted in the American remake, says here “you guys are doing an Irish joke”. The lack of interest in the story behind the show–in the fact, for instance, that it is written and directed by Irish people–is not a very good sign, to say the least

The new ‘Father Ted’ DVD

It has a few extra features and all that shit, and thank Christ it’s finally navigable, but really, if you’re happy with the old one, I wouldn’t buy it. However, if your old copy went on fire or got sat on or something, then this is definitely the one to get.

And I swear, we won’t release it again.

(Another thing–I’m sorry we had to include some of the terrible ‘extras’ from the original DVDs. Like the biogs. Think of it this way– they give the show that authentic ‘produced on Craggy Island’ feel).