A Christmassy Ted
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"A Christmassy Ted" is both the 17th episode and
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...
special of the
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...
''
Father Ted ''Father Ted'' is a sitcom created by Irish writers Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews (writer), Arthur Mathews and produced by British production company Hat Trick Productions for British television channel Channel 4. It aired over three seri ...
''. This episode was broadcast on
Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. Christmas Day is observance of Christmas by country, observed around the world, and Christma ...
1996, between the second and third series, with a runtime of 55 minutes. Due to the popularity of this episode, it still gets repeated on Channel 4, RTÉ2 and More4 around Christmas every year. This was the last episode of ''Father Ted'' to be broadcast during the lifetime of Dermot Morgan, who played the series' titular priest,
Father Ted Crilly Father Ted Crilly is the Title character, eponymous main character of the British Channel 4 situation comedy ''Father Ted''. Created by Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews (writer), Arthur Mathews, Ted was portrayed by comedian Dermot Morgan for th ...
. Morgan died suddenly of a heart attack in February 1998, the day after filming of the third series had been completed.


Synopsis

The episode opens with Ted dreaming himself into the plot of '' Ballykissangel'', telling Assumpta that he is going to leave the priesthood for her. Just as they start to kiss, Dougal wakes him just to offer him a peanut, much to his annoyance. Ted finds his dreams radically changed when he tries to sleep again: he is being chased by giant, snarling peanuts. Apparently, there is more to Ted's original dream than mere romantic fantasy, as he confesses the next day that he is dissatisfied with his current station in life, feeling that he does not receive enough recognition or excitement. Moving past this, Ted wishes for an uneventful, ordinary Christmas; seemingly on cue, the doorbell rings and Ted finds a baby on the doorstep. However, the mother, having mistaken Ted's house for someone else's, quickly removes the baby. Ted wonders if having a baby around the house could have led a number of humorous situations, but Dougal quickly convinces him that nothing interesting would have come of it. While Christmas shopping in a department store, Ted and Dougal accidentally wander into what turns out to be the largest lingerie section in Ireland, instantly prompting Ted to worry that there will be a scandal if they are discovered. As they try to find the exit, they run into six other priests and Ted ultimately leads their escape in an unusually heroic fashion, parodying the style of troops in typical war movies. He uses the speaker system to tell shoppers that the store is about to close, forcing them out so that the eight priests cannot be spotted by women during their escape, which they successfully complete. Soon after, Ted learns he will receive a coveted Golden Cleric award as recognition for his actions; although disappointed that there is no cash prize, Ted is excited at the potential fame and prestige that comes with winning this award. However, when
Mrs Doyle ''Father Ted'' is a sitcom produced by independent production company Hat Trick Productions for British broadcaster Channel 4. Its three series, comprising 25 episodes and a special, originally aired from 21 April 1995 to 1 May 1998. Its main c ...
admits him to be only the second-best priest in the country and talks about a
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
priest, he is thrown into a huff and goes off to muse on his future, inadvertently making an enemy of a fisherman on the way. He returns to find that, in his absence, Mrs Doyle has allowed Dougal to perform a funeral he was meant to do, with predictably disastrous consequences. As Ted gets over the funeral performance issue, he gets a visit from an unknown priest who claims to be an old school friend of his. Mrs Doyle, after nearly an hour of random guessing, correctly identifies him as Father Todd Unctious, and he is invited to stay for Christmas. Meanwhile, Ted composes a vindictive acceptance speech for the award ceremony, pouncing on his chance to get back at everyone who has "fecked him over" in the past. At the ceremony, Ted's vindictive speech goes on so long that all but a few attendees leave before he has finished. During Ted's party afterwards, the television is switched on and broadcasting an extended Latin mass so the priests who Ted helped rescue from the lingerie section find excuses to leave, including talking to someone on
Death Row Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting executio ...
. Only Todd Unctious seems eager to stay. After Ted and Dougal go to bed, Unctious attempts to steal the award, only to be discovered by Ted after Dougal sneaks downstairs to watch a scary film on the television involving a burglar breaking into someone's house. After he is caught and arrested, Unctious explains that he had become overly obsessed with awards, which causes Ted to realise that he is suffering with the same problem. Ted resolves to become a better priest, but shows little sign of following through on his resolution. However, he agrees to share the award with Dougal, who briefly goes mad with power. Also in this episode, while Ted and Dougal shop, Jack is left in the kiddie playland, where he teaches the children to say words such as "
feck "Feck" (occasionally spelled "fek" or "feic") is a word that has several vernacular meanings and variations in Irish English, Scots, and Middle English. Irish English * The most popular and widespread modern use of the term is as a slang exp ...
" and "arse", Mrs Doyle goes through a crisis when Ted gives her an automated teamaker (which she later stealthily sabotages in a way that cannot be detected), and she has several ungraceful landings from a ledge while putting up Christmas decorations.


Analysis

Writer
Graham Linehan Graham George Linehan (; born May 1968) is an Irish comedy writer and anti-transgender activist. He created or co-created the sitcoms ''Father Ted'' (1995–1998), '' Black Books'' (2000–2004), and ''The IT Crowd'' (2006–2013), and has wri ...
states on the DVD commentary of this episode that he thinks it is "far too long" and at moments expresses his boredom towards the end of the commentary track. Andy Riley, who previously collaborated with Linehan and Mathews, is one of the names mentioned, along with
Neil Hannon Edward Neil Anthony Hannon (born 7 November 1970) is a singer and songwriter from Northern Ireland. He is the founder and frontman of the chamber pop group the Divine Comedy, and is the band's only constant member since its inception in 1989. H ...
, in Mrs Doyle's guessing game. In 2013, Riley noted the scene's similarity to a passage in
Flann O'Brien Brian O'Nolan (; 5 October 19111 April 1966), his pen name being Flann O'Brien, was an Civil Service of the Republic of Ireland, Irish civil service official, novelist, playwright and satirist, who is now considered a major figure in twentieth- ...
's '' The Third Policeman'', where the protagonist attempts to guess the name of the person who previously held his soul. Riley also suggests that this passage is inspired by the early Irish myth ''
Togail Bruidne Dá Derga ''Togail Bruidne Dá Derga'' (''The Destruction of Da Derga's Hostel'') is an Irish tale belonging to the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. It survives in three Old Irish, Old and Middle Irish recensions, it is part of the Lebor na hUidre, Book ...
'', where the hero Conair asks for a woman's name, only for her to list dozens. Noting that other O'Brien works contained elements of Irish mythology, Riley concluded, "I contend that Mrs Doyle's bit in "A Christmassy Ted" has a comic lineage stretching back more than 1,000 years into the misty beginnings of Irish history. If anyone knows a comic riff which has been around longer, I'd love to know." Father Luke Duke, one of the names Mrs Doyle mentions, was included as a character in ''Predating the Predators'', a novella written by
Philip Purser-Hallard Philip Purser-Hallard (born 1971 as Philip Hallard) is a fantasy, science fiction and crime author described by the British Fantasy Society as "the best kept secret in British genre writing".
for the 2008 ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...
'' spin-off collection '' The Vampire Curse''. Early on Ted says, "You slave away to the needs of your parishioners and what do you get? A one-way ticket to Palookaville." This is a reference to the famous taxicab scene from ''
On The Waterfront ''On the Waterfront'' is a 1954 American crime drama film, directed by Elia Kazan and written by Budd Schulberg. It stars Marlon Brando, and features Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger, Pat Henning and Eva Marie Saint in her film de ...
''.


References


External links


"A Christmassy Ted" at the IMDB
{{DEFAULTSORT:Christmassy Ted, A Father Ted episodes 1996 British television episodes British Christmas television episodes 1996 television specials British television specials