"Good Luck, Father Ted" is the first episode to be aired of the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

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 Channel 4. It aired over three series from 21 April 1995 until ...

''. It first aired in the United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland on 21 April 1995.

Synopsis

Ted TED may refer to: Economics and finance * TED spread between U.S. Treasuries and Eurodollar Education * ''Türk Eğitim Derneği'', the Turkish Education Association ** TED Ankara College Foundation Schools, Turkey ** Transvaal Education Depa ...

is contacted by a producer from Tele Éireann television programme, ''Faith of our Fathers'', requesting to interview Ted as a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

who works in a remote area. Ted is elated to be asked, but as he fears that his fellow priests Dougal and

Jack Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

would embarrass him, he tells the producer that he is the only priest on Craggy Island, and arranges to meet the television reporter at "The Field", one of the least-rocky areas on the island. As the day of the interview arrives, Dougal is excited about attending "Funland", a

funfair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Types Variations of fairs incl ...

that has been set up on "The Field". Ted tells Dougal to take Jack in his wheelchair for a walk along the cliffs while he goes to meet the reporter at the fair; however, Dougal and Jack soon appear at the fair, Dougal claiming that the cliffs were "closed" and "gone" due to erosion as an excuse to attend the fair. Ted, who has yet to meet the reporter, unsuccessfully tries to usher Dougal and Jack away. Jack soon takes off on his own while Dougal is distracted, and Ted is forced to look for him, finding him asleep on a park bench. Ted sits down with him, but is too late as he discovers that the bench is part of the "Crane of Death" ride, and is lifted high into the air. From his vantage point, Ted sees that Dougal has been found by the television reporter, and since Ted said he was the only priest on the island, the reporter mistakes Dougal for Ted. In his lament, Ted falls off the bench to the ground. Later, a heavily bandaged Ted watches the television interview along with Dougal, Jack and

Mrs Doyle Mrs. (American English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the most widely spoken language in the United States ...

at the parochial house. Ted cringes as, during the interview, Dougal talks about his doubts about

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

and organised

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

, while the on-screen caption reads "Father Ted Crilly". Jack sees Dougal on the TV set and angrily hurls a whiskey bottle at it, something he had already done earlier in the episode.

Production

While this was the first ''Father Ted'' episode broadcast, it was not always intended to be; the writers originally planned to air "

The Passion of Saint Tibulus "The Passion of Saint Tibulus" is the third episode of the first series of the Channel 4 sitcom ''Father Ted''. Originally airing in 1995, the episode was rebroadcast on BBC2 in 2008 in tribute to Geoffrey Perkins. Synopsis Ted hosts Cuba's F ...

" first, but later decided that "'Good Luck, Father Ted'" would make a better introduction. Linehan makes a non-speaking cameo appearance, goading the "fierce man" on the stepladder at Funland. Mathews also makes a cameo as the voice on the Funland intercom; the voice Mathews adopts here is the one he used while playing "Father Ted" in a stand-up routine he performed prior to the series's creation.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Good Luck, Father Ted Father Ted episodes 1995 British television episodes Television episodes with live action and animation