Ardal O'Hanlon Movies
- 1996
Father Jack (Frank Kelly) has reached Stage Six of Progressive Hairy Hands disease, so off he's sent to the Old Priests' Home. With Jack out of the picture, the Bishop sends a replacement priest, Father Fintan Stack (Brendan Grace), an extremely obnoxious and crude fellow who blares "jungle music" at all hours, randomly drills holes in the wall, and insults the Fathers' friends. Like Jack, Fintan doesn't "get on well with strangers or people he knows," but his actions seem malicious compared to Jack's actions which seemed humorous. Missing Jack's tenderly abrasive ways, Ted (Dermot Morgan) and Dougal (Ardal O'Hanlon) retrieve him from "Jurassic Park." Just as Jack is about to pummel Fintan, it's discovered that Fintan has acquired Hairy Hands from contact with Jack's chair. After Fintan is sent off, things return to normal, with Jack quarantined in a bubble in his usual spot. ~ Tim DiGravina, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dermot Morgan, Ardal O'Hanlon, (more)
- 1996
A famous feminist musician, Niamh Connolly (C.P. Grogan), decides to make Craggy Island her new home. Father Jack (Frank Kelly) grows a bizarre beard, "going down that whole Bob Geldof road." Ted (Dermot Morgan) is chosen to judge/emcee the annual Lovely Girls Festival beauty contest, and he's told he'll be able to escort the winner to a dinner at the church's expense. Ted tells Dougal (Ardal O'Hanlon) how to relate to women, advising him to make them comfortable and to always let them get their way. Connolly visits the Fathers' home, while Ted acts inappropriately at the competition. Taking Ted's advice literally, Dougal suggests a bit of comfortable bra-loosening, before offering Connolly ownership of the Fathers' home. To get the house back, Ted tells Connolly about his progressive fight against hypocrisy and sexism. Connolly relents, but seeing the harsh workload of Mrs. Doyle (Pauline McLynn), she demands that the housekeeper be given one night off a week, and she and Mrs. Doyle take the place of Ted at the dinner with the Lovely Girls winner. ~ Tim DiGravina, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dermot Morgan, Ardal O'Hanlon, (more)
- 1996
Dougal (Ardal O'Hanlon) has a new pet bunny, who soon begets dozens more. The Fathers must hide the bunnies from Bishop Brennan (Jim Norton), who's visiting Craggy Island to make sure Ted (Dermot Morgan) is taking the necessary precautions to keep Father Jack (Frank Kelly) from sleepwalking "bullock-naked" all over town. Brennan hates rabbits, having had an encounter years earlier in an elevator where many bunnies "got into" his robes. The Fathers try a number of unsuccessful schemes to occupy the bunnies, including offering them to the dog track as racers and having Tom (Pat Short) "deal" with them, but they're ultimately stuck with them. As Ted shows Brennan Jack's new bed restraints, Dougal hide the rabbits in Brennan's room. The Fathers give strange explanations for the rabbit cage and droppings Brennan finds. A naked Jack wanders into Brennan's room and gets into bed with him, and the bunnies follow suit. ~ Tim DiGravina, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dermot Morgan, Ardal O'Hanlon, (more)
- 1996
Ted (Dermot Morgan) dismisses Dougal's (Ardal O'Hanlon) Euro Song fever, but changes his tune upon learning that Father Dick Byrne (Maurice O'Donoghue) is entering the competition. Ted and Dougal pen lyrics for a song called "My Lovely Horse," but they underhandedly use an obscure Norwegian song as their backing track after their own musical abilities prove fruitless. The Fathers share a music-video dream of their song (with a full-blown performance by the Divine Comedy). With their confidence sky-high, things get iffy at the Song for Ireland stage, where Dick Byrne pulls out all the stops à la Scott Walker and receives a standing ovation. Things get more sour when Ted hears the Norwegian song piped over the intercom. Forced to revert to their own musical backing, they perform to a dead-silent audience. Thanks to shady promoters seeking a sure loser, Ted and Dougal win the Ireland stage and advance to the Euro Song competition itself, where they receive universal scores of "zero." ~ Tim DiGravina, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dermot Morgan, Ardal O'Hanlon, (more)
- 1995
Ted (Dermot Morgan), Dougal (Ardal O'Hanlon), and their visitor Father José Fernandez (Derrick Branche) play the longest-ever game of Scrabble. Before Fernandez leaves, he presents the Fathers with a bizarre phallic sculpture and a VCR as gifts. Bishop Brennan (Jim Norton) arrives with a task for the Fathers: they must protest a pornographic movie at the local cinema. Thanks to the publicity their protest generates, the movie breaks all sorts of box-office records. An enraged Brennan returns with seedy, dangerous new parish assignments for the Fathers, but luckily Jack (Frank Kelly) saves the day with a stolen videotape that highlights rather extreme vow-breaking activities on the part of Brennan. It would seem that there's a Bishop Brennan Jr. ~ Tim DiGravina, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dermot Morgan, Ardal O'Hanlon, (more)
- 1995
It's time again for the "All Priests Look-a-like Competition," but Ted (Dermot Morgan) is forced to scrap his plans to go as Elvis, after he learns that Dougal (Ardal O'Hanlon) and Jack (Frank Kelly) have similar plans. Thinking that he's going to have to resort to his usual Mother Theresa get-up, he still makes a small bet with Father Dick Byrne (Maurice O'Donoghue). Competition host and BBC reject Henry Sellers (Niall Buggy) pays a visit to the Craggy Island parish, and he lays waste to the Fathers' home and goes off into the wild after a miniscule sip of sherry. In the meantime, Jack is in a truly poor state after ingesting a bottle of Toilet Duck. With Sellers back to his usual self, Ted finds inspiration in Jack's wretched condition. Dougal, Ted, and Jack stage the "three phases of Elvis," and Dick Byrne's "supreme" hopes of victory are vanquished. ~ Tim DiGravina, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dermot Morgan, Ardal O'Hanlon, (more)
- 1995
A visiting nun points out to the Fathers that the "very drunk" Jack (Frank Kelly) is actually quite dead. Jack's old friends reminisce about his life and times, with one elderly priest violently lamenting about how Jack should have been anointed Pope. When Jack's will is read, Ted (Dermot Morgan) and Dougal (Ardal O'Hanlon) learn that they will inherit a huge sum of money, with the sole requirement that they spend the night before Jack's burial with his body, because Jack always feared that he'd be buried alive. Dreaming of their new riches, attempting a game of charades, and reflecting on the afterlife, the Fathers settle in for their night watching over Jack's body. But there's one problem, because Jack pulls a Lazarus out of his hat. ~ Tim DiGravina, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dermot Morgan, Ardal O'Hanlon, (more)
- 1995
Funland, "the fairground thing," is coming to Craggy Island, and Dougal (Ardal O'Hanlon) is energized, especially about a nonexistent attraction, the Spider-Baby. Ted (Dermot Morgan) is equally excited, but only because he thinks his shot at stardom is looming, since he's supposed to be interviewed by a visiting film crew for a religious television show, "Faith of Our Fathers." Ted tries to keep his interview a secret from Dougal and Jack (Frank Kelly), as he thinks they'll be an embarrassment. When signals are crossed, Dougal is mistaken for Ted and interviewed in his place, and a paranoid Ted winds up heavily bandaged after a mishap on a Funland ride. ("Good Luck, Father Ted" was meant to air as the third episode in the series, but the writers decided it should be the series premiere, seeing it as the best introduction to the characters.) ~ Tim DiGravina, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dermot Morgan, Ardal O'Hanlon, (more)
- 1995
The annoyingly quiet Father Paul Stone (Michael Redmond) is staying at the Craggy Island parish, and there's no sign that he's ever going to leave. Ted (Dermot Morgan) and Dougal (Ardal O'Hanlon) are going nuts from trying to communicate with Stone, so they unsuccessfully try a number of schemes to get him packing. Shortly after Ted asks God for help, a lightning bolt streaks from the sky and renders Stone comatose. Feeling guilty, especially after meeting with Stone's family, Ted makes bargains with God, suggesting that Stone might stay in Craggy Island for as long as he likes, as long as he's restored to his usual "wall with a mustache" self. After Stone has a miraculous recovery, it looks like the Fathers will be spending lots of quality time with their visitor. ~ Tim DiGravina, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dermot Morgan, Ardal O'Hanlon, (more)
- 1995
Try as he might, Ted (Dermot Morgan) simply can't shake off the advances of romance novelist Polly Clarke (Gemma Craven), who's visiting Craggy Island on a book tour. Finding it impossible to resist temptations that clearly go against his most basic priestly vows, Ted makes a charming fool of himself and impresses Clarke in the process. In the meantime, a virtual fan club of nuns praises Ted's sermons, forcing him to juggle their enthusiasm with an invitation for drinks with Clarke. Rushing hastily through a sermon, Ted agitates the nuns, and makes his way somewhat pathetically to Clarke's housewarming party, only to find that he's not the sole person to have been invited. Ted is further frustrated when Clarke tells him of her plans to become a nun. ~ Tim DiGravina, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dermot Morgan, Ardal O'Hanlon, (more)
Duane Huey's The Funny Blokes of British Comedy features Lenny Henry presenting a series of clips of some of the most famous comics in British television. Included are Fawlty Towers clips featuring John Cleese, scenes from Father Ted with Ardal O'Hanlon, and memorable moments from Black Adder starring Rowan Atkinson ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
