Standard Nerds News Posted by John Hoare on 14th December 2006, 06:52 Look what I made, mum! www.standardnerds.info Yeah, it’s a Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews fansite. Not much there at the moment, but plenty of updates coming up. You can actually log in to the site using your G&T account details – there’s no need to register over there if you have an account over here (although you’ll have to set your preferences again, and upload your avatar). I must stress that despite the shared logins, the site is purely a personal thing at the moment – none of the rest of the G&T team are involved, although who knows what might happen in the future. Enjoy! Or: don’t.
I think it’s a great idea – those two are legends. How much controversy is there though? It seems straightforward to me – it’s all good except Hippies.
In all honesty, Graham Linehan is one of the funniest people I’ve ever seen. Not so much what he says or anything like that…he’s just such a strange guy, in a very lovable way. Whenever he physically pops up in something I go all funny inside.
I don?t understand it. Who will enjoy this? Fans of Linehan and Mathews, clearly – or, fans of their work. As I recall, Father Ted was fairly popular… It’s interesting to note that out of *all* the sites I’ve been involved with, it was the by far the fastest to have someone leave a comment. I think it?s a great idea – those two are legends. How much controversy is there though? It seems straightforward to me – it?s all good except Hippies. I think Hippies is fucking amazing, so there’s your first bit of “controversy”. Secondly, there’s plenty of people who don’t like The IT Crowd, wheras I think it’s probably the best sitcom so far this decade (including Peep Show), so there’s room for it there as well. Not to mention the controversy surrounding Big Train – plenty of people don’t like that show. Hell, there’s even controversy about the quality of the third series of Father Ted. Besides, all that’s irrelevant really, though. Why should sites have to be controversial to be interesting? Not much there yet, but well worth keeping an eye on.. Should be updates every day for the next week or so at least.
A couple more things posted on the site this morning, BTW. The only reason I mention it is that it was looking quite bare before, so I just thought people’d like to know that it’s actually being updated!
>controversy about the quality of the third series of Father Ted. Jesus Christ, there is no pleasing some people. Most of the series three episodes are as funny or funnier than any that came before. It has one or two stinkers (such as Night of the Nearly Dead) but on the whole it’s just fantastic stuff, and I usually pick a series three episode when I’m introducing someone to the show.
I love Series 3 of Father Ted – but there’s something off about it that I can’t quite put into words. It’s almost as though each script needed an extra draft. Series 2 is definitely the peak, in my opinion. 10 episodes of perfection, pretty much.
The only weak episode of Ted is the one with Clare Grogan. Every other episode is wonderful, and I include Night of the Nearly Dead in that (“Your specialist subject, William Shatner’s TekWars“). I’ll fight anyone who says otherwise. And I don’t see a noticeable dropoff in quality to series three, either.
The one with Clare Grogan is fantastic! “How are you? How’s your bra?” And, of course: “The girls… *pant*… look at them… *pant*… walking around… *pant*…” And the Bob Geldof joke. “It’s him alright!” I’ll be writing reviews of each Father Ted ep for Standard Nerds at some point, so when I revisit Series 3, I’ll try and put into words what I mean. It’s not exactly a drop-off in *quality*, almost… it’s just that it feels *off*, in some way. Almost that some parts are too obvious, although that’s the wrong word to use.
Actually, here’s an example – Speed 3. It’s a great episode – extremely funny. But it feels *wrong*, somehow. Father Ted has never before been *quite* so obvious in referencing a film for an *entire* plotline. Scenes, yes – but not an entire plotline. Now, that doesn’t make the episode *bad* – but it does give it a weird feeling to me. Like I say, almost too obvious, although that’s not quite the word. It’s almost like the Speed take-off is dictating what the characters do, rather than – as it should be – the other way around.
Yeah, but… “Is there ANYTHING to be said for saying another mass?” “The Poseidon Adventure! Gene Hackman plays a priest in it!” “Yes. We put the brick on the accelerator.” “I LOVE MY BRICK!” “Looks just like an ordinary blackboard, doesn’t it? But look – you can rub off the letters…”
Well, this is precisely it. It is *extremely* funny. Just as funny as any episode in Series 2. “Pat was just wondering whether he could put his massive tool in my box.” And: “Ah, Father, you wouldn’t be advising I use artifical contraception now, would you?” “Well… err… ah… erm… feck off!” But how funny it is doesn’t stop it having that slightly off feeling to me, which means I don’t think it’s quite as perfect an episode as any in Series 2.
I’m completely with John on this one. It’s bloody tough to quite get the point across, but there’s someing incredibly… untypical about some parts of series 3. For me, this is most obvious in ‘Are You Right There, Father Ted?’ and ‘Chirpy Burpy Cheap Sheep’. I’d go as far to say that they’re in my top 5 Ted episodes, but they do feel very odd. The first 5 minutes of AYRTFT is just sledgehammer after sledgehammer of jokes that feel like Ted jokes, but don’t really sit right (I don’t think this is helped by the fact that the audience mix seems different, too – they’re much louder in series 3 and a lot more… enthusiastic, shall we say). The cycling hamster at the end is another example of this. Also, in CBCS, the joke about Mrs’ Doyles squeltching feet is just… well, a bit crap really. But, like John said, it’s not as if the series 3 episodes are any less funny, it’s just they nake an almost inpercievable jump to a different place, and it’s hard to get used to.
Yes – the cycling hamster is another one I myself had in mind. It’s really, really *weird*, and doesn’t fit into the world of Fathed Ted at all. And yet it *is* still funny.
Incidentally, my favourite Father Ted joke ever: TED: Cuh! Such language! You wouldn’t hear it from a docker! DOUGAL: Ah, you would, Ted. They use very bad language.
I agree the Clare Grogan episode is the worst. It’s actually the ONLY episode of Father Ted that I’d actually say is a failure. Some funny lines, yes, but it’s subpar on the whole. Night of the Nearly Dead is not anywhere near my favorite, but it can at least keep me laughing, which–as far as I am concerned–is just fine. I don’t know about this different “feel” for series three…can’t say I agree entirely. I think the “jump to a different place” Cappsy is referring to actually makes me like it more. Episodes like Speed and Chirpy Burpy are just too great. They’re preposterous and utterly unnecessary, but the episodes are still successful as solid comic pieces. Absurdity doesn’t scare me one bit. In fact it’s quite at home on Craggy Island. The crazier the show got, I think, the more it kept me satisfied. (Which is entirely down to Linehan / Mathews–oh, and the acting–because I do find absurdity for the sake of absurdity immensely tiring.)
