Entertaining Father Stone

Last updated

"Entertaining Father Stone"
Father Ted episode
Episode no.Series 1
Episode 2
Directed by Declan Lowney
Written by
Featured music The Divine Comedy
Original air date28 April 1995 (1995-04-28)
Guest appearance
Michael Redmond as Father Paul Stone
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Good Luck, Father Ted"		Next →
"The Passion of Saint Tibulus"
List of episodes

"Entertaining Father Stone" is the second episode of Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted .

Contents

Arthur Mathews introduces this episode by stating that the idea for Father Stone came from a 'friend' of a friend who stayed with the friend for his holidays and used to cheat at golf. This person had the ability to dominate and ruin the atmosphere of a room. [1]

Synopsis

Ted announces to a horrified Dougal that Father Paul Stone (Michael Redmond) has come for his holidays. For the preceding six years, Father Stone has visited the parochial house; he is pathologically boring and is totally unable to hold a conversation, giving one-sentence answers at the most and dominating the room with his awkward protracted silences. To try to stop him from coming, Ted told Father Stone incredible lies, but this failed to deter him.

Even when Father Stone arrives, Ted and Dougal make excuses to have him leave the house, but Stone offers to stay regardless of the conditions. After Father Stone stays through Ted's birthday party three weeks later, making it an awkward time for all the guests, Ted prays to God to get rid of Stone anyway he can. The next day, Ted and Dougal go to the Crazy Golf Course in the middle of a thunderstorm, thinking this is better than hanging around Father Stone. However, Father Stone has followed them there. Ted suggests that Father Stone should try a go at golf; as he raises the club, Father Stone is struck by lightning.

At the local hospital, Father Stone is found to be in shock: standing up, still holding the golf club, and not responding to any stimulus. Father Stone's parents and maternal grandmother arrive. His grandmother privately warns Ted that she knows what he is up to, while his parents go on about how much Father Stone looked forward to his visits at Craggy Island, showing a picture of Ted and Father Stone that he drew. Ted feels very guilty about having prayed for Father Stone to leave, and scared that the grandmother seems to know what he did. Ted begins praying at Father Stone's bedside, saying that Paul can stay for as long as he wants, that he will look after him "until the end of his days". After a brief interval, Father Stone regains consciousness, and is his old self again, giving one-word answers. Finally, Father Stone, as promised, has been allowed to stay on Craggy Island. A faint smile breaks across his face.

Production

The episode's title is a play on the name of the play Entertaining Mr Sloane by playwright Joe Orton. The picture Father Stone paints of himself and Ted can be seen on the wall, in the living room, in later episodes. There is a slight continuity error in this episode, the JVC video recorder which was given to Ted and Dougal as a gift in the following episode can be seen on top of the television.

Mathews makes a cameo appearance as a guest at Ted's birthday party. This episode is Mathews's favourite, and was given the prominent position of airing as the series' second episode for this reason. The character of Father Stone is based on a man who repeatedly invited himself to visit two of Mathews' friends; according to Mathews, the visitor was eager to see the couple, but never made any attempt to be good company. [2]

Linehan and Mathews clashed with the art department on this episode: the writers wanted the show's hospitals and police stations modern, to contrast with Craggy Island's environs, but they ended up looking similarly rural and beaten-down. [2]

Kate Binchy, the actress who played Father Stone's mother, became ill shortly before filming was due to begin. The production had insufficient time to find a replacement, and resorted to casting Pauline McLynn in the role. McLynn was prepared to play the part, and was in full make-up and costume on the day of filming; however, Binchy recovered at the last minute and was able to take the role. The writers later noted that they would have "gotten away with it" since Mrs Doyle had hardly been shown at this point in the series, but that it would have been the "oddest thing in the world" on repeated viewings. [2]

Related Research Articles

<i>Father Ted</i> Sitcom

Father Ted is a sitcom created by Irish writers Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews and produced by British production company Hat Trick Productions for Channel 4. It aired over three series from 21 April 1995 until 1 May 1998, including a Christmas special, for a total of 25 episodes. It aired on RTÉ Two in Ireland, on Nine Network and ABC Television in Australia, and on TV3 in New Zealand.

Father Dougal McGuire Character in the Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted

Father Dougal McGuire is a character in the Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted. Created by Arthur Mathews and Graham Linehan, Dougal was portrayed by comedian Ardal O'Hanlon for the programme's three series. The character is a childlike, simple-minded Roman Catholic curate exiled to Craggy Island, a small island off the coast of Galway.

Father Ted Crilly Sitcom character

Father Ted Crilly is the title character of the Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted. Created by Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews, Ted was portrayed by comedian Dermot Morgan for the programme's three series. The character is a morally dubious Roman Catholic priest exiled to Craggy Island, a small island off the coast of Galway.

Good Luck, Father Ted 1st episode of the first series of Father Ted

"Good Luck, Father Ted" is the first episode to be aired of the Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted. It first aired in the United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland on 21 April 1995.

"The Passion of Saint Tibulus" is the third episode of Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted. In 2008, the episode was shown on BBC2 in tribute to Geoffrey Perkins.

"Competition Time" is the fourth episode of the Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted.

"And God Created Woman" is the 5th episode of the Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted. It is named after the 1956 film And God Created Woman.

"Cigarettes and Alcohol and Rollerblading" is the eighth episode of the second series of Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted and the fourteenth episode overall.

"Flight Into Terror" is the 10th episode of the second series of Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted and the 16th episode overall.

Kicking Bishop Brennan Up the Arse 6th episode of the third series of Father Ted

"Kicking Bishop Brennan Up the Arse" is the sixth episode of the third series of the religion-themed sitcom Father Ted, and the 23rd episode overall. It originally aired on Channel 4 on 17 April 1998; its story continues from the previous episode, "Escape from Victory". In the episode, Father Ted Crilly must kick his strict and overbearing superior Bishop Brennan in the buttocks as a forfeit set in the previous episode by Father Dick Byrne for cheating at a football match.

Going to America 8th episode of the third series of Father Ted

"Going to America" is the series finale of the Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted. It is the eighth episode of the third series, and the 25th episode overall. Dermot Morgan, who played the show's title character, died the day after filming was completed.

"Speed 3" is the third episode of the third series of the Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted and the 20th episode overall. The episode parodies the action-thriller film Speed and the sequel Speed 2: Cruise Control. "Speed 3" was written after the show's writers Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews asked themselves: "How can we make a worse sequel than Speed 2?" This episode was voted the fans' favourite episode on Channel 4's "Father Ted Night".

Grant Unto Him Eternal Rest is the sixth episode of the Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted and the season one finale. It was the first episode to be scripted and submitted by the writers.

"Hell" is the first episode of the second series of the Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted, and the seventh episode overall.

"The Mainland" is the fourth episode of the third series of the Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted and the 21st episode overall. It was first broadcast on 3 April 1998.

"Think Fast, Father Ted" is the second episode of the second series of the Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted. The title is a play on the novel Think Fast, Mr. Moto by John P. Marquand, and the film of the same title starring Peter Lorre.

"Old Grey Whistle Theft" is the fourth episode of the second series of the Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted. The title is a pun on the BBC TV music show The Old Grey Whistle Test.

Craggy Island Fictional Irish island from the Father Ted sitcom

Craggy Island is a fictional island, supposedly off the west coast of Ireland, which serves as the primary setting for the Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted. Craggy Island Parochial House is located on the island, which is the home of three Catholic priests – Father Ted Crilly, Father Dougal McGuire and Father Jack Hackett – as well as their housekeeper Mrs Doyle. It is mentioned the Irish state have given the British government permission to use the island's coast as a dumping ground for nuclear waste.

References

  1. ↑ Linehan, Graham; Mathews, Arthur (1999). Father Ted: The Complete Scripts (2nd ed.). Boxtree. p. 22. ISBN   0752272357.
  2. 1 2 3 Linehan, Graham; Mathews, Arthur. Father Ted DVD Commentaries (Podcast). United Kingdom: Channel 4. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.