Ecumenical Matters The Father Ted Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

The TOP FIVE EPISODES, as voted for by YOU, the listeners of Ecumenical  Matters. Lindsay Mitchell and Glenn Hamill take us through the  Contenders we picked throughout the run of the podcast and have been  voted on over two months by the public.
Find out what fans think the best Father Ted episodes are, and let us know if you agree!

IT'S CHRISTMAS! So naturally it's Golden Cleric time on Craggy Island!

Dirty Words members Colin Hassard and Ashley Manners get trapped with Ted and Dougal in the Largest Lingerie Department in Ireland. Mrs Doyle gets a new, mechanical nemesis and Jack prepares for his own awards.

Gerry Norman of rock band A Plastic Rose and his wife, street artist  Friz (Marian Noone), board a flight with us where everything goes wrong -  what is it with rock stars and planes?

Ted's fear of flying is justified after Dougal is given access to the  cockpit and dooms the plane that they are on. Along with all the other  priests on board, Ted must devise a way to distribute the two parachutes  on board. Jack devises his own way, along with the drinks cart!

We also talk about maverick pilots and their handbrake turns, people's  fake smiles, the influence of The Simpsons on the series and honeymoons  to the Father Ted house! You're making a noise!

Lifelong Ted fan, Sean Treanor hosts the nightmarish Father Fintan Stack  and his 3am jungle music, but at least he had his fun, and that's all  matters. Jack's hairy hands has him stationed up in 'Jurassic Park', so  Ted and Dougal have to entertain their new cereal-stealing housemate and  Mrs Doyle manages to get her message above the din.

We also talk about sports days, hairy hands, Blaxploitation cinema and Dougal getting drunk!

Lifelong Ted fan Eamonn Turbett joins in the giving things up  competition, or sorry, the sacrifice to Our Lord (Arnold, who's  Arnold?). After Father Dick Byrne lays down the challenge, Ted  volunteers himself, Dougal and Jack to give up their vices, while Mrs  Doyle has a good miserable time on St Patrick's Hill.

Also  in the sermon, we discuss the scourge of airhorns from the 90s, Opus  Dei and their pain-is-the-cleanser ethos, and Pulp Fiction gimps

Actress  Lindsey Mitchell and prodigal son Vince (they all have lovely bottoms)  are on the judging panel for The Lovely Girls. Ted's has the honour of  picking the winner, who will have the honour of paying for dinner for  him. Dougal has to house sit but fiery feminist rock star Niamh Connolly  is in the property market. Jack takes up charity fraud, while Mrs Doyle  shows her competency with power tools. 

Todd Unctious (well, actor Gerard McSorley) has been up to no good again,  and we discuss amateur stress testers, Sinead O'Connor and Delores  O'Riordan's impact on the musical and cultural landscape, and Vince's  on-stage escapades where he leaves his drum kit mid-set! Shoddy  workmanship. Shoddy, shoddy workmanship.

DJ  and musician Graham Harrison has to cure The Plague befalling Craggy  Island, as the whole place is coming down with rabbits and Ted and  Dougal desperately search for a ways to get rid of them - on the eve of  Bishop Brennan's impromptu visit! Mrs Doyle puts her mechanic skills to  use on Len's car, while Jack confuses his rodents. 

Also  in the Sermon, we try to imagine the Islanders as characters on Police  Academy, rabbit stories - cute AND creepy, which fictional serial killer  Tom is most like and did Father Ted invent a horror trope? It's just a  bad dream, Your Grace.

Composer and musician Marty Devine serenades us through Craggy Island's melodious tribute to Eurovision. Ted and  Dougal go through some creative differences, but emerge with the classic  My Lovely Horse (well, the lyrics at least). Jack's drinks cabinet has  got a very expensive new addition and Mrs Doyle's brutally honest  critiques would do well on the Judges panel of X Factor.

We  speak about the lasting impact of having a gay couple on TV not doing  anything gay, try to translate Fred Rickwood's gibberish, contemplate World War 4: Celebrity Superfans and LSD Communion.

Dick Byrne is at his conniving best, and we pay tribute to Caroline Ahearne, who had died earlier on the day we were recording.  Marty takes us through some of his songwriting process (Don't play the  f**king first note - the f**king first note is already f**king down!)

Donny  Kingston, up and coming stand up on Belfast's comedy circuit, helps  unravel the mystery of the stolen whistle and stave off complete  societal breakdown on Craggy Island. It's just a whistle! 

Dougal's finds a cool new friend in Father Damo (played by Joe Rooney),  and gets to show off his football tekkers. Ted tries to relax on a  picnic site, but unfortunately he runs in to a couple of fupping  baxters. Mrs Doyle is on night duty and Jack displays his ninja skills  with a couple of bottles of Jacob's Creek Chardonnay 1991.

There's  another score in our Meet Your Maker feature, so who is that shows up,  Graham or Arthur? Larry Duff actually answers his phone! It's not good  news though. The Blur/Oasis rivalry gets a sermon (remember Feile 95?  What a line up!), as does Street Fighter 2; bad piercings and Belfast's  murals and checkpoints.

London  Comedy Writers Olly Allsop and Jordan Birch attend the upgrading of the  Holy Stone of Clonrickert to a Class 2 Relic. Hosting three bishops on  the island is going to be the highlight of Mrs Doyle's career, but  unfortunately she's lost her contact lenses. Dougal philosophises on the nature of Heaven and Hell and all that, while Ted has to bring Jack  through a few elocution lessons (Th-th-th-that...).

We  also share our own Gary Lineker Ghost Stories, the mechanics of  Buckaroo (The Sport of Kings), and Dougal's Bjork obsession. It's a Priest thing, you wouldn't understand.