Review of Father Ted: Series 3

Introduction

I have never been much of a Father Ted fan myself. Sure, some moments are fairly amusing, but with most TV comic shows, they lack in key areas. So, when this disc popped through my letterbox, my expectations weren`t too high.

This disc contains all 8 episodes from Series 3 (which was also the last series as sadly Dermot Morgan who plays Ted died shortly afterwards), including the notorious Speed rip-off, set on a high-speed (wait for it) milkfloat! It`s this kind of zanny humour that makes Father Ted so good. Yep, I`ve already proved myself wrong: I enjoyed this disc. But more on that later...

Video

The episodes are presented in Standard 1.33:1 Fullscreen, which is typical for a TV-disc transition. There are no compression signs and the palette is used well, but an anamorphic print would have been better.

Father Ted contains a lot of visual comic elements, so the print depicts these well. So yes, the disc has a good replay value because guaranteed, on your first viewing you won`t spot every little comic tweak.

Audio

A DD 2.0 track is on offer here. The episodes are dialogue-driven, so a DD 5.1 track isn`t the order of the day. All the episodes have witty dialogue, and the crisp audio recipricates this well. There is no volume contrast, and the ambience level is just right.

Father Ted has many memorable lines in Series 3, such as Dougal (played excellently by Irish comedian Ardal O`Hanlon) saying how cynical he is (once you`ve watched a couple of episodes you`ll understand), or Ted saying how Nazi`s `march around wearing black and issuing orders the whole time` oblivious to the fact he is describring his own lifestyle...

Features

Extras wise, the disc is slightly shallow. First up, we have some memorable moments from all three series, which is good; `Dougal`s Sound Effects Album` which is a spin-off from one of the episodes; and a photo gallery featuring the main cast.

The menus are animated visually and audio wise, and there are the standard chapter listings.

The extras are interactive at least, but whatever happened to a making-of or commentary?

Conclusion

Overall, I enjoyed the last series of the show, which is packed with some truly inspired moments. All of the episodes are enjoyable, and the characters feel rounded and developed. Perhaps I`ll take a look at the first two series now...

Disc wise, everything is above board apart from the extras, which need some work. Visuals and audio are adequate, so all in all there`s no excuse not to add the final adventures of Ted and Dougal to your collection.