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19th Nov 2016

After 20 years of watching Father Ted, we never noticed this brilliant visual gag

It's obvious when you see it.

Paul Moore

Even hardcore fans might not have spotted it.

Much like anyone that has godlike taste in TV shows, we’re utterly obsessed with Father Ted and it’s regularly quoted on a daily basis.

Just like Dougal, we’re very cynical, but we were genuinely amazed to notice one visual gag that completely went over our heads until recently.

Cast your mind back to the iconic lent-themed episode, ‘Cigarettes and Alcohol and Rollerblading’.

Test1

In that episode, do you remember the scene when Father Ted rings up the convent for some “outside help” because he realised that the members of the Craggy island parochial house couldn’t go one day without breaking their lenten vows.

Unfortunately for them, they ended up with the tough-as-nails Sister Assumpta and had to endure the Matty Hislop programme.

Allow us to jog your memory:

Ted: “God almighty, when I think of the sacrifices Matty Hislop made.”
Dougal: “Who?”
Ted: “He was a notorious drunkard who found God and then decided to punish himself for his sins. Oh, he used to do all kinds of things. Like he had this terrible allergic reaction to cats. So instead of avoiding them, he used to carry a kitten in his pocket. He’d sniff it from time to time. His head just inflated like a balloon.”
Dougal: Fair play to him.

TedSmokes

When Ted rings up to get some information about the ‘Lenten package’ that’s available, he’s put on hold and is forced to listen to a nun that’s singing Ava Maria on repeat.

Notice something in the background? There’s Matty Hislop himself, sticking his hand into a toaster while taking a drag on a cigarette.

Matty

Yep, we didn’t take any notice of this at the time. Take a closer look.

MatName

Thank god that Ted didn’t go for the £200 package, could you imagine what that might have involved? Probably sniffing a few cats.

TedCocaine

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Topics:

Father Ted,TV