Graham Linehan's comedy works best when the actors give foolish answers without seeming to notice anything wrong. We rate the patient ensemble work of Father Ted highly, though familiar responses can wear down a thin joke.
Fi1m perspective
An exasperated Dermot Morgan gets nowhere with O'Hanlon in Father Ted (1995), and the conversation keeps going. Neither actor needs to underline how foolish it has become. We laughed at Morgan's irritation, then again at how little effect it had on O'Hanlon. That second laugh is the reason we rate Graham Linehan's comedy here so highly: the performers have time to react, or fail to react, before another line arrives. Their delivery stays calm while the exchange grows sillier.
Linehan and Arthur Mathews developed their partnership through sketch work before creating Father Ted. They found a dependable source of jokes in priests whose titles suggest standards of behaviour they cannot meet. Linehan's directing contribution came in the final series; Andy De Emmony and Declan Lowney also directed the programme, so its handling of actors should not be credited to him alone. The direction lets a foolish answer sound reasonable to the person giving it, without insisting that we notice every absurdity.
After co-creating Big Train (1998), Linehan wrote and directed the first series of Black Books (2000), working with Dylan Moran. He went on to create The IT Crowd (2006) and direct every episode, taking on a more extensive directing role than he had on Father Ted. Some critics found Moran too constrained by the sitcom structure of Black Books, while The IT Crowd drew unfavourable comparisons with Father Ted. The reservation about Moran matters because the extra time Morgan and O'Hanlon take over an exchange is so much of what makes Father Ted work.
The patience is not always rewarded. Even in Father Ted, some of the broadest jokes recur without enough happening around them to make the repetition worthwhile. Leaving the actors unhurried can also leave a weak joke exposed, and another familiar response will not necessarily rescue it. The ensemble makes this an easy recommendation despite those lapses, particularly when Morgan and O'Hanlon let a pause become funny without pushing towards the next line. For a first encounter with Linehan's work, we would start with those two.
Biography
Graham Linehan is an Irish comedy writer. He was born on 22 May 1968 in Dublin.
He co-created the sitcom Father Ted (1995–1998) with Arthur Mathews, serving as writer, director and producer on the series. He also co-created Black Books (2000–2004) and created The IT Crowd (2006–2013). Linehan has written for The Fast Show (1994–1996), Big Train (1998–2002) and other series including Brass Eye and Motherland. He has received multiple BAFTA awards for his television work.
