"
And God Created Woman" is the 5th episode of
Channel 4Channel 4 is a UK public-service television broadcaster which began working on November 2, 1982. Although commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station owned now and operated by the Channel Four Television...
sitcom
Father TedFather Ted is a situation comedy television programme produced by Hat Trick Productions for Channel 4. The show depicts the lives of three Irish Catholic priests on the remote fictional Craggy Island off the west coast of Ireland. It ran for three series, totalling 25 episodes, between 21 April...
. It is named after the 1956 film
And God Created WomanAnd God Created Woman is a French drama film directed by Roger Vadim and starring Brigitte Bardot. Though by no means her first film, it is widely recognized as the vehicle that launched Bardot into the public spotlight and immediately created her "sex kitten" persona.When the film was released...
.
Father TedFather Ted Crilly was a fictional character on the Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted. He was played by Dermot Morgan.-Character:Father Ted Crilly is among many of the quirky and odd characters on Craggy Island, who constantly feels burdened by the idiocy and insanity of those around him. According to...
meets novelist Polly Clarke at a booksigning for her latest novel,
Bejewelled with Kisses, and they discuss their reading interests; Polly discloses that she envies Ted the peace of mind and serenity that his life as a priest brings. Ted rebuffs this, in a jovial manner, saying that he would actually like a bit of excitement.
"
And God Created Woman" is the 5th episode of
Channel 4Channel 4 is a UK public-service television broadcaster which began working on November 2, 1982. Although commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station owned now and operated by the Channel Four Television...
sitcom
Father TedFather Ted is a situation comedy television programme produced by Hat Trick Productions for Channel 4. The show depicts the lives of three Irish Catholic priests on the remote fictional Craggy Island off the west coast of Ireland. It ran for three series, totalling 25 episodes, between 21 April...
. It is named after the 1956 film
And God Created WomanAnd God Created Woman is a French drama film directed by Roger Vadim and starring Brigitte Bardot. Though by no means her first film, it is widely recognized as the vehicle that launched Bardot into the public spotlight and immediately created her "sex kitten" persona.When the film was released...
.
Synopsis
Father TedFather Ted Crilly was a fictional character on the Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted. He was played by Dermot Morgan.-Character:Father Ted Crilly is among many of the quirky and odd characters on Craggy Island, who constantly feels burdened by the idiocy and insanity of those around him. According to...
meets novelist Polly Clarke at a booksigning for her latest novel,
Bejewelled with Kisses, and they discuss their reading interests; Polly discloses that she envies Ted the peace of mind and serenity that his life as a priest brings. Ted rebuffs this, in a jovial manner, saying that he would actually like a bit of excitement. As he gets in the lift afterwards, Ted realises that Polly misheard his name and addressed the book to "Ted Curley" (not Crilly) - Polly then steps into the elevator and greets him as "Father Curley". There is an awkward silence between them as the lift goes up, with the only ice-breaker "Good luck with the book again" as they walk off in separate directions. Their cars, however, are parked right next to each other and, in a traffic jam, Polly's car pulls up right alongside Ted's. Ted pleads with the traffic lights to change, again mouthing "good luck with the book" to Polly. As the lights change, Ted accelerates hastily and crashes into the car in front. The driver of the car then gets out and punches him in the nose.
When Ted arrives home, he finds Polly sitting in the living room; she has rented a cottage on
Craggy IslandThe fictional Craggy Island was the primary setting for the Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted.- Description :Craggy Island is a bleak, desolate community with no redeeming features whatsoever and where nothing ever happens, populated by various lunatics, a small Chinese community and one Māori. The...
, but it is not yet ready, and the builders suggested that she stay at the parochial house. Mrs Doyle then enters, looking disdainful of Polly's presence and less than polite towards her as she leads her to the spare room.
DougalFather Dougal McGuire was a fictional character on the Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted. He was played by Ardal O'Hanlon.-Character:A profoundly dense, thoroughly ignorant young priest , Dougal has no belief in or even a remote understanding of Catholic Christianity, once admitting that he believes more...
, meanwhile, has been behind a chair, hiding from "your woman" because he wouldn't know what to say to her. As Ted begins telling Dougal about Polly, a scream is heard from upstairs;
Father JackFather Jack Hackett was a fictional character on the Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted. He was played by Frank Kelly.-Character:Jack is an elderly, foul-mouthed, alcoholic priest who frequently lapses into violent psychosis, particularly when his fellow clergy deny him drink or try removing him from his...
is in the spare room bed and is unprepared to move (Ted receives another punch in the nose for trying to move Jack). After they use a "calming" blue card to get Jack out of the room, Mrs Doyle tells Polly to have a lovely stay.
The next day, Ted puts several highbrow novels on the table (along with
The CommitmentsThe Commitments is a novel by Irish writer Roddy Doyle, and is the first episode in The Barrytown Trilogy. It is a tale about a group of unemployed young people in the north side of Dublin, Ireland, who start a soul band.-Plot summary:...
by
Roddy DoyleRoddy Doyle is an Irish novelist, dramatist and screenwriter. Several of his books have been made into successful films, beginning with The Commitments in 1991. He won the Booker Prize in 1993....
), with the intention of impressing Polly (but Dougal takes this to mean that Ted is throwing out "the ones you couldn't get through"). Mrs Doyle tells Ted that she isn't a fan of Polly's books, mainly because of "
the languageThe original meaning of the adjective profane referred to items not belonging to the church, e.g...
" in them; she gives examples of this, and ends up going on an angry rant that contains dozens of swear words.
Polly enters and tells Ted about her failed marriage, going into detail about her sex life with her husband; she suddenly realises she has shocked Ted, and apologises, although he maintains that he has heard far worse things in
confessionThe confession of one's sins is a religious practice important to many faiths, e.g., Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy.- Christianity :...
(he then walks uncomfortably to his seat, suggesting that he has an erection). They discuss, at length, literature such as
DostoevskyFyodor Mikhaylovich Dostoyevsky Fyodor Mikhaylovich Dostoyevsky Fyodor Mikhaylovich Dostoyevsky was a Russian writer, essayist and philosopher, known for...
and
WildeOscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish playwright, poet and author of numerous short stories and one novel. Known for his biting wit, he became one of the most successful playwrights of the late Victorian era in London, and one of the greatest "celebrities" of his day...
; Ted is out of his depth but bumbles through without Polly noticing this, and she invites him to come to her house that night for "some more book talk"; he accepts, although, realising what this implies, says "it's just a drink" to the picture of Jesus on the back of the settee, after Polly has left.
Ted then meets the group of nuns visiting Craggy Island, who are led by Sister Assumpta and seem starstruck, treating Ted more like a pop star. They have loved Ted's
massesThe Mass is the Eucharistic celebration in the Latin liturgical rites of the Catholic Church. The term is used also of similar celebrations in Old Catholic Churches, in the Anglo-Catholic tradition of Anglicanism, in many Lutheran Churches, and in a small amount of High Church Methodist parishes...
in the past, but Ted suddenly realises that his mass tonight is happening at the same time as his "date" at Polly's. Ted tries to lie to the nuns and say he will be visiting a sick friend, but this plan is scuppered when Dougal brings the supposedly dying "old Jim" into the house. Ted pretends that he was actually thinking of someone else, and says that he
can do that evening's mass after all.
Ted instead decides to perform the mass very quickly (in under 10 seconds) and run off to meet Polly. But with his car improbably blocked-in by two parishioners, he has to get a lift from Tom, who stops off at the
post officeA post office is a facility authorised by a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail. Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
to rob it at gunpoint (although only because he "didn't want to fill out the form"). Tom then crashes the car, so Ted arrives at Polly's house much later.
To his surprise, Polly is having a housewarming party (forgetting to mention this when she invited Ted), with Dougal, Jack, Mrs Doyle and the nuns. The nuns are angry that Ted's mass was so short. After everyone has left, Polly tells Ted about the "crossroads" in her life, and says she thinks she has reached a decision; Ted says he'll support whatever she chooses to do. However, when she reveals she's going to settle down into a peaceful life by becoming a nun, he's disappointed (although no longer feels awkward about telling her what his surname really is). His possible romance over, Ted returns home to the "daily grind" of pulling Dougal's head out of the settee, while Jack cackles dementedly.
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