Line #37 Recap/FatherTedS3E4TheMainland


1	-> ''I don't believe it!''
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3	A trip to the mainland to get some new spectacles for Father Jack, who keeps losing them due to constant crow attacks, takes a turn for the worst when Jack ends up in an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, a disagreement between Mrs. Doyle and a friend of hers over who'll pay the bill in a cafe results in their arrest, and Ted and Dougal keep falling afoul of Creator/RichardWilson, who takes violent exception to the use of his [[Series/OneFootInTheGrave eponymous catchphrase]]. And just when it couldn't get any worse, they run into Noel Furlong.
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6	!!Tropes featured in this episode:
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8	* AdamWesting: Father Ted, meet Creator/RichardWilson. And get ready for a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown.
9	* AmbulanceCut: What happens when the AA member makes the grave mistake of getting between Father Jack and his drink.
10	* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: "She was on her way to the shop the other day, and a man came over to her, and ''killed her'', and ''stole her pen''!"
11	* ArtisticLicense: The optician's boards are unrealistic. They should start with just one letter, after which the number of letters should increase as the said letters get smaller. Although in the case of these particular boards, the optician does admit that they were promotional freebies.
12	* ArtisticLicenseGeography: There are no flights between Ireland and Paraguay; at the time, there were no direct flights to that country from anywhere in Europe. Today, there is one — Air Europa, which flies out from Madrid in Spain.
13	* ArtisticLicenseLaw: At the start of the episode, Mrs Doyle makes reference to a robbery involving one of her friends. Ted asks her if the robbers took much, showing that he knows the correct definition of a robbery, but then it becomes apparent that she thinks "robbery" and "kidnapping" are the same thing ("she was robbed, they stole her"), when in fact they are not.
14	* ArtisticLicensePhysics: The result of rocks falling on Father Noel would not be a hand sticking out and more annoying stuff but rather a dead man.
15	* AsLongAsItSoundsForeign: "FECKARSE" does not sound Slovakian.
16	* BerserkButton: Two of them:
17	** Richard Wilson ''despises'' anyone coming up to him and using his catchphrase "I don't believe it!" and tends to react violently. TruthInTelevision, albeit exaggerated.
18	** Also Jack's reaction to the AA member trying to separate him from the alcoholic drink he was trying to take.
19	* BigShutUp: Tony Lynch finally has enough of Father Noel's going on.
20	-->'''Tony Lynch''': WILL YOU SHUT UP?! ''WILL YOU?!'' WILL YOU ''PLEASE'' SHUT UP?! WILL YOU SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!
21	* BlindWithoutEm: Father Jack.
22	* CaptainOblivious: A hungry Dougal tries to order food from a Garda, first a lasagne, then a chicken curry, then a bag of chips with Fanta Orange. When the officer tries to explain that Dougal was in [[WhereDoYouThinkYouAre 'a police station']], Dougal responds "in that case, just the chicken satay and pilau rice."
23	* ComicallyMissingThePoint:
24	** Dougal asking if Richard Wilson enjoyed hearing Ted say Victor Meldrew's catchphrase even after he's seen (and taken photos) of Wilson beating the crap out of Ted for it.
25	** Later, Dougal continuing to attempt to order food from the Garda despite being told he’s in a Garda station.
26	** Jack and the AA meeting, whose members mistake his plaintive cries for "Drink!" as a cry against alcohol.
27	* DescriptionCut: After Father Noel Furlong has gotten himself buried by a cave collapse.
28	--> '''Furlong''': [''The youths''] were going to [[BlatantLies find the tour operator, tell him I'm buried under a pile of rocks, and be right back]].
29	--> [''cut to airline check-in desk'']
30	--> '''Check-in Lady''': And that's four tickets to Paraguay.
31	--> [''cue wide-shot of the aforementioned youths at the check-in desk'']
32	* DidntThinkThisThrough: Ted and Dougal thought Richard Wilson would laugh at Victor Meldrew's catchphrase when they first saw him, [[BerserkButton but he didn't]].
33	* DirtyCop: Hilariously lampshaded by Ted.
34	-->'''Ted''': There was a time when the police in this country were [[CorruptChurch friends of the Church!]] Parking tickets torn up, drunk driving charges quashed, even a blind eye turned to the odd murder! But now?!
35	* DisproportionateRetribution: Richard Wilson attacks Ted twice for uttering his Victor Meldrew catchphrase in his presence, even threatening to kill the priest the first time.
36	** Also Jack hospitalising an AA member for interrupting his drinking.
37	* TheDreaded: Father Noel Furlong, on account of how horrifically annoying he is. He initially appears in the caves dressed as a ghost, which frightens Ted and Dougal into screaming. When he takes off the sheet and reveals who he really is, ''they scream even louder.''
38	* EnemiesList: After Tony shouts at Fr. Noel, the latter apparently gets annoyed and tells Tony he's 'putting [''him''] on [''his''] enemies list'. He even says "You're for it" as he's writing. Subverted, as we learn he actually wrote "I REALLY LIKE TONY!"
39	* EntertaininglyWrong: No, AA people, Jack saying “Drink” does not mean he’s crying for help.
40	* FiveSecondForeshadowing: When the AA member tries to stop Jack from drinking, he begins to say "I know it hurts, but believe me, you're going to thank me for it." The scene [[AmbulanceCut Ambulance Cuts]] away just before he can finish, which is meant to represent Jack knocking him out for getting in the way of his drinking.
41	* ForgetsToEat: Dougal forgot to eat his breakfast.
42	* FromBadToWorse: For Ted and Dougal, getting trapped in the Really Dark Caves gets even worse when they discover they're trapped with Father Noel Furlong.
43	* NeverHeardThatOneBefore: By the time the episode was recorded, Creator/RichardWilson had heard people quoting "I don't believe it!" from ''Series/OneFootInTheGrave'' in front of him so often that he got fed up of it. This was incorporated in the story (with Ted doing it) after Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews discussed how 'tasteless and wrong' someone leaning forward to him in an audience and saying the phrase would be - while sitting behind him in the audience at a Creator/CirqueDuSoleil performance.
44	* NotWhereTheyThought: Jack wrongly assumes (at least at first) that the AA meeting place is a bar, largely due to not reading the sign in full.
45	* OhCrap: This is Ted and Dougal’s reaction to finding Noel in the cave, with Ted’s voice [[ScreamsLikeALittleGirl suddenly jumping several octaves.]]
46	* OnceMoreWithClarity: Jack, without his glasses, squints at a sign but can only make out one word: "DRINK?" Excited, he goes inside, only for the camera to focus so the full message is visible: "HAD ENOUGH OF DRINK? Join Alcoholics Anonymous today."
47	* PoorCommunicationKills: When Jack shouts "[[NoIndoorVoice DRINK!]]", he actually always wants a drink. The AA members thought he was pleading for help, [[AmbulanceCut which ends up biting one of them in the arse]].
48	* PrecisionFStrike: "Fecking birds again".
49	* RunningGag: Ted constantly saying "I don't believe it", only to then fall foul of a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown from Richard Wilson.
50	** Dougal is constantly distracted by how hungry he is throughout the episode.
51	* ScreamsLikeALittleGirl: Ted when he sees Father Noel Furlong.
52	* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Father Noel's youth group promptly ditch him and flee to Paraguay.
53	* SeriousBusiness: Dougal has this reaction when he realizes he missed breakfast.
54	* ASimplePlan: A trip to the mainland from an Irish island would normally never involve getting lost in a cave, bailing someone out of jail or running afoul of a television star who had gotten tried of being reminded of their famous lines.
55	* SoundEffectBleep: When Mrs. Doyle's name is spoken, the first name is drowned out, first by the fire alarm and then by plates breaking.
56	* StoppedReadingTooSoon: More like 'Not Reading It Through at All'. The reason Jack ended up in the AA meeting was because he didn't read the whole of the poster identifing the place as the site of the meeting, only reading the word 'Drink?'.
57	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodSandwich: Invoked by Ted when his commitment to getting Mrs. Doyle out of lockup clashes with getting Dougal something to eat; he tells the younger priest that he won’t have time to eat the meal, and Dougal tries to dig into the meal only to be dragged away by Ted.
58	* ThievingMagpie: A variant. Crows (which are relatives of magpies) are twice depicted attacking Jack and stealing his glasses.
59	* TooDumbToLive: The AA member who tried to stop Father Jack drinking. Admittedly, he wasn't to know Father Jack had long since fallen off the wagon.
60	* TruthInTelevision: Richard Wilson really does hate ''"that bloody catchphrase"''.
61	* TheUnreveal:
62	--> '''Garda''': Do you happen to know a Mrs. Doyle? First name Mrs. [''fire alarm goes off''] Doyle.
63	--> '''Ted''': Hmm, do I know a Mrs. [''plates smash''] Doyle?
64	* WhereDoYouThinkYouAre: "You're in a police station."
65	* WithFriendsLikeThese: When he finds out he'll need the full cost of his winnings to get them out, Ted tries to keep Jack and Mrs. Doyle in lockup by claiming he cannot afford to bail them out, only to be stopped by Dougal.

Context Recap / FatherTedS3E4TheMainland