Americans React | FATHER TED | Season 2 Episode 4 "Old Grey Whistle Theft" | REACTION

[@TONYCOV881]

The part where Dougal is dreaming, he is dreaming about being on a quiz show called Countdown!

[@marblwrexbro458]

Dougal was saying "consonant please, Carol" in his sleep which is a reference to Carol Vorderman on Countdown as it's a running joke that Dougal plays gameshows in his sleep.

[@richardfurness7556]

The title refers to a long-running British TV music show called "The Old Grey Whistle Test". The name is reputed to come from Tin Pan Alley, where record studios played demo versions of songs to their doormen (nicknamed old greys because of their uniforms). If they were heard whistling the tune within a day or two the company knew the song had the potential to be a hit.

[@kernowchris]

I never knew that and always wondered why it had that name. Thanks for sharing.

[@Zacksleeps]

My great uncles band were on that program. A band called 'wally'!

[@margaretflounders8510]

I love trivia! Thanks for this

[@webbsmotorhomeadventures1231]

The joke is nothing ever happens on craggy island so the whistle theft make front page news brilliant

[@oli3437]

The Priest Ted called (Larry Duff, you'll notice every time he calls Larry Duff Larry gets into trouble) was travelling to Craggy Island through a British Check point in Northern Ireland where one of the Priests was smuggling arms to IRA. I can see how that would be confusing to anyone from the US watching but Irish and British viewers got the joke as it were! Anyway I just thought I should give you some context. Much love❤️👍

[@philbradshaw5776]

"Put your clothes back on Carol I can't concentrate", 😂😂😂😂

[@theapocalex]

The bit at the border is the best larry phone call sketch i reckon gets me everytime haha "A big box of machine guns" and "You think you know someone"

[@stickytapenrust6869]

18:15 - it’s a reference to an afternoon words and numbers game show called Countdown. The assistant on the show was called Carol Vorderman. She became somewhat of a sex symbol. Its first main host until he died 20-odd years ago was Richard Whiteley (hence Ted’s comment). The words rounds had contestants asking Carol to pick letters categorised as consonants or vowels then they had to find the most complex word from the 10 letters they’d chosen. It’s a kind of British institution since it started 40+ years ago. Especially popular among the old and unemployed.

[@finncullen]

From which "8 out of 10 Cats does Countdown" was a comedy spin-off

[@BlueShadow777]

Glad you explained that. I was going to but couldn't be bothered spending the time to write it all out.

[@garethcain6855]

hello, it's 9 letters, not 10

[@stickytapenrust6869]

@@garethcain6855 Thanks, it’s a while since I’ve watched Countdown.

[@mattierenton701]

and theres also "street countdown" with the sweet sweet vowels...

[@Broadercasting]

One of the funniest moments is on the picnic @6:55 where Ted puts the bottles of wine on the table, the camera pans away then back again just seconds later and somehow Father Jack has drunk the lot! Well, it tickled me anyway.

[@Steve_P_B]

In the bit where Father Ted is talking about bad apples, he refers to the Bishop of Galway which refers to a real person. Eamonn Casey was the bishop of Galway and Kilmacduagh in the Republic of Ireland from 1976 to 1992. He resigned in 1992 after it was revealed he had had an affair with an American woman, Annie Murphy. This is also referenced in the Passion of St Tibulus episode with Bishop Brennan's holiday to America.

[@mikedon5205]

And if what we heard recently is true was up to far worse

[@AlastairjCarruthers]

I've lived in London for a while now, but grew up in a small rural English town. One thing I habitually do when I go back to visit is check for adorably quaint minor crimes that have made it into the local newspaper. Some highlights, all genuine, have included "£10 Note Stolen From Chinese Restaurant", "Pair of Trousers Stolen From Clothes Shop", and the particularly shocking "Farmer's Gate Left Ajar"

[@jakell99]

It's worth bearing in mind that, because of the long running 'troubles' in Northern Ireland, the smuggling of guns was not an unusual incident, the IRA built up a very serious arsenal in their time, so it wasn't as 'out there' as it might seem to some.

[@skipstopstart]

I know, Ireland was far less boring in those days:)

[@harbottle8580]

The scene on the rocks was probably the most surreal scene in the entire series. A surrealists dream. I personally rate surreal comedy very highly.

[@mrh678]

The Priest that got shot was coming down from the North and had to pass a British army checkpoint at the border, so they were actually in different countries and shootings would happen daily up there during the troubles.

[@Apollo890]

No that was an Irish Army checkpoint

[@thomasmcconnellogue5405]

Ahem, the same country!

[@davejolly9010]

It was the 25th anniversary of Dermot Morgan's death an cpl weeks ago... nice to see him being remembered

[@simontay4851]

an cpl? Whats that?

[@GusMcGuire]

@@simontay4851 a couple of weeks. The "an" was a typo.

[@theapocalex]

Still crazy how he died, not that old at all and within a week of filming the last episode of season 3...

[@bigthecat100]

That was indeed Street Fighter 2, but bear in mind home computers like the Amiga 500 and Atari ST were still popular in the early to mid 90s in the UK, so they received ports of arcade games as well as the consoles. They also typically used joysticks as controllers.

[@BadBoyV1]

Great observation about the whistle being front page and not the priest getting shot.

[@AnthonyGriffinPhotography]

'Fr. Damien Lennon'. Named after my friend, who went to Maynooth college (not as a priest! , later lectured there). I don't often get to say this!

[@stickytapenrust6869]

13:45 - the priest didn’t get shot on Craggy Island, they got shot at the border of Northern Ireland with the Irish Republic.

[@TisMeCraigT]

Checkpoints were just a part of life in the early nineties when I was growing up and my family would travel over the border

[@ROCKYBLUEDOGS]

Well done adopting the new dog 🐕 really nice of you to do so.

[@BenBanjo87]

This isn't my favourite episode, but it's still a fuppin' great one! 😄😄 Hope Dermot Morgan and Frank Kelly are now at peace up there, and enjoying a bottle of JACOB'S CREEK CHARDONNAY 1991!! 🥂🥂

[@wurble]

Fun fact - The guy doing the weird swearing at the picnic spot is co-creator/writer of the show, Arthur Mathews. His writing partner (Graham Linehan) also appears in a couple of episodes.

[@B-A-L]

Now that definitely a fun fact! Graham Linehan also appeared in the episode where they were on a plane that was about to crash and they all had to write an essay as to why they should be the one who gets the parachute!

[@okelydokely9984]

Ha haaa. 'Fup Off' 'Grasshole', 'Pedrofile' 'Backstard' - Used as banter sometimes these days.

[@Noresearchneeded]

Unfortunately graham linehnan got strangely obsessed with cross dressers and now does weird desperate interviews with KZbin ‘journalists’ that have zero education never mind a journalist certificate! 🤦‍♂️

[@Neil0014]

Jacobs creek Chardonnay 1991 gets me every time.😂😂

[@BenBanjo87]

The next episode is one of the greatest! When watching that one, you will need to bear in mind that Ireland had a big streak of winning the Eurovision Song Contest in the 1990s; and you will also _definitely_ need to include the credits sequence in the reaction - it includes the whole conclusion of the plot.

[@heatherlawson3437]

Aww, you're such a lovely couple , giving that cute dog a happy home. I am so glad that you've watched this brilliant episode of Father Ted.

[@abarratt8869]

It's great fun watching you see Father Ted episodes for the first time! Such memories. This was a good one. I'm also looking forward to eps 5, 6, 7, and definitely 8. And 9, and, well, the rest. Especially, series 3 eps 3, and 6. And all the others!

[@terrytees]

Street Fighter will be played on the commodore amiga, I recognised the joysticks they are using. Pretty popular computer over here in the 80's to mid 90's.

[@slowerthinker]

When this episode was originally broadcast scenes similar to that at 5:10 were on the evening news nearly every single day and had been for ~25 years.

[@ChristopherStendeck]

Those joysticks are Competition Pros, very commonly used with Amiga 500, 600 etc. And yes, Streetfighter 2 was available for that system though it was a nightmare to pull off advanced moves when you only have effectively 1 fire button.

[@U2031]

I remember thinking the same thing when this was first on TV, it's probably the amiga version judging by the joysticks, and agreed it was a pretty bad version.

[@ChristopherStendeck]

@@U2031 I had it on Atari ST at that time. Probably an even worse conversion than the Amiga. I had black and yellow "Zipsticks" (same shape as the Competition Pro) held together with sellotape and blutack. I used to get through them from trying to wrestle shoryukens from the clunky controls and 10fps gameplay. Good memories, but not worth reliving 😅

[@U2031]

@@ChristopherStendeck I suspect you probably already know but you could plug megadrive pads into an amiga if you had them, I didn't have both to try it until a few years after this episode aired. I did like the zipstick though, nobody I knew had competition pro's it was just zipsticks everywhere.

[@njones420]

Yes, Streetfighter 2 on the Amiga, classic. There were actually quite a few amiga releases (New Challengers/World Warrior/Turbo) someone even did a very impressive AGA version a couple years back...I've got the rare and completely broken CD32 version of Streetfighter 2 Turbo, it's unplayable. :)

[@alecmunro1732]

Dougal was dreaming about a gameshow called Countdown, where you ask for vowels and consonants and make the longest possible words from the letters you are given. Carol was the original co-host who is a mathematician too, she gives you the letters and she's in charge of the maths round. JImmy Carr does some spoof of this with 1 out of 10 cats, maybe you've seen that.

[@simontay4851]

8 out of 10 cats, not 1

[@alecmunro1732]

@@simontay4851 haha ok, thanks. I almost wrote 9 out of ten. I haven't watched much of it to be honest.

[@lioncurlew]

18:13 "A Consonant please, Carol" He is swooning over Carol Vorderman from the UK Game Show, "Countdown"

[@Steve_P_B]

A little bit of trivia for you. People here are letting you know that Dougal's talking in his sleep refers to the show Countdown. When an Australian version was made it had to be called Letters and Numbers because there was already a very popular show called Countdown which was kind of an Australian focused music program with music news, live performances, interviews, and a chart countdown, which included international guests and the host, Ian "Molly" Meldrum, coined the iconic catchphrase, "Do yourself a favour" which became a recurring theme for the show.

[@sandrahughes8645]

Aww Well done on saving the dog, Queen Boomer! ❤

[@paulwalton1222]

I remember the atari coming out. It was 1982.

[@fresh.prince7472]

You guys are so amazing bringing a dog in to your home your heart is wonderful

[@raywallace633]

Just like your parents took you in off the road ,would you like to tell everyone that you're a filthy troll who says the most disgusting comments to everyone you and your other accounts are subhuman.

[@simonbird8093]

What an opening: 'Saved a dog' You're the best Queen B.

[@slugdub101]

That's the burren in county Clare. It's a chunk of land that was picked up in Africa by a glacier. a few hundred million years ago, and was eventually deposited there. Weird place. Strange fauna etc.

[@primalengland]

I’m an old hippy who grew up with ‘Old Grey Whistle Test’ with Whispering Bob Harris, the legend.

[@KnightmareUSA]

That's the amiga version of Street Fighter 2 the new challengers, the music on here seems to match up (ryus theme)

[@philward2538]

When Dougal has his bath Mrs Doyle washes him like he is a 5 year old...

[@ad8547]

This is my favourite ever episode. Anyone from a small town in Ireland knows how easily such a small thing can be blown out of all proportion.

[@mharris7380]

"The Old Grey Whistle Theft" is a reference to an old TV show called "The Old Grey Whistle Test" which was a television music show in the 70's.

[@shadybacon3451]

Feel your pain with the new pupper crying and keeping you awake. I just got a German Shepherd pup (11 weeks old today) who has got a bad case of separation anxiety. Hopefully, will be able to sort it out over the next few weeks

[@acesfn7316]

Father Ted episode usually have a scene during the credits that are worth watching

[@ernie316]

It looks like the Commodore 64 version of street fighter 2, which I played with the old style joystick

[@radioheaduk15]

Looking forward to more peep show man. As an American who’s watched it I can’t wait to see more of your reactions to it as it’s hilarious. It’s going to get better and better

[@meronr74]

There was a music show on British TV called The Old Grey Whistle Test.

[@kernowchris]

Huge respect for saving a beautiful dog. Gotta love our furry friends, they are more warm hearted than so many people. Props to you both. Does the Dog have a Name?

[@TheOrlandoTrustfull]

There's no bigger female move than "Oh by the way, I'm bringing an animal into the house that you had no say about, and now we have to feed and pay all its medical bills" - Bill Burr has a great bit about it.

[@BlueShadow777]

The British army stop scenario was a reference to the Northern Ireland troubles. There was a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland where searches for IRA weapons etc were regularly conducted. The "box of machine guns in Father Williams's house" was a further reference to the stashing of arms by the IRA. Interesting that Father Ted refers to him as "Billy" i.e. a Catholic priest called the Protestant "Billy". The name "Billy" is associated to Protestantism and is considered somewhat anti-Catholic due to the massacre of Catholics in 1690 by King William of Orange (hence "Billy").

[@DK-cy5mt]

Almost right except that it was an Irish army stop, you can tell by the uniform

[@BlueShadow777]

@@DK-cy5mt Yep, correct. I wasn't paying attention. There were British stops too though. It was still deserving of a "Like" though 🤷‍♂

[@horumgrombo6519]

Highlight of my day, watching you two watching another father ted or peep show. Keep up the good work!

[@alreadygotone9180]

You don't often see this episode in the UK anymore

[@maxplanck9055]

Queen boomer police chief of craggy island! Solved the mystery before the show ended! Nice job Callie ✌️❤️🇬🇧much love

[@lawrencegt2229]

The writer, Graham Linehan, also wrote the IT crowd (mad as a box of frogs).

[@Brian67588]

I was hoping King Boomer would get the Countdown reference during Dougal's dream from watching '8 out of 10 cats does countdown'. I think we all wanted to have that dream about Carol Vorderman back in the day.

[@sexual-harassment-panda]

Anyone this side of the pond anyway

[@starfire451]

You missed the best part when the unopened bottles of wine suddenly got empty after the camera paned to one side and returned, which is why Jack looked so guilty. 6:54

[@flaggerify]

The episode was inspired by the title of a music review show called The Old Grey Whistle Test.

[@flea1683]

Old Grey Whistle Test was a very good music programme on TV because the bands played live on the show.

[@vinnycochrane5139]

I know a lot of priests. I was at a Jesuit school in Scotland, a Franciscan college at Oxford. Also, many Church of England vicars, as well as Irish Catholic clergy. Some of them thought Father Ted was a documentary, because the world of clergy is quite surreal.

[@paulwalton1222]

Dougal was dreaming about countdown when on about vowels and Richard whiteley. It was the first ever program on channel 4, the year atari came out, 1982. Sean lock was on a spin off copying countdown.

[@Niki-mp8qe]

Had to put my oldest down a week ago, feline 16 years old 😭 I have other pets makes me so happy seeing people giving these animals a forever home, they become the heart of the family

[@mikedon5205]

You have to watch countdown to understand Dougals dream 😂

[@Reevesy791]

Whe you finish Father Ted you need to watch 'Small, Far Away' the Father Ted documentary, its really excellent.

[@lioncurlew]

Atari "Pong" The Tennis Game...Happy Memories

[@tecnogof]

" A consonant please Carol.... Another consonant!" He's dreaming about playing 'Countdown', selecting consonants and vowels, from Carol Vordaman who was smokin' hot and clever af! 9 out of 10 cats do 'countdown', is a parody of that show... Make words from the letters, solve a math equation, all that wholesome stuff!

[@eclectica1]

She still is. Aging like fine wine.

[@simontay4851]

8 out of 10 cats, not 9.

[@annmartin5347]

I think the picnic scene was filmed in The Burran Area in Co. Louth.

[@okelydokely9984]

Burren in in Co.Clare (near enough where the Ted house is)

[@DavidDouglass-uc6bi]

you need to watch after the credits have finished as something happens at the very end in every episode

[@DavidJ8816]

Joe Rooney as Fr. Damo. I met him once at a service station I used to work at. Decent lad.

[@MicMAGPie11]

The picnic area is called, the burren,it's a Irish heritage site ,

[@colinhutchinson1664]

My late father was amongst the first British troops sent to Northern Ireland in 1969.He and his squad did vehicle check point stops and as he was an NCO he normally had a Sterling Submachine gun (which is what the soldier fires at the fleeing priest) It was developed from the Sten gun which was mainly issued to British parachute troops in WW2 and used by the RUC up to the early 60s.

[@adamwalkeraw]

Damo is my favourite character in all father Ted,we all had a friend exactly like him in p7

[@B-A-L]

I fuppin' love Father Ted!

[@D44276]

Now we know where Jack Grealish got his hair inspiration from 😂😂

[@markuk8803]

When are we getting the next episode of 'Man Down' ? Love that show ?

[@terrymurray9818]

Fair play Mrs boomer saving the dog life youl be rewarded in heaven so touching ❤❤❤❤

[@anthonydinsdale8783]

Dougal’s dream is about the original Countdown with Carol Volderman as the letters and numbers lady.

[@shuntaro2408]

They are playing street fighter II on an Amiga. A home computer and successor of sort to the commodore 64. Both really popular i Europe. Not so much in the US

[@shea086]

What a great team. Thanks and a new dog!

[@townsjim]

Glad you found that episode as bizarre as I always have, I've got the feeling that it was written when Linehan and Matthews were drunk or stoned, or both.

[@lenyard]

Priests did get involved with weapons and were bagmen for extortion, also the British army often opened fire at people at checkpoints so yeah very dark. When this episode came out the subject was controversial.

[@lindahakansson2703]

With love from Gothenburg in Sweden to the King and Queen Boomer.

[@reddishtykes]

Wait until you get to Pat Mustard!

[@dave41184]

Alleged hairy baby maker.

[@GazEndo68]

To understand the machine gun part you need to understand the troubles.

[@partially_discombobulated9818]

I know the actor who plays Fr. Damo, Joe Rooney, he's a stand up comedian too. Good guy 👍

[@lisajohnson1528]

Yeah I love it when you do father Ted with queen boomer

[@jethro1963]

It's not meant to be a shot at the King, many reactors started out as a single and added someone else. It usually makes them better by giving them someone to play off of rather than trying to do everything themselves.

[@kevinjones4559]

Dana won the Eurovision song contest in 1970 later becoming a very conservative politician.

[@neilrendell5630]

I was offered a shop once for Atari & the Binatone that was back at my dad's place, all the classics such as Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Centipede, etc

[@Bazroshan]

Mrs. Doyle is a better bus than the bus in 'Cat People'.

[@sideshowmark913]

Lol Jacobs creek . That brings me back to my younger days at house parties at the weekend I Ireland at the only drink you could get at 8 o clock in the morning would be bottles of Jacobs creek . Good Times lol

[@keithbell4744]

Saw your poll. I love boomerites and Muppets. You can even call me a numpty. Dont see it as condescending. Love your reactions

[@philipocallaghan]

Wait for the MILKMAN episode...

[@wesker100000000]

I love the reactions from you two on father ted ( hope someday I can watch this with my gf and see what she thinks of this classic I grew up with..we're long distance currently. ) The whistle front page is a joke in newspapers constantly taking the serious news and usually putting it on the front page ). I got my Irish accent from father ted ( half irish ). Queen boomer is be coming a pretty good columbo with her detective skills there. Next series 1 episode in particular will really have her guessing a lot as it's a dory of whodunnit ). Also yeah that priest being murdered one of the darkest moments in father ted,followed by 1 of the fattest scenes.

[@steveb1972]

The one time we don’t see Larry getting killed!

[@russellpetrie119]

richard whatley and carol vorderman used to host countdown

[@thatsthat2612]

Sorta looks like Jimmy Seville on your t shirt 😂

[@lewisjones2825]

12:50--policeman is bored, having nothing to do, lots of overkill

[@PaulSimonRough]

It's street fighter on an Amiga I think.

[@stepenn2196]

Don't do episode 4 series 3 without knowing who Victor meldrew is makes more sense that way.

[@torresilk4277]

One Foot in the Grave season 2. A certain catch phrase didn’t appear until S2

[@barriehull7076]

Embrace the suck 21 did the above so Brian take note.

[@dresca2501]

The picnic area. The Burren Co. Clare Just down the road from the Fr Ted House.

[@RickyRyan718]

Muppets need a good daily cheer up king boomer🇬🇧🤙