Bless Me, Father: The Complete Collection

Set in 1950, Bless Me Father is a classic 1978-1980 britcom about life within the Catholic Church, with the Church taking a lot of light-hearted, good-natured but very well-aimed pokes. The late Arthur Lowe (Dad's Army) stars as Father Duddleswell, a very shrewd, penny-pinching, quick-witted Irish Catholic priest. Father D (as he's known) is joined in his residence by his sharp-tongued and equally quick-witted housekeeper, Mrs. Pring, who knows Father D and his quirks all too well. There appears to be no love lost between the two of them, as they take pot-shots at each other every chance they get; one gets the feeling, however, that they are dear to each other for all their comments to the contrary--after all, Mrs. Pring has neither quit nor been fired!

The first episode sees the introduction of Father D's new curate, Father Neil Boyd, who not only has a lot to learn about being a priest but has a lot to learn about Father D, who doesn't always act according to expectations. As for Father D, he's not afraid of much, but he's met his match with the domineering, dour Mother Superior, a woman who could put the fear of God into God--certainly, she has Father D on tenterhooks whenever she appears!

Another frequent face is Father D's jocular neighbour, Billy Buzzle. Billy is quite good-natured, but he's no push over, and his shrewdness is reminiscent of a used-car salesman--in other words, one would be well advised to check that all fingers are present and accounted for after shaking hands with him! Though a non-believer, Billy shares Father D's fondness for having the odd flutter on the GGs (ie. the horses). He also enjoys teasing Father D about his religion, and we are often treated to Billy's witty and often painfully accurate remarks.

Of course, one cannot forget Doctor Daley, the chain-smoking, whiskey-drinking old Irish physician who's as quick-witted as they come, which is a bit of surprise considering he appears to exist in a constant state of mild inebriation! Never one to say no to a drink, he's quite a comical character--all the more so for his antics with a cigarette, which never seems to leave his lips whether talking or drinking!

Finally, fans of British comedy will enjoy quest appearances by Peter Bowles, Geoffrey Palmer, and Clive Swift, each of whom appear in an episode.

The dvd set contains all 21 half-hour episodes of this splendid, witty series. Like all the classic britcoms, this is a series which lends itself to repeated viewing (and in my opinion only gets better each time you've seen it), which makes it good value for money. It's a good, clean series which our family has watched countless times, and it's one which I heartily recommend to all fans of the very best in British comedy.

Very highly recommended!

You need not be British, Catholic or even Christian to enjoy these shows. They present the hilarious antics of Father Duddleswell as he confronts head on the various issues and problems (such as counseling and fund raising) of a small town cleric. As noted by other reviewers, Father Duddleswell is not above a wee bit of larceny to achieve his goals, but he is ALWAYS acting with the best interests of his flock in mind.

The interactions between Father Duddleswell and Mrs. Pring, his housekeeper, are alone worth the cost of the series as are those between the good Father and his Protestant neighbor. But there is so much more including his education of the young curate!

The acting is superb as is the casting. Add this to the fine writing and situations covered and you have a thoroughly enjoyable series!

Oh yes. I have been waiting with baited breath for The good Father Duddleswell to finally make it to DVD! I was so happy to see this I could hardly contain me excitement when processing via the amazon checkout screens.

This was my first PBS Brit-com and trust me it has no equal in time or humor. Father Charles Duddleswell is a total scream. Yes it helps if you understand the world of Roman Catholic Religion but it is not really necessary to know it all. The show sort of fills in enough blanks that even this old former Baptist Wolf got 99% of the jokes.

Father Duddleswell is funny because, he has so many wild old irish sayings. Father D. loves the catholic church his charges, his wild and tart tongued housekeeper and his hopelessly innocent young curate Father Neil Boyd ( Curate is the catholic word for assistant preist in training.)

Together with his friends Billy Buzzle, a good hearted by rakish pub owner, friendly bookie and neighbor to the Parish of Saint Jude. Saint Jude is the Patron Saint of Hopeless Cases by the way. The visitors to Saint Jude are a scream too. There is the always likable Doctor Day who carries his own bottle in his medical bag. A man who drinks his shot with cigarette still in his mouth. Guess the ashes filter out the inpurities for the good doctor. The is the stiff rigid Reverand Mother Stephan whose lives by the utterly humorless yet funny teachings of Mother Foundress of their order.

There are a few things that by todays standards would be considered very politically incorrect but they merely serve to add to the charm and beauty this 1950's post war British period peice creates. This is comedy pure and simple but without the harsh more brusk and in your face humor of todays fare. This is humor that is experienced indirectly via word games and inside jokes where the viewing audience is always included.

Father D had such wonderful sayings like. There is no future in the past. An example of politically incorrect is embodied in the following sayings, Wemen are like brooms they are useful enough but they can not stand up by themselves. Ah yes that is as mixed up as an Irish stew or a womans motives to be sure.

These were offered by AMAZON on as cut up incomplete sets before now but never had the whole series been available in one package. I did not EVEN have to think about IF I wanted to buy this BLESS ME FATHER DVD's and for this price oy vey, It was like the total no brainer of my life buying these. If you love to laugh you can not go wrong buying Bless Me Father because you will never laugh harder at anything as good clean and wholesome as what you find in this series. This DVD set is totally family friendly. I can not imagine a family so uptight that they would find anything about this Bless Me Father the least bit offensive.

I must label this COMPLETE Bless Me Father DVD set ONE of the VERY BEST DVD offerings of all time.

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