Father Ted is one of those rare sitcoms that defies categorisation--it owes as much to Flann O'Brien and Samuel Beckett as it does to Monty Python--and its blend of satire, character comedy and anarchic surrealism has made it a cult favourite around the world. Exiled to remote Craggy Island, Father Ted shares a house with the breathtakingly stupid Father Dougal Maguire and the constantly inebriated Father Jack, who has a small vocabulary and a taste for furniture polish. Their housekeeper, Mrs Doyle, takes care of them with a never-ending supply of tea and sandwiches: "Go on now, Father, won't you try one? They're diagonal." Together they fight boredom by dressing up as Elvis, startling ducks at the fair and provoking nuns. --Simon Leake

If you're a laughaholic this is the fix you need. The comedy is timeless and in another generation this will be taught in schools instead of religion, there will be class trips to Craggy Island and the must have trinket will be a replica of the Holy Stone of Clonrichert. Everyone will want to christen their boys Ted and all the housewives will go weak at the knees for the randy milkman! The Eurovision song contest will be reinvigorated and the lovely girls competition will take the world by storm.The worst that could happen is a plague of rabbits or hairy hands or hairy babies! Its the future I tell you Ive seen it and you can see it too....Buy this box set.

This series has spawned an army of Irish comedians and continues to be an endless source of quips and quotes so if you've been good this year put it on your list for Santa and who knows...........

This is even funnier if you are a catholic, it is uncannily realistic (in a warped kinda way!)

Father Ted is one of these things you can watch over and over again, and laugh each time. Whether your waiting at the airport, or just at home with a cup of coffee, it never fails to make you smile.

Along with all 25 episodes, there are commentries from Graham Linehan (writer), Arthur Mathews (other writer) and Ardal O'Hanlon (Dougal). As well as that there is "Ted and Dougal Do Comic Relief", "Ted Fest 2007: A Very Ted Weekend and Two Tribes Go to War" "Interview with the Writers (Part 1 & 2)", "Dougal's Soundtrack" and "Comedy Connections" to name but a few.

As for the actual comedy, you can't get much better. The swearing isn't vulgar and the gags are never cheap. Professional actors aren't missed, as Dermot Morgan and Ardal O'Hanlon's humour makes up for it.

Buy it! Ah go on. Go on, go on, go on, go on...

The best thing you can say about Father Ted is that even though it is being constantly repeated on British and Irish TV channels it is still very funny. There is an almost irrestiable temptation to watch an episode when you find one by accident while channel hopping.

This is hard to explain to someone who hasn't seen the programme. Of the four main characters three are completely cartoonish. Dougal is thick, Jack is manky, Mrs Doyle is bizarre. Their characters don't change in any way but this doesn't stop them being funny.

Perhaps it's the litany of even more bizarre characters that drop in on Craggy Island in each episode. The acceptance that the stories are surreal and not to look for any sense or realism in them will also help your enjoyment.

Too much analysis from me. Whether you buy this DVD or just stop flicking to watch the second half of a random episode you will get plenty of laughs from Father Ted.

Father Ted - The Definitive Collection Box Set [1995]

This is by far one of the best box sets I've ever bought. Can watch it over and over. Is hilarious, thoroughly enjoyable, and well worth the money.