Customer Reviews

Ballykissangel - Complete Series One

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

WARNING! If you have never seen an episode of "Ballykissangel" and are starting from the beginning like I did today, be aware that on the second disc there is a special feature that looks back on the making of the show. It includes several spoilers including what would have to be the biggest spoiler of them all. So if you want to get all the way through to Series Three and not have things ruined for you then skip the "On the Ballykissangel Trail" featurette so what happened to me does not happen to you.

"Ballykissangel" is about young Father Peter Clifford (Stephen Tompkinson) who has come from England to the Irish town of Ballykissangel (Baile Coisc Aingeal) to be the curate at the local parish. You would think that the problem is going to be that the young priest is English, but it turns out to be his way of thinking and not his country of origin that shakes things up in town:

Episode 1, "Trying to Connect You" (Written by Kieran Prendiville, First aired February 11, 1996) starts with an interesting race. Can the new priest get to town before whatever is in that giant crate marked "Fragile" that is rolling down the mountainside and into Ballykissangel? Father Peter gets a ride Assumpta Fitzgerald (Dervla Kirwan), who runs the local tavern and has no use for the church. Then there are Niamh Quigley (Tina Kellegher) and Ambrose Egan (Peter Hanly), who are supposed to be getting married. But she wants to make sure they are really compatible which means living and sleeping together and he does not want to commit a mortal. Meanwhile, Father MacAnally (Niall Toibin) is not happy to have a new curate who cannot drive and then there is what is in that box that Brian Quigley (Tony Doyle) has bought for the church.

Episode 2, "The Things We Do for Love" (Written by Kieran Prendiville, First aired February 18, 1996), has Father Peter and Brian Quigley butting heads again. Quigley is planning a holiday home development and a young couple are living in a caravan near the site, so he orders his men to dump "organic fertilizer" right next to the caravan, which is making the young couple's baby sick. Father Peter does not like what is going on, but he has his own problems when Jenny Clark (Lena Headey), a parishioner from Manchester shows up because she thinks he has feelings for her. Fortunately there is a Gaelic football match that is going to be played in which Peter is the reserve goalkeeper, and Soiban (Deirdre Donnelly) has a bright idea.

Episode 3, "Live in My Heart and Pay No Rent" (Written by Kieran Prendiville, First aired on February 25, 1996), has a stone statue of St. John falling off of the church and crashing into Ambrose's car right after he got out of it. So he decides this is a sign from God, calls off his wedding to Niamh, and decides to become a priest. Niamh is already upset because her father is going to be meeting up with his old girlfriend. So she decides that under the circumstances, even if she is not getting married she still wants her wedding reception.

Episode 4, "Fallen Angel" (Written by John Forte, First aired March 3, 1996), has Ambrose on the trail of a pirate radio station in the village, while Father Peter has been warned he needs get his license and a car or he will be shipped back home. Assumpta agrees to give him driving lessons, which is probably a mistake. Meanwhile, on a hospital visit Peter encounters a former judge, Michael Bradley (Aidan Grennell), who proves to be even more of a challenge than the driving test. That is because apparently no parish priest has ever failed the test, but Father Peter does not like the idea of a fix and his prospects for passing the test have everybody placing bets.

Episode 5, "The Power and the Gory" (Written by John Forte, First aired March 10, 1996), begins with the local representative to the Irish Parliament being buried, which means a contest for the seat between Brian Quigley and Sean Dooley (Owen Roe). The television reporter sent to cover the election turns out to be Assumpta's ex-boyfriend, Leo McGarvey (James Nesbitt), and while Father Peter is hoping to get some publicity about replacing the bell at the church, McGarvey wants to know about the old bones that Quigley's men have uncovered out at the development site.

Episode 6, "Missing Your Already" (Written by Kieran Prendiville, First aired March 17, 1996) finds Father Peter has been told he has to return to England. He wants to know why and we want to know if he is really going to go. Brian Quigley's latest brainstorm to get visitors to BallyK is to get a three-day license to open a bar and grill, which is going to take money away from Fitzgerald's. Adding insult to injury, Quigley has put a ram up on some scaffolding, which has upset Soiban. Father Peter might not be able to do anything about leaving BallyK, but he can certainly do something about the sheep and perhaps even preside over a wedding.

This is a charming little show, and what strikes me most is that it is like a situation comedy that has been put in a lower gear to make it into an "hour" long show. The road to acceptance is not as hard as Father Peter thinks that it is and the locals are not quite as eccentric as you would expect (Eamonn and his wooden sheep are the proverbial exception). I read that "Ballykissangel" was the BBC's version of "Northern Exposure," which only goes to prove the wide cultural gulf that exists between two lands separated by a common tongue. Half of the show's six series are available on DVD so you can proceed to Series Two if it strikes your fancy.

This drama set in a small town in Ireland is less significant for its substance than for the days-gone-by nostalgia feel of it. It is a wonderfully simple program; a sort of Andy Griffith Show foundation enlivened by modernity. We see an attractive barkeep who has vague qualms with the religion into which she was born begin to respect the new priest in town as he jockeys with his older generational priest-supervisor. Through this prism we can see what we want of Ireland's more recent development. The program encourages us to take sides between the traditionalist (sometimes selfish) church of the past, and a more lively (but less absolute) version of it, as evinced by this young priest from afar who stirs up this town a bit. It's not at all a religious program, mind you; just an overly unrepresentitive portrayal of idyllic Ireland in which you cannot fail to include religion. Full disclosure: I like this show, but I also have Irish blood. I say this because this really is a program which appeals to a particular sort of individual; to one who either has Irish blood and/or for those whom Ireland has some draw. Ireland has an inherent appeal to many such people from around the world. Even if you have never visited it, can you not right now visualize vast green fields and rolling hills bordered by stone walls, snugly cozy pubs filled with glasses of Guiness raised, and smiling faces? Of course, i'm exaggerating here, but you must grant that Ireland is a far more attractive place than many others, at least in a theorhetical quality-of-life sort of way. It's thought of as the sort of place where stress is not as prevalent as where one finds oneself; having a bygone character to it (notwithstanding this not to be as true in actuality, but like in many other things, imagination often persists over reality). If I am making any sense to you with this, Ballykissangel may be to your liking. If you are familiar with Garrison Keillor's pubic radio show, "A Prairie Home Companion" (saturdays 6pm across the USA), Ballykissangel is to Ireland what the fictional town of "Lake Woebegone" is to the American heartland. I recommend both. Both evince what a part of us long for (if you are a nostalgic sort of person, regardless of your age--even a 25 year old can long for previous eras) and even though such may not suit us, it does make us inclined to enjoy programs like "A Prarie Home Companion" and "Ballykissangel". I hope this review of sorts was of use to you. Cheers! P.S. If you do give this program a try and find it to your liking I'd like to let you know that the "set" of Ballykissangel isn't one at all; but rather is an one-street town (called Avoca) that was occassionally commandeered for filming so that you can actually travel to it! To have a drink in its pub, visit its church and so on is a somewhat surreal experience; as you walk into "the program", so to speak, that you have enjoyably watched from afar. Now, where else can you do something like that! (04Aug) Cheers!

Since I am of Irish heritage I started to watch this series because of the inherent comic/dramatic possibilities of a young English priest in an Irish village. It did not disappoint in this and the characters encountered in the saga of Father Peter Clifford in Ballykissangel are entertaining and very Irish,though part old Irish and part modern. I followed this series almost to the bitter end, which is much longer than the first 3 series now available on DVD or video. The first part is better than the latter part and I began to lose interest after the series took a rather dramatic turn midway through. I will not reveal that dramatic turn but I thought it was a very poor resolution of that part of the story and I never had the same affection for it thereafter. Up to that time, however, it was a delightful story of the Irish in a small village with their eccentricities and foibles and the befuddlement of the young priest trying to get used to them and guide them, and at the same time deal with some rather serious issues of his own. During the course of the entire run of the series, you see a long line of well-known Irish actors and actresses, not the least of which is Colin Farrell in what had to be his first real part. He's come a long way since Ballykissangel but you could see the star quality even then. Over all, a very watchable and entertaining tragicomedy but beware the denoument somewhere around the 5th or 6th season, if the whole series ever appears on DVD. It's a shocker.

The first three seasons of Ballykissangel are top notch. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the DVD's which are very poor quality. There is an overall graininess throughout and compression artifacts are visible to the point of being a distraction. If you are a Bally-K fan your options for owning the series are limited, but I would hold out for a remastered DVD, perhaps an anniversary edition down the road...

In a show which appears to abound with possible anomalies, unexpectedly comes the most profound commonsense and, with it, immense enjoyment.
In a most unlikely Irish village, live a most unlikely group of villagers. A group which includes the good, the bad, and the rather stupid. Overseer, at the top of the hierarchy, is a non too pleasant, but feared, senior Priest. The foregoing would hardly make an aceptable show - let alone a great one. Ballykissangel is made great, truly great, by the inclusion to the above characters of a raw English born Priest, an attractive but atheist female Publican, a conscientious but fallible Policeman, a caring Schoolmaster and, lastly but crucially, a lovable rogue of a Businessman.
It would be unfair to pick any one actor as superior. The main characters are superbly played by the cast, while the 'lesser lights' are no less deserving of high praise.
Ballykissangel is a 'Fairy Tale', in that good invariably triumphs over evil but, the convoluted stories which evolve from the behaviour of the residents of this small community are suspenseful and highly entertaining. The writing, like the acting, is first rate.
This must be one of the most viewable of all the Drama/Comedies ever produced. One wishes one could live in Ballykissangel!

If Lake Wobegon were set in Ireland, it would be Ballykissangel. Life in the small, rural Irish town, circa 1995, centers on the pub and the Roman Catholic Church. Naturally, the main characters are the young priest and the publican, a fiery woman who is hostile to religion. Despite her antagonism toward his faith, the publican always seems to end up helping out the priest. Although these two characters take center stage in the early going, a variety of other townspeople -- each with quirky characteristics of his or her own -- gradually emerge with their own stories. Eventually, it becomes clear that the real star is Ballykissangel itself -- a little town that one wishes time hadn't forgotten.

This series is about a Priest who comes to a small Irish Village called Ballykissangel and meets first the pub owner , Asumpta, who in turn, introduces him to some of the other characters in the village as we get to know them too. I enjoyed this series very much. Watching this series, I began to really feel like I was a part of the town. If you're looking for a series that has not been shown on American TV, I highly reccommend this one.

This is a series sui generis--a thing unto itself (though it can be compared and contrasted to many others). I am virtually certain that the creator, who must certainly have a strong say in how all episodes are written because of their fluid continuity, watched a lot of All Creatures Great and Small. Although there is far more star quality in that great series (Robert Hardy as a inimitable,fantastic Siegfried) and it is more tightly focused on just three or four characters (the vets plus Ellen), All Creatures... was such a hit because again and again and again it goes for the heart, not fulsomely or over-sentimentally, but with real, live, accessible, and beautifully drawn characters.

BallyK shares this warmth and genuine humanity without sacrificing the basics of the "real world" and, though it is not mentioned enough, I think many people are happy to see a priest portrayed positively, with faults but much more with lots of decency and a sense of love and fairness. Stephen Tompkinson, at least in the first two years of episodes, is nothing short of spectacular as the lead character. Again in contrast with the "star" of All Creatures...Robert Hardy, his character has some charisma but it's his basic love for and acts of love for others that glues this series together.

Many charactes play major roles, but making a Catholic priest the positive protagonist is a stroke of brilliance, rarely equalled in the annals of art. The creator almost certainly didn't expect the reaction this series has received all over the world. (It has a universal appeal with universal plots and themes, set in Ireland: it's not just for those who are Irish or like the Irish--that is totally off-base).

The trials and tribulations and humorous situations, most of them not earth-shattering, that make up this series (I've seen years one and two) connect with the concerns and lives of ordinary people who can identify with aspects of most of the characters. There is a nasty character or two that appear in a few of the episodes, but their "evil", while real, doesn't dominate, but dissolves into the overall good natured quality of this series.

And that's the key: the characters and conflicts in BAllyK are genuine; there isn't the manufactured angst, turbo-charged hyperactivity, and turmoil that characterizes most serieses.

In the U.S., the Sopranos is top dog among serieses of this kind and I too have enjoyed it to a degree. But is Tony Soprano the Everyman that could give this series timeless appeal--NO. I do believe, however, that Father Clifford, in crucial combination with the other characters, is an Everyman that will give this series timeless apppeal--again much like All Creatures...

In fifty years, more people may watch the Sopranos, but the percentage of people that watch BAllyK and fall in love with this very slightly off-beat community with will be much higher than those who both watch and really love The Sopranos. Anyway this is a great series, at least years one and two (there is great conflict about seasons 3 and 4, which I have not seen).

Older viewers who grew up watching and liking the Andy Griffith Show, Father Knows Best, Leave it to Beaver, My Three Sons et al will like this series--probably not seein the resemblances, which are many. But BallyK is not recycled old American t.v. It makes its own statment; has its own warmth and charm; and creates its own compelling, if low-key, reality. See the first two seasons at least. You will be a better person for it.

This whole series from start to finish is captivating and fantastic. The acting is so natural one feels like one actually knows the characters in person, rather than they just being props on the tv screen. The plot centers around the outsider Priest coming into this rural town of Ireland and encountering some lovable and eccentric characters. It is decidedly liberal in that it promotes in subtle ways, medicinal marijuana, and things of the sort. However, it is still a pleasant and very much engrossing series. It provides hours of entertainment.

My husband and I loved the first season of Ballykissangel. The first episode was hysterical! It's quite a crew of characters and imaginative plots. We loved them so much we ordered seasons 2 and 3.