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This Father Ted writer is not one bit happy with RTE

Graham Linehan has had a massive pop at the national broadcaster on Twitter…

8717599443_97e131f3f6_o Graham Linehan re@publica re@publica

A RUMOUR THAT simply refuses to die is the suggestion that RTE said no when offered Father Ted more than 20 years ago, but don’t let that make you think the classic priestcom’s writers have any time for our national broadcaster.

Graham Linehan, one half of Ted’s writing team with Arthur Mathews, has taken to Twitter to deliver a particularly scorching burn regarding RTE’s approach to original comedy.

He begins the tirade by suggesting that giving the sitcom to RTE back in 1994 would have been counter-productive as they were ‘useless’ at the time.

The sitcom in question, The Walshes, was broadcast for three episodes in early 2014 before being discontinued after the BBC and RTE, who co-funded the production, passed on an extension.

Linehan’s primary frustration appears to be that it was the first time he had written specifically for an Irish audience since Father Ted and yet he was unable to get a response from the broadcaster.

This has led  to some Twitter users nodding in agreement:

While this guy sees it as more a case of art imitating life:

You can read the full tirade on Linehan’s timeline, beginning here.

An RTE spokesperson gave TheJournal.ie this response when asked about the suggestion writers can’t get a response from them regarding their work:

“RTE is serious about supporting new writing, and will continue to do so.”

The prestigious win for Love/Hate at this weekend’s Celtic Media Awards, beating the BBC’s Sherlock as Best Drama, and recent awards for the latest Storyland series on RTE Player, including Shaun Blaney’s award for Best Actor in a Drama Series at the International Academy of Web Television Awards earlier this month, are testament to RTE’s commitment to developing new writers and new writing.

Regarding The Walshes itself, the station says it was “very proud” of and “very happy” with the series.

However, as a part funder, RTE was not in a position to provide majority funding once the BBC decided not to recommission the series.

Read: How would Father Ted vote in the same-sex marriage referendum?

Read: Graham Linehan ate the head off an Irish journalist who criticised Father Ted last night

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51 Comments
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    Mute captain ireland
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    Mar 19th 2015, 8:50 PM

    Will HBO ever do a deal with netflix ?? Be great if they could .

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    Mute Captain Hernia
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    Mar 19th 2015, 8:58 PM

    Pretty sure Sky have hbo wrapped up

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    Mute Tweety McTweeter
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    Mar 19th 2015, 9:00 PM

    HBO are top class but maybe it’s best that Netflix are in competition with them. If HBO signed up with Netflix, would Netflix have bothered to produce shows like House of Cards, Orange is the new Black, etc?

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    Mute captain ireland
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    Mar 19th 2015, 9:11 PM

    Just finished season 3 , it wasn’t great . You have to upgrade to HD package with sky to see their box sets .. Think I’ll just stick with kickasstorrents

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    Mute Unfortunately
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    Mar 19th 2015, 9:21 PM

    HBO may release its own web streaming service later this year and go into head to head competition with Netflix. Hard to say now but it will be quite a blow to Netflix for sure.

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    Mute Kevin Sweeney
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    Mar 19th 2015, 9:28 PM

    Showbox.apk

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    Mute Startled Sapien
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    Mar 19th 2015, 9:37 PM

    I found season 3 too hammy. I would have preferred if they had written a different plot instead of the overly analogous story with the current US/Russia relationship.

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    Mute Maire
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    Mar 19th 2015, 9:47 PM

    Thanks dude just downloaded it.

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    Mute b
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    Mar 19th 2015, 10:46 PM

    Enjoy having your personal info hacked

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    Mute Conor Bowe
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    Mar 20th 2015, 8:54 AM

    HBO is releasing their own stream service, called HBO Now, to coincide with the premiere of the new season of Game of Thrones in April.

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    Mute Art Vandelay
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    Mar 19th 2015, 9:19 PM

    I wish I still had episodes of House of Cards to catch up on. Sorry now I watched them all in 2 nights, but I couldn’t stop..

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    Mute Fintan Stack
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    Mar 19th 2015, 11:11 PM

    Aside from some good TVs series, Netflix lacks content. Have for many movies but it never has the one you’re looking for…

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    Mute captain ireland
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    Mar 19th 2015, 9:58 PM

    Sopranos is the best tv show I ever seen in my opinion .. HBO finest work !!

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    Mute Gary Stewart
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    Mar 19th 2015, 9:36 PM

    HBO have their own on demand service in the US.

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    Mute Will
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    Mar 20th 2015, 12:52 AM

    “Chances are Netflix will take this down..”

    There’s nothing for them to take down. The bookmark just runs a few lines of javascript on the webpage that removes the slider so all the content is listed one after another

    (function() {
    if(window.location.href.indexOf(‘netflix.com’) === -1) {
    if (confirm(‘Please open Netflix and try again. Would you like me to redirect you to netflix.com?’)) {
    window.location.href = ‘http://netflix.com’
    } else {
    return false;
    }
    }
    _.map(_.toArray(document.getElementsByClassName(‘slider’)), function(e) {
    e.parentNode.replaceChild(e.firstChild, e)
    });
    _.map(_.union(
    _.toArray(document.getElementsByClassName(‘sliderButton’)),
    _.toArray(document.getElementsByClassName(‘evidence’)),
    _.toArray(document.getElementsByClassName(‘sharing-prompt’)),
    _.toArray(document.getElementsByClassName(‘boxShotDivider’))),function(e) {
    e.parentNode.removeChild(e)
    });
    })();

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    Mute frank mullen
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    Mar 19th 2015, 10:09 PM

    Upflix is a good app if u have Netflix, allows u to navigate and save and gives u daily updates of new content also the hola app which opens up the US Netflix is handy

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    Mute Neil Hennessy
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    Mar 19th 2015, 11:23 PM

    lol – taking the p*ss – relax.

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    Mute Alanearls
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    Mar 19th 2015, 11:35 PM

    :-0

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    Mute Darragh Brennan
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    Mar 20th 2015, 9:38 AM

    Here’s a few programmes I enjoyed over the past two weeks.

    Took a chance on a movie called ‘ Blue ruin’. Mrs thought it was ok, I really enjoyed it.

    Fargo ( the series) is fantastic.

    Top of the lake, was another one I took a chance on. Pretty good considering I’d never hear,d of it.

    Better call Saul, is excellent.

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    Mute Eel Knack Mole
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    Mar 20th 2015, 4:42 PM

    Fargo is magnificent, I’m surprised that there wasn’t more fuss about it.

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    Mute Gwendoline Gaddren
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    Mar 20th 2015, 4:42 AM

    Lads, anyone got the EzCast dongle and having trouble playing Netflix on your tv (with iPad) ?

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