The Plague (Father Ted)
"The Plague" is the sixth episode of the second series of the Channel 4 religion-themed sitcom Father Ted, and the twelfth episode overall. It is the second of three episodes featuring Jim Norton as Bishop Len Brennan.
| "The Plague" | |
|---|---|
| Father Ted episode | |
 Bishop Brennan in bed with a rabbit | |
| Episode no. | Series 2 Episode 6 |
| Directed by | Declan Lowney |
| Written by | |
| Produced by | Lissa Evans |
| Featured music | The Divine Comedy |
| Cinematography by | Chris Owen |
| Editing by |
|
| Original air date | 12 April 1996 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
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Synopsis
The episode begins with a self-referential "Father Ted" mock title sequence with "Ted" being replaced by "Ben" and the title's font also being slightly changed, which then cuts to Dougal sitting in front of the television shouting excitedly to Ted that the programme is starting. Each comments on the spoof character representing themselves, Dougal saying that Brendan is "an eejit" and Ted making fun of Ben for being "a big thicko". The original Father Ted titles follow.
Dougal gets a pet rabbit which, after much deliberation, he calls Sampras, because of "that whole tennis-rabbit connection". Meanwhile, Jack has acquired a habit of sleepwalking naked, and Bishop Brennan, after contacting Ted, is set to visit to inspect the security arrangements after one of his friends was frightened by seeing Jack naked. Unfortunately, the bishop has a fear of rabbits due to a bad experience he once had with some in a lift, which means Ted and Dougal must get Sampras out of the way before he visits. They fail, and the situation is exacerbated as more and more rabbits gradually appear in the parochial house, apparently from nowhere.
Ted and Dougal then resort to desperate measures to hide the army of rabbits, such as hiding them at the local greyhound track, trying to give them to their accident-prone friend Father Larry Duff (who now has some Rottweilers) and getting Tom, the local psychopath, to look after them, all to no avail. The bishop soon arrives, and Ted shows him the security arrangements for Jack (which involve a cage and barbed wire around his bed and straitjacket pyjamas, as well as a tracking device and cameras). In the conversation, the Bishop notices a rabbit hutch filled with lettuce on the floor (Ted tells him that they grow lettuce indoors in a cage), rabbit droppings on the carpet (which Ted says is caviar) and Mrs. Doyle walking in with water and lettuce (Ted takes the bowl, gulps the water and eats the lettuce), all of which prompt the bishop to go to bed.
Ted then realises that Dougal left the rabbits in the spare bedroom, where Brennan is sleeping, but after distracting the bishop, they discover that the rabbits are not there, having followed Jack into his room. However, while Ted's back is turned, Jack circumvents the security measures and escapes, and the rabbits follow. Ted notices a rabbit entering the spare bedroom, and he and Dougal tiptoe in to get the rabbits back out.
Unfortunately the bishop wakes up and turns on the light to find himself surrounded by rabbits, as well as a nude Jack next to him in his bed. Ted tells Brennan that it is just a "bad dream", and the bishop lies back down to sleep (accompanied by Jack also lying back down), only to wake up again seconds later loudly screaming in horror, having realised what is happening.
Popular culture
- This episode contains a subtle reference to Pulp Fiction: Tom chooses between a hammer, baseball bat, chainsaw and katana to kill the rabbits, just as Butch in Pulp Fiction chooses between these weapons to fight Zed and Maynard. Also, one of the Rabbits apparently looks like Harvey Keitel.
- On the wall at the back of the room where Tom is showing the priests how he will take care of the rabbits, a section of the word "Redrum" can be seen - this is a reference to elements from the film The Shining: "Redrum" is a reverse-spelling of "murder".
