Ballykissangel

Small town quirky, with a dusting of romance and religion, Ballykissangel aired years and years ago in the UK. I caught up with it via a combination of PBS and Netflix.

The main hook is a romance between Father Peter Clifford and a bar owner Assumpta Fitzgeralds - at least at first glance. Their presence was rather erratic, towards the middle and the ending really works best if you disconnect Peter from a romantic frame and examine his arc as a question of faith and its place in his life. The supporting cast is fantastic, however, and carries well through the later seasons after Peter and Assumpta have moved on.

There was a suprising amount of cast churn over the series. The show handled it well by maintaining a strong supporting cast and shifting there when the need rose. They also "promoted from within" to give characters like Niamh a starring role.

Religion - specificially the Catholic Church - is obviously a major part of many of the stories, but the show focused more on the impact in small day to day ways than in broad political statements. The series didn't rely on religion like Seventh Heaven or Touched By An Angel did. While God (church and faith) was definitely a large presence in some stories, He tossed a lot fewer anvils and gave out a lot fewer lectures than I expected.

On the other side of things, there was the occasional flare-up of soap opera, but I always found that the characters were appealing enough to make up for it. The variety of characters and the fact that most of them were simply nice people was something I always loved. While there were some mischievious or occasionally manipulative characters like Brian, Father Mac and Kathleen, they never went so far as to be a villian.

I genuinely liked the characters and that meant that the episodes pulled me in just about every time.

Best Of

Fallen Angel

An early episode that actually worked the tension between Peter and Assumpta. The story with Mr. Bradley was less Issue of the Week than I expected and the radio subplot provided some humor and had a nice payoff.

Only Skin Deep

Eamon's cuter than should be legal here. Siobhan and Brendan finally get some attention and I loved the ending.

Amongst Friends

I had my issues with "Reckoning," but the follow-up was fantastic. I also like that they brought Leo back in a meaningful way - without losing sight of the main cast.

As Stars Look Down

A nice look at Father Mac from a new angle. The story with Henry did a good job of touching on the social issues without hammering them home with an anvil.

It's a Man's Life

I love the contrast between Kathleen's bittersweet romance and Niamh's current troubles. Ambrose's stuggle with Kieren provides humor, while Brian's touching scenes with his grandson bring out new shades to his character.

Worst Of

In the Can

Enda is so useless. And moderately creepy. And the whole thing ends with a sing-along? Pass.

The Facts of Life

Issue of the Week! The effective drama with Niamh gets lost in the ridiculous Peter tracks down baby mama story.

The Odd Couple

Three words: escaped circus bear.