Are you naturally industrious yourself?
Its not true, but we thought its a funny thing to say.
Except for them, they didnt have the flurries of activity.
Is there a new direction again for the third series?
But having said that, Ive written two episodes and that hasnt reared its head yet [laughs].
Its just the same characters having an adventure.
I just didnt have the skill; it made me impatient.
Also, I cringe when I write anything lovey-dovey.
Why do you think British comedy is in such a bad state at the moment?
I disagree that its in such a bad state.
Two excellent shows on the go at any stage in history is pretty good.
So those that say the nineties was the golden age of comedy are romanticising a bit?
Oh God, I dont know…maybe the nineties was particularly good.
I guess since I started writing comedy I stopped thinking of it in that way.
Thats very nice of you to say…yeah, but its a friendly kind of shadow.
[laughs]Tedis so fondly remembered, Ill probably have it on my gravestone.
So I dont have any kind of feeling of resentment atTed.
It does kind of urge me to do better all the time.
I always feel like I havent yet got it right, and I want to get it right.
Youd never do a revisionist edit though?
Oh God, no.
The idea of sitting down through a load ofTeddailies and going through them…thatd just drive me mad.
Three is a good number.
If you look at again-Seinfeld, after series 5, maybe, it really goes off the rails.
The actors…itlookslike Elaine, it looks like George, but theyre kind of not them.
I think its a good thing to get out of something before people start getting sick of it.
The thing aboutTedwas, youd hear people saying Did you seeTedlast night?
Oh yeah, it was great.
What I dont want people to say is Did you seeTedlast night?
Did you tape it?.
Oh no, I forgot.
Its on a loop.
And you think Is this series one?.
Well, shes pregnant, must be series -.
And we thought that the charm ofTedwas the one thing that it had going for it.
Are you involved at all in the American version ofFather Ted?
Have you seen any of it?
They dont really contact us at all.
It amazes me that people in TV still think like that.
Thats rather an old-style music-hall approach…
So that conversations a non-starter.
YourIT Crowdskit on the anti-piracy short propaganda films is very popular.
For whatever bullshit economic reasons, the consumer is the one in the end who misses out.
It drives me nuts.
I feel that shows likeTedandThe IT Crowdare very much more enjoyable watching with friends around a telly.
Im very proud of the menu designs and stuff that we do.
Its just such a desirable thing, the DVD, that I just feel that people will buy it.
But if people want to Bittorrent it when they cant get it, thats fine with me.
Do you speak German well enough to make a judgement on the German version ofThe IT Crowd?
[laughs] I dont think youd need to speak German.
Did you see their Richmond?
No, Ive not seen it.
He could be like an Emo kid or something like that.
But they always seem to take it lock stock and barrel, copy it literally.
The way I wanted to seeThe IT Crowdwork in America is actually theBig Bang Theory, you know?
Its not perfect at the moment but I think itll get better and better.
Its going to be one of the big shows might be the nextFriendsor something.
And that even has the Will-They Wont-They plotline that I was trying to put intoThe IT Crowd.
It just frustrated me a little bit.
but around that, you’ve got the option to change anything you want.
They dont have the imagination to sort the problems out.
Your site indicates youre something of a geek yourself.
With computers, its a very weird thing.
you could talk about Facebook and people kind of understand what you mean.
And I want to get them on board as well.
So thats what Im trying to do at the moment walk the line, as Johnny Cash said.
Although its not as exciting a line.
Its mood was so grim that I just found it difficult to join in.
Personally I just want to make people laugh.
Something that I know Im reasonably good at doing.
Youve made a bit of a departure now, in adaptingThe Restraint Of Beasts.
What drew you to that project?
I wrote a few drafts years ago and then I got off the project because I wasnt feeling it.
So Im not really involved in that anymore.
Would you be interested in doing movies?
I tried for a while.
Also, I didnt really have anyone to turn to to ask how to do it.
So it wasnt for want of trying that I didnt write films.
Also, its all 20/20 hindsight.
Youd never write a thing.
So yes is definitely the answer to that one.
It just seems to be the way I work, so Im just trying to live with it.
You spend a lot of time really really thinking that its all over, and that you cant write.
Its so hard to sit down and…for me it is.
Everything that you write on a first draft is just proof that youre shit.
But writing a first draft…every word that comes out of your mind just makes you groan.
Ill have to write this terrible, awful thing [laughs].
Now that you write on your own, who acts as filter and feedback?
Where do you get that feedback from?
At the moment Im getting it from Robert Popper, who Im sure you know.
I just love Robert hes great.
He used to be an exec as well.
He used to work as commissioner.
So hes got a popular eye on what an audience wil think.
Well we werent knocked back we knew that it was going to get badly reviewed.
It went out and we couldnt read anything for six weeks, because everyone was just savaging it.
It was really painful for us, because I still stand by those scripts.
If you look at those scripts, written down, youd understand why people made it.
But we did miscast it.
It was just one of those things.
Apparently it hasnt sold well, but theOrange Box…thats amazing.
The writing inPortalis just amazing, and I dont think Ive ever said that about a game before.
Graham Linehan, thank you very much!
In the meantime, catch up with Graham on his blog,Why Thats Delightful!
Our glowing review of the Father Ted DVD collection is here.
