Series synopsis
Popetown is a French animation comedy television series that premiered on BBC Three on June 8, 2005. It ended on August 10, 2005. It was created by Isabelle Dubernet, Eric Fuhrer. It stars Matt Lucas, Morwenna Banks, Bob Mortimer and Jerry Hall.
Popetown is a controversial animated sitcom, billed by its producers as "Father Ted meets South Park", following the doodles and scribblings of a student at school during a lesson. His drawings depict the life of Father Nicholas, who lives in a Vatican City parody referred to as "Popetown". He is charged with being the handler for the Pope who is a complete nincompoop with the emotional and mental maturity of a four-year-old. Father Nicholas must keep the Pope out of trouble, and make sure the g ...
Premise
Popetown is a controversial animated sitcom, billed by its producers as "Father Ted meets South Park", following the doodles and scribblings of a student at school during a lesson. His drawings depict the life of Father Nicholas, who lives in a Vatican City parody referred to as "Popetown". He is charged with being the handler for the Pope who is a complete nincompoop with the emotional and mental maturity of a four-year-old. Father Nicholas must keep the Pope out of trouble, and make sure the general public does not find out that the Holy Father is a drooling idiot. Other characters include a priest who is a sexual deviant, and a trio of corrupt cardinals who secretly run Popetown and attempt to get rich behind the Pope's back. These and other elements caused the show to be extremely controversial.
Cast and characters
Leading cast
- Matt Lucas as Cardinal One (voice)
- Morwenna Banks as Sister Marie (voice)
- Bob Mortimer as Father Nicholas (voice)
- Jerry Hall as Sister Penelope (voice)
- Ben Miller as The Priest (voice)
- Simon Greenall as Sister Marie (voice)
- Kevin Eldon as Cardinal Two (voice)
- Rhys Thomas as The Kid (voice)
Supporting cast
- Mackenzie Crook
- Ruby Wax as The Pope (voice)
Episodes
This series spans 1 season with 10 episodes.
| Season | Episodes | First aired | Last aired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | 10 | June 8, 2005 | August 10, 2005 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
The Double A group of disabled children are coming to meet the Pope and perform, but the Pope has gone missing (playing hide-and-seek too well). Father Nicholas, in desperation to keep the days activities running seeks out a Pope impersonator. This impersonator is an exact image of the Pope, but unlike the real Pope, who is a young child with a girlie voice, the impersonator is a Jewish man with a Brooklyn/Jew accent. To pull off the scheme, he must be seen but not heard. |
June 8, 2005 |
| 2 |
State Visit The Cardinals are hoping to secure a 'sponsorship deal' with the pending visit of a head of state and his darling wife. Problem is, this head of state is a gun toting dictator, and his only interests are seeing that his wife is pleased, and killing people who displease his wife. Father Nicholas has been given the task of tidying up the Pope prior to their arrival. Pope however has been attempting a record-breaking stint of going unwashed for 3 months! |
June 15, 2005 |
| 3 |
The Big Fight It's the Pope's birthday, and Pope has the unusual tradition of performing a dangerous stunt as part of the birthday celebrations, and this year Pope wants to fly (without wings or other aerial support). Ivan the Invincible, the 'meanest badass wrestler the world has ever seen' has arrived to see the Pope, who is a huge fan, and Pope wants Ivan to help him fly by throwing him into the air. Meanwhile, Father Nicholas has been desperately trying to find a present for the Pope, and in his haste he bursts into the room where Pope and Ivan are, but as Nicholas bursts through the door the door knocks out Ivan. Sister Penelope (the newsreading nun with curves that an hourglass would envy) sends up the event as if Father Nicholas had beaten Ivan in a bout, and Nicholas gets caught up in the hype, and set up for a rematch! |
June 22, 2005 |
Production
Release
| Original network/platform | BBC Three |
|---|---|
| First aired | June 8, 2005 |
| Last aired | August 10, 2005 |
| Runtime | 30 minutes |
| Status | Ended |
| Schedule | Wednesday at 21:30:00 |