TV Treasures

Well, those knuckleheads at Nickelodeon finally came to their senses and released The Adventures of Pete and Pete on dvd! The first season hits the streets on May 17. Excellente!

And here's a story that brought a smile to this Father Ted fan:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The race is on to succeed John Paul II as pope and bookmakers are already getting in on the act. But not all the candidates are quite what they seem.

According to The Washington Post on Tuesday, gamblers can back Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi of Italy at odds of 11 to 4. "Or they can take their chances on Father Dougal Maguire of Craggy Island, Ireland, a long shot at 1,000 to 1."

But the Post's reporter was unaware of a key detail that, generous odds aside, would make canny bettors take a pass on Father Dougal.

He is a fictional character.

More accurately spelled McGuire, he appears in the hit British television comedy "Father Ted," which follows the antics of an eccentric group of Catholic priests on a small island off the west coast of Ireland.

The clueless Dougal is described by Britain's Channel 4 television as "one of God's 'special' creatures," but even so, he is not thought likely to assume the throne of St. Peter.