Going to America
| "Going to America" | |
|---|---|
| Father Ted episode | |
 |
|
| Episode no. |
Series 3 Episode 8 |
| Directed by | Graham Linehan, Andy de Emmony |
| Written by | Arthur Mathews, Graham Linehan |
| Original air date | 1 May 1998 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
|
Tommy Tiernan (Fr. Kevin), |
|
Tommy Tiernan (Fr. Kevin),
Jeff Harding (Fr. Buzz Cagney),
Mark Doherty (Fr. Alan),
Hugh B. O'Brien (Eugene),
Brian Eno (Fr. Brian Eno)
"Going to America" is the final episode of the Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted. It is the eighth episode of the third series and the 25th episode overall. The show's star Dermot Morgan died the day after filming was completed.
After Ted prevents a depressed Father Kevin (Tommy Tiernan) from jumping to his death at the "It's Great Being a Priest" conference, an American priest, from the USA called Father Buzz Cagney (Jeff Harding) asks him if he'll come to a parish in Los Angeles. Ted can’t wait and excitedly tells Jack, Dougal and Mrs. Doyle, who incorrectly think they will be able to come with him. Ted doesn't have the heart to tell them otherwise and brings them to the airport leaving them there while he gets on the plane. However, Ted has second thoughts when Father Cagney mentions the gang culture around Ted's new parish in LA, and its decrepit state. Realising he's in too deep, Ted abandons going to the USA and rejoins Jack, Dougal and Mrs Doyle. It transpires that the three of them never wanted to go to the States anyway, with the possible exception of Jack, who yells 'Feck!' when he learns of what's gone wrong, though the promise of a drink cheers him up. The group leaves the airport and heads for home, and Ted resigns himself to the fact he is probably never going to escape Craggy Island.
The episode was always intended to be the last Father Ted; in the original script, the last scene was to be set at the "It's Still Great Being a Priest" conference with Father Kevin once again on the window ledge and once again Ted arrives on the ledge, except this time it is not to stop him from jumping but to join him, because he was depressed that the intended trip to America fell through and he would have to stay on Craggy Island forever. This ending was abandoned in favour of a montage of clips from all three series of the show, because Dermot Morgan died the day after filming on the series was concluded. In addition, the writers did not think that their original ending was very funny. It was recorded on 27 February 1998, the day before Morgan's passing.
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