Father Ted/Going to America

Going to America
Season 3, Episode 8
Airdate	May 1, 1998
Written by	Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews
Directed by	Graham Linehan (location), Andy De Emmony (studio)
← 3x07 Night of the Nearly Dead	— N/A
Father Ted — Season Three

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Going to America is the eighth episode of the third season of Father Ted, and the twenty-fourth episode overall.

Starring: Dermot Morgan (Father Ted Crilly), Ardal O'Hanlon (Father Dougal McGuire), Frank Kelly (Father Jack Hackett), Pauline McLynn (Mrs. Doyle)

With Tommy Tiernan (Father Kevin), Jeff Harding (Father Buzz Cagney), Hugh B. O'Brien (Eugene), Mark Doherty (Father Alan)

Uncredited: Brian Eno (Father Brian Eno)

Plot Overview

After rescuing a suicidal priest, Ted is offered a parish in America. As excited as he is, he can't seem to break it to the others that they aren't going with him.

Notes

Music

• Isaac Hayes - "Theme from Shaft"

• Radiohead - "Exit Music (For a Film)"

Trivia

Behind the Scenes

• Dermot Morgan died the day after filming. In a 2009 interview, Tommy Tiernan speculated that his heart attack was contributed by the dancing he did repeatedly because Tiernan kept flubbing his lines.
  • Coincidentally, co-star Frank Kelly also died on 28 February, 18 years later.

• Originally, the episode ended with Ted once again attending the "It's Still Great Being a Priest" conference, but this time he joins Father Kevin on the ledge, depressed that he'll never leave Craggy Island. It's been believed that it was changed to a clip montage of previous episodes due to Morgan's death. However, Linehan and Mathews deny this, asserting that this ending simply didn't work.

Allusions and References

• The title is a play on the Eddie Murphy comedy film Coming to America.

• The Harrison Ford film Ted describes to Dougal is identical to the fictional Harrison Ford film Firestorm mentioned by the characters in the American sitcom Seinfeld.

Quotes

• Father Ted: We're going to keep you happy and cheery until you can go to the bank.

Father Kevin: "Go to the bank"?

Father Ted: Uh, go home. I meant, "go home."

Father Kevin: I'll have that money for you first thing on Monday.

Father Ted: Seriously, it's just a slip of the tongue. (chuckles) Please, I don't even remember how much it was.

Father Kevin: It was a tenner.

Father Ted: 20! 20. I'm sorry, but let's nip that in the bud now. It was 20. I'm sorry, but it was. It was 20.

• Father Dougal: America. We were just talking that fella, uh, Kurt Cobain. He was from America. Imagine blowing your head off with a shotgun. God, how did he manage to survive that?

Father Ted: Uh, he didn't. He died.

Father Dougal: Oh, right.

• Father Buzz Cagney: £200, huh? What's that? Uh, not even $400. You know what I do with $400? I wipe my ass with $400.

Father Ted: Good God! And can that still be used as legal tender?

• Father Ted: Mrs Doyle, Dougal, Father Jack; I have to tell you something. I have to be absolutely honest with you.

Father Dougal: The money was just...

Dougal & Mrs Doyle: ...just resting in the account.

Mrs. Doyle: We know all that, Father.

• Father Dougal: Every time Ted's talked to us over the past few days, it's just been more and more good news. Now you're going to tell us you're Santa or something.

Father Ted: No, I'm not Santa. In fact, I'm the opposite of Santa.

Father Dougal: The anti-Santa!

• Father Dougal: All my life I've dreamed about something really special happening to me and now it is. I think this is the greatest moment of my life!

Mrs Doyle: Me, too!

Father Jack: Big bras!