Interesting!
Despite the years, it looks like Lister still has a touch of his famous "chirpy Gerbil-faced optimism".
Although I thought they were forced to stop making Father Ted was because Ted was Ded, rather than it being a decision reached purely out of preserving production integrity.
If your principal actor dies within 24h of filming being completed on series 3, it limits prospects of a series 4. Unless you pull a Summer Wine maneuvre, and wheel in someone new to round out the core trio, perhaps cast as Ted's even zanier brother who also happens to be a Priest too.
Which would ruin it.
So while trying to be technically correct, I have in fact argued myself around to agreeing with you: In either case, you're right. Running out of stories, or running out of original actor; same result of lowered quality.
Quick shoehorn of the Father Ben clip: www.youtube.com/watch?v=5k8aqsRuQgc
(, Sun 22 Jul 2012, 13:40, Reply)
Apparently
the third series was always going to be the last one anyway, hence the conditional statement
(, Sun 22 Jul 2012, 18:24, Reply)