Behind the Scenes, 28 May 2021

IT WAS once said about a dog that walked on its two hind legs was that what was surprising was not the way it walked, but the fact it walked at all. Directed by Brian Henry Martin on BBC NI, The Road to Partition (the first of the two-part series of which aired this week)… Read more »

Behind the Scenes, 20 May 2021

THE 30TH anniversary of The Commitments has seen RTÉ unveil the nostalgia-fest Back To Barrytown, a three-part documentary on the Roddy Doyle screen trilogy that also included The Snapper and The Van. The first instalment proved an enjoyable enough look back at Alan Parker’s hit musical, although given it was the first and by some distance best of the Barrytown films,… Read more »

Behind the Scenes, 11 May 2021

THE FIRST episode of Dr Cassidy’s Casebook was a bizarre attempt to make a compelling television personality out of Marie Cassidy, the former state pathologist. Quincy ME she ain’t. In one sense, it’s not hard to fathom the decision to pursue Cassidy’s book, Behind the Tape, with a television series. The old gum shoe detectives… Read more »

Behind the Scenes, 7 May 2021

BACK AFTER an enforced hiatus, Late Debate returned to RTÉ Radio this week. Katie Hannon’s midweek scrap had been off air since January due to travel and social distancing restrictions. With three politicians, a journalist and an academic on the panel the format remained unchanged on Tuesday night. As if to underline a tentative resumption… Read more »

Behind the Scenes, 29 April 2021

THE RISE OF Dublin musician David Balfe has been an intriguing one, shooting from relative obscurity to topping the charts and sold out Olympia Theatre dates in just months. Even Jim Carroll, a man reliably in the know, was taken aback following Balfe’s appearance on the BBC’s Later with Jools Holland in November. Writing for… Read more »

Behind the Scenes, 23 April 2021

JUST AS the pomp began to subside across the water at Windsor Castle last weekend, a more modest tribute to the Irish head of state was broadcast on TG4 Sunday night. Even in the heyday of the Late Late Show, special coverage devoted to a politician’s birthday would hardly have been considered appropriate, let alone… Read more »

Behind the Scenes, 22 April 2021

FOR RTÉ viewers, the pandemic has pushed the tolerance threshold to a new level, with the national broadcaster apparently curious to see just how much audiences can take before throwing in the towel. For viewers wobbly on their feet and reeling from a barrage of blows, the arrival of a new Saturday night light entertainment… Read more »

Behind the Scenes, 12 April 2021

IN TERMS of rarity, Reeling In The Years is a phenomenon roughly equivalent to the asteroid crash that wiped out the dinosaurs: an original RTÉ show that enjoys both critical acclaim and audience popularity. While the programme’s aim is to capture a flavour of bygone years, before a frame is even shown, the new series provides a… Read more »

Behind the Scenes, 8 April 2021

AS THE Champions League quarter-finals kicked off this week, there was also significant action in TV’s lower tiers. After David McCullagh’s departure for the Six-One News last year, Prime Time finally unveiled its much-hyped new squad. In recent times, RTÉ’s flagship current affairs show has been doing a passable impression of Sheffield Utd, rooted to the bottom of the… Read more »

Behind the Scenes, 7 April 2021

WHATEVER THE Irish for ‘anorak’ may be, it’s clear (when it comes to the railways) that former Taoiseach Enda Kenny is not a natural one. In a brief Late Late Show appearance last weekend, ostensibly to promote his new RTÉ ONE television show — Iarnród Enda – cursory attention was paid to the series in… Read more »

Behind the Scenes, 25 March 2021

JUST WHEN you thought the ‘awards season’ couldn’t get any longer, along comes the inaugural RTS Ireland Television Awards, “recognising excellence in Irish television production and Irish-international co-productions”. It is to be broadcast on Virgin Media One on Tuesday, with Muireann O’Connell fronting.  RTS stands for, er, Royal Television Society – a UK charity that “promotes… Read more »

Behind the Scenes, 22 March 2021

JOHN CREEDON’S latest jaunt around the country remains firmly on the path well trodden down a string of Sunday night offerings on RTÉ One. The second season of Creedon’s Atlas of Ireland picks up where the first left off, itself a minor tweak of Creedon’s Retro Road Trip, Creedon’s Road Less Travelled, Creedon’s Wild Atlantic… Read more »

Behind the Scenes, 9 March 2021

KATE O’RIORDAN’S Smother, which RTE has described as a “domestic noir” six-part series, kicked off in RTE’s Sunday night slot for what is considered, somewhat erroneously, as the principal hour for “home-produced” drama. “Home produced” covers a multitude of foreign backers and money brokers these days. Filmed in west Clare during the pandemic, and directed by… Read more »

Behind the Scenes, 29 January 2021

IN AN attempt to fill the gap left by ongoing school closures, the return of Home School Hub ensures that young children can access curriculum-based learning, even if they don’t have the internet. It also means that RTÉ gets to show off its public service broadcasting credentials by handing over three hours of television daily… Read more »

Behind the Scenes, 5 January 2021

VIEWERS WATCHING Patrick Farrelly and Kate O’Callaghan’s documentary on Marian Finucane this week, will have been taken with its narrator, John Clarke, his grief for his wife, who died suddenly one year ago, and the manner in which he is filmed in black and white by Kate McCullough. But the licence fee payer’s enjoyment of… Read more »

Behind the Scenes, 4 January 2021

MUCH OF the commentary around 2020 includes the word “unprecedented” for obvious reasons but what clearly did not fit into this category was the inability of Oliver Callan to convince with his impersonation of a sharp political satirist. Once more, the jaded format found the comic hauling out his slew of Bobby Davro-style impressions for… Read more »

Behind the Scenes, 24 December 2020

HIGH PROFILE hosting gigs are relatively scarce these days thanks to the Covid pandemic. On that basis, the knowledge that the few available jobs are being hoovered up by two comedians must truly rub salt into the wounds of our seasoned presenters. Every time you turn on the TV, you run the risk of Deirdre… Read more »

Behind the Scenes, 22 December 2020

It’s once more into the fray for the indefatigable Frank McNamara and Theresa Lowe, whose financial misfortunes had a very public airing last year. With their well-documented difficulties out of the way, the pair appear to be launching a return to the world of entertainment. Their brand new company, McNamara-Lowe Video Productions Limited, was set… Read more »

Behind the Scenes, 21 December 2020

RELATIONSHIPS scarcely come more toxic than that between RTE and its viewership – a fact again rammed home by “socially distanced” dating show Love Is In The Air. In a month where Warners Bros’ decision to move its entire slate of 2021 movies to streaming service HBO Max sparked a major debate in the trade papers,… Read more »

Behind the Scenes, 17 December 2020

HE HAS had major chart successes over the years, but record company boss Paul O’Reilly’s heart was presumably low when his Terenure pad failed to sell for its initial asking price of 1.1m.  After languishing on the market for a while, the news that a buyer was willing to stump up €995,000 for 6 Rathdown… Read more »

Behind the Scenes, 16 December 2020

TV doctor Eva Orsmond is undoubtedly hoping that lardy Irish masochists will trundle over to her Portuguese “health hotel” when it opens on May 1, particularly as the project has, to date, cost €3.2m. The stern Finnish doctor and her husband Wyatt purchased the Solar Alvura resort in Moncarapacho, having made a tidy profit from… Read more »