The Toyshow

J.R.HARTLEY

how long is RTE going to let this fester before putting it out of it's misery, i used to look forward to it back when i was a kid, but i've noticed lately it's rubbish, i know pat is hopless but he seems to be working with a talentless crew, the cameramen were in the wrong place the stage manager was often visible and no use in getting interruptions out of the way, there were gliches in uncle gaybos time too but they dealt with them well, rolled with the punches and kept moving, if someone goes off the script now the show grinds to a halt,
does anyone think that they should stop it, i feel they are merely producing 2.5 hours of crap T.V.

Wheels

J.R.HARTLEY wrote:

i used to look forward to it back when i was a kid, but i've noticed lately it's rubbish,

So wait, you looked forward to it as a kid but don't anymore... Interesting :eek:

Laguna

Wheels wrote:

So wait, you looked forward to it as a kid but don't anymore... Interesting :eek:

Come on, you know what he meant!.


It's pure **** alright and I'll tell you the reason RTÉ keep it going, it's one big advertisement, surely you have to realise the big money they get for plugging all the goods on the show.


Oh!, and

J.R.HARTLEY wrote:

i feel they are merely producing 2.5 hours of crap T.V.

Do they stop at 2.5?, how about their entire schedule.

Atrocity

It is pure crap, but who cares? It's for kids. My 3 year old nephew thought it was the greatest thing he ever saw. Kids still like it, so it serves its purpose.

cormie

kids don't care about glitches or bad cameras, they just care that it's reminding them christmas is only a few sleeps away and they get to see all the cool toys:D I know it's designed for the adults in terms of what to buy this year and what's suitable, but the message gets across somewhat.

One thing I miss is Kevo though!:D

PJG

Well I known our 5 year old enjoyed it and didn't notice any of the gafs. But then again she would be the target audience for this particular episode. As they are moving around the stage and kids (not actors) are involved you’re bound to have gaf’s.

But the real issue is Pat is useless.

Atrocity

How else would we get to see an assortment of Pat's woolly jumpers? Maybe by breaking into his house, tying up his wife and raiding his wardrobe. Not everyone is prepared to go that far. I am though.

Pigman II

J.R.HARTLEY wrote:

i used to look forward to it back when i was a kid, but i've noticed lately it's rubbish,

And while were at it how come all the kids shows were so much better in my day? Works of art they were! Classics one and all. The stuff they come out with nowadays is just SO childish!

Anyway, any good toys on the LLTS this year? For bonus points did Plank manage to make anyone cry with his generally creepy demeanour?

PJG

Pigman II wrote:

And while were at it how come all the kids shows were so much better in my day? Works of art they were! Classics one and all. The stuff they come out with nowadays is just SO childish!

Anyway, any good toys on the LLTS this year? For bonus points did Plank manage to make anyone cry with his generally creepy demeanour?

maybe its childish now cause your not a child anymore :rolleyes:

Pigman II

PJG wrote:

maybe its childish now cause your not a child anymore :rolleyes:

Dya reckon genius?

mad m

Move on lads for the kids,adults need not apply...


Thought it was tripe myself,but kids loved it.So if they happy I'm happy.

monkeyfudge

It's always a good laugh to make fun of all the crabby kids.

How vile was that ginger haired kid..? yuck...

aidan_dunne

J.R.HARTLEY wrote:

there were gliches in uncle gaybos time too but they dealt with them well, rolled with the punches and kept moving, if someone goes off the script now the show grinds to a halt

I think that's your reason right there. Kenny just can't do unscripted, that's the problem. It doesn't matter if it's the Toy Show or any normal episode of The Late Late Show, if the show or a guest deviates from the script even slightly or something goes wrong, Kenny turns into a deer caught in the headlights and doesn't know what to do apart from that annoying fake (embarrassed and almost to the point of panicking at times!) laugh thing he does to try and cover the fact he doesn't know what to say or do next. At least Gaybo, as you say, had the ability to work unscripted and could roll with things when they went wrong or a guest suddenely went off on a mad tangent or whatever. Kenny can't and that's the whole problem with the Late Late now.

It's funny, though, how he seems to be able to cope much better when dealing with unscripted things on the radio but, as soon as he's in front of a television camera, he becomes almost completely reliant on the autocue and script and God help the poor gobshíte should something go wrong or a guest suddenely decides to do a "Nielsen"!

Guy:Incognito

Don't suppose anyone taped it? I was supposed to record it for someone,s set the dvd recorder this morning, got home when it was about 1 and a half hrs in to find that the pipe cable was disconneted.

Is it repeated in its entirity? If so, when. cheers.

betelgeuse

Stekelly wrote:

Is it repeated in its entirity? If so, when. cheers.

It's repeated on Sunday, 1.45-3.45pm, RTE 1.

Did anyone see that kid that went past on the bike running back onto the set and up the ramp thing at the back? Kenny (a.k.a 'funky uncle' a.k.a 'funkle') seemed most put out... same when that rugby players' kids went off doing their own thing, he wasn't a bit happy... that's why he should never be let near this show.

And yes, that red haired boy was scary. Reminded me of that James Harries bloke on Wogan back in the late '80s.

jellie

monkeyfudge wrote:

IHow vile was that ginger haired kid..? yuck...

"bring it on YO". rofl we laughed at him for about 10 mins. and we're still cracking up anytime hes mentioned, heh

Telefís

Not going on a Pat defensive again, BUT....:D

One thing that has to be clarified before anyone says it is that the Toy Show was not 'so much better when Gay did it'. Gay in his latter years was feckin useless on the Toy Show. He either didn't listen to what the kids were saying, couldn't hear what the kids were saying, didn't understand what the kids were saying, or didn't get the concept of the toys. Yes he was great dealing with the audience, was good at links, and fundamentally was comfortable and relaxed in the chaotic studio environment, but he had a downside when dealing with the kids. By contrast Pat I think is better at this element, while he is useless where Gay was good - links etc.


Overall I think Pat is alright on this show - the Toy Show wouldn't work without an authoritative 'father' or 'uncle' figure at the helm; the whole concept revolves around this. As such, I can't think of anyone who would do the show any better than him. He can be funny - not this year admittedly, but on previous occasions the odd snide remark turns out quite hilarious. He should pick fun out of the kids and the toys much more I think, this is his basic problem - he's too willing to just let everything plod along methodically and wash over him with little input from himself.

Agreed about him seemingly getting annoyed over that kid diverting upstairs - another case of him taking one of those strange 'turns'. Sometimes he relishes things going off script and out of control, while other times he just goes almost psychotic very little things like that....

He's also useless dealing with unscripted multi-camera, flatly refusing to address any other camera other than the one he's chosen, so we have to wait a long delay of him looking into the wrong camera while the one he's facing frames up and the cut made to it. This looks terrible - awkward and contrived.. He also finds it difficult to address the camera directly when there's an audience there - his eyes never rest easily on the lens, flicking off camera every two seconds or so making him come across as less than genuine, and creating the impression that there's no real host to the show - he neither speaks directly to the audience nor the people at home, just almost talks to himself for most of the show.


I'm glad people see fit to raise the production faults - that handheld camera operator coming into shot for the entire programme was absolutely disgraceful. Horribly intrusive, distracting and fundamentally unprofessional. He didn't once check to see if he was in shot, nor was he told by the director on any occasion to move. And for the most part the shots he got were poor, or at best unnecessary. Did you see the book review section and he looming over the little girl - unbelievable!

The set wasn't the best they've had either and the lighting for perfomances was terrible - essentially they didn't use any mood lighting at all, just kept the house lights up the whole time. They've created fantastic scenes in previous years, one of the best parts of the Toy Show

The Big Quaestion the team ask every year is will the ratings top the 1 million mark??????
It's always touch and go, teetering around the 950,000-1,100,000 mark.....

betelgeuse

Telefís, regarding Pat being good with the kids... do you think it was appropriate when he asked that little girl if water given to a doll "came out the other end"? I can't imagine Gaybo being so crude.

One thing that really annoyed me this year is they didn't give the proper name for many of the toys. So if there was something you might be interested in purchasing you would have to go into a shop and try to describe it, rather than simply asking for the "Dyno-turbo Action Hero 3000" (or whatever).

And something my mum used always complain about when I was a kid... they never mention the price of anything. I think it would be a good idea to say "expect to pay 50-60 euro for that" after each toy so people have some idea what Santa can afford or otherwise.

theres a dyno turbo mobobby still left on the shelves!omg i so want that!

monkeyfudge

betelgeuse wrote:

And something my mum used always complain about when I was a kid... they never mention the price of anything. I think it would be a good idea to say "expect to pay 50-60 euro for that" after each toy so people have some idea what Santa can afford or otherwise.

It's a good point.

I'd say there is a good bit of confussion around that Robosapien thing. The model they showed is the new one which costs a whopping €280! But there are about 3 other cheaper versions... I can forsee a lot of disappointed children this christmas getting something they didn't expect.

Wheels

Laguna wrote:

Come on, you know what he meant!.

Yes I did know what he meant, yet another cheap dig at RTE at a show that has been aimed at kids for years. I agree Pat is woeful at it, but kids love the show. They watch it for the toys and the fun and not the presenter or the way the thing is filmed.

Enii

I stopped on the show mementarily last night and saw some kid showing DJ equipment. Both Pat and the Kid had their back to the screen and you couldn't see the toys they were showin. Then Pat asked the kid to rap. I thought at this point the kid was going to demonstrate all the different effects you could do with the toy but no he just launched into a rap holding the mic of the toy. sure he could have got a mic from RTE - it basically didn't demonstrate what the dj thingie toy did......

amsydamsy

Like many, Iwas sceptical about watching Pat the Plank spend the evening trying to demonstrate how much he loves children, & just what a fun guy he is..but seeing as I've exams coming up, & my only form of social interaction for the next few weeks involves talking to the collge librarian, I thought I'd abandon my bah humbag mood & settle down, grudgingly with the girls in the house & watch..am I glad I did1 Did anybody see that freakish 6 year old ginger kid called Niall who was roadtesting a King Kong model? He was a mini -adult, albeit an adult that gets their kicks from reading Science Monthly He pushed Pat to breaking point, to the point where they actuallly had a kung-fu Karate Kid stand-off..I couldn't see for the tears in my eyes, it was tv magic, & I thought I was going to rupture my diaphragm or something, I was laughing that hard..my seat's booked for next year! & that guy trying to get a mini-basketball into a hoop that was tied onto his crotch..where would you get it I ask u??!

monkeyfudge

As Eric Cartman said in a recent episode of South Park...

"Ginger kids have no souls!"

magnumlady

My kids loved it, although they said it was no way as good as last year. (I think thats because the Conways appeared!!)
They couldn't believe that ginger minger though. I mean I like kids but he really should have been drowned at birth!

meldrew

Where else in the world would you see the flagship chat show turned into a two and a half toy showcase , its all about advertising and it looks like this particular national 'institiution' will always be with us

Roar

i turned it off after seeing Pat in a Darth Vadar costume riding a horse.. It couldn't have gotten any worse... or so i thought...

Then when flicking through the channels i saw the Conway Sisters murdering "Oh Holy Night"..

Telefís

God they were terrible alright, as was the camerawork and lighting for that performance. Simply couldn't sing that song.

betelgeuse I thought Pat's raising of where the water came out of the doll was if anything too timid! It's smart adult observations like these that makes the Toy Show funny - the clash of adults' view of the world with that of children's. Anyway kids revel in any form of toilet humour, so the more the better
And Gay was notorious for such observations as I recall - a certain rubber plaster mould springs to mind

J.R.HARTLEY

Wheels wrote:

Yes I did know what he meant, yet another cheap dig at RTE at a show that has been aimed at kids for years. I agree Pat is woeful at it, but kids love the show. They watch it for the toys and the fun and not the presenter or the way the thing is filmed.

eh no, at no point did i mention rte being poor, just that whatever team ran this in recent years hasn't been up to scratch and i'm surprised rte aren't taking action, if i was taking a dig at rte, i would have said i wasn't surprised, however i thought i made it perfeectly clear that i was, i know it's a kids program, but when i was younger the whole family used to watch it and enjoy it, asking others if they feel that one programme out of rte's entire schedule wasn't good is not even in the same post code as a cheap dig. in fact i have never on these boards ever had a dig at rte for this to be another cheap dig in fact in the Irish psychics live debate in A.H. i was defending pats skills on his show.you obviousy misinterpreted my post.

i think the fact that pat mentioned all the toys were from smyths might have some bearing on a lack of prices, maybe smyths asked not to mention it, same way i have a feeling that they asked for none of the toys to be given bad reviews, how many times was pat stumped or indeed did he persist at the child to get a good remark about the toy, e.g. the electronic tamagochi style houses, the kid said it wasn't good cause the batterys ran out , pat said but it would be good if the battery was working wouldn't it.
i don't blame pat or the show i that case, they probably feel a lot of pressure to get the toys, not just for the show but so as to give them to charity afterwards.they wouldn't want to dissapoint the sick kids just to give a board game a bad review.

Johnny Storm

This was the worst toyshow for the last few years. (ie since my kids have been old enough to be interested in it). It was pisspoor on every level. There weren't even any good toys.

Guy:Incognito

betelgeuse wrote:

It's repeated on Sunday, 1.45-3.45pm, RTE 1.

Did anyone see that kid that went past on the bike running back onto the set and up the ramp thing at the back? Kenny (a.k.a 'funky uncle' a.k.a 'funkle') seemed most put out... same when that rugby players' kids went off doing their own thing, he wasn't a bit happy... that's why he should never be let near this show.

And yes, that red haired boy was scary. Reminded me of that James Harries bloke on Wogan back in the late '80s.

Forgot to check back on this thread and assumed it was repeated at the usual time (had the old rte guide lying round) so still need a recording desperately if anyone has one . It's for a child if that tugs on the old heartstrings.:)

Blisterman

Do they still have the Billy Barry Kids?

Does anyone actually like them?

monkeyfudge

Blisterman wrote:

Do they still have the Billy Barry Kids?

Does anyone actually like them?

Oh thank god no... that's the best thing about the Toy Show in recent years they use talent groups from all over the country and they tend to be pretty good, with the exception of those two kids who sang the 'I'm getting nothing for Christmas' song... yuck..

Stekelly> I think I still have it on my Sky+ box... I don't have a Video recorder anymore though.. so I'll see if I can get my DVD recorder working instead... no promises.. I've never managed to work out how the silly thing works.

mickymg2003

It wasnt as good as my childhood memories of the show anyway. And am i the only one who notced that there was very few "One for everybody in the audience" in this years show? and Kenny kept givin the impression that he was gonna giv something away but he didnt realy give much away.
The Conway Sisters Were pure rubbish. I'd rather hear the bille barry kids sing in a loop for all eternity that listen to that thrash.
Dustin wasn on for nearly long enough and they cut for a break half way through his song.