RTÉ vs TG4

Also Starring LeVar Burton

In regards to original programming - drama, comedy, documentary, reality, entertainment, music, & sport - which of the two do you think does a better job, RTÉ or TG4?

Also Starring LeVar Burton

For me TG4 are head and shoulders above RTÉ and they're doing it on a much smaller budget... The sheer quality of TG4 shows are brilliant - whether you've got Gaeilge or not, its easily the best of our national stations...

What do the rest of you think?

mikom

TG4 is much better.

Rte is a bloated dinosaur.

tony1kenobi

A very dull 0-0 draw...in January.......uphill.

Mr.Nice Guy

TG4 make better use of their resources. RTE really are awful in so many ways.

Hande hoche!

TG4 are fairly good with documentaries,they beat RTE in my books.

henryporter

Definitely TG4 for originality and entertainment - and I only know about 5 words 'as gaeilge'; the documentaries are well made with interesting subect matter, some of the dramas poking fun at modern Irish life are hilarious, the GAA coverage is better than RTE, and even though they have less resources at their disposal they seem to be able to maintain a freshness that RTE are seriously lacking - possibly something to do with RTE's inability (or should that be unwillingness) to garner new talent.

podgemonster

TG4 had excellent shows on like The Wire, Oz, True Blood, Nip/Tuck.
Their soap, Ros Na Rún is better written than that trash show Fair City and the actors are miles ahead.
I liked that murder show they had on aswell with the narrator invisible to the actors reinacting the murder. Their series Seacht (though i never watch it) is also suppose to be pretty good.

I loved watching Pop4 when I was younger coz i didn't have any music channels. Plus Spongebob squarepants and South Park, if only RTE showed these shows in English but it would be their style.

RTE is a show for old fogies who like watching reruns of old shows, Nationwide and the constant loop of movies. The news is possibly the only thing they get right...barely!

Shane10

what i hate about rte is, the same faces all the time. no new talented younger people coming through. pathetic.

KrazeeEyezKilla

TG4 by a mile. If only RTE had half as much creativity in their programmes.

Also Starring LeVar Burton

I always feel TG4 is the Irish equivalent to Channel 4 - a bit edgier than the other networks, working with much less money and producing quality shows that get people talking...
I highly recomment that people check out the current TG4 comedy - An Crisis, as it really shows the difference in quality between RTÉ and TG4... You can watch the first 3 (4th should be available later today) episodes here

topper75

I flick around but spend way more time on TG4 than RTE. In fact I watch TG4 more than all the other cable stuff too.

I happen to understand most Gaeilge but the ould lad doesn't have a word and he has the same tendancy towards TG4 and just reads subtitles. It is fresher and alway happy to look at things from other angles in line with their 'Súil Eile' [another eye] mantra.

backspacer

Have to say over the years TG4 are head and shoulders above RTE in terms of home made entertainment, comedy has been there forté especially with the likes of C.U Burn, Gleann Ceo, Rásaí na Gaillimhe to name but a few. With RTE i'm not quite sure what their achilles heel is when it comes to producing quality programming but clearly TG4 have this one sussed compared to them.

backspacer

topper75 wrote: »

I flick around but spend way more time on TG4 than RTE. In fact I watch TG4 more than all the other cable stuff too.

I happen to understand most Gaeilge but the ould lad doesn't have a word and he has the same tendancy towards TG4 and just reads subtitles. It is fresher and alway happy to look at things from other angles in line with their 'Súil Eile' [another eye] mantra.

I always find that the subtitles don't do justice to some of the comedic elements in some shows, since they use some of the local Connemara dialect for some of the lines, they sound a lot funnier than the subtitled versions. (Sorry am a native speaker from that neck of the woods, apologies if i sound like i'm on my high horse)

Shane10

am currently liking Daithi O'Sea's programme on country music legends(i dont particularly like daithi i must point out) but like this show. some great old footage. There was a series last year on the mob in america, irish related mobsters which was really interesting. these sort of shows are very good.

Also Starring LeVar Burton

backspacer wrote: »

I always find that the subtitles don't do justice to some of the comedic elements in some shows, since they use some of the local Connemara dialect for some of the lines, they sound a lot funnier than the subtitled versions. (Sorry am a native speaker from that neck of the woods, apologies if i sound like i'm on my high horse)

You're dead right - they get away with so much, you'll often here them use some of the worst swear words imaginable (you know the one I mean starts with a C, ends with a T and has an UN in the middle) during Ros na Rún, which is on at half 8, but the subtitles will translate it as something like 'blackguard' or 'eejit' - its quite funny...

Very glad that TG4 is already miles ahead of RTÉ in this poll...

Elmo

Well vote for them at the TV Now awards http://www.tvnowmagazine.ie/

The nominees are very much only their for RTÉ and TV3 with a few TG4 nominees thrown around the place.

ballsymchugh

the documentary they had on the attempted coup in venezuela in the 90's was brilliant. a small crew caught in the government buildings when the CIA were trying to overthrow chavez. i wish they'd show it again!

Elmo

ballsymchugh wrote: »

the documentary they had on the attempted coup in venezuela in the 90's was brilliant. a small crew caught in the government buildings when the CIA were trying to overthrow chavez. i wish they'd show it again!

That was RTÉ.

JerryHandbag

In TG4 we truly have a station to be proud of, I think its excellent for all the reasons given above. I really enjoyed that "Muintir na Mara" show about yer man travelling around the coast in his boat, meeting various characters. I also think the channel is a great help to people learning Irish, or at least trying to improve it.....its certainly helped me from watching it!

And I think Ros Na Run is great, and I'm a bloke, I'm not supposed to watch soaps!

ballsymchugh

Elmo wrote: »

That was RTÉ.

twas tg4. although i wouldn't normally quote the socialist party website, it's here

http://www.socialistparty.net/pub/pages/socialist003feb05/17.htm

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The internationally acclaimed TG4 documentary, "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" was about the initially successful US backed right wing coup to overthrow Chavez that was halted when the urban poor spontaneously mobilised to throw out the coup instigators and restore Chavez to the presidency. [/FONT]

Elmo

ballsymchugh wrote: »

twas tg4. although i wouldn't normally quote the socialist party website, it's here

http://www.socialistparty.net/pub/pages/socialist003feb05/17.htm

Well I would stop now, since RTÉ co-funded the documentry as part of their True Lives strand on RTÉ One.

http://www.rte.ie/about/awards/page1176372.html
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0363510/companycredits

However Power Pictures and the film makers had worked on several TG4 documentaries before the filmed that one.

However TG4 did do a documentary series with the Leader of the Socialist Party Joe Higgins in 2008, as he travel around Latin America and Cuba in a historical documentary about Socialism in the area.

BTW I don't mean to take anything from TG4 I agree with all that has been said so far about the channel.

ballsymchugh

grand, i'm off to wash out my eyes after looking at that website!

Also Starring LeVar Burton

I'd like to hear from the 4 people who've voted for RTÉ, just to add another side to the thread - so far all I've seen is TG4 praising (and rightfully so), but would be great to hear the other perspective...

topper75

backspacer wrote: »

I always find that the subtitles don't do justice to some of the comedic elements in some shows, since they use some of the local Connemara dialect for some of the lines, they sound a lot funnier than the subtitled versions. (Sorry am a native speaker from that neck of the woods, apologies if i sound like i'm on my high horse)

Not on your high horse at all. Rich idioms are unfortunately untranslatable in both directions. I sometimes have difficulty finding good Irish for an English expression too. You can't beat bilingualism.

I don't know how this land isn't bilingual after almost 90 years of independence. Not so much lack of political will as confused political will. Norway and Netherlands should be our model. Israel did wonders with Hebrew too.

I sometimes wish the subtitles were in Irish. It would be a more effective learning tool for getting the faster native speakers on TG4.

Elmo

topper75 wrote: »

I sometimes wish the subtitles were in Irish. It would be a more effective learning tool for getting the faster native speakers on TG4.

They used to put Irish subtitles on page 888 during Ros Na Run not sure if they still do.

JP Liz V1

TG4 no contest really imo