Poor Poor TV

BuilderPlumber

I think the quality of Irish TV has declined drastically over the last few years. I find myself watching more and more DVDs and less live TV all the time. To me it just seems that the people in charge of TV do not care at all what the people want.

The worst thing in the last year is definitely the exposure given to the worst Irish country music imaginable. Derek Ryan especially. Why are such poor and bland singers like him catapulted to fame by our media? Last night on TV3 around 11 I switched to TV3 and switched off as quick more when I saw a clown in a fake Stetson hat singing this drivel. It is beyond a joke at this stage and is doing serious damage to music including proper country music.

The TV should provide something for everyone rather than forcing certain individuals on us. This blatant boyfolk country music promotion is the most obvious current example but it goes across the board with other individuals being promoted as well. I was sick of seeing Bill 'you can work for nothing' Cullen on all the time too. Thankfully he has been dropped.

Anything good I notice is dropped after a few seasons. Love/Hate being an obvious example. RTE should make series 6 of this rather than making drivel like Stetsons and Stilettos or any of those garden makeover programmes. Poor poor TV programmes like the annoying Glor Tire (yet another show forcing woeful country music on us) last for years.

I have yet to meet people who like a lot of what the media promote to us. Ireland's media are insular, parochial, inbred and ultimately poor. They have too much power and have too much influence over music, comedy, sport, etc. Anyone with half a clue would not be making gods out of the likes of Derek Ryan or indeed the fourth rate boyband D-Side he was a member of before.

Mr E

As a counterpoint, Derek seems pretty popular.

Don't get me wrong, though - I'd pull my own ears off with pliers before trying to endure it.

Live TV is pretty poor in general. I only really watch the news or the occasional prime time. I'm not sure what they can to do fix it.

BuilderPlumber

Mr E wrote: »

As a counterpoint, Derek seems pretty popular.

Don't get me wrong, though - I'd pull my own ears off with pliers before trying to endure it.

Live TV is pretty poor in general. I only really watch the news or the occasional prime time. I'm not sure what they can to do fix it.

Live Irish TV has gotten worse and worse over the years. I find certain things are catered for and helped along while other things are ignored.

Derek Ryan is bound to have a following because he gets promoted by the TV as well as being played on local radio and as well as venues providing this social dancing. In other words, it is all set up to be friendly to this type of music.

While I hate Ryan's music and other such stuff I could tolerate it if it coexisted with the promotion and help for other styles as well. But that is not happening and as all Irish TV show for the most part is either modern Irish country music or boybands and talent competitions.

If you are in the minority and are a fan of these forms of music you are in heaven. Otherwise it is musical hell for all the rest of us who love other forms of music. If other better music was given the same help it would be even more successful for obvious reasons.

TV reform should start with not forcing certain individuals on us all the time and offer a fairer playing field for all talent. That extends beyond the boyfolk country singers to other areas too. Included in this would be RTE providing programmes to employ its predetermined presenters who often are out of their depth in such roles as they often are not knowledgeable about the topic. For example Diarmuid Gavin doing The Blood of the Irish programme: he was poor at it because it was not his field. When BBC do documentaries, they employ someone with a background in the topic.

Go Harvey Go

The quality of Irish TV was in decline during the boom years too.

Remember Treasure Island? Or the House of Love? Or the Dinner Party? Or the English Class?

Or that drama that Eoghan Harris was involved with - the Big Woof Woof, I think it was called?

How about Lucy Kennedy appearing on our screens from nowhere? Or the clearing out of fairly decent educational shows, such as multicultural series Mono, to make way for Rachel Bleedin' Allen?

Let's not forget The Afternoon Show, or Seoige and O'Shea (retitled simply Seoige, of course, when Joe left to be replaced by Gráinne's sister). Nor should we forget You're A Star - even back then, it seems, RTE were reluctant about hosting the Eurovision again... :rolleyes:

Thanks heavens for KillianM2 and his clips from more innocent times. Admittedly, the quality in those days wasn't great either, but it was still better than it is today - and there was considerably more charm, too. (Feel perfectly free to disagree with me on this, but I've always thought the Celtic Tiger sucked a lot of charm out of the country.)

https://www.youtube.com/user/killianm2/videos

BuilderPlumber

Go Harvey Go wrote: »

The quality of Irish TV was in decline during the boom years too.

Remember Treasure Island? Or the House of Love? Or the Dinner Party? Or the English Class?

Or that drama that Eoghan Harris was involved with - the Big Woof Woof, I think it was called?

How about Lucy Kennedy appearing on our screens from nowhere? Or the clearing out of fairly decent educational shows, such as multicultural series Mono, to make way for Rachel Bleedin' Allen?

Let's not forget The Afternoon Show, or Seoige and O'Shea (retitled simply Seoige, of course, when Joe left to be replaced by Gráinne's sister). Nor should we forget You're A Star - even back then, it seems, RTE were reluctant about hosting the Eurovision again... :rolleyes:

Thanks heavens for KillianM2 and his clips from more innocent times. Admittedly, the quality in those days wasn't great either, but it was still better than it is today - and there was considerably more charm, too. (Feel perfectly free to disagree with me on this, but I've always thought the Celtic Tiger sucked a lot of charm out of the country.)

https://www.youtube.com/user/killianm2/videos

It is not just now Irish TV is bad. It has been bad ever since reality TV came in really. Certainly it has been very poor since 2000 anyway at least. The Celtic Tiger sucked a lot of the charm and most of the poor stuff has its roots in that era.

You have reminded me of some awful drivel here. Those ones you have mentioned first I remember as being very poor but I have largely forgotten what they were about now. It shows how memorable they were.

The Big Bow Wow was so bad it was good. The teacher having an affair with his student, a gay cop and a gay drug dealer shooting each other and little else I can remember. Drama is one thing that has improved since then anyway.

Rachel Allen is another one that gets way too much exposure. RTE are obsessed with the Allens and Ballymaloe. I have been to Ballymaloe and while it is a nice place there are 100s of other lovely restaurants of the same quality and better that are not hyped.

The Afternoon Show/Seoige/Seoige & O'Shea and all the other variants over the years have been pretty poor and show us that we are flooded with chatshows and have no interesting guests on them. The Late Late Show and Ray D'Arcy's show are also more often than not poor. And of course Pat Kenny's awful The Frontline. Awful stuff.

You're a Star was like all the other reality competitions that have come and gone. The same old format done over and over. You're a Star was the big Eurovision hype in the day and was another excuse to showcase Louis Walsh and songs written by Westlife members. This orientation nor the show itself has not gone away. The Voice of Ireland is its current guise. On a similar note we cannot forget You're a Star's predecessor designed to form Six. The current promotion of boyband singers singing poor modern country music is another byproduct of this.

We cannot forget Celebrity Farm, Failte Towers and other such reality TV drivel either. Or that other similar show set on a boat I can't think of the name?

TV was better in the old days. While a lot of it was not great either it was better certainly than today's rubbish. Louis Walsh and the influence of Big Brother ruined Irish TV I think.

ScumLord

The problem with Irish TV is that people say they hate it but they keep watching it. As long as RTE and the likes get viewing figures they'll assume they're doing everything right. So the only way to get them to change is to stop watching them completely.

My TV went belly up probably 10 years ago now. I never replaced it and never missed it once. It's not like I don't watch TV shows now, I have netflix but I watch what I want when I want and channel hopping is gone completely. Nobody I know with Sky seems to watch more than half a show because they start channel hopping at the ad break and then start watching the last half of a different show.

Dump the TV, get yourself a nice big monitor and just watch online content. It sounds like you're on that verge anyway. The quality of what you watch will also go up because no one is going to waste bandwidth downloading the likes of xfactor. Shyte like that will literally disappear from your life.

Shurimgreat

To be fair, TG4 has maintained a pretty good standard and if anything has improved in recent years. Its 1916 docu-dramas were top notch and absorbing, whereas I struggle to think of anything as good on the other channels.

TV3 is a bit of a joke at this stage, most of the Irish "content" are people sitting on a couch or in a studio discussing newspapers, food, fashion and the like, eg Xpose, Ireland AM, 7 O'clock Show, Tonight with Vincent Browne. RTE is not very far behind them with a lot of similar programs.

On Radio, Newstalk are streets ahead of RTE Radio 1, and on TV I'd put TG4 above the rest.

So yes OP you are right.

BuilderPlumber

ScumLord wrote: »

The problem with Irish TV is that people say they hate it but they keep watching it. As long as RTE and the likes get viewing figures they'll assume they're doing everything right. So the only way to get them to change is to stop watching them completely.

My TV went belly up probably 10 years ago now. I never replaced it and never missed it once. It's not like I don't watch TV shows now, I have netflix but I watch what I want when I want and channel hopping is gone completely. Nobody I know with Sky seems to watch more than half a show because they start channel hopping at the ad break and then start watching the last half of a different show.

Dump the TV, get yourself a nice big monitor and just watch online content. It sounds like you're on that verge anyway. The quality of what you watch will also go up because no one is going to waste bandwidth downloading the likes of xfactor. Shyte like that will literally disappear from your life.

I think that's our major problem. Too many people watch stuff like The Late Late Show out of habit. They complain about how bad it is yet they watch it. I gave up watching the Late Late Show and now only watch certain parts of it if it has someone I am interested in on.

I watch DVDs, Netflix and have Sky and have the choice to watch what I want when I want. X-Factor, The Voice, Glor Tire and all other such reality TV competitions are out of my life for certain. As are boybands and boyband country music. I would change the channel immediately if I saw any of these on and often would turn on the TV set to set up a DVD or Netflix.

These X-Factor type shows must be very cheap to make. As all they are is Big Brother with music. When reality TV came into being around the late 1990s that is where things really started going downhill. Some of the worst TV ever has been reality TV and the concept has been used in conjunction with the awful modern pop music such as Irish country music and boybands.

While all this rubbish is out of my life, I am critical of the amount of attention given to it and that is blocks real talent. The media do not want to know anything about real talent it seems.

BuilderPlumber

Shurimgreat wrote: »

To be fair, TG4 has maintained a pretty good standard and if anything has improved in recent years. Its 1916 docu-dramas were top notch and absorbing, whereas I struggle to think of anything as good on the other channels.

TV3 is a bit of a joke at this stage, most of the Irish "content" are people sitting on a couch or in a studio discussing newspapers, food, fashion and the like, eg Xpose, Ireland AM, 7 O'clock Show, Tonight with Vincent Browne. RTE is not very far behind them with a lot of similar programs.

On Radio, Newstalk are streets ahead of RTE Radio 1, and on TV I'd put TG4 above the rest.

So yes OP you are right.

I'd agree with all this. Apart from the awful Glor Tire and Opry san Iuir, both of which celebrate the worst of modern Irish boyfolk country music, TG4's other programmes are decent. The 1916 programmes were in general a welcome relief from the norm.

Go Harvey Go

BuilderPlumber wrote: »

You have reminded me of some awful drivel here. Those ones you have mentioned first I remember as being very poor but I have largely forgotten what they were about now. It shows how memorable they were.

Treasure Island was a cheap Survivor knock-off, the House of Love wasn't Sean Moncrieff's finest hour, and the Dinner Party was just another excuse to stick Amanda Brunker on our screens.

As for the English Class... well, it would make the Republic of Telly look like Only Fools and Horses. And that's not an exaggeration.

The Afternoon Show/Seoige/Seoige & O'Shea and all the other variants over the years have been pretty poor and show us that we are flooded with chatshows and have no interesting guests on them. The Late Late Show and Ray D'Arcy's show are also more often than not poor.

The Saturday Night Show was much better than the LLS - even when it didn't have good guests.

But of course, once it overtook Tubs in the ratings, RTE pressed the panic button... :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

And if Ray absolutely had to be given a chat show, why not a summer one, to replace Saturday Night with Miriam (which has been looking tired in recent years)?

And of course Pat Kenny's awful The Frontline. Awful stuff.

It didn't have to be just Questions and Answers with a new name and a more aggressive approach.

Unfortunately, imagination is not something RTE is renowned for... :rolleyes:

And, of course, it'll forever be associated with Seán Gallagher.

Or that other similar show set on a boat I can't think of the name?

Cabin Fever, that was. It'll always be best remembered for the ship running aground off the Donegal coast.

maudgonner

BuilderPlumber wrote: »

I'd agree with all this. Apart from the awful Glor Tire and Opry san Iuir, both of which celebrate the worst of modern Irish boyfolk country music, TG4's other programmes are decent. The 1916 programmes were in general a welcome relief from the norm.

When I saw your username I knew there would be a rant against country music in the post

Like it or not, those shows draw a significant audience share on TG4, particularly people who wouldn't otherwise watch an Irish language channel. I'm no great fan of country & Irish music myself, but I can see they have a place on the TG4 schedule.

And I know for a fact that the reason those programmes were commissioned by TG4 a number of years ago is that it's an audience sector that wasn't being served by RTE/TV3, so TG4 aimed squarely at it (this was long before the advent of IrishTV, who are also going for this sector).

Go Harvey Go

BuilderPlumber wrote: »

I'd agree with all this. Apart from the awful Glor Tire and Opry san Iuir, both of which celebrate the worst of modern Irish boyfolk country music, TG4's other programmes are decent. The 1916 programmes were in general a welcome relief from the norm.

Glór Tíre has been running for 12 years, which one has to admit is a pretty good achievement for a TG4 show.

Also, there is some talent on it - plus it looks like everyone on it has a good time.

Big Brother, on the other hand, has no talent whatsoever, and gets nastier every year - to the point now where it's being won by genuine bullies.

In fact, it was already nasty enough in 2004, the year Glór Tíre began...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2iFHPYtWl0

Harry Palmr

I thought Poor Poor TV was a new channel on saorview

Mr.Nice Guy

RTE are mediocre. I always find it amusing when I hear some British people complaining about having to pay for the BBC. They don't know how lucky they are!

goose2005

maudgonner wrote: »

When I saw your username I knew there would be a rant against country music in the post

Like it or not, those shows draw a significant audience share on TG4, particularly people who wouldn't otherwise watch an Irish language channel. I'm no great fan of country & Irish music myself, but I can see they have a place on the TG4 schedule.

And I know for a fact that the reason those programmes were commissioned by TG4 a number of years ago is that it's an audience sector that wasn't being served by RTE/TV3, so TG4 aimed squarely at it (this was long before the advent of IrishTV, who are also going for this sector).

TG4 also shows a ton of Western films and TV shows, because there's a big audience (mostly 50+) who will watch them

ixoy

ScumLord wrote: »

Dump the TV, get yourself a nice big monitor and just watch online content.

Why would you dump the TV though? Never understood this idea. You can watch online content on your TV (Smart TV, Kodi, console, PC, etc) and likely get a much bigger screen to watch it on than any monitor. My TV serves as a very very large monitor.

Just don't bother having RTE as an input source anywhere. The last time I watched was for five seconds by accident. The last time I watched for any extended length of time was for Love / Hate and that aside, not once before that for about 15 years.

BuilderPlumber

Go Harvey Go wrote: »

Treasure Island was a cheap Survivor knock-off, the House of Love wasn't Sean Moncrieff's finest hour, and the Dinner Party was just another excuse to stick Amanda Brunker on our screens.

As for the English Class... well, it would make the Republic of Telly look like Only Fools and Horses. And that's not an exaggeration.

I vaguely remember these and I remember considering them very poor at the time. The fact that Treasure Island copied Survivor shows us another trend. I still find it strange that an Irish version of Big Brother under that name never came into being!

The Saturday Night Show was much better than the LLS - even when it didn't have good guests.

But of course, once it overtook Tubs in the ratings, RTE pressed the panic button... :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

The Saturday Night Show worked and was the best chatshow on RTE. The Late Late is a sacred cow and when shows overtook it, they had to go!

And if Ray absolutely had to be given a chat show, why not a summer one, to replace Saturday Night with Miriam (which has been looking tired in recent years)?

Ray D'Arcy could have done the summer show with Brendan O'Connor continuing the Saturday Night Show. But that was not to be.

It didn't have to be just Questions and Answers with a new name and a more aggressive approach.

Unfortunately, imagination is not something RTE is renowned for... :rolleyes:

And, of course, it'll forever be associated with Seán Gallagher.

The Frontline was awful. Aggressive, negative and boring. The same old topic was flogged to death each week. The presidential debate and other controversies hastened its end and no harm.

Cabin Fever, that was. It'll always be best remembered for the ship running aground off the Donegal coast.

That's it. I remember that now.

BuilderPlumber

maudgonner wrote: »

When I saw your username I knew there would be a rant against country music in the post

Like it or not, those shows draw a significant audience share on TG4, particularly people who wouldn't otherwise watch an Irish language channel. I'm no great fan of country & Irish music myself, but I can see they have a place on the TG4 schedule.

And I know for a fact that the reason those programmes were commissioned by TG4 a number of years ago is that it's an audience sector that wasn't being served by RTE/TV3, so TG4 aimed squarely at it (this was long before the advent of IrishTV, who are also going for this sector).

My main problem with this poor music is that nothing else gets a chance because of it. I would not mind Glor Tire and others like it being on if there were shows that supported other forms of music too.

The media sell things to audiences and this poor country music has been sold locally by local radio and then taken to the next level by TG4 and then RTE proper via Tubridy. No matter how poor something is, if it gets radio and TV exposure, it will find an audience. That is what has happened. It happened with a lot of the boybands too. If real music got the same attention and support, it would be as successful and more successful.

maudgonner

ixoy wrote: »

Why would you dump the TV though? Never understood this idea. You can watch online content on your TV (Smart TV, Kodi, console, PC, etc) and likely get a much bigger screen to watch it on than any monitor. My TV serves as a very very large monitor.

Just don't bother having RTE as an input source anywhere. The last time I watched was for five seconds by accident. The last time I watched for any extended length of time was for Love / Hate and that aside, not once before that for about 15 years.

If you keep your TV you're still liable for a TV license, even if you only use it to watch online content. If you only have a monitor (and no other equipment to receive a TV signal) you don't need a license.

BuilderPlumber

Go Harvey Go wrote: »

Glór Tíre has been running for 12 years, which one has to admit is a pretty good achievement for a TG4 show.

Also, there is some talent on it - plus it looks like everyone on it has a good time.

Big Brother, on the other hand, has no talent whatsoever, and gets nastier every year - to the point now where it's being won by genuine bullies.

In fact, it was already nasty enough in 2004, the year Glór Tíre began...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2iFHPYtWl0

Big Brother is absolutely among the worst drivel on. Yet I have seen intelligent people addicted to it. It is nasty and supports bullies. Big Brother put reality TV on the map back when it began in 1999 or so. Since then it has been copied by all other such reality TV programmes since then.

I agree there is some talent on Glor Tire. I enjoy it when I heard a candidate on it who is a much better singer than the featured mentor like Mike Denver or Derek Ryan. It also confirms there are better singers of country music out there who are not getting the breaks because the shop is closed in favour of the likes of the 2 I mentioned.

BuilderPlumber

goose2005 wrote: »

TG4 also shows a ton of Western films and TV shows, because there's a big audience (mostly 50+) who will watch them

I enjoy TG4's Westerns. They often are a good alternative to The Late Late Show on Fridays!

_Kaiser_

maudgonner wrote: »

If you keep your TV you're still liable for a TV license, even if you only use it to watch online content. If you only have a monitor (and no other equipment to receive a TV signal) you don't need a license.

For now.. if they get around to that Broadcast tax then everyone will pay regardless of whether they have an actual TV or not

ScumLord

ixoy wrote: »

Why would you dump the TV though? Never understood this idea. You can watch online content on your TV (Smart TV, Kodi, console, PC, etc) and likely get a much bigger screen to watch it on than any monitor. My TV serves as a very very large monitor.

All the temptations of TV are still there. You'll still end up channel hopping at some stage, you'll still tune into RTE when they get a bit of hype going for some interview.

When I got rid of the TV completely and had to find things to watch, the amount of TV I watched plummeted. I have no exposure to advertising. No exposure to all the propaganda of modern society. I've become out of step with the general population, it's shocking how much of the general consciousness comes from TV. I think everyone should try no TV for a month and see if the world looks any different at the end of it.

_Kaiser_ wrote: »

For now.. if they get around to that Broadcast tax then everyone will pay regardless of whether they have an actual TV or not

I don't really see how they can. I use my computer for work, how can they apply an entertainment tax on business equipment?

I rarely watch the Irish channels having been lucky growing up with the BBC,ITV and Channel 4 reception in Sligo. RTE sounds like it hasnt changed for years and I would only watch for shows such as Gotham or Person Of Interest!

Vic_08

_Kaiser_ wrote: »

For now.. if they get around to that Broadcast tax then everyone will pay regardless of whether they have an actual TV or not

Except for old folks who ironically are the ones who most avidly watch RTE.



The entire premise of this thread is nonsense anyway, it suggests that at some point in the past RTE produced quality TV; they did not.

maudgonner

Vic_08 wrote: »

The entire premise of this thread is nonsense anyway, it suggests that at some point in the past RTE produced quality TV; they did not.

I don't think that's fair. RTE does some things well. Their sports coverage is normally good. Current affairs is good, sometimes great, and they produce some very good docs. They've even done some excellent drama, albeit very rare.

They might not produce the kind of tv you like, but I don't think it's fair to write off everything they've ever done.

Mr.Nice Guy

ScumLord wrote: »

When I got rid of the TV completely and had to find things to watch, the amount of TV I watched plummeted. I have no exposure to advertising. No exposure to all the propaganda of modern society. I've become out of step with the general population, it's shocking how much of the general consciousness comes from TV. I think everyone should try no TV for a month and see if the world looks any different at the end of it.

I've thought about doing this myself. I know a few people who have given up watching TV and they say it's the best thing they've ever done.

My problem though is I'm big into sport and I'm not sure I could swear off TV totally for that reason. The European Championships and Olympics are all on the horizon and I would have to watch those.

ixoy

ScumLord wrote: »

All the temptations of TV are still there. You'll still end up channel hopping at some stage, you'll still tune into RTE when they get a bit of hype going for some interview.

Nope. Genuinely the last TV airing that I watched was just celebrations to ring in the new year - it's why I dumped my cable package. And that was the BBC's version anyway.
When people talk about ads they've seen, I haven't a clue what they're talking about and I'm happy about it. The only ads I see are product placement.

I do not channel hop and I definitely agree that that is the best approach. I only watch those shows that I know I like. New shows are added only based on recommendations and/or the premise / creative team. I haven't stumbled across a show broadcast that interested me, that I didn't know of, since 'The Wire' back about 15 years ago.

I don't think it's having a TV then - it's ensuring you know the best way to refine what's out there. Boards.ie is a good help!

BuilderPlumber

Vic_08 wrote: »

Except for old folks who ironically are the ones who most avidly watch RTE.



The entire premise of this thread is nonsense anyway, it suggests that at some point in the past RTE produced quality TV; they did not.

Irish TV was never exactly consistently good. Some things have improved but the wrong, annoying poor fare from reality TV to bland modern country music to what seems like 10 Rachel Allen programmes too many constantly get flogged to death. However the amount of absolute drivel that occupies its schedules at present are worse than it ever was. Even 2004 with The Big Bow Wow and all was better! At least one could laugh at that show and its very title

BuilderPlumber

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

I've thought about doing this myself. I know a few people who have given up watching TV and they say it's the best thing they've ever done.

My problem though is I'm big into sport and I'm not sure I could swear off TV totally for that reason. The European Championships and Olympics are all on the horizon and I would have to watch those.

Events like these and the soccer and rugby world cups as well as the All Irelands do add a bit of excitement to proceedings and make the summer and autumn more interesting. When the WCs, ECs and Olympics are on at least there is something to follow every day.

BuilderPlumber

maudgonner wrote: »

I don't think that's fair. RTE does some things well. Their sports coverage is normally good. Current affairs is good, sometimes great, and they produce some very good docs. They've even done some excellent drama, albeit very rare.

They might not produce the kind of tv you like, but I don't think it's fair to write off everything they've ever done.

RTE have done some things good. Music is by far what they are worst at as pointed out. Current affairs is one area where they have improved. Claire Byrne is a big improvement on Pat Kenny and his awful Questions and Answers/Late Late Show hybrid The Frontline. Primetime can give good analysis of international events. They can do good documentaries too.

Drama has steadily improved albeit often with support from external stations. Love/Hate is excellent and I liked Rebellion, Amber, Clean Break, and Charlie (not as good as Love/Hate but certainly not The Big Bow Wow). Fair City with the right storyline is as good as any soap as all soaps can deviate between poor and excellent storylines.

PS: ALL that Big Brother-type reality TV drivel is equally bad whether it is airing from Ireland, England or anywhere: all channels are equally poor at this stuff as it is poor anyway.