Late Late Toy Show (25.11)

CGI_Livia_Soprano · 21-11-2022 2:26pm #1

Well it’s that magical time of year as Ryan Tubridy shows off his easy rapport with the “theatre kids” of Ireland.

What’s everyone looking forward to the most this Friday? I’m hoping for a Dustin The Turkey appearance and Ryan blasting the audience with his supersoaker (ooh err!)

elperello · 21-11-2022 8:02pm

I know kids enjoy it and there is usually lots of fun to be had so I wish them all the best.

Break a leg RT, it's the biggest night of the year.

As for me, I don't even believe in Santa anymore but I might watch a bit of it.

Pelvis Parsley · 21-11-2022 9:52pm

Yes folks, once again the PR offensive has commenced in advance of Friday's Toy Show (which has gone unmentioned all year...cough). In a similar display of unbridled enthusiasm, we have decided that the LLS megathread can sit out out this week, in favour of a dedicated thread, and thereby remain unadulterated and unsullied until the mayhem is over.

So, what's happening? Numerous articles this morning, which all reference what sounds like the same interview from His Highness, seemingly.

"I’ve got that nice kind of post-Halloween, pre-Christmas Neverland feel, but I have been singing, dancing and doing a lot of interviews, and going to a lot of meetings, so the machine is cranking up. They’re putting coal in the engine, you know, it’s like the ship is about to set sail. The HMS Toy Show is about to embark on another odyssey. It’s very exciting.”

...

"It is a closely guarded secret, but what I will say is that during the summer, we generally like to try and take a sense of where the country is at, or where it might be at come November or December, and this year we felt that people might be in a little bit of bother with bills and expenses and expectations in that regard.

“So that has influenced where we are going with the show and the theme, and a lot of the show this year is going to be about home and it’s going to be about Christmas proper.”

...

“We’re going to bring it all back home, bring it back to basics and endeavour to ‘Christmas it up’ again. I think we lost a bit of Christmas over the years on the show. I want to see a Christmas tree and I want to see snow. I want to go there. So that’s where we’re going, more nostalgia, more home."

StevenToast · 21-11-2022 10:13pm

If Pelvis Parsley doesnt open up a LLS thread......then its just not worth posting on it.....

How thoughtful of Ryan Tubridy to think of us poor plebs and our difficulties paying the bills....give that man a raise!

furiousox · 21-11-2022 10:17pm

Some toys between all the charity appeals, "special" musical guests and frenetic hoofing youngsters would be nice.

elperello · 21-11-2022 10:20pm

I know kids enjoy it and there is usually lots of fun to be had so I wish them all the best.

Break a leg RT, it's the biggest night of the year.

As for me, I don't even believe in Santa anymore but I might watch a bit of it.

( I already posted this on the other LLS Toy Show Thread. Two threads, where will it all end ?🙂 )

furiousox · 21-11-2022 10:20pm

Some toys between all the charity appeals, "special" musical guests and frenetic hoofing youngsters would be nice, for a change.

freshpopcorn · 21-11-2022 10:22pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119904154#Comment_119904154

I saw it mentioned on Today(I think) and there isn't going to many toys and nothing expensive due to the cost of living.

One thing I am surprised about tough the tickets haven't sold out for the musical yet.

NIMAN · 21-11-2022 10:24pm

I know my kids are really looking forward to more actual toys on the Toy Show.

The last 2 shows they found disappointing.

Here's hoping we might get a return to an old style toy show this Friday night?

Pelvis Parsley · 21-11-2022 10:26pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119904169#Comment_119904169

I'd have to put that down to the cost, the facebook mammies were up in arms about it. If you bring three or four kids along, especially if you're bussing it in or whatever, it gets pretty pricey.

21-11-2022 10:33pm

Dustin getting Turkey revenge and doing his reverse Paxo trick up a certain person’s personage do to speak,

21-11-2022 10:39pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119903379#Comment_119903379

Friends of mine with children find their kids getting frustrated without the appearance of enough toys. Very simple inexpensive toys would be most appropriate, but the advertising of those wouldn’t cover the production’s cost.

21-11-2022 10:41pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119904179#Comment_119904179

Prepare your brood’s expectations, it will be more Un-Toy than ever this year.

21-11-2022 10:43pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119904169#Comment_119904169

A lot, due to the cost of Ryaning.

Pelvis Parsley · 21-11-2022 10:51pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119904116#Comment_119904116

You'd love to be starting a thread/OP each week to have it subsumed into a half baked effort for the Toy Show, wouldn't you?

And from one of the biggest critics of the LLS opening post too...

ax530 · 21-11-2022 11:00pm

Losing its appeal with children getting frustrated it doesn't actually show toys and Ryan "doesn't listen" to the children.

NIMAN · 21-11-2022 11:23pm

I think if we get less toys this year (if that's actually possible), then that'll be my kids done with it.

Some might think I'm only saying they have been disappointed with the last 2 Toy Shows just to get a dig at Tubs and the show, but it's true.

21-11-2022 11:54pm

The crux is that it is now a show virtue signalling to adults, “tokening” to children as well as various interests. It’s way too distracted doing this than appealing to children, who just want toys, or vibes of Santa or pure fun.

CGI_Livia_Soprano · 22-11-2022 8:40am

There aren't any children in my house but any kids I have spoken to about it love The Toy Show as much as ever. It's mainly adults who moan about "tokenism" and "virtue signalling," i.e being exposed to mixed-race kids with Irish accents on the television.

Welsh Megaman · 22-11-2022 9:17am

Can’t believe I’m still riled by the fact that Ryan ASKED the audience to give a standing ovation on Friday night.

Standing ovations should be natural and spontaneous - for example, when you discover that RTE has decreased his salary. THEN, I will give a standing ovation.

Anyhoo, onward and upward…TOYS!

Loughc · 22-11-2022 9:46am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119904381#Comment_119904381

Expect less toys this year, ratings for the past two years hitting record highs and showing less and less toys. Times change, shows evolve it'll never be like it was before, it's all about the stories, music and celebs now.

freshpopcorn · 22-11-2022 4:06pm

I do think The Toy Show has changed a lot because a lot of adults watch it now and want to watch it.

CGI_Livia_Soprano · 22-11-2022 9:18pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119907286#Comment_119907286

That’s a big part of it. 20-30 years ago the only people watching the toy show were children and their parents, then as those children grew up they kept watching it.

Combine that with how kids in the smart phone era don’t seem to be enthralled with gadgety toys as kids used to be and Uncle Gaybo’s Toy Show wouldn’t fly any more.

freshpopcorn · 22-11-2022 10:49pm

I'm 30 so I have small memories of Gay and more memories of Pat doing The Toy Show. When I used be a kid it used be around the 8th of December give or take a few days. It was generally the Friday after the Budget.

I was a Christmas obsessed child and I didn't take much notice of The Toy Show until about the week before but it wasn't marketed really now you've Pajamas, mugs in Penneys, shops & bakery's doing party boxes. (It's certainly marketed a lot more now.)

I don't think there was a theme either it was toys, some current band, Christmas songs and generally a car or trip to Disney Land was given away. Can you remember when they use just land to somebodies front door at about 23:30 and say they've won.

I was generally happy enough with my childhood Toy Show or thought I was and kids now seem the same.

hawley · 23-11-2022 9:26am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119909113#Comment_119909113

Gay Byrne was the best of them. He was naturally witty and came across as being genuine. Now it's promoted for months beforehand and every interaction is rehearsed. There's no spontaneity in it anymore. It's meant to be a fun show for children, but we know that there'll be barely any toys and a number of unfortunate children featured. Clips of these children will be uploaded to the LLS's Twitter and Instagram in minutes. It's exploitative and it's unfair on the children at home.

furiousox · 23-11-2022 9:33am

It is what it is but it shouldn't be called the LL Toy Show any more.

It's the LL Christmas Special Variety Telethon Appeal Show.

CGI_Livia_Soprano · 23-11-2022 9:52am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119909938#Comment_119909938

How is it unfair on the children at home exactly?

I’m concerned about your remarks on “unfortunate children.” Do you think “unfortunate children” should be hidden away from view or something?

Fr Tod Umptious · 23-11-2022 10:18am

When I was a kid in the early 80s the complaint was that there was not enough toys on The Toy Show.

It's always been the complaint.

But I noticed last year and the year before that there was no mention of Smyth's or Ken Black on the show so I'm guessing they will be low on high profile toys again this year unless the above are sponsors.

Still, the kids love it.

StevenToast · 23-11-2022 10:41am

All Tubridy has to do is get a load of kids playing with a load of toys...reading books etc.....from the off....no rehearsing...just natural.....

Get the billie barry kids in for a while...bring on a celeb or 2....

Bring on dustin for a while...wear a shìtty christmas jumper.....its a very simple formula....

Instead we will get the ego maniac dancing around making the show about him...Noel Kelly derived Toy man....

When tubridy started doing the toy show, he was very snobbish about it...wouldnt even wear the jumper...thought it was beneath him...now with the aid of NK management he has invented this fraudulent, eerie type persona of the "toyman" for marketability purposes....

Everything about the man is fake......

EmmetSpiceland · 23-11-2022 11:00am

Really seems like some users just want to have the same Toy Show that went out in the 80’s. More “rose tinted” nostalgia for a time long gone. I guarantee that if you tried to show the version from back then to kids today they would be bored and uninterested. Ever try watch an Ireland soccer match from Italia 90?

The show has moved on, hell the world has moved on. Rather than ruin your own night stewing in a rage for the way things were maybe certain users could try and “source” a copy of a show from the late 80’s and enjoy a trip down memory lane.

When I was a kid I watched the show but it wasn’t a massive “deal” for us. These days it’s huge, my kids look forward to it, and enjoy it, and because they’d have black kids, or other kids of colour, in their class in school, they aren’t shocked, or offended, when they see one on the screen.

Personally, I’d like to see the show in December. It’s a tad too early, for me, and the tree doesn’t go up that early here. Still, looking forward to watching with the kids and appreciating the massive “production” the show has become.

CGI_Livia_Soprano · 23-11-2022 11:50am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119910125#Comment_119910125

When tubridy started doing the toy show, he was very snobbish about it...wouldnt even wear the jumper...thought it was beneath him

I think you're gaslighting yourself a little bit there. Pat wouldn't wear the jumper for years, and I distinctly remember Ryan talking about bringing back the jumper, one for everyone in the audience and so on and so forth, when he took over.

I also used to listen to Ryan in the early 2000s on his radio programme and he always used to bang on about Willy Wonka and all that even before he was on The Late Late. He definitely hasn't been groomed by some cigar munching impresario to pretend he likes playing with kids, and eating Jelly Beans.

I think a lot of people want the modern-day Toy Show to be some sort of shrine to the Gay Byrne era when a modern day kid wouldn't have a bull's notion of who he was. Kids nowadays probably wouldn't even know who Dustin is anymore, would they? I suspect most of these commentators are childless themselves, or their own children have already grown up. They don't seem to have any understanding of what modern day Irish children actually want, or look like.

Loughc · 23-11-2022 11:57am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119909951#Comment_119909951

Or LLCSVTAS for short. Catchy.

furiousox · 23-11-2022 12:26pm

Sorry I forgot to add 'musical'

Its the LLCMSVTAS.

yourdeadwright · 23-11-2022 1:00pm

People are hilarious on here,

Oh the Toy show was better in the 80's ......no way really you think they toy show was better when ......you guessed it you where a kid... ye don't say ,

The kids still love it and that's all that matters ,

hawley · 23-11-2022 1:47pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119910719#Comment_119910719

The Late Late Toy Show: The last people this festive juggernaut is for are the kids

https://m.independent.ie/entertainment/television/the-late-late-toy-show-the-last-people-this-festive-juggernaut-is-for-are-the-kids-42166741.html

I genuinely don't think that children enjoy it as much as we did in the past. It has been marketed as a night for children, but there's very little in it for them. I have asked kids whether they enjoyed it, directly after previous years and most of them thought it was only okay. They enjoy the occasion, staying up late with their family and having treats, but don't actually enjoy the show. They dislike Tubridy's fake hyperactivity. The show is aimed at adults now. Generates more advertising revenue by attracting more adults to watch.

StevenToast · 23-11-2022 2:18pm

Can anyone paste that article from Pat Stacey?

I have Always held Pat Stacey in high regard....i respect his opinion.

pixelburp · 23-11-2022 5:01pm

At the risk of coming across like an áss: it's always a tad odd at how this forum's most popular thread(s) is for a show half then audience seem to hate with a passion. Only thread that routinely generates Reports too!

Is it no longer a toy show anymore? Undoubtedly, but its continued popularity and traction on social media, every year, seems to indicate nobody outside of this bubble actually cares about the format change; shifting towards something more like a Variety Show - the overall show remaining quite a charming, old school entity and something of a relic. I don't care for it myself, but it's sweet to see the country get so excited about it all the same. It's innocent fun.

Aside from anything else: before the internet the Toy Show was the main way you'd find out about the hot new toy for Xmas. What value is there in RTÉ producing a "toy show" in an era when the internet swallowed that hype weeks before airing, YouTube awash with adverts, talking heads and so on? Kids wanna watch Let's Plays, not Toys Shows. Or indeed when toy stores themselves are giant big-box retail units: how do you cover toys in a hyper-consumerist, saturated market?

Ryan Tubridy is a charisma vacuum, utterly overpaid and a flop when he tried to go over de' water - but he obviously has a blast making the station's seasonal Variety Kid's Show.

Cool.

23-11-2022 5:05pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119904169#Comment_119904169

I’ve given up on it - it’s the feicing toy show- that kindof means there should be toys- it’s getting way too lecturey and preachy and not enough time devoted to toys

Bah Humbug !!!!😜

freshpopcorn · 23-11-2022 5:11pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119910195#Comment_119910195

I do think kids are more into it now because of how it's marketed with the shops compared to the past.

I do like how you say at the end you'd like to see it in December but it just shows you how times have changed and some would like more toys, etc.

My only real grip is the set could be a bit more Christmassy.

It's always changing tough and I think kids generally like it.

CGI_Livia_Soprano · 23-11-2022 5:15pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119911875#Comment_119911875

How is it lecturey and preachy?

freshpopcorn · 23-11-2022 5:27pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119911931#Comment_119911931

I think some people feel Ryan can be a bit Preachy in general about topics trying to guilt people for having nice things.

CGI_Livia_Soprano · 23-11-2022 5:47pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119911993#Comment_119911993

I wonder what they mean. It’s all hot air without examples. 💨

23-11-2022 5:53pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119912076#Comment_119912076

We like “hot air” around these parts pilgrim - in fact we thrive on it- if you think im full of hot air, just wait till some of the current regulars arrive…..I’d relax a bit if I were you- you’re taking things way too seriously

freshpopcorn · 23-11-2022 5:57pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119912076#Comment_119912076

I'd say if you looked back on the old threads you might find something but I couldn't really be bothered.

I think it's a lot to do with Ryan's attitude at times and his wages but there's no point in debating it here.

CGI_Livia_Soprano · 23-11-2022 5:57pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119912103#Comment_119912103

I’m trying to have a conversation here, it’s a discussion forum.

NIMAN · 23-11-2022 5:59pm

Forgetting about less toys on show for now, I think there has been a gradual move away from the Christmas element as well.

Perhaps they are afraid of offending? The way some work places now have happy holidays instead of happy Xmas?

23-11-2022 6:00pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119904198#Comment_119904198

Great opening post- enjoy the show.

23-11-2022 6:07pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119904492#Comment_119904492

Last year was certainly the worst for toys- didn’t they used to thank Smyth’s toys on the past but that didn’t happen last year.

I reckon this year, we’ll have a few wooden toys made in Ireyland and of course about a million books - that and the sub machine squirter will be the extent of the toys

CGI_Livia_Soprano · 23-11-2022 6:08pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119912121#Comment_119912121

Well his wages are definitely a sore point for a lot of people here, and a common bone of contention for his critics. I don’t really know what people are expecting, that Ryan Tubridy asks for less money? It’s hardly his own fault RTE are throwing money at him. I don’t know about anyone else but if the company I worked for offered me an exorbitant salary for my dream job I would accept it.

A lot of his critics on here are absolutely terrible communicators. They love hinting at Ryan preaching woke propaganda from his pulpit but when pressed they absolutely can’t give a single example. Honestly it just confirms to me that all this “Woke Ryan” stuff is in their own heads, and his critics just want to have a whinge.

freshpopcorn · 23-11-2022 6:11pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119912179#Comment_119912179

That's all good and my advice to you now is to move on and make this thread a bit nicer instead of a debate because your profile does say #bekind.

23-11-2022 6:12pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119912132#Comment_119912132

Or like the Great Christmas American songbook which never mentions Christmas -

Let it Snow

The Holly and the Ivy

Baby it’s cold outside

The most wonderful time of the year

…to name just a few

Late Late Toy Show (25.11)

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