Fair City [News, Spoilers and Discussion]

Deise Tom wrote: »

True, but you would expect them to get things right. Arent they suppose to depict reality, which is what makes them so popular.

Wanderer2010 wrote: »

1. Why does nobody in the soap suffer from the recession, they are all in good jobs, decent flats, plenty of nice clothes and enough money to drink in the local EVERY SINGLE NIGHT OF THE WEEK? That bird who came back a few weeks ago even managed to get an interview and a job offer in the space of one day, that would never happen :rolleyes:

Fair City, Irelands best soap.

RTÉ HAS been granted planning permission by An Bord Pleanála for a phased €350 million redevelopment of the northern half of its Montrose campus in Donnybrook, Dublin, over a period of 10 years.


The board’s decision, which is subject to 23 conditions, was based on its consideration of the Dublin City Development Plan as well as “the established use of the site, the pattern of development in the vicinity and the design and layout” of the scheme.


However, plans to sell the southern part of the 31-acre site have been constrained by a condition that the use of buildings to be retained “shall be restricted to use by RTÉ staff only and shall not be sold or leased separately” unless permission is granted.


Objectors to the proposed development included An Taisce, the German embassy, billionaire financier Dermot Desmond, who has a house on nearby Ailesbury Road, and several other local residents, who claimed that it would be out of scale.


The planning board ruled that it would be “an acceptable form of development at this location, within the setting of the protected structures and the architectural quality of the campus” and that it would not seriously injure the amenities of the area.


RTÉ said it was pleased to learn of the board’s decision to approve what the national broadcaster calls its “Project 2025” plan for the “long-term modernisation” of its production facilities in Donnybrook, which originally date from 1962.


“The securing of planning permission is an important milestone in a project which commenced in 2002 and which aims to ensure that RTÉ is properly equipped to meet its obligations in a digital age,” the station said.
It made no reference to funding.


Designed by Scott Tallon Walker, the new broadcasting complex would extend to more than 63,500sq m (683,500sq ft) above basement level in buildings ranging from nearly 11m to 36m in height – the equivalent of nine storeys.


They would house television and radio studios, multi-purpose spaces, newsrooms, orchestra, office accommodation and associated facilities, sound stages, set storage areas, broadcasting technology suites, workshops, a creche and parking for 820 cars.


It would involve demolishing the remnants of a walled garden, the existing radio building, a squat multistorey car park to the rear, a single storey creche, a sound stage-library building, a set storage building and an outdoor set used by Fair City.


The board has also specified that a full architectural and photographic survey of the Radio Centre be carried out prior to commencement of development, with a copy to be lodged in the Irish Architectural Archive.
Its decision related to revised plans submitted by the architects during the course of the appeal.

Wanderer2010 wrote: »

I didnt say i never watched it, i have dipped in and out over the years primarily for a laugh when there is nothing else on, and more recently because of the awful domestic abuse storyline.



I could do without the personal remarks mate, you may be an absolute fanatic but other points of view do exist, you know.

Anyway, i wont pretend i watch the show enough to contradict every character you have listed but certainly the majority of the characters spend almost every night having a few pints in the pub- Bela, Keith, Yvonne, Dolores, Barry, Zumo etc etc. I appreciate there are a limited number of sets but drinking that often in the midst of a recession, that does stretch credulity somewhat, where is the money coming from? And i notice you ignored my point that the woman who returned from London recently, forget her name, got a job interview and the job offer in the same day, now that is a heap of crap and would never happen in the real world! This same woman, as well as many others, spent her entire day moping around the Hungry Pig and the pub doing nothing but eating and drinking and getting rounds of drinks in- thats very realistic :rolleyes:
The alternative is of course to be too realistic and show families huddled under blankets sharing a tin of beans and playing board games because the father lost his job and ESB got cut off etc, i know not many people will want to see that, but thats the reality of Ireland in 2010, and a little counterbalance to the 'drink every night' portrayal would be nice at the moment.



You are right, sets are limited and i respect that, but having characters just conveniently 'bump into each other' as one is heading for/leaving the pub/shop/park just doesnt feel organic and comes across as forced and fake. The start of Thursdays ep had Suzanne and Nassa just bump into each other on the street as Suzanne left the flat and Nassa came back from the shop- they couldnt have had their conversation in a more private place like, oh, the very flat they just spent the whole night in?? The only way i can describe it is that you can almost see the characters frozen before "Action!" is shouted and they then bump into each other and start talking- stilted, jerky and unnatural.



I havent got 1000euro to give to charity right now, and i am a charitable person but i am certainly not going to bet it on such a ridiculous and trivial reason as watching a soap for a microphone boom, there are higher priorities for my money sorry but fair play to you if you are willing to part with that amount of money for such a reason, you can always give it to the Simon Community anyway? If you are in a position to do that, then you should. I always try to give what i can to that charity, too, so its all good.

As for backing up my criticism, i cant give you the exact episode number of the faults but certainly i have seen the boom dip in quite a few scenes and the sound qaulity is very poor-its a generla thing where the sound gets a bit low sometimes then suddenly raises a lot and gets echoey, watch out for that the next ep. You may not hear it but i have heard it in many eps.



Franky, no. We are expected to believe that Damien, who was a rough debt collecter, becomes a snivelling wreck who never stands up to his (very unnatractive) wife. We are expected to believe that Suzanne went from snappy wife to abuser in the space of ONE EPISODE (the one where she starts comically hitting the back of the chair when Damien is cowering), instead of the slow burner that usually happens with these cases. I know she broke the cue off him but the evolution from tense woman to psychopath was way off kilter and smacks of a rushed script. I found myself laughing very hard at the beating scenes, my mates did the same, thousands of people up and down the country also found it very amusing. There is even a thread dedicated to how funny the story is on these boards! So, many people out there think the story is so bad that its funny and i am one of them, that viewpoint exists whether you want to accept it or not. Sarah Flood looks really uneasy delivering the scenes, there is a real awkwardness about the hitting scenes in that i bet they only did one take it looks that amatuer, and Damien is now moping around with Dolores (it gives her character something to do, i suppose). I accept it takes time to recover but these 2 characters, from start to finish, have made a pigs ear of such an extremely serious issue and if half the county are laughing then we have a very bad failure on our hands.

As for the other characters you mentioned, i never felt they were particularly brilliant. FC doesnt know the meaning of the phrase "change is as good as a rest" Tony Tormley is in it since day one and had every job, bedded every woman and done everything you can do in a small town, why is he still there? Its boring as they are just forcing him back with Niamh, another characters who is there years. These old hands are just window dressing and they are just there for background purposes. The producers should hand a few of these people their P45s and get some fresh faces in for a few new storylines rather than the whoe "Oh, Paul is getting together with a new female character.....thats not at all boring and predictable :rolleyes:

Glenroe managed more affecting performances in one show a week than FC does 4 times a week.



I will give you an example now- where has Keith and his brother vanished to? They had a few storyines recently and have not been seen in a few weeks, it happens all the time in FC where characters just up and disappear and then come back a few months later with no explanation as to what they were up to, it smacks of a bloated cast when they have to send a good chunk of them away for months at a time.

Ha, rejected writer? Nope, im very lucky to have a ful time job i enjoy and keep my head above water. I was just saying that if anyone did want to write scripts, the standard in FC is quite low so you have a chance!