The abortion debate rears its head again in mainstream media, causing the Pro Life Campaign to defend against ‘a lack of awareness’ from the opposition, writes Brendan O’Regan
Brendan O’Regan
Celebrating imagination and literature
Brendan O’Regan is moved by a “touching piece about the late Fr Michael Paul Gallagher SJ”
The role of humour and human values
“Endearing humour combined with emotional intensity were the distinguishing features of The ‘A’ Word” which for Brendan O’Regan made this, “one of the best dramas I’ve seen this year so far”
Adultery, census forms and papal tweets
Coverage of this week’s census brought out “the conspiracy theorist in me”, writes Brendan O’Regan Last week I reviewed two British crime shows that showed adultery as a hugely destructive thing, and there was the same message yet again on another drama, Undercover, last Sunday night on BBC One. This was a peculiar variation on…
A weakness for strong detective dramas
This week’s British crime drama made brought ‘excellent’ plots to the table while also tackling deep issues such as ‘the gravity of abortion’, writes Brendan O’Regan I have a weakness for British crime dramas and for my sins am concurrently working on two seasons of Scott and Bailey, set in Manchester and featuring two female…
Stories of forgiveness and atonement
In this weeks viewing Brendan O’Regan focuses on “Stories of people changing for the better”. Stories of forgiveness, repentance, atonement and homecoming are finding a new resonance in this Year of Mercy. However, when some repent, are forgiven and reconciled, others who also need it can be prone to begrudgery, rather like the older brother…
Revolutionary battles past and present
Brendan O’Regan reflects on a ‘heart-breaking’ documentary focusing on innocent lives lost in the crossfire of rebellion and wonders whether it was in good taste to air a programme on Judas on Good Friday. I’m not convinced that it was a great idea for BBC 1 to put the focus on Judas for Good Friday,…
Insurrection one of the better offerings
“Current trends dampen my enthusiasm for the 1916 commemorations, not least our worsening relationship with alcohol”, writes Brendan O’Regan Of all the 1916 related programmes, I was looking forward most to Insurrection, a repeat showing of RTÉ’s flagship programme from the 50th anniversary in 1966. Painstakingly restored from original video tape, it has been playing…
Examining attitudes to refugees & migrants
“It was impressive to see the huge amount of voluntary effort to support the refugees’, writes Brendan O’Regan, even though “The faith element was…over simplistically” I’ve long been a fan of reporter Valerie Cox’s work for RTÉ Radio and last Sunday night she made a very effective jump to television on the Exodus – A…
Crimes and miscarriages of justice
‘Fascinating’, ‘puzzling’ and ‘disturbing’ viewing ‘on the crime front’ this week, writes Brendan O’Regan A podcast has been described as ‘radio on demand’ or ‘essentially a radio show that you can get on the internet’. Serial is one of the most popular podcasts in the world and last week I listened to it from my…