Brendan O’Regan rounds up “a flurry of election activity” and “broken pro-life promises” There was a flurry of election activity on Thursday of last week to squeeze in as much political commentary as possible before the moratorium kicked in at 2pm that day. On Newstalk’s Breakfast that morning, comedian Oliver Callan was particularly hilarious doing…
“interesting conversations” dominated this week’s viewing, writes Brendan O’Regan It was a week of interesting conversations. There was that meeting of two of Ireland’s best known ‘Grumpy Old Men’, George Hook and Vincent Browne on The Right Hook (Newstalk), Tuesday of last week. They knocked strips off each other as they cranked up the crankiness,…
Brendan O’Regan reflects on the Election’s media debates being delivered by a “bunch of actors” In every media debate on the General Election it’s like we’re getting the same script, but spoken by a different bunch of actors each time, so I prefer the independent analysis. I’m not a fan of Newstalk’s Breakfast Show, but…
Brendan O’Regan reflects on “something of a good news bad news week” It was something of a good news bad news week. Síle Ní Chonaonaigh (fresh from the wonderful Garraí Glas gardening programme) gets to apply her infectious enthusiasm and good humour as she dips into rural life as presenter of Dúiche (TG4) which last…
‘Absorbing’ documentaries and welcome returns makes this week’s viewing ‘thought-provoking’ and ‘fascinating’, writes Brendan O’Regan With great hype and anticipation The X-Files returned to RTÉ 2 last Tuesday and Wednesday night after a 14-year gap, and as a long-time fan I wasn’t disappointed. The series featured many religious themes and plot lines over its nine-year run…
Brendan O’Reagan reports on the ‘totally unchallenging’ and ‘not very encouraging’ coverage on abortion It was a ‘funny enough’ kind of week, with Newstalk back continuing to drive the repeal the Eighth (Life Equality) Amendment as an election issue. I wouldn’t mind so much if the coverage was fair and balanced. They’ve gone so far…
I was rather lukewarm about RTÉ’s new series Rebellion after the first episode, but hoped it would improve. After two more episodes I’m disappointed. Yes, it’s interesting and holds the attention but I often find myself getting annoyed with it, whether for the stilted dialogue, the sluggish pace or the gratuitous sex and crude language that rules…
‘Despite all the talk of diverse views… there wasn’t much diversity’, writes Brendan O’Regan After a feast of music and drama over the holiday period it‘s back to troubling current affairs. The Big Questions returned to BBC 1 last Sunday morning. The audience discussed the new trend of free speech being stifled on college campuses.…
Despite ‘diversity and fragmentation’, the quality of the past week’s dramatic offerings could draw a wide audience, writes Brendan O’Regan With the diversity and fragmentation of TV viewing it’s rare that one programme generates a high degree of anticipation any more, and rare that a large percentage of the viewing population would tune in to…
Although Christmas viewing did not have an ‘overt religious element’, Brendan O’Regan describes entertainment full of ‘joy, good humour, optimism and insight’