Sometimes one series of a TV drama is enough, as quality can deteriorate, but I was delighted to see The A-Word back for a second series on BBC 1, Tuesday nights. This is the story of an autistic boy, Joe, and the struggles of his parents and wider family to cope with the situation. It’s…

If I settle down to Sunday night TV I want something cosy, undemanding, even uplifting, but that’s not how it turned out last weekend. Would You Believe? (RTÉ 1) returned with impact last Sunday night with the first episode in a two-part exploration of the subject of evil. Mick Peelo’s report didn’t contain any blinding…

I’ve long admired the media work of Michael Buerk, and his show The Moral Maze last Saturday on BBC Radio 4 was a most thorough, insightful, and civilised discussion – people were listening to each other! The topic was ‘moral progress’, especially in the light of current Westminster controversies. The format was unusual enough –…

A few Sundays ago one of the readings at Mass was about welcoming the stranger. The exhortation came back to me when I was watching Ireland’s Refugee Hotel, a TV3/BBC co-production shown last Thursday on TV3 and last Tuesday on BBC 1. The focus was on the small town of Ballaghaderreen in Co. Roscommon, where Muslim…

I once went on a retreat but found out only on arrival that it was a silent one! I survived the shock, and at the final meal, when everyone could talk, it felt rather grating. That memory returned as I was watching Retreat: Meditations from a Monastery, last week on BBC Four, a separate episode…

I’m not a fan of reality TV shows, though a few years ago I saw some that had depth – where thoughtful adults went to a monastery, convent or retreat house for some time out or spiritual advancement.   The latest manifestation of the sub-genre, Bad Habits, Holy Orders on Channel 5 (UK), started last…

Ken Burns has a name for excellent historical documentaries and his current series The Vietnam War (RTÉ and BBC Four, Monday nights) is top notch. There’s a wealth of archive footage, much of it quite harrowing, along with interviews with those involved – ex-soldiers, bereaved parents, and Vietnamese civilians, all from both sides of the…

Humour is a very subjective thing, and with something I think is funny, others may remain untickled. That being said I find W1A (BBC 2, Friday nights) hilarious. But then it is a send up of the media so I’m in my zone and with my tribe. The target of the satire is political correctness,…

It’s quite a while since I saw a documentary as moving and impressive as Ministry of Hope, RTÉ’s new series on the work of lay chaplains. The programme concentrated on Margaret Sleator in the Mater Hospital, Catherine Black in Shelton Abbey open prison and Philip McKinley, Church of Ireland chaplain at DCU.  Margaret Slater’s work…

In some circles, especially among young people, the contribution of the Catholic Church to science and the arts is a well-kept secret. Fr Andrew Pinsent of the Ian Ramsay Centre for Science and Religion, and Fr Marcus Holden from the Shrine of St Augustine in Ramsgate have done more than most to remedy this (e.g.…