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.…

Last week I reviewed some of the new programmes on Newstalk, but even then trouble was brewing on one of the regular shows, George Hook’s High Noon. The controversy reached ridiculous levels last week, culminating in the suspension of the presenter. There were lots of toys being thrown out of prams, followed by the mob with…

So, Newstalk has shuffled around some of its presenters, though to what effect or purpose I’m not really sure. Drive has been replaced by The Hard Shoulder, and while I’ll miss Sarah McInerney from the evening show I’m not too enamoured of Ivan Yates taking over the slot. He is too laddish for my liking and is lowering…

When a drama is scheduled to run for four consecutive nights you know the broadcaster thinks it’s offering something special. And so it was with The State (Channel 4), which finished on Wednesday of last week. It was sad, disturbing, absorbing, and the recent terrorist attacks made this story of people joining ISIS all the…

I was looking forward to the new drama Trust Me (BBC 1, Tuesday nights) – it looked promising from the trailers and starred Jodie Whittaker, impressive as the bereaved mother in Broadchurch, and soon to become the new Doctor Who (more on the gender issue later). Here she plays a nurse who turns whistle-blower but…