Dragons’ Den, The Apprentice, Take Me Out, Come Dine With Me … we nicked ‘em all, and now we’ve nicked Masterchef too. As of yesterday, RTE/Screentime Shinawil are taking applications for the first Irish series (come on, you Saturday Dishers), in which Nick Munier (Pichet, Hell’s Kitchen) and Dylan McGrath (The Commons, Peacock Alley, Mint) will take the places of John “that’s a beautiful plate of food” Torode, and Greg “give us a cuppa tea and I’d polish off the lot” Wallace.
Antonia Hart enjoying some television
Wouldn’t it be a great way to restore national pride, generate income and create jobs if some Irish production company were to come up with a really cracking show that every television station in the world was just tripping over its shoelaces to buy? I’ve been racking my brains but I’m not coming up with anything, and I keep stumbling against cod Irish themes (usually to do with wakes and talking shite – have I been reading too many short stories of the fifties?) but it definitely needs to be culturally neutral if it’s to fulfil its international sales potential. Also, every time I think I have a good idea, it turns out to be a vague but actual memory of a programme I’ve seen before. Surely tv companies never have this problem.
Could we train ordinary people to become circus performers and culminate with a national tour?
Bring up three children for ten years, each according to a different parenting manual, and allow a public vote on the most successful child/parent unit?
Encourage ordinary citizens to perform minor surgery, with a cash prize if the patient doesn’t notice?
Or what about over twelve weeks building a mini-dream-state, with a government, legal system, health and education services, and a little cultural context? If it seemed to work well, we could sell citizenship.
I know, they’re all just variations on a theme. Well, if you’ve any ideas pass ‘em on. In the meantime, we all get on with generating and consuming food every day, so in many ways are just rehearsing for Masterchef. The beauty of that idea is that we are all potential contestants. Get your application in by 27th April. Do you love or loathe Masterchef, by the way?
What about our very own Paisean Faisean? I dont watch a lot of telly but I love when I catch this, I think it’s hilarious. My favourite part is when the presenter takes the woman into the dressing room after she’s met the men and says “Well, cad a cheap tu?”, then the whisper about the men. It probably only works in Irish though where they seem to get away with it.
Is maith liom na sparkles
I adored Paisean Faisean as well until I realised that the majority of the men were a) gay b) had girlfriends c) were Mary I students, or d) a combination of the above. But it was great craic! And I loved Aoife Ni Thuarisc, I thought she was a great presenter, great personality and a bit of fun.
I’m afraid I had a sense of humour failure with Paisean Faisean a few years ago when their ad on the bus shelter outside my son’s school showed this ad
http://www.adpunch.org/entry/tg4-girls-dressed-by-boys/
and my son (then probably 8ish) asked me why the teacher was not wearing a skirt. I can’t say I’ve ever actually seen the show though!
Sparkles for mise freisin, nonetheless.
There was one Irish show that had enormous success as an international franchise, I remember reading an article about it a few years ago. I believe it was a show called Don’t Forget The Lyrics, which RTE ran during the 1990s and subsequently exported all around Europe. I did a quick search just now to confirm and can’t find any immediate reference, though. It’s listed as being a show that originated in the U.S. in 2008 and was syndicated by them to other countries, with no reference to any Irish version. I’m almost sure it was the show named in the article I read.
It’s The Lyrics Board tiggyt – sold hugely internationally. Good ol Fungus MacAnally!
Ooh, you’re right. Look at that – ten or twelve countries have versions of The Lyrics Board. I completely take my hat off to A-Mac!