Bring back the Seoiges

TV REVIEW

I never thought I would be making this plea but could RTÉ bring back the Seoiges.
After watching a few episodes of the new daytime television programme, The Daily Show, there is only one thing to say – bring back the Galway girls. Having listened to the promotions, I was actually excited to watch  the show. I thought this might be entertaining.
I had liked The Afternoon Show when Sheana Keane and Blathnáid Ní Chofaigh were on it and I thought this would be a return to the causal cool exuded on that show.
However, when I tuned in, I found the show to be stayed, tired and very stiff. Daithí Ó Sé is just not watchable. He rambles and meanders his way through the programme and while I am not calling for a return to the non-regional accents of RTÉ of the 60s and 70s, at times the man is just not understandable.
Claire Byrne still hasn’t shaken off her newsreader guise and as presenters, they seem mis-matched. They are like The Odd Couple of the afternoon but without the laughs. The set is dull and putting them behind a desk makes the show too formal and unaccessible to the audience. The colours on the set make it look outdated and amateurish.
The worst segment has to have been when they ask the guest questions. The sight of Daithí standing behind a podium in the middle of the floor while the poor guest sits on a high stool is enough to send even the strongest of viewers diving for the remote control. His awkward reading of the questions coupled with the awkward positioning of the stool and podium props makes it look more like an 80s television gameshow rather than a modern chatshow.
It’s not all bad of course. Sometimes the news reviews are interesting. It is definitely one of the show’s stronger points but on the whole, it lacks the lighthearted touch, style and variety of previous shows that have occupied the slot.
Sky have been pushing new shows that are centred around the discovery and restoration of unseen footage from World War II. I never grow tired of watching these programmes except that with this particular series, it seems they misjudged the length. At two hours, the programme drags and could have done with a degree more skill in editing that one has come to expect with these programmes. Of course, the message behind was as meaningful as ever but the programme lacked the punch of previous shows. The series continues on Sky.
A show that was definitely worth watching was the Race for Everest shown last week. This show about the first summit of Everest was extraordinary. Packed with interviews and footage from those involved in the expedition, it tracked the ups and downs of the team before and after two of the members, New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Nepali-Indian Tenzing Norgay made it to the top of the highest mountain on Earth.
It was absolutely inspiring to hear the men talk about the expedition as well as the emotion and support that they gave to each other. While Hillary is remembered in the history books, this was a truly team effort and every man played his part in succeeding in the mission. It was very well-edited merging the old and new footage and narration seamlessly.
The interviewees were candid and knowledgeable. The controversy that dogged the successful expedition after they returned home was also well explored with both sides of the story being told. The conflict and pressure that the media created after the arrival of Hillary and Tenzing to their own homes split the two friends for a while.
House returned to our screens this week. The first episode saw the departure of a familiar face and House turning over a new leaf. It was more character development than the usual medical drama but entertaining all the same. Dr Cranky has been clean and sober now for over a year and things are going well with Dr Cuddy but as his perfectly clear from the start of this episode, things are not going to go according to plan and we could soon see a return to the House of old. Personally, I think the series is beginning to lack punch but perhaps it will return to form as the episodes progress.

One to watch
Fringe makes a return to Sky One on Tuesday nights, with the first episode shown this week. When we left them, the team had been cast into chaos between the two worlds and will have to fight to get things back to normal. Or whatever counts as normal for the Fringe division.
It might be a bit hard to follow initially, but as the season progresses things become increasingly absorbing and entertaining. Check it out on Sky One at 10pm on Tuesday nights.