Pat Kenny , kenny Dope or just a Dope.

EireRoadUser

I ask everytime I'm working in a house and everyone says they can't stand Pat Kenny on television ,most say he is ok on radio.

Running Bing

He is absolutely terrible at presenting. He has no personality and never fully engages with his guests. He shows a complete lack of ability to adapt to different questions and go with the flow of interviewing and he rarely asks probing interesting questions which lie beyond the glaringly obvious. I always get the image of him backstage franticly learning of a set question list to ask guests and never deviating from it no matter what way the interview go's. It is astonishing considering he is a good radio presenter bt he just completely changes when he goes on air. How the man has had such a successful tv career is still baffling to me.

Scobie

I think he's an excellent "heavyweight" interviewer. Unfortunately, a lot of his talent is lost on interviewing lightweight celebs on TV.

nuttz

I thought the Daniel Day Lewis interview was ok tonight. I think alot of the problems with the late late is the guests, having to interview 2nd rate celebs from the UK most of the time.

Telefís

Yes that is really driving the Late Late down of late - the astrologer Russell Grant as the first guest on the show a few weeks ago, complete with the most astonishingly God-awful performance of a mimed song was a new low.
It's that odd bit of UK tabloid muck that is so repulsive to see on prime time television, and so undermines the brand of the Late Late.

I still support Pat in what he does though on balance, though accept the faults that Babybing outlines above. What I would say though is the usual faults that people churn out are not as prevelant as is often suggested - he can be very relaxed and pertinent and interested etc with the most surprising guests, even some of the celebrity fluff that is often on. It really does seem to depend on individual guests and his mood on the night - most of the time he's acceptable with only the odd time being appalling. He's more often exceptionally good than exceptionally bad though.

To take last night's show:

First item (Pop Idol rubbish) he was interested and engaging.
Second item (Diarmuid Gavin) was average - too short though and not enough on specifics.
Third item (transsexual) very competent indeed, though made the fatal error as he often does of not introducing the item properly. The majority of viewers didn't and still do not know who that person was, what they were on Kenny Live for in the past, and we got no crucial information on the person's childhood.
Fourth item (Daniel Day Lewis) was very well handled though he did butt in on one occasion when he should have let things roll. Dealt with the wife deftly who was quite awkward.
Fifth item (Jessica Curtain) nice and efficient.
Sixth item (road safety) dealt with in his trademark efficient style, though he could have been more openly critical of the idiots in the audience. He tends to go too easy on young people at times.

It's very easy to knock Pat (and goodness knows I'd like to knock his block off at much that he does), but he's a veryu good all-rounder - you need a well-balanced person do deal with a well-balanced show which the Late Late is.
People forget that - it's not personality driven like Jonathan Ross or Graham Norton, or horribly stilted and back-slapping and pre-recorded like Parkinson. There's a bit of everything in it, and enevitably the person that can deal with all of that isn't going to appeal to everyone, nor are they going to be a radical off-the-wall character. Pat's neutral, even mildly bland perhaps, hosting of the show manages to steer the great variety of items on the programme rather well in my view. His neutrality is a virtue that goes unpraised, particularly amongst young people.

Atrocity

the astrologer Russell Grant as the first guest on the show a few weeks ago, complete with the most astonishingly God-awful performance of a mimed song was a new low.
It's that odd bit of UK tabloid muck that is so repulsive to see on prime time television

I really couldn't believe that when I saw it. It's like I knew it was funny, but I just couldn't laugh. I broke my funny bone, like Cartman.

As for Pat Kenny, it's painful to watch. He's a nice guy and all, but I'm ashamed of him whenever he's talking to someone I respect. He's like the annoying uncle who pisses in his pants when there's company over

lostexpectation

Telef&#237 wrote: »

Sixth item (road safety) dealt with in his trademark efficient style, though he could have been more openly critical of the idiots in the audience. He tends to go too easy on young people at times.

so this is what we talk about over a year ago telefis too many sements in one show, its one of the top factors for where this shows falls down (they deffo should cut the first fluff guest ala Russell)

so what is the story with driving testers? ( i don't want to just hear union bashing)

it very difficult to compare the learning to drive in the US with any other country but should passing a driving test be part of graduating from schools in Ireland?

me likes JackL singing

ivan087

Telef&#237 wrote: »

Yes that is really driving the Late Late down of late - the astrologer Russell Grant as the first guest on the show a few weeks ago, complete with the most astonishingly God-awful performance of a mimed song was a new low.
It's that odd bit of UK tabloid muck that is so repulsive to see on prime time television, and so undermines the brand of the Late Late.

I still support Pat in what he does though on balance, though accept the faults that Babybing outlines above. What I would say though is the usual faults that people churn out are not as prevelant as is often suggested - he can be very relaxed and pertinent and interested etc with the most surprising guests, even some of the celebrity fluff that is often on. It really does seem to depend on individual guests and his mood on the night - most of the time he's acceptable with only the odd time being appalling. He's more often exceptionally good than exceptionally bad though.

To take last night's show:

First item (Pop Idol rubbish) he was interested and engaging.
Second item (Diarmuid Gavin) was average - too short though and not enough on specifics.
Third item (transsexual) very competent indeed, though made the fatal error as he often does of not introducing the item properly. The majority of viewers didn't and still do not know who that person was, what they were on Kenny Live for in the past, and we got no crucial information on the person's childhood.
Fourth item (Daniel Day Lewis) was very well handled though he did butt in on one occasion when he should have let things roll. Dealt with the wife deftly who was quite awkward.
Fifth item (Jessica Curtain) nice and efficient.
Sixth item (road safety) dealt with in his trademark efficient style, though he could have been more openly critical of the idiots in the audience. He tends to go too easy on young people at times.

It's very easy to knock Pat (and goodness knows I'd like to knock his block off at much that he does), but he's a veryu good all-rounder - you need a well-balanced person do deal with a well-balanced show which the Late Late is.
People forget that - it's not personality driven like Jonathan Ross or Graham Norton, or horribly stilted and back-slapping and pre-recorded like Parkinson. There's a bit of everything in it, and enevitably the person that can deal with all of that isn't going to appeal to everyone, nor are they going to be a radical off-the-wall character. Pat's neutral, even mildly bland perhaps, hosting of the show manages to steer the great variety of items on the programme rather well in my view. His neutrality is a virtue that goes unpraised, particularly amongst young people.

its been a while since ive seen the late late, but i watched it on friday last, and wow who knew tv could be so painful. its becoming very common to slag pat off, but he is a truely awful presenter.

when he talking to someone, take daniel day lewis, he dosnt actually talk or engage with him. its just a serious of questions and answers. he never builds up a repore with his guests. it makes for very boring television. most rte presenters suffer from this disease of asking a questions and interupting the answer with another question!

i think maybe we should just give up and get podge and rodge to present the late late show - at least it would be a bit of a laugh!

DublinWriter

Scobie wrote:

I think he's an excellent "heavyweight" interviewer. Unfortunately, a lot of his talent is lost on interviewing lightweight celebs on TV.

Very true, a lot of people diss The Plank without realising that he came up through News and Current Affairs on RTE in the late 70's, being the young Turk who chaired Today Tonight.

He's an excellent poltical interviewer and great on the radio.

However, RTE management, with typical shortsightedness, never had any replacement for 'Uncle' Gaybo groomed and ready, so Plank was shoe-horned into the role of 'Mr. Saturday Night'.

It's also important to remeber that Gay Byrne was also the producer of the Late Late, and he was very clever and devious about how programme-sponsors were introduced into the format (There's one for everyone in the audience!).

However, Since GB left, RTE have just turned PK into a shil for Renault-Ireland.

As corny as it was, GB-era Late Late had a sense of occasion, from the opening drum roll and annoucnement of the titles.

But since his departure, they seem to have "re-vamped" the theme music using some in-house composer with early 1980's synth-technology who made the theme tune sound like a cross between an ad for Centra and the Bosco theme tune.

mike65

DublinWriter its worth remembering that it was Kenny who greatly coveted the Late Late Show.

Its the only reason why the awful Kenny Dead er Live exisited, as a dry run as Kenny sought to prove he could do TV 'entertainment'. All that happened of course was that Kenny Live got the dregs while the Late Late got the best of what was on offer (being broadcast a day earlier).

Mike.

EireRoadUser

The reason I felt I should start this thread is because , I feel since RTE got their increase a couple of years ago they've been great with their output and the people they outsource with aswell.

There will always be someone that the group will support ,happens in every line of work. But I feel Pat kenny should do it in another time slot and not at the cost of RTE.

As a youngster the late late show was an institution ,and gaybo was the one person people listened to and spoke of who he talked to.

I think myself since gaybo has gone ,people who respected him turned to parkinson . I know I like parkinson ,but thats only because Ryan turbridy is not getting the chance he deserves I think.

Telefís

Generally speaking, there's three kinds of guests on the Late Late - politicians, experts, general Establishment figures etc, secondly celebrities and other general fluff, and thirdly, and the group that is most often forgotten: normal people. Average, work-a-day citizens.

Pat is very good in dealing with the first group and the latter. Generally it is only on celebrity stuff that he messes up, and where his interviews are so methodical and tedious in nature. Personally I don't rate that as a major fault - celebrities above all else are the material that are of least concern to the programme and its viewers, as surprising as it may seem at first.
Of course it depends who it is, but broadly your average high-profile guest is not of particular interest - the viewer cannot relate to them very well, the nature of such interviews tends to lead down a predictable path of rags-to-riches (regardless of who's interviewing), the interviewer doesn't know the person which leads to a certain coldness, and in spite of the 'exciting' lives they lead, you've still heard it all before - the 'pressures' of the job, media intrusion, difficulties in family life, the difficulty in touring the globe, "what have you spent some of you many millions on" blah blah blah.

By contrast, the real meat of the Late Late, and what most of its loyal viewers want to see, is 'real-life' stories, 'pressing issues', less high-profile familiar faces from Irish media, and broad social issues including debate. It is in these areas that Pat excels. Were it the other way round: that he could handle celebrity stuff well but made a pig's ear of political and social issues, now that would be an embarrassment and an unacceptable state of affairs. That is not to excuse his at times complete ignorance towards what high-profile guests have to say - he can be astonishingly plank-like, refusing to go with the flow and take things naturally etc etc.

However he generally handles personal, sensitive issues exceptionally well, so I really fail to see what his problem with celebrities is....
But it is his one-on one social interviews that are so often ignored in analysis of Kenny. People always say that he's great on political, and rubbish on celebrity, but completely forget the third arm: personal interviews, that are usually marvellous. He builds up a rapport with such guests to an extent easily equal to that of Byrne, gradually and methodically teasing out a person's life story (just like on radio), sensitively questioning and listening to what they have to say.

So all in all, instead of him being a 50-50 broadcaster on celebrity vs hard issues, I'd say he's a 2-1 broadcaster taking on board his competency in broad social issues also.

And just to note, Kenny Live came about on foot of his 'success' in presenting the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest, which lead him on to presenting an edition, if not a few editions, of 'Saturday Live':



...a programme that had an alternating presenter each week. This in turn led on to the establishment of Kenny Live as a full replacement in late 1988.


(the seating area was later changed to the curved blue set you may recall)

lostexpectation

Telef&#237 wrote: »

However he generally handles personal, sensitive issues exceptionally well, so I really fail to see what his problem with celebrities is....
But it is his one-on one social interviews that are so often ignored in analysis of Kenny. People always say that he's great on political, and rubbish on celebrity, but completely forget the third arm: personal interviews, that are usually marvellous. He builds up a rapport with such guests to an extent easily equal to that of Byrne, gradually and methodically teasing out a person's life story (just like on radio), sensitively questioning and listening to what they have to say.

i dunno i guess with all interviews you can see the questions and the point the interviewer is trying to make come a mile off.


maybe that is what we want.