2016 RTE Drama: Rebellion - no spoilers please (mod warning in post #1)

KingBrian2

Strazdas wrote: »

I would agree on most of that, but 1913 in Dublin was a very "safe" period to set any historical drama series. It was just before we headed into a decade of massive social upheaval, revolution and bloodshed. Had the exact same production team and cast of Strumpet City attempted a drama in 1979 set during the Rising or the Civil War, it may have received a different reaction (having to portray scenes of killings, violence and executions would automatically give it a very different feel).

You can't recreate those acts on the streets of Dublin.

Shannon Control

Personally, I found 1916 Seachtar na Cásca by Abu media to be much more dramatic at times than Rebellion, and it was a documentary series! It's really getting noticed now, and the DVD sales had a massive increase over Easter.

Shurimgreat

Reviews for its airing on Sundance starting to come in. Mixed reception.

http://www.irishtimes.com/business/media-and-marketing/star-power-of-game-of-thrones-actors-rises-in-us-rebellion-reviews-1.2628017

Strazdas

Shurimgreat wrote: »

Reviews for its airing on Sundance starting to come in. Mixed reception.

http://www.irishtimes.com/business/media-and-marketing/star-power-of-game-of-thrones-actors-rises-in-us-rebellion-reviews-1.2628017

It seems like Rebellion is coming back for certain anyway. Contrary to what the press here claimed, its ratings were very healthy, even though they fell a little as the series progressed but that was from a high starting point.

Strazdas

Sarah Greene (May) says she was upset by the "hateful" reaction to Rebellion :

http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/television/actress-sarah-greene-on-criticism-of-rtes-rebellion-i-got-upset-because-people-were-so-hateful-34673721.html

I've always thought some of the reaction to the series was hysterical and over the top and as much to do with the politics of the Rising as anything else.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

^I think it had more to do with people's attitudes towards RTÉ rather than the Rising itself.

Everything that RTÉ does comes prejudged. If I'm honest, I do it myself. They don't have a good reputation when it comes to fictional programming, whether it's comedy or drama. Love/Hate is the most popular thing they've ever made, for some bizarre reason, so now everything else they do gets prejudged AND then compared to Love/Hate once it airs.

This was discussed when Rebellion was airing but there is a weird culture now of people hate watching shows and feeling the need to share that hate with the world via Twitter or Facebook or whatever the social media of choice is. I think this culture bleeds into the professional reviews too. They can't just say they don't like a show, they have to be extreme in their opinions and over the top in their criticisms.

Strazdas

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

^I think it had more to do with people's attitudes towards RTÉ rather than the Rising itself.

Everything that RTÉ does comes prejudged. If I'm honest, I do it myself. They don't have a good reputation when it comes to fictional programming, whether it's comedy or drama. Love/Hate is the most popular thing they've ever made, for some bizarre reason, so now everything else they do gets prejudged AND then compared to Love/Hate once it airs.

This was discussed when Rebellion was airing but there is a weird culture now of people hate watching shows and feeling the need to share that hate with the world via Twitter or Facebook or whatever the social media of choice is. I think this culture bleeds into the professional reviews too. They can't just say they don't like a show, they have to be extreme in their opinions and over the top in their criticisms.

I think even some of the media response was bordering on the hysterical, seizing on every negative aspect of the series and playing it up to the max.

As for Love Hate, I have a suspicion that show ended up being totally overpraised and overrated by the same media luvvies and keyboard warriors on Twitter. A fine crime drama no doubt but the greatest Irish TV drama series of all time? I see it has already been ditched by Channel 5 in the UK after poor TV ratings.

Lt Dan

Strazdas wrote: »

I think even some of the media response was bordering on the hysterical, seizing on every negative aspect of the series and playing it up to the max.

As for Love Hate, I have a suspicion that show ended up being totally overpraised and overrated by the same media luvvies and keyboard warriors on Twitter. A fine crime drama no doubt but the greatest Irish TV drama series of all time? I see it has already been ditched by Channel 5 in the UK after poor TV ratings.

Out of interest, does Channel 5 have a wide access to the British public, is it one of them free to air channels? Interesting that someone like BBC who would have a better idea of what is on Irish tv were not interested. Suppose the Brits would be complaining about the need for subtitles, then again, Love /Hate was good, addictive tv, even if not always executed well, but it was only on par with shows that we import. Nothing that special in comparison

BuilderPlumber

I think Love/Hate is excellent and deserves all the praise it has got. Of course it got better and better as it went along too. I think Love/Hate worked so well because it was unafraid to present us the world of drug dealers warts and all.

Rebellion gave us a sanitized version of the 1916 rising and its aftermath that seemed to be unable to make up its mind if it was a period drama or an accurate description of a period in time. A followup series of it should up its game but I find that the post-Love/Hate mentality in RTE at present is to sanitize things. Clean Break for example was really a Love/Hate-lite.

If RTE are afraid to show the realistic aspects of what are violent topics, then it should stick to non-violent topics. I think that both Charlie and Amber were much stronger dramas than Rebellion. That said Rebellion was still above average for RTE dramas and in no way was as bad as the likes of the Big Bow Wow.

A Dub in Glasgo

Lt Dan wrote: »

Out of interest, does Channel 5 have a wide access to the British public, is it one of them free to air channels? Interesting that someone like BBC who would have a better idea of what is on Irish tv were not interested. Suppose the Brits would be complaining about the need for subtitles, then again, Love /Hate was good, addictive tv, even if not always executed well, but it was only on par with shows that we import. Nothing that special in comparison

Channel 5 is on Freeview but it is probably not very well watched. I did not even know Love Hate was on it!

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Lt Dan wrote: »

Out of interest, does Channel 5 have a wide access to the British public, is it one of them free to air channels? Interesting that someone like BBC who would have a better idea of what is on Irish tv were not interested. Suppose the Brits would be complaining about the need for subtitles, then again, Love /Hate was good, addictive tv, even if not always executed well, but it was only on par with shows that we import. Nothing that special in comparison

BBC rarely buy any TV shows in. They produce most of their own content. BBC4 shows most of their imports and they're usually subtitled. I believe they showed Amber last year. Very occasionally BBC 2 will show a US show but it's quite rare.

Strazdas

Lt Dan wrote: »

Out of interest, does Channel 5 have a wide access to the British public, is it one of them free to air channels? Interesting that someone like BBC who would have a better idea of what is on Irish tv were not interested. Suppose the Brits would be complaining about the need for subtitles, then again, Love /Hate was good, addictive tv, even if not always executed well, but it was only on par with shows that we import. Nothing that special in comparison

Love Hate is a very good or excellent gangster / crime drama series but by Series 4 or 5, the hype and overpraising by the Irish media had gone completely off the scale and was no longer an accurate reflection of the show. For a show that is supposed to be so stunning and breathtaking, it has made only a ripple internationally and been picked up by a few minority cable channels here and there. It doesn't seem like the hype has extended beyond Ireland at all.

mick malones mauser

Rebellion was woeful rubbish. Can you all please stop talking about it
It was embarrassing

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

mick malones mauser wrote: »

Rebellion was woeful rubbish. Can you all please stop talking about it
It was embarrassing

Stay out of the thread if it bothers you that much.

mick malones mauser

I think it sad that people waste time discussing this
However thanks for the advice
But I must repeat. ..rebellion is/ was rubbish
Get over it

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

mick malones mauser wrote: »

I think it sad that people waste time discussing this
However thanks for the advice
But I must repeat. ..rebellion is/ was rubbish
Get over it

I think it's sad that people waste time posting in threads about something they hate so much.

mick malones mauser

Yes it's sad. Thread should be closed
However its not and as I stumbled across it I thought I might share my thoughts. Free country and all that me aul flower.
And of course my thoughts are. ..rebellion was rubbish,
Best of luck

Strazdas

mick malones mauser wrote: »

I think it sad that people waste time discussing this
However thanks for the advice
But I must repeat. ..rebellion is/ was rubbish
Get over it

For a show that was rubbish, it's had far more posts on Boards.ie than any other 1916 related TV programme this year (by a considerable distance).

mick malones mauser

Strazdas wrote: »

For a show that was rubbish, it's had far more posts on Boards.ie than any other 1916 related TV programme this year (by a considerable distance).

That's right. ....Most of the posts emphasising how unbelievably bad it was

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

mick malones mauser wrote: »

Yes it's sad. Thread should be closed
However its not and as I stumbled across it I thought I might share my thoughts. Free country and all that me aul flower.
And of course my thoughts are. ..rebellion was rubbish,
Best of luck

Why should it be closed when there's a second series in the works?

It is a free country. Perhaps you should remember that when you come into a thread and tell the people in it to stop discussing the topic.

Strazdas

mick malones mauser wrote: »

That's right. ....Most of the posts emphasising how unbelievably bad it was

Not necessarily : it did lead to considerable debate and created many talking points. If it had simply been a really bad and boring TV drama, nobody would even be talking about it here, either to attack it or defend it.

topmanamillion

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

Why should it be closed when there's a second series in the works?

It is a free country. Perhaps you should remember that when you come into a thread and tell the people in it to stop discussing the topic.

You're joking?
A second series?
**tears up TV license**

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

topmanamillion wrote: »

You're joking?
A second series?
**tears up TV license**

This attitude makes me laugh. There are far worse things on RTÉ being funded by the license and there always has been. If you're only thinking about ripping it up now you either have terrible taste in TV or have never watched RTÉ.

BuilderPlumber

While Rebellion was not perfect I thought too that there are far worse things on our channels. Rebellion had its flaws as I and others have pointed but also was quite good and entertaining. There is room for improvement and a second series focusing on the characters and their civil war era allegiances would be very interesting.

I cannot see why people would hate it. I think dramas are a good thing to see and Rebellion belongs among the better not the worst Irish made dramas. The stuff I object to that dominates our screens is all that reality TV rubbish, modern Irish country music rubbish and other such stuff. This poor fare is over-represented at the moment on all Irish channels. The 1916 programmes inclusive of Rebellion were a welcome relief from that poor poor fare.

Strazdas

BuilderPlumber wrote: »

While Rebellion was not perfect I thought too that there are far worse things on our channels. Rebellion had its flaws as I and others have pointed but also was quite good and entertaining. There is room for improvement and a second series focusing on the characters and their civil war era allegiances would be very interesting.

I cannot see why people would hate it. I think dramas are a good thing to see and Rebellion belongs among the better not the worst Irish made dramas. The stuff I object to that dominates our screens is all that reality TV rubbish, modern Irish country music rubbish and other such stuff. This poor fare is over-represented at the moment on all Irish channels. The 1916 programmes inclusive of Rebellion were a welcome relief from that poor poor fare.

Yes indeed, as a historical drama series it was pretty decent. I'm not really sure what the Irish TV critics and their Twitter comrades wanted or expected : going by their crushing sense of disappointment, it seems they anticipated it being at the level of Brideshead Revisited, Downton Abbey Series 1 and War And Peace, all rolled into one.

As has been pointed out before, the first series of Love Hate had mixed reviews and modest TV ratings (a lot lower than Rebellion in fact). There's no reason a second series of Rebellion can't be a relative success.

Shurimgreat

I think some people want a Love/Hate type version of 1916.

For the record, Love/Hate involved mostly criminal lowlife and drug dealers.

To be fair, Rebellion also represented many of the same inner city working classes, and their hardships and struggles. However, Nidge and Padraic Pearse are at the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of values, behaviour, morality, and intentions.

Love/Hate had multiple series and far more episodes by the way. Had it ended after one series would there be the same "affection" or investment in characters? I doubt it.

People were gripped by Love/Hate because they followed the characters for a long time and wanted to see what happened to them.

Strazdas

Shurimgreat wrote: »

I think some people want a Love/Hate type version of 1916.

For the record, Love/Hate involved mostly criminal lowlife and drug dealers.

To be fair, Rebellion also represented many of the same inner city working classes, and their hardships and struggles. However, Nidge and Padraic Pearse are at the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of values, behaviour, morality, and intentions.

Love/Hate had multiple series and far more episodes by the way. Had it ended after one series would there be the same "affection" or investment in characters? I doubt it.

People were gripped by Love/Hate because they followed the characters for a long time and wanted to see what happened to them.

Very good point. Had Love Hate been ditched after one series (which could easily have happened), it would be long forgotten by now.

Rebellion was fine for what it was, a historical drama series set during the Rising. The levels of expectations for it from the Irish TV critics seem to have been off the scale.....savaging it because it didn't turn out to an absolute masterpiece. I'm not sure such a quality series about 1916 is even possible to make, as the Rising is a controversial enough subject that still divides opinion. Even something like 'Michael Collins' seems quite flawed twenty years on, with quite a few errors and suggestions they may have glossed over the more negative and questionable aspects of his personality.

Lt Dan

Strazdas wrote: »

For a show that was rubbish, it's had far more posts on Boards.ie than any other 1916 related TV programme this year (by a considerable distance).

Probably would when it was promoted to the hilt and we had the usual luvies rave about it (and know sfa about the period, even pathetically, claiming that it aided their education on the period - good grief how bad has school got or independent learning) It is probably really hard to express such disdain when you learn how much money was spent on the show

As the show was about a very important period in Irish life, it is natural that people would at least give it a try, even if it meant watch a few shows

You put up threads about the TG 4 Documentaries done years ago , the conversation would probably end short on the basis that they were well done and got the facts in order (whether they were harsh truths or not)

Just because something gets hits or more comments , it does not mean it is any good.

MarcoAntonio23

Shurimgreat wrote: »

Nidge and Padraic Pearse are at the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of values, behaviour, morality, and intentions.

Tom Vaughan Lawlor is playing Padraig Pearse in Trial of the Century.

maudgonner

Small update on Rebellion. The BAI announced their latest round of funding yesterday.

Among the projects granted funding was 'Rebellion: Two States' from Zodiak Media. It was granted 200,000 euro as 5% of the budget for a 5 episode series.


(Obviously it's not a guarantee that the series will go ahead since its only a small percentage of the budget, but it's an indication of what's planned).