RTE!! Stop The Bloody Chat Show Misery Slots

squonk

Just had a great day out enjoying myself with family. I was pretty wrecked but happy overall. I ended up watching the Late Late however and, if Linda Martin's dance remix wasn't bad enough, they decided to follow it up with a lady who was in the last stages of cancer. I've realised I've had enough of these bloody misery slots.

I don't care how much 'craic' this woman was. Her plight was pretty severe and on a Friday evening when I want to relax and turn the brain off, I don't need to be hearing this stuff. Even worse it started a difference of opinion with the other person watching with me once I voiced my opinions.

I'm sick to death of this formulaic crap. They need one slot by the looks of it for D'Arcy & Tubs each week. Why? Sure, have one every few weeks but not every bloody week. People who've spent a week working and dealing with their own pressures should be able to sit down on a Friday night and chill out. There are plenty of other nights in the week for misery bait. I'm just sick to the teeth of it now. When you're not in a position to turn over its awful bilge to sit through. It's lazy too from what I can see. Find a terminally ill person, or a depressed person, roll them out, job done.

It's time to stop this crap! For once and for all!

iano.p

This was the reason that I stopped looking at rte chat shows. I feel sorry for the people and all that but just feel that rte and just pushing them on for ratings I don't find it entertainment at all.

ButtersSuki

squonk wrote: »

Just had a great day out enjoying myself with family. I was pretty wrecked but happy overall. I ended up watching the Late Late however and, if Linda Martin's dance remix wasn't bad enough, they decided to follow it up with a lady who was in the last stages of cancer. I've realised I've had enough of these bloody misery slots.

I don't care how much 'craic' this woman was. Her plight was pretty severe and on a Friday evening when I want to relax and turn the brain off, I don't need to be hearing this stuff. Even worse it started a difference of opinion with the other person watching with me once I voiced my opinions.

I'm sick to death of this formulaic crap. They need one slot by the looks of it for D'Arcy & Tubs each week. Why? Sure, have one every few weeks but not every bloody week. People who've spent a week working and dealing with their own pressures should be able to sit down on a Friday night and chill out. There are plenty of other nights in the week for misery bait. I'm just sick to the teeth of it now. When you're not in a position to turn over its awful bilge to sit through. It's lazy too from what I can see. Find a terminally ill person, or a depressed person, roll them out, job done.

It's time to stop this crap! For once and for all!

I'd strongly advise you not to listen to Joe Duffy then. Though widely believed to be a show for people to complain about busses being late and overcharging in Spar, it has become a host-generated and led misery fest and competitive pain tournament. Example:

Mary from Clontarf, your fadder died de day after your mudder? How did that make you feel?

On Lahn 2, we gave Bernie from Cork. Bernie, you fadder died, then your mudder died and then your brudder died, all in the same week? Wow.

I'm exaggerating to highlight the point but only a little.

I don't watch Tubs or D'Arcy but they couldn't handle guests any worse than Duffy handles callers. He asks the most disgusting and invasive questions, and doesn't seem satisfied until he gets tears from the caller. It is absolutely revolting radio and a shameful way to treat a grieving person.

The David McSavage sketches about him are only funny because they're true. Can't post the link as I'm on my phone but google it and you'll see.

hawkwind23

Same on most channels nowadays , the big talent shows on BBC and ITV being the worst offenders.
Someone comes on to sing a simple song but we have to get the backstory how their granny died 3 years ago etc etc

cathalj

hawkwind23 wrote:

Same on most channels nowadays , the big talent shows on BBC and ITV being the worst offenders. Someone comes on to sing a simple song but we have to get the backstory how their granny died 3 years ago etc etc

Don't agree at all ....I don't watch 'talent' shows at all , but we're talking light entertainment chat shows here , the equivalent being Graham Norton show , Jonathan Ross , Alan Carr etc...... you never see a misery slot on those. The Late Late will quite literally have a slot about terminal illness/child abuse/bereavement etc followed by a comedian.... it's bizarre !! ..... I totally agree with the OP.

Harry Palmr

The Late Late has always made its USP the breadth of its remit and how they throw the topics in with apparent randomness, usually ending with the "big" interview but it's certainly true the misery slot is of much more recent vintage within the LLS history. It's got the advantage of being cheap and there being an inexhaustible supply of material. In an age where Tom Cruise, Seth Rogan, Cameron Diaz etc are unlikely to be asked "do Dublin" it fills space.

Chain Smoker

I like the Late Late's incredibly awkward mix

It's especially good when they're promoting the Toy Show too. "Up next: rape, suicide, terminal illness. Next week: Lego!"

PeterTheEighth

You just need to read that Late Late Show behind the scenes interview that Patrick Freyne did last week, and it is completely evident why the show is as bad as it is.

Making The Late Late Show: What Tub's tie tells us

It’s Friday morning, on April 22nd, and Ryan Tubridy is looking at his suits and ties. There’s a row of them, amid racks of more outlandish costumes in the RTÉ wardrobe department. “This is my taking-life-quite-seriously tie,” he says, picking up one with navy and grey stripes. “If you see that coming on you’ll know the show is going to be intense. If I’m feeling a little bit like spring is in the air I’ll pick that.” He points at a red and white tie. “I like ties that pack a punch.”

I have taken ‘ownership’ of the Tardis. I say this is the Tardis and that I’m just the latest Dr Who. It’s a great analogy for British guests.

Does this really sound like the sort of guy that you would want hosting your light entertainment show? The man has spent his life in RTE, so has no real life experience to draw on. That's why all we get from him is stock references to school, Dr Who, The Wizard Of Oz, Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, The Simpsons, American politics etc. etc. Of course, he constantly makes references to American politics as he thinks this makes him appear intellectual, but it really just distances him even more from an audience that he has nothing in common with.

But it's the air of assured arrogance that really bothers me. Tubridy speaks like he is the Tiger Woods of broadcasting, and that the journalist should almost feel privileged that he gets an insight in to how the master operates. They live in a little bubble, blocking off the Twitter machine and any dissenting voices, and just keep assuring each other that everything is going fine. The levels of delusion are on a par with Hitler in the bunker during the last days of the Third Reich.

ButtersSuki

PeterTheEighth wrote: »

You just need to read that Late Late Show behind the scenes interview that Patrick Freyne did last week, and it is completely evident why the show is as bad as it is.

Making The Late Late Show: What Tub's tie tells us





Does this really sound like the sort of guy that you would want hosting your light entertainment show? The man has spent his life in RTE, so has no real life experience to draw on. That's why all we get from him is stock references to school, Dr Who, The Wizard Of Oz, Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, The Simpsons, American politics etc. etc. Of course, he constantly makes references to American politics as he thinks this makes him appear intellectual, but it really just distances him even more from an audience that he has nothing in common with.

But it's the air of assured arrogance that really bothers me. Tubridy speaks like he is the Tiger Woods of broadcasting, and that the journalist should almost feel privileged that he gets an insight in to how the master operates. They live in a little bubble, blocking off the Twitter machine and any dissenting voices, and just keep assuring each other that everything is going fine. The levels of delusion are on a par with Hitler in the bunker during the last days of the Third Reich.

Nice post Peter. If only there was a phone in show we could call to discuss the nepotism and cronyism in RTE; as well as the continued waste of the taxpayers licence fees to fund the pension pot of the incredibly overpaid RTE "stars" who pay tax on their fees at corporation tax levels.........:rolleyes:;):D

snubbleste

I don't have a tv. Life is glorious

snubbleste

ButtersSuki wrote: »

Nice post Peter. If only there was a phone in show we could call to discuss the nepotism and cronyism in RTE; as well as the continued waste of the taxpayers licence fees to fund the pension pot of the incredibly overpaid RTE "stars" who pay tax on their fees at corporation tax levels.........:rolleyes:;):D

Niall Boylan 4fm :cool:

Harry Palmr

snubbleste wrote: »

I don't have a tv.

You post on the guardian quite a lot don't you?

Zaph

Harry Palmr wrote: »

It's got the advantage of being cheap and there being an inexhaustible supply of material. In an age where Tom Cruise, Seth Rogan, Cameron Diaz etc are unlikely to be asked "do Dublin" it fills space.

And that's part of the problem. If there isn't enough material to fill the show then why is it 2 hours long every week? Shorten it to an hour and it could improve it immeasurably.

12Phase

Chain Smoker wrote: »

I like the Late Late's incredibly awkward mix

It's especially good when they're promoting the Toy Show too. "Up next: rape, suicide, terminal illness. Next week: Lego!"

Well, it's basically the 1950s live variety talkshow format from the US rehashed over and over by RTE through the decades.

Dublin's not in a position where you've access to wall to wall celebrity guest, you've got to be at the centre of a major media market for that. So, they probably struggle to keep it all about one genre of topic.

It's an incredibly dated format though for 2016. Very much of the era of people only having access to a tiny range of channels, so you had to try to provide a bit of everything.

NIMAN

hawkwind23 wrote: »

Same on most channels nowadays , the big talent shows on BBC and ITV being the worst offenders.
Someone comes on to sing a simple song but we have to get the backstory how their granny died 3 years ago etc etc

Nonsense.

Have you ever switched between the LLS and Graham Norton when they are on at the same time?

Its like night and day. Graham Norton show is non-stop laughs, from all the guests whether they are comedians or not. They all seem to be genuinely having fun.

Meanwhile back on the LLS, its slow, boring, formulaic, chat-show-by numbers stuff. Its lacks fun, spontaniety, humour, eevrything basically. Even the guests who are meant to be a bit of fun are nowhere near enjoying themselves.

I like RT on the radio and think he is suited to that job, but he's not the right man to host the LLS.
As for Ray D'arcy on the saturday night, well he is just a miserable git, both on the radio and TV, so shouldn't be on either (IMHO), let alone getting paid €500,000 annually for being miserable. I always wondered if you were head of RTE and went out to the UK and World Markets and told some of the fairly well known presenters or celebs that we'd pay you €500,000 per year to host a daily radio show and a saturday night TV slot, you'd get people a hundred times the calibre of Ray D'Arcy interested.

mzungu

squonk wrote: »

Just had a great day out enjoying myself with family. I was pretty wrecked but happy overall. I ended up watching the Late Late however and, if Linda Martin's dance remix wasn't bad enough, they decided to follow it up with a lady who was in the last stages of cancer. I've realised I've had enough of these bloody misery slots.

I don't care how much 'craic' this woman was. Her plight was pretty severe and on a Friday evening when I want to relax and turn the brain off, I don't need to be hearing this stuff. Even worse it started a difference of opinion with the other person watching with me once I voiced my opinions.

I'm sick to death of this formulaic crap. They need one slot by the looks of it for D'Arcy & Tubs each week. Why? Sure, have one every few weeks but not every bloody week. People who've spent a week working and dealing with their own pressures should be able to sit down on a Friday night and chill out. There are plenty of other nights in the week for misery bait. I'm just sick to the teeth of it now. When you're not in a position to turn over its awful bilge to sit through. It's lazy too from what I can see. Find a terminally ill person, or a depressed person, roll them out, job done.

It's time to stop this crap! For once and for all!

It is formulaic, but it seems to work. Look at the states, misery porn on chat shows (excluding late night) is wall to wall.

Arthur Kleinman did a interesting study on this. Basically, he says suffering is now a commodity, and like all commodities it must get churned back to the masses in a sanitised form of entertainment. The market for it is there, hence why it's included.

anewme

Fado, fado, in the Gay Byrne era, in about 1999, Gaybo interviewed Christy O'Connor, Jnr, and Charlie McGettigan. Both had recently lost their young sons and the segment was about their sons lives and now how they as Fathers and their families were coping with the loss. It was a fantastic interview, honest, sad, happy, humbling, genuine, gritty but real. far from misery porn.The phone lines lit up with people ringing in with support and to tell their own stories. At the end, Charlie McGettigan took his guitar and softly sang "feet of a dancer"

It might be almost 20 years ago now, but I've never forgotten it. Such is the power of an interview, even if the topic is difficult or challenging when it's done right.

Heckler

anewme wrote: »

Fado, fado, in the Gay Byrne era, in about 1999, Gaybo interviewed Christy O'Connor, Jnr, and Charlie McGettigan. Both had recently lost their young sons and the segment was about their sons lives and now how they as Fathers and their families were coping with the loss. It was a fantastic interview, honest, sad, happy, humbling, genuine, gritty but real. far from misery porn.The phone lines lit up with people ringing in with support and to tell their own stories. At the end, Charlie McGettigan took his guitar and softly sang "feet of a dancer"

It might be almost 20 years ago now, but I've never forgotten it. Such is the power of an interview, even if the topic is difficult or challenging when it's done right.

Not a huge Byrne fan but the guy was a terrific, shrewd and savvy interviewer. Knew when to shut up and let the interviewee either hang themselves or touch the audience. Tubs is in the ha'penny place in comparison.

Alf Veedersane

Zaph wrote: »

And that's part of the problem. If there isn't enough material to fill the show then why is it 2 hours long every week? Shorten it to an hour and it could improve it immeasurably.

It's bad enough that it's too long of a show on Friday but then to have another chat show on Saturday night is lunacy.

Pelvis Parsley

Fair play OP.

I too am sick of RTE and their relentless appetite for misery and pessimism. It seems to be their mission in life to depress the nation, and then dedicate countless hours to gazing into their collective navels and wonder why people are so unhappy all the time.

Strazdas

anewme wrote: »

Fado, fado, in the Gay Byrne era, in about 1999, Gaybo interviewed Christy O'Connor, Jnr, and Charlie McGettigan. Both had recently lost their young sons and the segment was about their sons lives and now how they as Fathers and their families were coping with the loss. It was a fantastic interview, honest, sad, happy, humbling, genuine, gritty but real. far from misery porn.The phone lines lit up with people ringing in with support and to tell their own stories. At the end, Charlie McGettigan took his guitar and softly sang "feet of a dancer"

It might be almost 20 years ago now, but I've never forgotten it. Such is the power of an interview, even if the topic is difficult or challenging when it's done right.

These type of interviews were not regular things on his show though. Byrne had the occasional very serious and heavy topic on his show but you could go for weeks without seeing one. The mandatory "bad news" slot on the LLS is quite insane, just as the OP says.

squonk

I was having a chat with a friend lately about an incident on the LLS back in Pat Kenny's day. I dragged up a YouTube clip and, in doing so, I also came across a clip of Gay's LLS from the 80's on a subject where mothers and a few young wans were on discussing the subject of sex before marriage and the mothers were there because they were happy to let their daughters go at it. I'm no fan of Gay overall but he handled the whole thing perfectly. The item turned into a cross between the LLS and Lahvelahne when a disgruntled gentleman rang in to excoriate the mothers. It was serious, yet entertaining TV and Gay took a back seat while events unfolded. It highlighted the utter crap that the LLS has become. I'd swear the misery slots are there in part now to help convince us all that Tubs & D'Arcy are weighty hosts.

Mr E

I saw a few articles over the weekend saying how inspirational that lady on the LLS was.
You may think that the 'misery' slot is awful but there is an audience for it, whether you like it or not.

screamer

Mr E wrote: »

I saw a few articles over the weekend saying how inspirational that lady on the LLS was.
You may think that the 'misery' slot is awful but there is an audience for it, whether you like it or not.

Yes ould wans with one foot in the grave. The irish fascination with misery and the need to feel better about ones own ****ty life by seeing someone with a worse life....... it's absolute drivel. I feel sorry for the guests I really do, but on a Friday or Saturday night, I don't want to listen to OPM (other people's misery).
I'd much rather a decent movie to watch. If RTE spent the money they waste on the archaic LLS and the Saturday night burnt offerings that is the darcy show, we'd have box office movies every weekend.

Anyways, as long as the licence fee is mandated, cronyism continues and the viewer base is over 60, nothing will change. Including the fix that someone from Cork wins the competitions every week.

Strazdas

Mr E wrote: »

I saw a few articles over the weekend saying how inspirational that lady on the LLS was.
You may think that the 'misery' slot is awful but there is an audience for it, whether you like it or not.

I wouldn't mind this type of interview on its own, there is definitely a place for it but a regular depressing or serious item on a night time weekend chat show is harder to defend.

Mr E

Just giving another perspective. Doesn't mean I agree with it! I'd prefer to laugh and be entertained.

Strazdas

Mr E wrote: »

Just giving another perspective. Doesn't mean I agree with it! I'd prefer to laugh and be entertained.

There's a lot to be said for having an eclectic mix on the show, but when it's come to the stage of having a fixed serious or heavyweight item on the show every single week, it's a bid odd. I remember some well known comedian saying he was furious about having to go straight on after an item on child abuse.....that's really pushing things.

Atlantic Dawn

Mr E wrote: »

I saw a few articles over the weekend saying how inspirational that lady on the LLS was.
You may think that the 'misery' slot is awful but there is an audience for it, whether you like it or not.

It was completely misplaced her interview in the show, they had Linda Martin singing "Why Me" and then a cancer sufferer who must have been pretty much wondering why they got cancer and not someone else since the day they were diagnosed.

They really need to balance out the misery so they are not one minute having great craic all together and next minute talking to somone with an illness or personal tradegy.

In reality all the misery should be bottled up in to a Sunday night chat show hosted by a certain out and out misery merchant who would get pleasure from it

Mr.Nice Guy

I think there is certainly a need to hear stories like people dying from cancer, families suffering a family bereavement, and so on.

I do not, however, think that time needs to be on a Friday night interspersed between an interview with Rebecca de Mornay or some other actor we hardly see anymore, and an interview with Louis Walsh talking about his latest act, Wannabes.

Give us a break, RTE.

gctest50

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

.....

In reality all the misery should be bottled up in to a Sunday night chat show hosted by a certain out and out misery merchant who would get pleasure from it

Arghus

Sometimes, I can enjoy the crazy mix that is The Late Late. Though it must be said with almost zero frequency since Ryan took over: he's an appallingly stilted host. He makes Pat look like a beacon of electrifying charisma.

I'll never forget one evening back in 2006, when it's lucky bag mix of guests and segments threw up a bizarre series of combinations:

First there was a convicted and supposedly "reformed" child molester on - which was weird enough. He was immediately followed by Jimmy Carr - who had a field day with what had been handed on a plate to him. And then to top it all off there was a performance from the cast of the touring theatre version of The Full Monty. And they got their (thankfully obscured) lads out. It was one of the most bizarre hours of television I'd ever seen. I remember thinking that if anyone from abroad set eyes on what passed for Friday night entertainment in Ireland - Ultra Grim tales of sexual deviancy, followed by dry as a bone dark humour, then followed by the promise of big swinging mickies in front of a near frenzied studio audience - they'd probably think we were a bunch of loons. Then again, it was 2006; when we were all so drunk on living it large that every combination of bad taste all at once probably felt like the greatest idea ever, at the time.

I think the misery slot really came into it's own when the recession started exerting itself. Kind of like karmic retribution I guess -"D'ya remember when ya felt real good? Well now we're going to make ya feel real bad! And your bad is nothing; look at these poor craythurs - they feel even worse than you do!!". Jesus. Take me back to the days of unexpected exposed errant willys. Please.