Brendan O’Regan
Astronaut Barry Wilmore Regular readers will know I’m a big fan of TV drama, especially drama series. I don’t watch too many comedies, but I have a few favourites.
One of these is Young Sheldon (RTE One, Fridays). Comedy or not, of late it has been tackling some serious matters, like the mother, Mary (Zoe Perry), being alienated from her Church, pregnancy out of wedlock, gambling and more. There’s always been a jaundiced attitude to religion, with young Sheldon (Iain Armitage) still being the child-scientist who is dismissive of religion (perpetuating the alleged conflict between science and religion), though he insists he believes in his mother, who is quite a devout Baptist, suspicious of the Catholic family her other son Georgie (Montana Jordan) marries into – there are some sneak Baptisms! However, things have taken a very serious turn in the last three episodes with a shocking family trauma that I didn’t see coming. My first reaction was ‘Oh why did they do that’? The key apparently is in Sheldon’s back story from the original series Big Bang Theory – Young Sheldon is a prequel.
I won’t give away the details (I’m paranoid about spoilers), but these episodes have been among the best I’ve seen in any drama this year. There’s a huge emotional punch, the characters’ reactions are totally credible and above all the acting by young and old is outstanding. Last Friday’s episode was one of the best series finales I’ve ever seen and religion figures strongly, though again not too constructively. The mother is accused of spending too much time with Jesus and not enough with her children. The grandmother, Connie (Annie Potts), says Mary is hitting the Bible rather than hitting the bottle! She wants her teenagers baptised to save their souls, but they resist. The resulting family conflict is believable but unsettling. The writers are really good at understanding human nature, and loving it, but not so hot at understanding religion.
A bonus in this episode was the guest appearance by Jim Parsons, who played adult Sheldon in Big Bang Theory and, fittingly, did the narration in Young Sheldon where we get the adult reflecting on the childhood experiences – an approach used to great effect in the Wonder Years currently being re-shown every weekday on TG4.
Young Sheldon is set in Texas, where religion and the Baptists in particular have a strong footing. While the show perpetuates the science vs religion trope, an item from Sunday (BBC Radio 4) showed another perspective. Much decorated astronaut Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore is a Texas Baptist and is currently stranded on the International Space Station. Presenter Emily Buchanan spoke to his pastor who told us that Wilmore found no conflict between his religion and his science. In fact, his experience of space has ‘confirmed what he already believed’.
Back on Earth there’s way too much aggro. Often this is heightened by social media, and sometimes by mainstream media even as they rail against social media for doing the same thing! Last Thursday the Pat Kenny Show (Newstalk) opened with reference to ‘the pitiless Israelis’ (note – not the Israeli Defence Forces), and Trump’s ‘lies’ in his interview with Elon Musk. This is not neutral, impartial broadcasting. It’s pretty hard to get impartial coverage of US politics – Irish media are heavily anti-Trump and pro-Democrat. Mind you it’s better than the much more polarised media landscape in the US itself.
Therefore, it’s worth noting when you get reasonably balanced and moderate coverage – I enjoyed The Last Word (Today FM, Tuesday) when moderate journalist Larry Donnelly discussed the US political scene with conservative Cal Thomas. Thomas said Larry and himself try to be ‘more balanced and reasonable’. Stand-in presenter Mario Rosenstock said he loves this regular slot. Me too!
Last week ex UK PM Liz Truss was pranked with a lettuce banner at a public speaking event. On Henry Bonsu (Times Radio, Wednesday) the presenter, not a Truss fan, didn’t like it – the more you humiliate and alienate a public figure the more they are driven to the extremes, where they are welcomed with open arms. I found myself in agreement. I’ve noticed this phenomenon over here – prominent journalists or commentators for example who have had interesting things to say in challenging the consensus, but, after hounding by folks who imagine themselves to be liberal, drift rightward to the extremes and lose their ability to effectively reach those in the middle ground.
PICK OF THE WEEK
EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND
CHANNEL 4 Sunday 25 August, 7.30am
The Sister. Debra’s hippy sister shows up unexpectedly and announces that she’s decided to become a nun. Funny and moving. (S4 Ep6)
KEYS TO MY LIFE
RTÉ ONE Sunday 25 August, 8.30pm
Fr Peter McVerry. The social justice campaigner retraces his steps from his one-bed council flat in Ballymun, unveiling an unexpected past life that resonates with profound meaning. (Repeat)
SAINT ROSE OF LIMA
EWTN Sunday 25 August, 9pm
An EWTN original movie on the life of St Rose of Lima, whose great love of God and neighbour drove her to become a champion of the poor and afflicted in her native Peru, and the first saint of the Americas.