Brendan O’ReganDramas dominated the week’s viewing
Fr Ray Kelly PP of Oldcastle shot to international fame recently because of his singing during a wedding ceremony. The video went viral on YouTube, scoring over 30 million hits.
The song was a version of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah, with new lyrics (thankfully) to mark the occasion. Now, I do like much of Cohen’s music, but that song has become over-exposed and I don’t think it’s suitable for liturgical use just because it includes what sounds like a religious word. I’m not crazy about the new words either. Fr Kelly was interviewed on the John Murray Show (RTÉ Radio 1) Monday of last week and it was an enjoyable and friendly chat, with Fr Kelly playing and singing some of his favourite songs. He was very happy in his priestly life, was surrounded in Oldcastle by a supportive team of lay people and had an interesting vocation story to tell (late vocation – civil service for 10 years). He had been singing at Mass and beyond for years and seemed bemused by the new-found fame. He was obviously keeping his feet very much on the ground and quite content to carry on with the normal priestly work, though he did have a German film crew at the recent First Communion ceremony!
His interviewed was followed that morning by comedian David McSavage plugging his show The Savage Eye (RTÉ 2, Monday nights). The interview was rather lacklustre and hesitant and had McSavage slagging Fr Kelly for what he had said earlier about plans for the money he might earn from a CD, though he didn’t have a problem with the priest earning money. He also referred to some scenes that had been cut out of the show – one about nuns that the legal team in RTÉ regarded as blasphemous, and one about homosexuals. From the descriptions it sounded like someone in RTÉ had done us a favour.
His programme returned for a new series last week, and it was as foul as anything currently on TV, a series of sick, sour and unfunny sketches about Irish childhood. There was profanity, tasteless suicide references and the foulest of language, but worst of all was the inclusion of child actors in this disgusting mess. They were given grossly offensive things to say, were involved in sexualised dancing in one scene and a child’s picture was overlaid with the F-word. As I watched all the names on the credits I wondered if anyone involved shouted stop, or is there another form of ‘groupthink’ in RTÉ that thinks this self-indulgent and juvenile tripe is either funny or acceptable.
Last week I reviewed two new drama series I’d been following. Well, this week I’ve got another two. Prey (UTV Monday nights) got off to a shaky start, but grew on me as I got more invested in the characters and as the tension was ramped up. A policeman (John Simm, suitably intense) is accused of murdering his wife and child and doesn’t help himself by being prone to overreaction and foolishness. On the run he becomes more resourceful as he evades his colleagues and finds the inevitable conspiracy that goes deeper and deeper into the police force itself. One of the most interesting characters is the policewoman leading the investigation (Rosie Cavaliero, excellent), a woman who is deeply and credibly troubled by a relationship breakup.
Fargo(Channel 4, Sunday nights) is a very peculiar kettle of fish. Inspired by the Coen Brothers film of the same name, this is as quirky as one would expect from the Coens (producers here) with death and evil spiraling out of control and sucking in ordinary people whose goodness must have been only skin deep. There’s a seriously evil character (played with courteous menace by Billy Bob Thornton), a sweet female cop (Allison Tolman, all homespun crafty innocence) and a collection of flawed odd-bods including a loser husband (Martin Freeman with a broad Minnesota accent!) and a supermarket king (Oliver Platt, slimy) convinced that God sent him a suitcase full of cash. It’s good v evil (isn’t it always!) but at least so far evil is recognised for what it is and goodness shines. Spoiled by being unnecessarily crude and graphic in spots it is thought provoking, funny, dark, ambiguous, visually striking (all that snow!) and sometimes repulsive.
Pick of the Week
IN DEFENSE OF GOD'S LIKENESS
EWTN Sun May 18, 7 am, Mon 8 pm, Thurs 9 am Contrasting the notion of inalienable rights versus the legal decisions that forced black people and preborn children to prove their personhood.
SONGS OF PRAISE
BBC 1 Sun May 18, 5:00 pm
Aled Jones talks to the celebrated soprano Lesley Garrett about her life, and she leads the congregation at St Edmund's Church, Leeds, in singing her favourite hymns.
THE CRUSADES
BBC 4 Tues May 20, 9.00 pm (also Thurs 11.05 pm) Series in which Dr Thomas Asbridge presents his account of the Crusades, the 200-year war between Christians and Muslims for control of the Holy Land.