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| A hot tub full of talent from MTV UK’s Geordie Shore |
DUBLIN, Ireland–What can you see on TV in Ireland?
Well, for starters, plenty of what you see in Canada, including dozens of American TV shows. Prime time here is chock full of U.S. fare such as NCIS (the most-watched TV show in the world), The Good Wife, Under the Dome, CSI, Revenge, Parks & Recreation, Homeland and The Simpsons. They even have Monday Night Football as well as canceled American fare such as Kelsey Grammer’s Boss.
Channels available at the posh Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin (where John F. Kennedy, Grace Kelly and Laurel and Hardy once stayed, according to the clip running continuously in the lobby) include RTE One and Two, TV3, BBC One and Two, Channel 4, Sky News and Europe’s MTV UK.
One very American comedy is the brainchild of a Brit–Veep. Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ satire on U.S. politics was created by Armando Iannucci, a Scottish writer based in London. In an article in Wednesday’s The Irish Times, Iannucci says he and his associates were “acutely aware that we were Brits telling Americans what we thought of their country, so we worked hard at making sure we got it right.” He’s well known in The U.K. for his radio and TV satires, including On The Hour and The Day Today as well as fake chat shows featuring the vain and needy Alan Partridge (played by Steve Coogan).
Some commercials over here are amusing. Instead of people like Robin Williams shown not being themselves when they’re hungry for a Snickers bar, here it is Joan Collins as a diva yelling at football players in a locker room.
By far the most eye-popping series I’ve seen so far on Irish TV is Geordie Shore. This MTV makeover makes Jersey Shore look like Downton Abbey. Here horny, drunken low life’s from Tyneside in North East England are seen behaving badly. The more liberal standards of European television allows for much more explicit language and nudity, with shots of people having sex under blankets and a constant string of obscenities. “Wanker” is about the least offensive term thrown about by potty-mouthed characters such as “Gaz,” Scott, Mitch, Holly and Charlotte.
The series is the highest-rated to date on MTV UK. Good to know the fascination with idiots being humiliated translates to other continents.
