Deciding to see if he can eek out a living on minimum wage. Des decides to try to survive for one month working a minimum wage job in various parts of Ireland. He turns his hand to cooking in a kebab shop in Waterford; a life guard at a swimming pool complex in Tralee; a shop assistant at a supermarket in Dundalk; and a general dogs body/jack of all trades/handyman at a hotel in Dublin (keep an eye out for his stair vacuuming techniques).
The Once a Week Show with Dustin and Sinéad from Sinéad's House Where Dustin Likes to Hang is an Irish television chat/comedy show, broadcast on RTÉ Two in 2007 and 2008. A successor to the more frequent Dustin's Daily News, the show is hosted by Dustin the Turkey of The Den, with his assistant Sinéad Ni Churnain as a co-host. The series is more or less exactly the same as the previous show only with a studio instead of a newsroom plus the reduced daily to weekly frequency of the show. One series was produced. It began on 8 September 2007.
Championship Matters is a Gaelic games-themed magazine and review television programme that has aired on RTÉ Two since May 2012. Presented by Marty Morrissey, the programme features a mix of interviews, analysis and discussion on all GAA related matters. The show follows on from the The Committee Room which was shown in 2011.
Don't Feed the Gondolas is an Irish comedy panel show, that ran for four series on Network 2 between 1997 and 2001. The show was hosted by Seán Moncrieff and the longest-serving panellists were Brendan O'Connor and Dara Ó Briain. The name of the show is attributed to a remark made by a Wicklow County Councillor, Jimmy Miley, during a meeting regarding Blessington Lake. When the meeting proposed putting a gondola on the lake, he remarked: "That's all very well, but who's going to feed it?" A running gag of the show, whereby the host Seán Moncrieff would make prank calls under the alias 'Monica Loolly' and claim to be from a small town in Galway named Ahascragh.
Three teams of five children between 8-10 years of age enter the Quizone game in every episode. The teams, each from a different town, compete in mental and physical challenges to earn the highest possible score. The teams must research answers to difficult trivia questions under time pressure while their chosen runners race against each other in the Quizone obstacle course under the watchful eye of referee Jamie Darling. Game On!
Katherine Lynch's Working Girls is a three-part Irish comedy television programme broadcast on RTÉ Two in January 2008. It stars comedienne Katherine Lynch, who also co-wrote and co-produced the series alongside Warren Meyler. It was the pair's first television series. Lynch described it as a "hybrid" series, featuring both comedy sketches and interaction with the general public. Darragh McManus of the Irish Independent wrote that it was "in the spirit of the 'comedy of cringe' vein which is so in vogue".
Aisling's Diary is an Irish young person's programme aired on RTÉ produced by CampbellRyan Productions. The show was created by Nuno Bernardo. The first series was filmed in 2007/2008 and aired on RTÉ 2. Each episode is three minutes long but in 2009, 5 episodes were fused together to create fifteen minute episodes which aired during the Summer of 2009. Tinderbox provide the music for the show. A second series is currently being filmed and unsigned bands are being searched for by RTÉ to provide music for this series.
news2day is an Irish children's television news programme, broadcast weekdays at 4.25pm on RTÉ Two. It is eight minutes long, and is similar in format to the BBC's Newsround.
The Raw Sessions is an Irish interactive music television programme broadcast on RTÉ Two in 2009. The country's first ever rockumentary series, it is presented by Dez Ryan and follows the attempts of eight musical acts to write and record an original composition in the space of twelve hours. It is produced by Lotus Media. The Raw Sessions commenced broadcast on 12 May 2009. Episodes are broadcast late on Tuesday nights and repeated late on Saturday nights. Each week the two recorded tracks are made available for download, with downloads counting towards the Irish Singles Chart. Tracks were recorded in destinations such as Sun Studios in Temple Bar, Dublin, Windmill Lane Studios on Ringsend Road, Dublin, and Grouse Lodge in County Westmeath. There was also a celebrity episode which featured more established musicians recording a cover version for charity. Eight acts took part in the show. These were Dirty Epics, Hoarsebox, The Infomatics, Majella Murphy, Noise Control, R.S.A.G., Sickboy and Sweet Jane. The four acts which made it to the semi-finals recorded a track at Grouse Lodge. The top three from that vote progressed to the final at the Button Factory in Dublin.
The fortunes of Roddy Collins, John Courtenay, and Carlisle United's roller coaster season.
Takeaway Titans is the show that seeks out the best takeaway talent and puts them to the test to see who comes out on top.
Ireland's version of the series consists of a couple who are given €10,000 to spend on their wedding. However, they must spend three weeks apart without contact, and the bridegroom must organise every aspect of the event and attire, including the wedding dress, as well as the hen and stag parties, surprising the bride.
Maeve Higgins' Fancy Vittles is a television series written and performed by the comedian Maeve Higgins and her sister, Lilly. The series is set and filmed in Lilly's homely, country kitchen and each episode involves the sisters preparing food dishes or "vittles" for a themed party. Throughout each episode Maeve shares her ideas and humorous anecdotes which are dramatized in short sketches. Maeve talks directly to the camera. The show also contains lots of archive footage of Ireland in the past and features short clips of stop motion animation.
The End is an adult comedy television strand on Network Two/RTÉ Two in the Republic of Ireland. The End was aired on Friday and Saturday night from 11pm to 2am. RTÉ used this show to test the audience appetite for late night TV. The End was presented by Barry Murphy on Friday nights and by Sean Moncrieff on Saturday nights. The End had a cult following of "drunks and teenagers" who would often ring into the show leaving bizarre late night messages for the presenters. Sean Moncrieff would be joined by a puppet called Septic in later seasons. Barry Murphy would use The End to launch many of his Apres Match characters such as Frank Stapleton. Sean Moncrieff would get a new chat show on RTE One called Good Grief Moncrieff, however this wasn't a success due in part to the conservative and mainstream RTE One audience. Later he would go on to present the RTE Two series Don't Feed the Gondolas.
Katherine Lynch's Wonderwomen is a six-part Irish comedy television programme broadcast on RTÉ Two. It stars comedienne Katherine Lynch, who also co-wrote and co-produced the series alongside Warren Meyler. It was the first production by WAKA TV, a company established by Lynch and Myler to produce television series.
The Model Scouts, called The Model Agent during its first season in 2009, is an Irish reality documentary on RTÉ Two that follows twelve girls competing for a lucrative modelling contract. In 2009 the series followed model scout Fiona Ellis on her search for an Irish supermodel. On her way through Ireland, Ellis spotted eight girls in the entire country and chose the last four of the twelve finalists through applications that she received. Each episode saw the elimination of one or more girls. The winner, Carrie-Anne Burton, won a contract with the Independent Models agency and a cover of Image magazine. Supermodel Erin O'Connor, who was also discovered by Ellis at the beginning of her career, advised the girls. Ellis said that, in contrast to America's Next Top Model, her aim is to rather give an insight in finding new model talent with serious ambitions without "all the drama". In 2010, Jeni Rose and David Cunningham of IMG Models were the judges. The girls were taken to London, Paris, Sydney and New York. The winner, Tabea Weyrauch, was a 16-year-old girl from Derry. She won a one-year contract with IMG, became the face of A{{|}}Wear in Ireland and the United Kingdom, and appeared on the cover of Life, the magazine section of the Sunday Independent.
Dan & Becs was an Irish comedy television series aired on RTÉ Two. It portrayed the lives of an affluent South Dublin couple. Dan was played by Dave Coffey and Becs was played by Holly White. In 2008 the show was nominated for an IFTA in the Best Television Entertainment Category. The show ended in 2007 after two series. Both series were released in December 2007 on one DVD with added extras. Creator Dave Coffey, who also played Dan in the show, is working on a new show, Sarah & Steve which he described as a "sweet romantic comedy about a relationship between two working class people based in Tallaght".
Gerry Ryan Tonight is an Irish chat show hosted by Gerry Ryan that aired for three series on Network 2 between 1995 and 1997. The studio-based show featured guest interviews and live music. Gerry Ryan Tonight aired twice weekly for the first season and once a week for all subsequent seasons.
Mission Beach USA is a Reality Television series produced for RTÉ by Rival Media for RTÉ's youth strand TRTÉ which airs on RTÉ Two. It is based on the BBC Switch format of the same name, which aired in 2008. Eight Irish teens head for Fort Lauderdale to train to be US lifeguards. Over the course of 3 weeks they join a group of American Teens who are training to be lifeguards. The course coach is Chris Hoch. A second series is set to begin before the end of 2011 and has 8 new Irish teens. Season 2 was filmed in July 2011 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The Irish teams are made up of:
The Cafe is an Irish chat programme aimed at youthful persons. It was broadcast on RTÉ Two as part of the TTV strand each Friday evening at 19:00, having switched from its previous location in the Thursday scheduling from 7 November 2008. It was presented by Aidan Power, although Laura Woods and Liam McCormack were his previous co-presenters. The waitress was Avril Kelly, who served drinks to the audience and guests and acts as the announcer of what would occur following the commercial break.opening . Chats were conducted with two or three guests, there were comic inserts and a musical performance rounded off the show. Past guests included Jason Byrne and Donna and Joseph McCaul, PJ Gallagher and Tom McGurk, Glen Wallace and Jennifer Metcalfe, Caroline Morahan, Amanda Byram, Michelle Heaton, Nicola McLean, Daithí Ó Sé, The Kinetiks, The Coronas, Rosanna Davision, Jacob Byrne, Oliver Callan and Pat Kenny, wrestlers Scotty 2 Hotty and Joe Legend, The Saw Doctors, panellist John Bishop and Skins actors Mike Bailey, Daniel Kaluuya and Larissa Wilson. The Cafe completed transmission of its fifth season on 27 March 2009. A sixth season was revealed on 14 August 2009 by Aidan Power to be on the way. The last ever episode was broadcast on 2 April 2010 due to its axing by RTÉ to make way for new programming.
