Two polls last weekend showed that, among the electorate, Independent politicians are on the rise. Which makes The Independents (RTÉ One, Monday) timely, although it sure doesn’t feel that way.
Even for exit-poll anoraks, a political documentary on the first balmy night of the summer, and without the excuse of an election on the near horizon, seems a programme best suited to back-to-school September.
The takeaway message in The Independents is that, in Irish politics, Independents are not a good thing. For every Tony Gregory doing deals for his impoverished community – that grainy archive footage seems generations, not just 30 years, ago – or Catherine Murphy digging for answers about Siteserv when all around her quake, there are countless examples of Independents skewing good public policy and hindering development with constituency-specific demands, from keeping the local hospital open to filling potholes.
In a parliamentary system based on clientelism, Independents can take parish pumpery right to the top table, depending on the balance of power. Several interviewees point out that Independents are hopeless at forming groups because they won’t toe even the vaguest party line. (Mick Wallace TD and the former minister Ivan Yates are the most scathing.) That doesn’t augur well for the growing number of alliances among Independents detailed in the second part of Pat Leahy’s film.
The Independents is slick and well made, with a huge amount of material, both archive and current, multiple interviews and even a bit of foreign travel as Leahy attends a Podemos rally in Spain. These vibrant Spaniards aren't independents, although maybe the point is a subtle contrast between that youthful new party and footage of the first announcement by Shane Ross of his Independent Alliance: a band of hopefuls standing awkwardly on a hotel terrace looking more random than rampant.
The news bulletin just before The Independents airs covers Ross's announcement of more politicians joining his alliance. This already makes the documentary look out of date, or maybe shown at the wrong time.
One other question comes to mind as you watch yet another terrifically knowledgeable and animated political correspondent talk about electoral pacts and voter swings. With all the arts and cultural events on in Ireland every weekend in summertime, why isn’t there a decent arts show on RTÉ television – or, indeed, any arts show at this time of year?
Restoration dramas in big houses aren’t new: countless series have featured penniless aristos trying to keep leaky piles going by opening tea rooms in the stables or letting the great unwashed rent the ballroom for weddings. All the houses start to look the same, the chandeliers interchangeable, the dry rot familiar.
The Big House Reborn (UTV Ireland, Monday) promises something classier: a makeover with a grand budget. The six-part series follows the €11 million restoration of Mount Stewart, in Co Down, by its owner, the British National Trust.
Lady Rose Lauritzen lives at Mount Stewart. Several times she says how excited she is about the restoration, but she betrays not even the vaguest hint of enthusiasm. Instead of getting a look at the work of the modern craftsmen – this is, after all, a project of the National Trust, famous for its attention to detail – we see shots of builders putting up scaffolding, the backs of high-visibility jackets and hard hats. All that’s missing are great mugs of tea and tours of the Portaloos.
“It won’t be long before the majestic central hall is covered with scaffolding,” the voiceover drones. And then, with a boring completeness that’s almost comic, it goes on: “The contractors build an imposing scaffolding tower.” Next there’s a long item about how they plan to underpin the floorboards.
It's as if The Big House is determined to be as dull as possible, confusing seriousness with tedium. No personalities emerge because the camera doesn't stay on anyone long enough – and these types of series demand at least one big personality we can be interested in.
The Big House Reborn has a parochial, made-for-regional TV feel (although with Broadcasting Authority of Ireland money behind it), which assumes that everyone watching is local and knows the story already. So the gardener talks about "recapturing the spirit of Edith, Lady Londonderry". Yes, but who was she when she was at home (presumably at Mount Stewart)?
Rarely does a behind-the-scenes series seem so intent on keeping the viewer at a distance, far from curious stories and talented craftspeople. The Big House Reborn is the TV equivalent of being kept behind the red rope in the stately home you thought you'd paid to walk around in.
For a title, Pushy Parents Living Through Their Smart Kids isn't as catchy as Child Genius (Channel 4, Tuesday), but the series, a competition to find the smartest child in Britain, is all about the parents.
The clever (and cruel) editing has the 20 finalists, mostly aged between nine and 12, delivering annoying soundbites, such as, “My IQ is higher than Stephen Hawking’s,” or, “Winning this competition is my destiny.” But the parents should know better than to humble-brag the way Deborah does about 11-year-old Thomas, who “reads 15 books a week”. (Mum entered Thomas for the high-pressure competition “to see how smart he really is”.)
They should also avoid being quite so smug when they reveal how punishing and pressurising they are when it comes to their children accumulating knowledge. David, for example, got a maths A level when he was 10. But it was only a grade C, so his father was disappointed.
This first day sees off four contestants. One round is general knowledge; the other involves memorising a road map of the UK. I hope that Ieysaa, the anxious-looking nine-year-old international chess champ, comes to realise there’s no shame in not knowing the most direct route to Grimsby – although his overbearing father, a business consultant who left his job to home-school Ieysaa and his four siblings, might not be able to resist reminding him of his “failure”.
Three series in and Child Genius is still guilty, compelling viewing.
Ones to Watch Fast dancing, even faster marriages
Deirdre Mulrooney’s documentary Damhsa na hEigeandala (TG4, Wednesday) mixes drama, dance and personal reminiscences in its story of the struggle of Irina Brady (Olwen Fouéré, right) to bring modern dance to 1940s Ireland amid suspicions that she was a Nazi spy.
Prepare to be outraged, or some- thing. Married at First Sight (Channel 4, Thursday) goes one further than those dating shows that bring strangers together. This does that, but the twist is that the three “highly compatible couples”, who hadn’t even met before filming, get married.
tvreview@irishtimes.com
