In television, Ireland remains a perennial underachiever. But there are some genres in which we excel – such as reality TV involving sports stars yelling at members of the public. There used to be a bit of that on Operation Transformation – though they’ve lately dialled it down significantly. And it was the entire premise of Davy’s Toughest Team featuring Davy Fitzgerald.
That latter series might as well have been called Davy Fitzgerald Bellows At People. The former Clare hurler and intercounty manager is back playing the hits in the latest season of Ireland’s Fittest Family (RTÉ One, Sunday 6.30pm) – the Godfather Part II of Irish reality shows involving sports stars, punters from the provinces and extravagant yelling.
“Fitness” means different things to different people. To RTÉ, it involves running around on pontoons in a Co Meath aquatics park with occasional tumbles into the water to keep the excitement ticking along. But while the premise of families competing in gladiatorial, pontoon-based feats of physical prowess remains the same, the latest series ushers in some significant changes.
There’s a new “coach” in world champion athlete and Irish Times columnist Sonia O’Sullivan. She joins Fitzgerald, jockey Nina Carberry and former rugby international Donncha O’Callaghan as mentors to the competing families. There’s also a new presenter, 2FM’s Laura Fox.
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Fox and O’Sullivan are both enthusiastic as the action begins. As are the returning coaches and the families. Still, you wish there was more to the format than contestants simply pegging it up and down giant floaty structures with some auxiliary rope-climbing chucked in. In this first episode, the families are challenged with three events – all involving similar levels of flailing about in the water.
The coaches get a short shrift, too. Alas, the mentors’ involvement is limited to shouting from the sidelines – which doesn’t come naturally to the quietly-spoken O’Sullivan.
The bragging rights instead go to Fitzgerald. His family are eliminated – but he nonetheless dominates the broadcast. “Dervla ... off ya go!” he yells, “Come on ... your there!”
For all his huffing and puffing, the Heaneys, from Tyrone, are first to exit. Meanwhile, Carberry’s O’Regans from Kerry take top spot, leaving O’Sullivan’s Noonans from Meath and O’Callaghan’s Bonnars from Waterford (including former All Ireland Tipperary hurler and manager Colm Bonnar) vying for the second quarter-final spot (the Bonnars finally seize the day).
It’s sweaty, sinew-straining stuff – and judging by the huge numbers applying to take part every year, the show remains popular. But with a sporting great such as Sonia O’Sullivan restricted to shouting from the sidelines, you wonder if it’s all a bit of a missed opportunity.
