The Podge and Rodge Show
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| The Podge and Rodge Show | |
|---|---|
 RTÉ promotional picture |
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| Genre | Comedy, Talkshow |
| Created by | Ciaran Morrison Mick O'Hara |
| Developed by | Ciaran Morrison Mick O'Hara |
| Starring | Lucy Kennedy Ciaran Morrison Mick O'Hara |
| Country of origin | Ireland |
| Language(s) | English, Irish |
| No. of series | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 107 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
Jim Jennings |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | RTÉ Two |
| Picture format | PAL (16:9) |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original run | 6 February 2006 – Present |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | A Scare at Bedtime with Podge and Rodge, The Den |
| External links | |
| Official website | |
| IMDb profile | |
The Podge and Rodge Show (also known as The Podge and Rodge Show with Lucy Kennedy) is an Irish chat show, broadcast and produced by RTÉ, featuring the popular puppets Podge and Rodge as hosts, with Lucy Kennedy as a co-host. It airs every Monday and Tuesday at 22:50 on RTÉ Two from February to April and from October to December with a hiatus during the summer months.[1]
The show takes place in the fictional setting of Ballydung Manor, the brothers' home in the village of Ballydung in County Ring. As well as celebrity interviews of a humorous nature it also features other comic elements such as quizzes, reviews, news, music and talent contests as well as racenights involving amongst other entities hamsters in mazes, sheep shearing and tractors. [2] During early episodes, with the credits rolling, it was common for the two to tell viewers to direct their complaints elsewhere, e.g. RTÉ or The Joe Duffy Show.
Contents |
[edit] Episodes
[edit] First series
While the pilot episode, An Audience with Podge and Rodge, was first broadcast on RTÉ on St. Stephen's Day in 2005, the series did not begin in earnest until 6 February 2006.
A feature introduced in the first series was Rodge's Wrister Wreview. It involved various items, such as books, magazines and television shows receiving the expert opinion of Rodge. The items were rated on the Wrister Scale which was displayed on the screen.
Never to be accused of ignoring current affairs, the duo aired their views on the naked calendar craze that was sweeping the world and even did their bit to help out when Ireland was faced by fears of a bird-flu pandemic; they decided to 'kill' The Late Late Show owl. After spending much time taking aim, they eventually shot him to pieces. Also in current affairs they found time to discuss the SSIAs, taking digs at Eddie Hobbs, Pat Kenny and The Late Late Show along the way.
[edit] Second Series
The second series was broken into two halves, the first beginning on October 16, 2006 and running until December 31, 2006. After a month's break the second series continued on February 5, 2007 and ran until April 10, 2007.
A feature that first appeared in this series was Ballydung Idol which featured spoofs of famous songs. When the performance had reached a sufficient level of "crapiness" a fart sound erupted to halt proceedings. The level of "crap" was measured on a Crapometer which Richie Kavanagh won with one minute and fifty-five seconds.
Winning Streak (a parody on the RTÉ produced gameshow of the same name) invited streakers to film their exploits and send them into the show with extra points being awarded for things such as more daylight and public streaking.
Miss Ballydung was a beauty contest of sorts; a cross between Miss World and The Rose of Tralee. It featured such beauties as Miss Muck, Miss Poledance Fitness and Miss Muff. Queen of the Land bottle-fed a lamb as Podge and Rodge made references to its imminent digestion by a hungry human. The final was held on the Monday 18 December 2006 episode, judged by The Rose of Tralee Catherine Feeney as well as that evening's guests Brendan Bowyer and Des Bishop. The winner was Miss Poledance Fitness (from Newry).
Podge and Rodge hosted a special show from Ballydung Manor on December 19, entitled A Frightmare Before Christmas. It celebrated Christmas from their perspective, a reality where none of the intended guests turned up, and imaginary scenarios where the worst possible guests did. In reality Podge and Rodge and Lucy were left in the darkness of Ballydung Manor as the thunder raged outside, imagining their nightmare guests.
Podge and Rodge rang in 2007 on December 31 in a special programme lasting over forty minutes instead of the usual thirty-minute format. The New Year's Eve show was called Bogmanay (a play on Hogmanay). It was broadcast on RTÉ Two from 11.30p.m. The boys dressed up for the occasion, presenting the show in white shirts, black jackets and bowties. The audience wore party hats.
The second series continued on February 5 2007 after a month hiatus with a new feature Gifted or Afflicted and a new celebrity game; The Sheep Shagger Challenge in which Bernie the Sheep is ridden by a celebrity each week. Another new segment added was ShamRock, which has included tribute acts to some of the world's best known bands
[edit] Third series
The third series began on October 15, 2007. A new feature will be "Ballydung's Grot Talent", which will see auditioning of freaks take place over nine weeks with judges Lucy Kennedy and Brendan Kilkenny travelling to almost 32 counties, beginning with Port Laoise (with guest judge Declan Nerney). Lucy Kennedy described it as "You're A Star gone wrong" on Ray D'Arcy's radio show on Today FM on Wednesday September 26. After a hiatus following the Bogmanay New Year's Eve Special, the third series continued on February 4, 2008 twice weekly for a further ten weeks. The 100th Episode was celebrated on March 24 2008. Series 3 ended with two special programmes. A Jack Charlton Special on April 14th and on Tuesday April 15th the '2008 Golden Loggies Awards' which was a 'best of' show, featuring the best of the guests from Series 3.
[edit] Reception
The show was initially a ratings success, regularly getting over 400,000 viewers a show during the first season, including 440,000 for the week beginning April 9, 2006 and peaking at almost 450,000 (40% of those watching television at this time) for the season finale on May 2.[3] At this time it tended to have more viewers than Desperate Housewives and Lost, both of which are also shown on RTÉ Two. It was also catching up on RTÉ's flagship chat show — The Late Late Show — which airs on Friday nights on RTÉ One, and has approximately half a million viewers. However, there was a drop in viewership in later seasons, but the show continues to be the top rated home produced show on RTÉ Two.[4]
Following on from the success of their show, Podge and Rodge were asked to appear in a number of television ads for RTÉ which encouraged viewers to pay their television licences. They were also featured in a radio ad for Will Leahy's The Saturday Show on 2fm, in which they described the show as better than "shit on a stick".[5] Another spin-off saw them interviewing arch-nemesis Pat Kenny for the People in Need Telethon whilst around the same time a book, The Ballydung Bible, was released. [6]
[edit] Criticism
John Boland of the Irish Independent has asserted that the show is declining in quality:"Podge and Rodge seemed like the standard bearers of a new, confident comedy generation, which makes it all the more depressing to look at what's happened to them since they entered the mainstream with their twice-weekly show on RTE2. And make no mistake: the bad language and crude sexual humour may have blown the top off the taste barometer, but The Podge & Rodge Show, now in its third series, is as mainstream as Killinaskully."[7]
[edit] DVDs
| DVD Name | Release Date | Bonus Material | |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Podge & Rodge Show - The Best of Series One | November 3 2006 | Unseen pilot interview with sports presenter George Hamilton,Even More Johnny Vegas ,More Keith Duffy, Ainezone, Ballydung Weather with Martin King,Pole Dancing Competition. | |
| The Podge & Rodge Show - The Cream of Series Two | November 2 2007 | Miss Ballydung Pageant, Ballydung Idol, Sex Toy Show with Margo, A Load of Pointless Games, Photo album, Hidden Easter Eggs. |
[edit] Awards
- The Podge and Rodge Show won the TVNow award for "Favourite Television Programme" in 2006.[8]
- The Podge and Rodge Show won the TVNow award for the second year in a row for "Favourite Television Programme" in 2007.
- The Podge and Rodge Show was nominated for two IFTAs in 2007.[9]
- Lucy Kennedy was nominated for the BSE/IFB & NIFTC Breakthrough Talent Award for her role as co-host.
- The show itself was nominated in the Entertainment category.
- The Podge and Rodge Show was nominated for its second IFTA and won the 'Best Entertainment show' category in 2008.[10]
[edit] See also
- Features of The Podge and Rodge Show
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Official television listings
- ^ The Podge and Rodge Show
- ^ RTÉ Television And The Podge & Rodge Show In Ratings High
- ^ "RTE/TV3 Top 20 Programmes" Medialive. URL last accessed 2007-03-23
- ^ RTÉ 2fm advertisement
- ^ Podge and Rodge grill Pat Kenny
- ^ A bodged job" Irish Independent. URL last accessed 2008-04-09
- ^ RTÉ Television And The Podge & Rodge Show In Ratings High
- ^ Pluto leads Irish awards race
- ^ IFTA nominees announced
[edit] External links
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