Are you ready to take a trip down TV memory lane? After Well Holy God It's Glenroe aired on RTÉ One earlier this week, it provoked a wave of nostalgia amongst TV viewers. But there's plenty more shows from the past that still have a special place in our heart - TEN has compiled the top RTÉ shows we would love to see making a comeback. Get ready for some blasts from the past!
(1) The Den
Alien Puppets Zigmund Ambrose Zogly and Zagnatius Hillary Zogly (AKA Zig and Zag) invaded Ireland from planet Zog in 1987 and captured the hearts of little ones (and adults) nationwide. Along with their adorable blue dog Zuppy the loveable pair were adopted by presenter Ian Dempsey (and his fetching jumpers) on Dempsey’s Den.
In 1990 the show was replaced by The Den and presented by a baby-faced Ray D'Arcy up until 1998. D'Arcy's hilarious fights with Ted to Dustin the Turkey asking him why he bought Cindy Crawford's workout video, provided some of the shows finest moments.
Go on ya good thing! Dustin the Turkey was a firm favourite on the show
The Den struck the right balance between entertaining kiddies and making grown-ups laugh with its cheeky adage to topical, often political, matters. From Dustin's campaign to wipe out the line dancing craze sweeping the St Patrick’s Day parades to his eh, bromance with Jim Corr of The Corrs, and Dustin suggesting that the then President of Ireland, Mary Robinson had smelly feet during her first televised appearance after she was elected, it's fair to say there was never a dull moment.
And of course, the latter moment inspired Dustin's 1997 presidential election (he competed as Dustin Hoffman), in which he campaigned "to bring the DART to Dingle", as well as making sure every young boy in Ireland got to go on a date with the Spice Girl of their choice.
The mouthy turkey also won the public vote to represent Ireland at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2008 with the song Irelande Douze Pointe, though he did not progress past the first semi-final stage.
The Den was also responsible for introducing Pádraig Judas O'Leprosy and Rodraig Spartacus O'Leprosy AKA Podge and Rodge into our sitting rooms, and not forgetting sock monster, Soky and Snotser the pig.
What a show!
And who could forget their Christmas rap?
(2) Where In The World
Irish quiz show Where in the World? was first presented by Marty Whelan and subsequently by Theresa Lowe and was broadcast for nine series on Sunday nights between 1987 and 1996.
The show featured two teams of four made up of two families, answering a series of geography-based questions. The quiz had a regular audience of over a million viewers (impressive for 80’s TV) and was good clean family fun while being informative and educational at the same time.
We imagine the show was also great inspiration for teachers giving geography homework on a Monday morning.
(3) Anything Goes
Ireland's first Saturday morning children's show Anything Goes was first broadcast on October 4, 1980 and aired on RTÉ for six years. Presented by Kathy Parke, Aonghus McAnally (who wore one red shoe and one yellow shoe), Mary FitzGerald, David Heffernan and Mary Frances Calayco (who sat in for Kathy while she was on maternity leave), it was compulsory viewing for kids in the early 80's after watching morning cartoons.
Packed with music segments, puppet shows, letter and story time, and the coolest part 'The Birthday Roller', the show promoted local Irish talent and was brought to life by energetic children who had no bother giving their opinion.
Check out those mullets!
(4) Nighthawks
Long before Graham Norton, Jonathan Ross and Chris Evans came on the scene, Shay Healy's seminal chat show Nighthawks was the talk of TV around Ireland. Broadcast in the late 1980s, the popular show aired three times-weekly, and produced a whopping 298 editions in its four year span.
The zany show provided a unique mix of live music, chat and soap opera all set in the fictional American-style diner, with a Wurlitzer jukebox and movie stills on the walls, and was the kind of place that every teenager in the 80s wanted to hang out in (and we're sure the fact that beer was served to guests had nothing to do with it).
The mainly acoustic diner gave a platform to a wide selection of musicians such as Johnny Thunders, Beverly D'Angelo, Mary Coughlan, Joe Elliot and Maria McKee, while in the basement bands like Don Baker, Albert Lee, Bree Harris, Stepaside and Shush brought the house down.
Lots of stand-ups, comedy actors and comedy writers wrote for the show, including Booker Prize winner Anne Enright, who starred in some of the sketches and produced the show for a year.
(5) Head to Toe
2015 (into 2016) has no shortage of fashion bloggers and stylists who flaunt their designer threads and carefully structured outfits on social media. But in the 1990s fashion wasn't so well publicised. There was no Snapchat or Instagram to keep up with current trends, and instead, fashion enthusiasts in Ireland came to learn about shoulder pads and embracing bold colours through the best fashion show in the land - Head to Toe of course!
The show was first broadcast on October 21, 1988 and ran for ten series up until 1997, with an original line-up of three presenters, Marty Whelan, Mary O’Sullivan and Frances Duff (later presented by Jennifer Keegan, Pat O’Mahony and Barbara McMahon).
Speaking to the RTÉ Guide on October 14, 1988 O’Sullivan described the show as a “mix of everything to do with clothes, people, the rag trade in general, personalities, swap shops, the nostalgia scene, people’s private collections, country shopping and dressing and budgets and even problems”.
From the public on Grafton Street revealing what socks they were sporting to visiting fashion colleges around the country, there was something endearing and comforting about the show that had you rooting for all involved.
(6) Wanderly Wagon
Who would have thought a lift home would have produced one of the greatest shows on Irish telly? When everyone else was thinking about what to have for dinner on the way home from work, Don Lennox and Jim O'Hare came up with the great idea to make a children's television show about a flying wagon.
The series aired on RTÉ from Saturday 30 September 1967 until 1982 and followed human and puppet characters as they travelled around Ireland visiting interesting locations, rescuing princesses and generally doing good deeds.
The show was so well-loved little Wanderly Wagon fans protested outside RTÉ in 1974 when it was suggested that the series was coming to an end.
And how could we forget the awesome intro music supported by a slick electric guitar. Here comes the wagon....the wanderly, wanderly wagon...the most unusual wagon you ever knew.....
(7) The Morbegs
We would love to know where the creators of The Morbegs were when they came up with the concept of this show. Magical, wize wizards? Fuzzy monsters that occasionally spoke Irish? A growing tree that needed saving?
The show originally started on 30 September 1996 and ended on 15 May 1998 and became the must-watch show of pre-schoolers from Dublin to Morbeg Land and beyond.
(8) Blackboard Jungle
Talk about a blast from the past! Blackboard Jungle offered prizes that teens could only dream of winning for answering questions about 'history including modern day politics' - Sony CD ghetto blasters, a portable television for your bedroom, camcorders and a MINI-BUS if your school won.
A common pattern among school-going contestants was that they loved Oasis, Radiohead, U2 and reading.
Anyone receive the board game for Christmas a zillion years ago?
(9) The Beatbox
Did you run home from mass to listen to The Beatbox? It was broadcast as a simulcast across both television (RTE Two) and radio (RTE 2fm) between the hours of 11.30 and 1.30 on Sunday mornings/ afternoons. Long before YouTube and iTunes this gem of a show, (later rebranded as 2TV), was the happening spot to find out about new artists and to keep tabs on your favourite musicians.
Aside from the cool tunes there were bags of Wet Wet Wet albums, Bon Jovi posters and Lir tickets up for grabs!
Barry Lang was the first presenter of The Beatbox. He left broadcasting to become a full time pilot. Along the way Dave Fanning, Electric Eddie (real name Doug Murray), Bianca Luykx, Ian Dempsey, Peter Collins and Simon Young presented the show.
(10) Bosco
HELLO boys and girls! The round-up wouldn't be complete without mentioning Bosco, the puppet with bright red cheeks and a squeaky voice, who never grew beyond his five years, and lived in a brightly painted wooden box, only ever wandering it to places like Dublin Zoo through the 'Magic Door'.
The much loved puppet, entertained Irish children for much of the late 70s and 80s, with repeats of the show shown on RTÉ up until 1998.
Bring back Faherty the Dog, the McSpuds and Freddy Fox already!
Knock knock, open-wide, see what's on the other side......
You can catch Well Holy God It's Glenroe Sunday, December 27 on RTÉ One, at 9.30pm.
Laura Delaney
