What to watch on RTÉ Player this week? The RTÉ Player team share their top picks to watch on RTÉ Player this week.
What’s Trending?
Ireland’s most charismatic architect, Dermot Bannon, is back with a brand new series of Room to Improve on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player. Now in its tenth series, there has been no shortage of drama, overstressed budgets, unexpected disasters and an architect desperately trying to convince his clients that he knows what’s best for them.
With seven exciting new projects, Dermots’ challenge will be to deliver dream homes with maximum “Wow” at minimum cost: from suburban semi-d’s in Templeogue to bungalow bliss in Moate and Sutton. Expect last minute changes, construction dilemmas, frayed tempers, cunning plans, last minute rescues and impressive reveals.
Seven challenging projects – one headstrong architect, the first episode of the new series features Robbie and Julie from Darndale in North Dublin have saved for over 20 years to buy the house of their dreams – a 1940’s cottage in the picturesque north Dublin suburb of Malahide.
With a budget of 180K, Dermot’s clients plan to gut the cottage, doubling its size with a spacious new two-storey extension to the rear, but the remediation costs are so high, Dermot can only deliver a single storey. As delays mount up, tempers fray as the cottage remains structurally unsound and Dermot struggles to sell a kitchen design that his clients just aren’t buying.
Can Dermot create the home his clients have dreamed of, or will this build descend into a nightmare? Room To Improve is available to watch live and on demand on RTÉ Player.
What's new?
Irish people love their pills. Every year we spend 40% higher than the EU average on pharmaceuticals. In this thought-provoking documentary Dr. Eva Orsmond examines Ireland’s relationship with over-the-counter and prescription drugs. She asks about what drugs are we taking too much of and what drugs are we taking for the wrong reasons.
Travelling the country, she uncovers evidence that Irish people are indeed over-using and abusing certain medications. Codeine tablets are among the best-selling drugs in Irish pharmacies, but many people don’t realise that the codeine pill they routinely take for headaches, stress and emotional problems can be as addictive as heroin.
Dr. Eva meets one man who needs 96 codeine tablets a day to feed his addiction. Medication Nation also looks at claims that certain other drugs such as anti-anxiety medication are being over-prescribed across our health service.
Dr Eva talks to the former Government press secretary Shane Kenny, who was prescribed the sedative Valium for a hearing condition. He suffered from severe withdrawal symptoms, which he says have destroyed his life. Dr Eva hopes this hard-hitting documentary will make us all question our relationship with drugs that can sometimes end up doing more harm than good. Watch now on RTÉ Player!
What not to miss?
A brand new, eight-part series of The Works Presents returns with John Kelly meeting key figures from the worlds of film, literature, music, theatre and the visual arts. In the first episode of the series, John meets with famed bass player and member of U2, Adam Clayton. Known for his role in one of the biggest groups in music history, Adam has toured the world and been a prominent feature on the rock scene since joining U2 over 40 years ago.
In this interview, Adam reflects on punk influences to the early days of U2 in the mid-1970s when bands such as The Sex Pistols and The Stranglers were of central importance to the fledgling U2. The interview travels beyond the band when Adam and John discuss the impact touring world cities in the 1980s had on Adam’s appreciation of the arts.
Visiting various galleries, being exposed to other cultures and styles of architecture brought him to understand the bigger conversation art is having with itself. For Adam, this deepened a love for art that he has had since he was a child, something he maintains to this day by way of interviewing various artists for his column in GQ Magazine.
Other topics covered in the interview include a discussion of how a band like U2 can continue to be relevant. Also, Adam gives an in-depth explanation of the ways his bass playing craft has evolved over time both in a studio setting and a live arena. This episode is a must see for lovers of rock, visual art and popular culture with John discovering what makes Adam such an important figure in the music world. His unique insight will leave the audience wanting more. Watch now on RTÉ Player.
What’s coming up?
In October 2016, Other Voices hit out from Dingle crossing the Atlantic on the musical expedition of a lifetime. The show found a sister home in Arlyn Studios, Austin, Texas, filmed an exclusive acoustic performance with the legendary Willie Nelson, Gregory Porter and more.
Following the trip of a lifetime to the Lone Star state of Austin Texas, Other Voices returned home to St. James’ Church, Dingle during the Other Voices Festival to celebrate 15 years of the series with an exceptional Irish line up. The first episode of the new series is available to watch on RTÉ Player and includes Imelda May, who raised the roof of the Church, performing new material from her forthcoming album produced by T-Bone Burnett, performances from Cage The Elephant, Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes), Sweet Asleep At The Wheel and many more. As always, the IMRO Other Room showcases some promising artists on the rise including Moon Looks On.
This year RTÉ will be offering fresh Other Voices content weekly for the duration of the run; Other Voices founder Phillip King is to be featured in the popular ‘Something For The Weekend’ section, and Culture will be offering a weekly preview of each show, while showcasing outstanding performances from the previous episode. Culture will also host a video playlist of classic Other Voices performances, and we’ll be offering a behind the scenes look into how it all comes together. Watch the first episode of the news series of Other Voices now on RTÉ Player!
