Dan Conway’s Corner
Sometimes the advertisements on television are as interesting, if not more so, than the programmes or ‘shows’ sent to entertain us. I don’t know why they insist in calling everything broadcast a ‘show’. And the comperes all hark back to the “Top of the Hour” instead of to the start of the ‘show’ or programme.
What on earth is the “top of the hour”? I never knew an hour had a top or bottom. They never advert to the “bottom” of the hour, do they? More than one advertisement is more deserving of being called ‘show’ than many of the so-called shows.
The quintessential ‘show’ shown on RTE 1 is, of course, the Late Late Show, back in the halcyon days, well, nights really, when Gay Byrne was at the helm and it was in glorious black and white or early colour.
It was a case of, archbishops or Taoiseachs or captains of industry, beware. And still they were all made welcome of the Show. That Gaybo gave U2 their break one famed Saturday night, is hardly mentioned at all these days. The Late Late Show has hosted the famous and the infamous.