Hey, did you know that the world's longest running talk show by the same broadcaster is based in Ireland? You did? Eh, well done, your family is proud of you and so am I. If you didn't, I'll tell you it's called The Late Late Show and it began back in 1962. From then until 1999 it was mostly hosted by a man called Gay Byrne. Gay's short for Gabriel if you were wondering. The 60s in Ireland was relatively innocent, alright? And then Pat Kenny took over.
Pat Kenny had presented The Late Late Show's rival for many years and so, you would imagine, he would be a suitable host replacement. Well, maybe to some. But others took some issue with his hosting style. That's probably because it regularly answers the question “what would one of the aliens from 'Space Quest' be like if it were a robot made of wood?” That's our Pat. That is, unless he is trying to endear himself to the guest. Then he becomes panicked, starts smiling too widely, uses vernacular he doesn't understand and generally engenders slightly less comfort than a serial killer who has recently become on fire. Oh and then there's Angry Pat, a man who emerges from nowhere and immediately starts pulling Frank-from-Blue-Velvet-style shapes at all and sundry. As always, don't take my word for it. Here's some videos from Pat Kenny's stint on the "Late Late" and some from his new show "Frontline."
So, clearly, this man is not a big fan of Pat Kenny. As you can see, he barely touches on whatever the subject of the show is before launching a personal attack on dear Pat. What is important about this clip from "Frontline" though is that it displays what I love most about Irish TV: the complete unwillingness to call security or cut away. Seriously, this show is the biggest current affairs show in Ireland, Pat Kenny is the highest paid man on Irish television and it takes them a good three minutes to get a potentially dangerous maniac to leave. I doubt security at RTE are inefficient though—it's up to you whether or not you think RTE staff behind the scenes might enjoy seeing Kenny squirm.
A man genuinely walked up to Pat Kenny in the middle of a live broadcast and loudly cursed him out, live on national TV. And although this man's story is fascinating (his daughter is a researcher on the show, he later drove a car into the front of the TV studio where the "Late Late" is filmed) the real star is, of course, Pat. Once again, the signature “ehh…thanks…thank you” gets rolled out, much to the delight of all and sundry. A gracious man is Pat. Look at him, thanking an unhinged attacker even when he disrupted Pat's excellent skit about a man kissing him on the face. That's how TV is done friends, watch and learn.
Source:theawl.com
