Firstly I apologise for the sound quality. It was a gorgeous day when we recorded this so we decided to record out in the back garden. This experience would have been much improved for you if I had put the wind cover thingy on the microphone. Enjoy the breezes, buzzy bees and birds: that was the summer! A bumper show this episode which I hope will keep you going until the next one. (Goes off to change the sous titre on the blog from weekly to occasional…)

It’s kinda like the daytime chat shows where they have that one outside broadcast every year. A long tradition in our chosen medium.

01m09s We’re looking for a Big Brother (BB) correspondent! Want to come and talk about it with us? Leave a comment below. Thanks!

01m50s Rosemary tells us she missed a big opportunity because she didn’t watch BB last year

02m28s BB is taking over TV and summer tv is a coming in

02m41s I admit that I watched that crazy first episode of the new series of The Hills

03m35s I also found Heidi’s video “Superficial” on YouTube

03m58s Another embarrassing revelation from Rosemary about her pop habit. To  be fair she does make a living from it

04m07s Summer schedules do allow space for other shows that might not normally get aired.

04m27s We both missed Saturday Night with Miriam: Rosemary was away and I wanted to stay married.

04m48s Rosemary queries the “coolness” of watching 5 year old Lost (as I currently am) as opposed to Miriam. I never said nuttin about being cool!

05m03s However Rosemary’s mum saw Brendan O’Carroll on Saturday Night with Miriam. Television by proxy?

05m22s I wonder how on earth do production companies cope with the uncertainty of whether they get another series.

05m35s Lost Season 3 Spoiler alert although I kind of presume that anybody who wants to see it has seen it at this stage, right?

06m47s Rosemary watched S1 of The Sopranos while on holiday

07m13s Another series that had a real cliffhanger for an ending was True Blood and I wonder when oh when will we see it here in Ireland. I am wondering this even more since I heard the news that they have been granted a fourth series. I haven’t even seen 2 and 3!

08m07s The second series was shown on FX in the UK. Apparently FX is available on UPC in Ireland.

09m00s We can’t remember which station aired True Blood in the first place. We are really good at TV reviewing aren’t we?

09m24s I am flabbergasted by the fact that whichever station that showed S1 of True Blood hasn’t shown S2.

09m40s Rosemary points out that Alexander Skaarsgaaaarrdd is “only getting hotter”. I often wondered who he was…

09m55s Rosemary compares the Bill/ Eric dynamic to the Edward/ Jacob

10m27s Rosemary tells us about this musical gem

10m49s I digress slightly into a very uninteresting aside about a very uninteresting guest on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross

11m18s Rosemary is startled by Huckle the cat who has been reclining in the shade of a bush whilst we idiots burn.

12m12s If you don’t get sarcasm don’t listen to this

12m19s I did my bestest to find out why my UPC recorder did not record the final episodes of Damages

13m51s I am totally flabbergasted by something I am told by RTÉ. (I flabbergast easily; very sheltered life.) Listen and be flabbergasted with me. Or maybe your life is way more flabbergatastic than mine…

15m33s So the missing episodes of Damages didn’t seem to be because RTÉ didn’t broadcast them so I contacted UPC to see if they could shed light on the mystery. I contacted them on Twitter and they are @WeAreUpc on the Twitter

16m53s I’ve been in touch with UPC’s (software) upgrade team

17m27s We discuss the merits of writing a letter to UPC based on Rosemary recently seeing Greenberg with Ben Stiller

18m16s I know UPC are the company people love to hate and I understand how tough it is working in support or customer services but I think I’ve been more than reasonable

19m42s We talk a bit about how our dream UPC or digital TV recorder would work

UPDATE: Since I edited this podcast I have been in touch with UPC again. Apparently they did not receive my original email and as I have recently had some email issues that is probably the case. I have resent the email and will let you know the upshot.

20m26s A swift switch to discussing Inside Nature’s Giants

20m55s Some gastronomic advice from Rosemary for those bound for Normandy. And who ever said this was just a telly podcast?

21m42s And now you will hear the Segue of the Year. Yes indeed from weird French sausages to Hung. Not being the natural comics we do labour it a bit.

22m31s Hung has been recommissioned for a second series. Both Rosemary and I agree on this one: we both really enjoyed it

23m13s A brief summary of Hung

24m24s I am such a lady I can’t even name Ray’s biggest asset!

25m46s The question is, of course, what if you turned the tables? What if the series was about a female prostitute? Rosemary claims that Secret Diary of a Call Girl covers this ground

27m13s In another aside I recommend the IMDB app for your iPhone especially if you are like me and it melts your head if you can’t immediately place where you have previously seen an actor. Rosemary is very keen on the idea of this app.

27m32s Rosemary tells us about her dream app and I promise to check out the details of Plink. Here’s where I heard about this search tool originally.

29m19s Rosemary thinks HBO wasted an opportunity to break new ground considering their previous form when it comes to sexual politics.

30m13s We don’t quite discuss violence against women on television but we will some day.

30m42s One of the refreshing aspects of the show was that the cast are not unrealistically good looking unless it’s essential to their character.

33m36s Stop listening now if you don’t want to hear a Hung spoiler.

35m40s I decide to right our wrongs by watching The Limits of Liberty with Diarmaid Ferriter (this is no longer available on the Player…)

36m57s I do comment on Ferriter’s amount of walking especially as he makes such a meal of it.

39m05s I wonder why, if a programme is made for RTÉ under the Sound & Vision scheme, why does it only stay on the RTÉ player for 2 weeks? Surely it belongs to us?

39m47s Rosemary wonders why Reeling in the Years isn’t always available when she need a good cry (??!!) or if like me you’d like to see what happened in your birth year.

42m09s We precede to discuss the cost of condoms and the fact that you can get pregnancy tests in Lidl because this is a telly podcast…

43m01s The Glee season finale: totally ridiculous. Quinn dancing on stage one minute; labouring the next. Total nonsense. Never mind the fact that her bump was tiny. Really don’t get me started about how pregnancy is represented in the media. More Female Myths!

43m44s Myself and Rosemary are still not 100% clear who blew up the Four Courts. And imagine they did it for us, a future generation. The shame. However there is some incisive political comment involving the two main political parties, teenage discos and snogging. Listen and weep.

44m47s Since we last cast Rosemary went to see Sex & the City 2 and advises you NOT to.

And we’re back. I have given birth and am back on a relatively even keel where I will only cry as much as I used to at all manner of crap tv. This week we focused on Sex and the City in advance of the Irish Premiere and I’m still waiting to see Rosemary’s scathing blog post about that over on her own blog.

01m23s Kicking off talking about two big TV events this week: Last episode of Lost and the Irish Premiere of Sex & the City 2. Rosemary reminds me of another: the Eurovision
01m52s Big event beginning of the week was the final episode of Lost which neither of us actually watched as I’m making my way through the serieseses and am currently about to start series 3. Yes I know, I’ve a bit to go…
03m29s Rosemary asks all the tough questions about Lost
04m21s I shush Rosemary – I’m a brave woman
04m27s The second big event is yes yes the Eurovision but we are actually going to talk about the Sex & the City 2 (SATC2) premiere
04m38s We also heard that Heroes and Flashforward are being axed (Link to items about these)
08m18s I have a big and not very easily explained question about Flashforward
10m15s Rosemary has a problem with a lot of TV programmes that assume we still accept predestination
12m06s Rosemary has done her research! Did you know that Sex and the City is 12 years old?
12m17s Rosemary does not think the sixth series of SATC should have been made: it’s a travesty
12m26s Rosemary and I both heard a rumour that a prequel is to be made. However we disagree on which period is being prequelled. Turns out I might be right: a prequel to SATC the series is being mooted and Candace Bushnell wants Miley Cyrus to play the young Carrie Bradshaw. The horror!
13m15s Rosemary was a SATC fan during it’s heyday. We talk about SATC the Movie and how it undermined all the show had set itself up as. We talk about how on earth did Carrie end up with Big when what she really needed was a metrosexual, a straight Stanford. The series didn’t present itself as a feminist show and yet discussed women’s issues with wit and intelligence in a non-preachy way. And it was funny. It was a comedy about and for women that wasn’t about the domestic or the family. It wasn’t a fridge comedy. Most events took place in public rather than in the domiciliary. We wonder whether those responsible for creating the movie franchise did not realise that the people who would be going to see it would be the very people who watched it in the first place and therefore would not require exposition or cardboard cutouts.
21m46s Rosemary wonders will SATC2 be the biggest movie of this year? Early figures suggest no.
23m01s Rosemary is exasperated about how the movie franchise is so obviously about making money; yes the series was too but not in such in a desperate manner. Here’s the video we promised.

23m39s Sarah Jessica Parker (SJP) featured in another new series on RTÉ “Who do you think you are USA” (At time of casting still available on RTÉ Player)
24m20s Rosemary wonders whether the reason there are so many recaps on American docu type shows is because of their short attention spans. She apologises for her generalisation. I point out that it’s probably to facilitate people flicking through channels & joining the show halfway through. (I’m so mean – I could’ve edited that out… *evil*)
24m35s Fortuitous timing with the European premieres of SATC2
25m39s After my mentioning that Lisa Kudrow is one of the Who do you think you are-ers and an exec producer on the show, Rosemary uses this opportunity to let it be known that she does not want to see a Friends movie. I think a really black version of it could be good but do not want it to be directed by Quentin Tarantino. Are there any series you’d like to see made into a movie? Let us know!
27m51s Rosemary and I once again show our complete ignorance by being unsure as to who exactly burnt down the Four Courts. Answers in the comments below please!
29m22s So SJP discovered that an ancestor was accused of witchcraft in Salem. Rosemary finds this amazing because SJP was in Hocus Pocus.
31m34s SJP came to a slightly questionable conclusion at the end of WDYTYA?
33m33s Rosemary asks me if I remember a show called California Dreams?

34m56s Rosemary watched the new series of The Hills which sounds like the most screwed up TV show ever.
35m28s I express amazement at the concept of a back sculpting, wouldn’t you?
37m44s I state the bleedin obvious

38m30s And that’s it!

Another well overdue podcast. I would blame the Christmas rush yadda yadda but I took it very easy this year all things considered, doing much of my shopping online and allowing my mother to do most of the culinary fabulousness. I also made a concerted effort to watch lots of Christmas telly specials but due to the fact that Rosemary has been snowbound in her country manse we haven’t managed to get together again for a podcast since the 8th of December. (She being a culchie was in for the shoppin, doncha know )

00m44s Rosemary’s TV Trivia

01m49s Rosemary insists on pointing out that the decade does not end until 31/12/2010

02m31s Rosemary heard an item on the radio about TV show of the decade; she’s surprised it’s not Lost

03m57s Lost is up there but it’s not the most popular according to this poll. Prepare to hear true incredulity in my voice as Rosemary tells us that these listeners picked CSI: Miami. MIAMI!!

FYI Here’s the complete list:

1. CSI: Miami
2. Lost
3. Desperate Housewives
4. Te Voy a Ensenar a Querer
5. The Simpsons
6. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
7. Without a Trace
8. Inocente de Ti
9. Anita, No Te Rajes!
10. The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius

Source: Informa Telecoms and Media

04m55s Not quite as incredulous about Desperate Housewives being number 3

05m35s Rosemary regales us with tales of her student day larks!

06m22s I reveal what the most annoying element of Desperate Housewives is… Close your ears if you wish to continue watching this programme without having your head wrecked

06m57s Rosemary has started watching Series 6 of Desperate Housewives

07m12s Rosemary manages to equate her experience of reading Colm Toibin with her feelings about Desperate Housewives

08m59s I wonder with the introduction of Drea di Matteo’s character who seems to be fleeing from someone will there be a Desperate Housewives/ The Sopranos mash up?

11m02s The other show with the staccato music is Defying Gravity (Actually have since caught another episode; it’s not the staccato music so much as the annoying moralistic voiceover. Obviously not as thick as some who need to be told what lesson to derive from a show.)

11m23s Defying Gravity has disappeared (still haven’t found it but every once in a while it pops up in my recorder and I catch up.)

14m34s I apologise to Felixes worldwide; the lead character’s name is Maddux Donner. I mean come on!

16m25s So if the Beeb would like to let us know where it’s gone we’ll happily review it.

(After some extensive research I have discovered that our co-viewers Stateside have seen 8 episodes and ABC have not revealed when the final 5 recorded episodes will be shown. I’m surprised. I’d say it’s a cheap enough show with minimal sets and costumes and a small cast. I also discovered there is a petition online but the feckin eejit who started it can’t even spell Antares – the name of the ship – correctly. Doh! It has been signed by just over 5000. All I can say is good luck to you. Mind you I have seen all 13 episodes aired by the Beeb but am feeling unsatisfied on many levels by my experience.)

16m34s Dollhouse has also been axed and a conversation ensues about Eliza Dushku’s kiss of death. Or is it Joss Whedon?

17m27s I’ve been watching Nurse Jackie and highly recommend this half hour show.

It was on RTÉ so should have been available on the Player

21m46s Rosemary knows that this isn’t a movie review show but if you haven’t been to see New Moon, the second instalment of the Twilight Series. Don’t bother. Read more on her blog.

22m06s Nurse Jackie stars Edie Falco who played Carmella Soprano in The Sopranos

22m29s Rosemary reveals that she would like The Sopranos on boxset for Christmas (yes I’m terribly late casting this pod. Sorry Mum who is also Rosemary’s Godmother and was racking her brain right up to Christmas Eve methinks.)

23m09s Somehow Rosemary’s interest in The Sopranos leads onto a discussion about porn. However it does go on to a discussion where I talk about how I think one of the most interesting elements of The Sopranos are the female characters and the manner they deal with the macho society that they live in.

29m16s Boxsets: what would be on our Christmas lists?

29m22s Rosemary thinks you have to think longevity in terms of quality that would allow you to view the series again and get your money’s worth. I like them for their re-gifting value.

30m59s We’re the missing link in the boxset re-gifting chain

31m07s On my list would be Heroes Season 3 (Well done Mum! Keeping it for maternity leave before things kick off!)

31m18s I would love to watch Lost from Season 1 but I’m kind of afraid to!

32m26s Rosemary would like The Sopranos

32m36s Rosemary would like Stargate after seeing the movie recently

33m05s I admit to being a closet default Stargate fan

33m44s I would be quite keen to watch Stargate Universe

34m09s Rosemary reckons there hasn’t been that many series that she’s just dying to watch. Well apart from the Sopranos. The Wire is a bit of an albatross around her neck but I can’t recommend it enough. I’ve just watched Season 4 and will try to discuss in an upcoming podcast. Maybe get a guest who has the attention span that Rosemary is lacking…

36m19s Rosemary points out that Mad Men series 1 and 2 are available on DVD now but Rosemary is one of those who doesn’t feel compelled to watch it

36m52s I think I’d put Mad Men on my list

37m04s I recommend that Rosemary put In Treatment on her list

37m09s A previous guest Frank Bradley recommended Torchwood, the Dr. Who spin off

37m39s Rosemary tries to recall the name of the series we began watching during the summer brought to us by the League of Gentlemen team. (Psychoville)

38m39s Rosemary demonstrates her geographic ignorance. Laos is not in Thailand and Gibraltar is not Andorra. And who said those school debates about the evils of TV were a waste of time?

40m08s End

A long overdue podcast that was recorded back in mid-November. I’ve been busy in work which hasn’t helped the added evening tiredness but better late than never. However it turns out its casting is timely as we invited our velvet-voiced guest Alan Costello on the show as Rosemary had noticed him tweeting about Glee which finally started in Ireland with a special preview on e3 last night. I gather that we won’t be shown the next episode until January. Flipping Christmas specials!

Also I’ve just noticed that all the YouTube video stills below feature women but not necessarily in any way I would normally like women to be portrayed on my site. However that’s kind of the point.

00m29s This week’s guest is Alan Costello. Rosemary had been paying close attention to who’d been tweeting about which shows and noticed that Alan seemed to be enjoying Glee just as much as her.

00m53s Roseanne has an apology to make to our dear listeners about my previous week’s BSG ignorance.

02m18s TV News is axed in favour of TV Tidbits or Trivia – we haven’t quite decided what to call it. Comments and suggestions below!

02m55s Our first ever TV Tidbits kicks off with an interesting partnership. Prepare to be amazed. Well, surprised. Mildly.

04m41s Twincest: some really old Jedward commentary from November

06m29s There’s all manner of weird stuff on YouTube. Not a revelation but Rosemary has been watching 7 year olds in thigh high boots and Alan has seen a Brazilian 9 year old in a frame by frame re-shoot of Britney’s Toxic. Couldn’t find Alan’s video but Rosemary’s find is truly shocking. Those of a nature please look away now.

07m31s I say you’re all too old to remember when I should say too young. I say it in a real Granny-ish voice and I hope that was an affect I was trying to achieve… Anyway too young to remember the MiniPops

09,32s Our third celebrity couple are Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer from True Blood. Discusssion ensues about whether finding out that an onscreen romance has segued into an offscreen one takes the shine offa it.

12m33s We discuss True Blood my new favourite TV show

20m46s Alan has been watching Glee

25m43s Not being shown yet on TV3 but Eastwick is another one that is supposed to be coming up on TV3

28m55s I finished watching BSG this week and thought there was some weird stuff going on in that in terms of race

30m06s Rosemary points out that The Wire is an American series with plenty of black characters

31m19s Desperate Housewives New Season has started. Alan says that it’s entertaining again.

33m11s Alan points out that theme tunes are getting smaller and smaller: Heroes is just an image and a sound

33m25s Alan tells us that he likes Fringe and apparently there are hidden messages in the titles.

34m18s Roseanne talks about how Fringe is really scary.

34m24s We went off the rails: Rosemary was actually talking about Off the Rails. She watched the first episode of the new series and won’t be watching anymore.

35m21s We wonder whether the makeover victims get to keep the clothes. If you have been on a makeover show, please do tell all in the comments.

35m59s The segment on testing sports bras was quite good however.

36m36s Roseanne wonders what qualifies Brendan Courtney to be a stylist; Rosemary counters with the question, “What qualifies anyone to be a stylist?”

38m06s Rosemary repeats her feeling that Ireland is just too small for a bare-all makeover show. It’s mortifying.

38m38s Rosemary feels that the fashion magazine format just doesn’t work on telly

39m07s Rosemary tells us about a new YouTube show on StyleNation.ie that seems to work the magazine format more effectively

Picked this up from the StyleNation.ie site - check it out

39m05s Rosemary finds the creative, inspiring approach to style more useful

40m40s Alan very dangerously tells a woman 16 years his senior that he would like to talk about “Cougartown“, Courtney Cox’s new vehicle.

41m18s Alan reckons so far Cougartown has avoided the curse of Friends

We recorded this podcast a while ago now as you will hear. In fact we’ve another one recorded since. However I was in Paris in the interim so I missed my usual quiet Monday and Tuesday night last week. We also decided recently to cut down to fortnightly. Enjoy the show anyway: there’s some interesting chats as usual!

Photo of Roman? Greek? Goddess Athena left owned by elijahlight (cc)

TV News Roundup kicks off with XFactor News
01m51s Rosemary’s opinion on what the problem is with the XFactor format
03m28s We wonder what Louis has an eye for…
04m31s Rosemary’s love for Simon Cowell knows no boundaries
04m54s Season 2 of the Dollhouse has started in the States
05m44s The new season of Ugly Betty has been pushed back again
06m09s Heroes, for example, was really knocked off kilter by the writers’ strike
06m44s One Tree Hill continues to have consistently high ratings while remaining a non-runner at awards shows
08m27s We’re both shocked by the fact that 3e are showing Family Guy at 7pm
09m28s I love Family Guy but 7pm is too early for it.
12m02s End of TV News
12m128s We watched Does God Hate Sex on the RTÉ Player
13m28s Rosemary tells me that if Simon Cowell is unavailable and David Norris is amenable she’d marry him. I’m the one who has to break the reality to her
13m48s Rosemary saw him on Living with Lucy; thinks that he’d do will in marriage
14m06s We discuss the non-audience in the audience
14m26s Roseanne comments on the odd floor that seperated the panel from the non-panel audience non-audience
15m02s Rosemary reckons the whole series is moot due to the non-existence of God but Roseanne points out that it’s part of RTÉ’s religious programming
15m18s The panel is made up of journalists and David Norris and the non-audience non-panel seemed to be all religious types; Roseanne wonders why there role wasn’t more inquisitive
16m29s Roseanne reckons the guy with the braces must be the atheist. He said nothing though. Half the audience non-panel said nothing anyway
16m43s Rosemary points out that they were mostly over 40 (like it’s a sin! “Does Rosemary hate… middle aged people?”)
17m03s Rosemary reckons religion ages you so let it be a lesson to us all
17m11s Roseanne wonders what the point of it all is (The series, not religion although…)
17m14s Rosemary reckons because the audience per se were there to represent their religions they couldn’t engage on a personal level
17m37s We did notice all the sexual euphemisms used throughout: hammering it home, beating around the bush etc.
18m20s Rosemary questions why there was no discussion of casual sex as a positive thing
18m55s Roseanne asks if they had invited Rosemary onto the panel would she have been able to defend her point of view against all those entrenched ideals
23m55s The weirdest thing about it was the similarity between its theme tune and the theme tune of that other hyper-religious series which Roseanne is watching: Battlestar Galactica
25m45s Roseanne explains what motivated her to watch all of Battlestar Galactica. When it was coming to an end there was a lot of column inches given to it, praising it as having tackled religious questions when other series couldn’t
27m33s Roseanne says that the gods that are talked about are Roman Gods. They are not: they are greek Gods. My bad
29m20s The other weird thing about BSG is that all the paper is hexagonal. Makes no sense. Actually it’s octagonal. It was late – forgive me.
32m37s Rosemary reckons there hasn’t been many good new sci-fi programmes
3sm45s Then she says ctually there’s one coming up that looks good on Sky – must be Stargate Atlantis Universe?

32m55s Maybe it’s Fringe? That’s quite good

33m21s Science Fiction is actually relatively cheap to make
34m21s Wrap up, plan to talk about Glee in next show with a guest! Find us on iTunes or follow us on Twitter

A long overdue podcast. Here’s hoping it will be the only overdue thing in my life in the upcoming months. Even taking into account Rosemary‘s recent cold and my trip to Cork which are now like distant memories this is still late. I reckon my “condition” is taking its toll on my concentration levels and energy and I just don’t have enough of either to this on a weekly basis. Also Rosemary is, as she regularly points out, a very busy and important person. A lush more like!

This week’s guest is Frank Bradley. I met up with him in the Digital Hub so the sound is a little up and down. Let me know if it’s unlistenable please.

If you would like to guest on the podcast all you need to be able to do is watch telly and talk and either be available to join us in Dublin or skype us. Leave a comment below and we’ll get in touch.

00m35s TV News Roundup

00m54s The Apprentice is starting

01m49s Another show starting tonight: The Frontline (and they have a blog shock horror. And a Facebook page oh la but not a twitter account as suggested on their site.)

02m52s The Afternoon Show has a twitter account so now I’m really starting to think it’s time to move on…

04m55s Who is doing Sile Seoige’s blowout?

06m11s Happy Birthday Fair City

06m36s Rosemary watched the VMAs

10m25s Irish win big at the Emmy Awards

10m51s I declare that Gabriel Byrne was robbed at the Emmys when he didn’t win for his work on “In Treatment”

11m55s Interview with Frank Bradley

13m13s Frank tells me what has been the main cause of his changed TV viewing habits

14m25s I talk about what changed our TV habits: studying

14m50s Some talk about online DVD rental schemes

16m00s Frank talks about his experience of Moviestar, now Screenclick

16m26s Frank tells us about how he buys and then sells the DVDs. Clever!

17m58s Fast fowarding through ads is great!

18m14s Roseanne finds UPC interface unintuitive

19m26s I’m a sit down and read the manual type

20m17s Frank comments that he had to learn how to change start and finish time because RTÉ are notorious for running over

20m28s Frank tells us about his favourite boxset so far

22m53s Roseanne points out that they were careful with scripts in Shakespearean times

23m45s Frank can’t understand the attraction of watching a soap that is previewed in the celebrity mags

24m02s Roseanne talks about people’s reasons for watching soaps vs. series

24m28s Episode arcs in CSI

25m45s Frank talks about listening to Lost podcasts where the participants talk about having read books mentioned in the series

27m10s Frank shares that some series have episode specific podcasts kind of like the commentary in DVD extras

29m28s First boxset I watched was given to me by Rosemary’s father. It was Firefly and we would highly recommend it

30m34s I don’t buy boxsets myself; don’t see the point as I wouldn’t rewatch them

31m14s Rosemary tells us that the first boxset she bought was Buffy on VHS

31m29s She also bought Sex & the City on VHS and has a cautionary tale about trying to sell them in the Buy & Sell

33m21s Rosemary talks about how jaded Buffy is at this stage

33m49s I watched the Sopranos on boxset because I was never terribly interested in it when it was on

35m08s I don’t put my life on hold to watch television so it’s been a long time since I’ve watched a series religously except on boxset

35m47s I watched series 2 of Heroes on boxset because I only saw bits & pieces of if

36m30s Rosemary reckons teenagers are the only ones who watch series when they’re on

36m54s The last time I watched a show religiously was back when I was babysitting

37m30s Rosemary hates waiting the week especially when you know you won’t be home

37m52s Rosemary just started watching Mad Men

39m10s We’ve just started watching BSG which is so long you can’t watch a whole series in the week you’ve rented it in

40m05s Top tip: if you bring back a vid overdue to Xtravision and rent something immediately of same value fine is wiped

42m33s Rosemary’s sister gave us Weeds last Christmas

45m41s Rosemary has been watching “My so-called Life” on boxset

46m24s I used to hate the holodec episodes on Star Trek

47m33s Oh gosh darn it we don’t get a chance to tal about the OC boxset cos we run out of time

See you next week. If you would like to guest on the show just pop a comment to us below and we’ll get in touch.

This week we were joined on the show by expert Big Brother viewer and long time fan, Emma Reynolds. Big thanks to her for her invaluable insight into something I know nothing about. No podcast next week as Rosemary and I are far too busy having lives!

Here are the shownotes:

00m40s TV News Roundup
00m46s Ryan Tubridy presented the Late Late show for the first time but there’s a longer discussion later on in the show.
00m54s Ryan will be on “Who do you think you are”
01m35s Rosemary has no X-Factor news but Roseanne actually watched it and was really impressed by a woman-child singer. However there was also some awful tripe on it too. Rosemary felt compelled to point out that I’m extending the TV News Roundup. So it turns out that the XFactor news was not that I had actually watched it; it was that Sheryl Cole is releasing a single. Neither Rosemary nor Emma too impressed with the single. Emma was pleasantly surprised that Sheryl’s voice is distinctive enough
05m25s 90210 is restarting in the States on Tues Sept 8th. Apparently that’s news. Yawn. So I get all stalinist about 90210 discussions and Rosemary fights back with a Who Do You Think You Are comment.
05m56s True Blood is coming to terrestrial TV on Channel 4 in October
06m07s I butt in with some TV News: Harpers Island discussed with Rapture Ponies in Episode 7 has started on e4
06m24s Last piece of TV News: Derren Brown is staging a series of tricks including predicting the National Lottery numbers and sticking the nation to their couches on Friday 18th September. Ever the capitalist I wonder who is going to buy the advertising after the show where Derren sticks us to our couches. I admit that she actually wants to be stuck to her couch by Derren Brown. No not that way you foul minded fiend!
07m47s Then we discuss Ryan Tubridy on the Late Late Show. I talk about my experience of liveblogging and tweeting the Late Late and I couldn’t help wondering were RTÉ aware of the commentary and the amount of it that was going on online?
08m59s Emma talks about Ryan interviewing Saoirse Ronan, the Irish Oscar winner
09m29s Rosemary wonders why did they not start with Bryan McFadden. I reckon it was contractual.
11m04s I reveal that my understanding of national economics is based on how many bottles of wine are in her wine rack
11m46s I give out yards about the interview with Bryan McFadden and now realise that I forgot to give out yards about the set
and no I didn’t watch Page Three Teens instead. And no I was not surprised the Ryan didn’t go with the Twits suggested line of questioning about how it feels for Cherie being married to an (alleged) war criminal
16m41s Emma talks about Saoirse Ronan, and how she couldn’t get over that she was only 15
17m51s Roseanne says you cannot compare Friday with Jonathon Ross with The Late Late because it’s pre-recorded and is all light entertainment
19m33s Some late TV News Jools Holland returns with his Tuesday/ Friday Later Broadcasts
19m59s The other big TV event on Friday was the Big Brother finale. We discover that I am completely whipped by my husband who told her he’d leave if she switched from the Late Late tripe to Big Brother.
20m48s Emma felt that the defining feature of this year’s BB was the presence of free-thinkers like Marcus and Siavash.
Interesting to see how Big Brother dealt with their attitude
21m52s Emma thinks that Big Brother has been nannied out of existence
23m38s Rosemary wonders are people getting bored with the format
24m25s Emma reckons it has been become a manufacturer of celebrity
24m55s I remember the first Big Brother and the documentary they showed beforehand
26m36s For the sociological experience hungry there was a selection of programmes to appear on
28m02s I really enoyed the reality show about the Iron Age village
30m03s Emma thinks the most interesting thing in Big Brother is that in 10 whole series no-one ever refused to nominate
31m 27s I always thought it was strange that the housemates never worked out a way to communicate with each other. BB kept a close eye out for this
32m11s Rosemary asks Emma does she think that anything can save BB
37m36s Emma points out that a good ol’ love story helps BB. Rosemary tells us the secret formula for manufacturing love
38m07s Emma tells us that she also loves Celebrity BB
38m28s Emma tells us her high point of the BB series
39m13s Rosemary asks Emma what the lowpoint of the series was for her
42m21s Rosemary wraps up

Not to me thankfully but Simon Cowell if you’re reading this click on the link below and fast forward to 17m45s. The Blonde Bombshell wants you. However I would have grave reservations about you becoming a member of my family.

Who’s Simon Cowell? Watch below and then crawl back under your rock

Hmmm anyway. Apologies I did something odd to the sound this week and will not do it again if I can work out what it was. It’s a steep learning curve…

00m55s We kick off the show by inviting you to be our guest. Honestly. Leave a comment below and we’ll get back to you.

01m26s Rosemary kicks off her weekly TV News Roundup (which this week actually has a backing track whatcha think? Keep or no?) including

• her Big Brother Blast (last for this year!)
• 02m 49s Rosemary picks Sophie to win again (turns out she was right!)
• 02m 56s Wallace & Gromit to get their own primetime show about inventions
• 03m 5s What Katie did next beaten in the ratings by Going It Alone
• 04m 24s Late Late Show kicks off on Friday

05m10s Last bit of news isn’t part of the Roundup actually. We were sent a copy of their Autumn Schedule by the lovely people in TV3 which we really enjoyed flicking through.
06m14s A discussion ensues about Midday and the nature of television for women. I make the point that at least it looks good unlike a lot of other Irish studio television.
11m31s Rosemary asks me what I am going to be watching from Le Book? I say I will definitely The Zoo and then proceed to go right off topic and wax lyrical about the Zoo and rhinos bonking.
13m53s Rosemary is going to be watching Good Teens Gone Bad
15m28s Rosemary says shes is going to watch Baby Beauty Pageants
16m21s Roseanne is anticipating The Guards with a certain amount of dread
16m58s We’re both happy that so much of TV3′s new schedule is homegrown
17m45s Rosemary is looking forward to the Simon Cowell story because she is in fact in love with him.
20m34s Then we discuss THE TV event of the Year: The Rose of Tralee. We couldn’t remember how the song goes so here for you Rosemary:

But actually the following cheesiness is way better and it features Ryan Tubridy – more in the next episode about him!

22m12s Rosemary tells us how to spot if Mammy Mac Cabe is lying
26m02s Rosemary talks about how the Roses of Tralee are show ponies. Personally I think she has a point but I’m going to keep watching it purely in the hope that there might be changes… Wishful thinking.
32m42s What’s coming up next week & bye bye!

This week we were joined by Rapture Ponies, winner of last year’s Best Pop Culture Blog in the 2009 Irish Blog Awards. This lady knows her pop culture, TV included and was great fun besides. I was delighted to meet someone who shared my LOVE of “How it’s made” – go on click the link, get your fill. So thanks a million Rapture you were brillo!

Just in case you are wondering about the tardiness of this cast I had a week from hell since this as my computer went belly up. I never realised I needed so much software to make this happen but there you go.

01m 19s Rosemary‘s weekly TV News Roundup kicks off with the Big Brothewir Blast! Rosemary pips either Sophie or Charlie to win. I’m shocked that Big Brother broke the rules and gave the howsemaytes magazines. In other news the line-up for Strictly Come Dancing has been announced and includes Natalie Cassidy of Eastenders fame, Jo Wood who is Ronnie’s ex (??? I have no idea either but I was neither nominated for (Rosemary) nor awarded (Rapture) a Pop Culture gong) and Martina Hingis of tennis fame. In other news, X-Factor has restarted and apparently people are none

08m 24s Rapture Ponies talks Harpers Island which sounds extremely gory and as I comment at 12m11s sounds a bit like Twin Peaks. I think my gushing about Special Agent Dale Cooper happened before we started recording. The horror on the faces of the younger ladies when they realised who I was talking about… Sigh.

14m 57s My next choice of telly viewing I was reaching way too low agewise for the ladies or maybe I was just getting up too early. Subjected as I am to children’s TV of a Saturday and Sunday morning I sometimes put the foot down and say “No more Peppa Pig or In the Night Garden, no more. Let’s watch the Penguins of Madagascar!” Love it!

17m 50s Myself and Rapture discovered a shared televisual love in “How It’s Made”. Rapture gets rapturous about it here.

22m 35s We agree that we don’t like “How do they do that” half as much.

23m 45s Rapture outdid herself on the research putting us to shame. She also watched Underage and Pregnant and one of her comments resulted gales of laughter at 25m11s. Pros to the bitter end.

27m51s Two programmes whose names we are unsure of but may have been called respectively Britain’s Greatest Breastfeeders and Largest C**ks (The podcast is marked explicit) get a mention. Classy

29m 45s There’s a brief chat about the CSI Experience currently ongoing in Dublin (mentioned last week also)

A really long show this week – I blame the guards. We were interrupted by the garda helicopter and had to halt recording but I forgot to stop the clock so we lost the run of ourselves entirely.

A big thank you this week to our guest, Dena Walker, who gave us an insider-outsider view of Irish television.

Show notes

01m13s Rosemary’s TV News Roundup which still has no theme tune and really goes on far too long to be a roundup really. She talks about America’s Next Top Model new season and new height, Kerry Katona’s unusual bathroom cleaning method, Noel Fielding getting the heave ho from Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Big Brother and lastly the return of Home and Away from its summer hiatus.
09m120s Roseanne compares and contrasts the Swedish and British Wallander series. She recommends that you try and watch Wallander which is on BBC4 contrary to what she says about it being on BBC3.
19m58s Rosemary has been watching Dexter on boxset and so far so good.
26m26s Dena watched Kim Cattrall in Who do you think you are? Kim unearthed a tale of bigamy and loss.
36m36s Dena gives us an outsider view of Irish television through the dark lens that was Total Xposure, the finalé.
40m59s Rosemary bemoans the camera work on Xposé and begs for a little bit of stillness
42m26s Rosemary admits shock! Horror! that she has never watched the Eurovision
50m39s Wrap up of this week’s show as we look forward to next week with our special guest Rapture Ponies!
51m28s Rosemary tells us about CSI The Experience that has just opened in the Ambassador in Dublin and suggests a field trip. It might be a plan… Then again it might not.