PAT KENNY: WOULD YOU PUT A LITTLE COLOUR ON YOUR FACE?
May 17th, 2009 by Conor McCabe
I know this story is old at this stage - I’ve only come across it now as I’ve been out of the loop for a bit alright - but, my God, try this on the BBC, Channel 4, CNBC, or even Fox, and see what would happen.
Pat: If you had won the money, what would’ve you done with it, fifty thousand?
Jack Lynch: go to New York.
Pat: Go to New York?
Jack: Yeah
Pat: And what would you do there?
Jack: Erhm, learn more ’bout breakdancing
Pat: more break.. (silent)… an’ how long have you been doing that stuff?
Jack: Nearly two years now
Pat: Only two years? And you’re that good already?
Jack: (Almost silent), yeah.
Pat: Wow! (Pause). ‘Course all of the great, great breakdancers are in New York, aren’t they?
Jack: (Nods happily), yeah!
Pat. Yeah… Most of them are black as well.
Jack: Yeah
Pat: What would you do? Would you put a little colour on your face?
Jack: Augh! Naah.
Pat: No. No. You’d be the greatest, the first great, great, white, breakdancer… in the world!
Jack. Hunh! Probably will be, he!
Pat: Ahh you’re a great lad, and we all loved yeah! And you were great on our show!
Enjoy.
Pat Kenny has always shown elegant dress sense, but as an Irish proverb goes: Ní chaitheann an chaint an t-éadach - talk doesn’t wear the clothes. Hmm, I think this means Kenny on the Late Late hasn’t been a sparkling talker or stimulator of sparkling talk for his guests. I think he has been a lacklustre talk show host, asking inane questions and not probing and failing to plumb hidden depths. I also think programme planners have run the show into the ground by choosing an endless conveyor belt of dimwit “celebrities” whose only talent is for wearing celeb clothes and flaunting designer hairstyles that cover hollow minds. The RTE producers don’t need to hire Ryan Tubridy to succeed Kenny. They need to scrap the show and replace it with three or more discussion and documentary programmes that stimulate viewers’ curious minds rather than serve as chewing gum for glazed eyes.
It’s a good idea, Gar, which means that RTE would probably never do it.