The Savage Eye

When I flicked this on for the first time, my initial reactions was "oh no - not ANOTHER Irish comedy show". After all we've never been the best a producing comedy. Comedy writers yes- but not sketch shows.

In fact most of our successful comedy shows of the last few years have all been made in Britain. Maybe the Irish production values aren't up to scratch - I dunno.

But after a few mins of watching, I couldn't believe that what I was watching was from Ireland. In fact I checked more than once that it was on RTE, and not C4 or BBC - I even called my wife into the room to show her that "something funny is on RTE!!!"

It's not all perfect though, some of the sketches can be hit and miss and it's all fairly insular, I can't imagine people not living in Ireland getting a whole lot out of it. That and I thought the first series was better than the second but as a whole it is definitely worth a look.

Actually it's worth watching just for the catholic church sketches - they might be an easy target in today's society but some of the comedy ideas portrayed are just genius. (Watch out for the priest in the picture)

So well done RTE - on the first funny comedy series by a team of Irish writers that one of which wasn't Graham Linehan.

I got a sense from The Savage Eye that here is an honest attempt at something a bit better than the lamentable average of comedy in the world of Irish TV. In overview it appears to be soft, plumping for the usual, safe targets of oirish fun. And I won't dismiss those who roll their eyes up at much of the proceedings. But McSavage gave me a laugh when I wasn't really expecting it; he chances some odd ideas and when they succeed they're memorable.

But of course, his is necessary, because the said term tradesman is understood by several people, and in several places, in a different manner: for example, in the north of Britain, and likewise in Ireland, when you say a tradesman, you are understood to mean a mechanic, such as a smith, a carpenter, a shoemaker, and the like, such as here we call a handicraftsman. In like manner, abroad they call a tradesman such only as carry goods about from town to town, and from market to market, or from house to house, to sell; these in England we call petty chapmen, in the north pethers, and in our ordinary speech pedlars.

But in England, and especially in London, and the south parts of Britain, we take it in another sense, and in general, all sorts of warehouse-keepers, shopkeepers, whether wholesale dealers or retailers of goods, are called tradesmen, or, to explain it by another word, trading men: such are, whether wholesale or retail, our grocers, mercers, linen and woollen drapers, Blackwell-hall factors, tobacconists, haberdashers, whether of hats or small wares, glovers, hosiers, milliners, booksellers, stationers, and all other shopkeepers, who do not actually work upon, make, or manufacture, the goods they sell.