David Higgins

Earlier this year I switched from UPC to Sky. This change saw me going from a dodgy standard definition box to a High Definition box with dual record and series link. This along with way more channels cost me little more than what UPC were charging me for their poxy service.

However since UPC took over NTL and Chorus, things have improved substantially. They were voted ISP of the year 2008 for their fast and reliable broadband service and I kept this service along with their cheap phone line, I only dropped UPC TV. They have up to 20Mb of speed and the 10Mb I have is plenty.

Now they’ve launched their new product, Digital+ HD.

For €7.50 a month you get 8 HD channels and a HD digital box. Compared to SKY+ HD this is no comparison however it is a cheap and convenient way for UPC customers to make the jump to HD.

SKY+ HD is €15 monthly and it provides up to 33 channels (twice as much for four times the channels). The catch, however with this is that it depends what channels you already have to get the HD equivalent. For example, the 9 Sky Movies HD channels are not available unless you already have them in standard definition first. The same goes for the 3 Sky Sports HD channels. Another thing to note is that 2 of Sky’s HD channels are Box Office screens and 2 more (BBC HD and ITV HD) are only available through the “Other Channels” Menu. This means that they are not recordable and also both those channels are rarely broadcasting, especially ITV. Channel 4 HD is not available in Ireland, also the newly launched ESPN HD is subscription only, however UPC also now carry this.

Trim all this fat away and you only get 16 channels for your €15. Therefore UPC works out – Half the channels, for half the cost. Also if you currently have their DVR box for €5 a month then it’s only an extra €2.50. Even the box is better than Sky’s (on paper that is, they’re usually quite buggy and slow). The box has the same hard drive space as Sky does however this one has the whole disk for personal recordings. Sky’s box has half the space reserved for its anytime service.

Altogether this promises to be a competitive service in these recessionary times. The low cost of this box with no upfront fee (except for installation) is a huge incentive for people who want HD but who also can’t find the cash after paying all the government levy’s. The uptake for this should be high and it may even have the potential to draw customers away from Sky to avail or UPC’s triple play offers.

I’m looking forward to RTÉ’s new schedule more than any other channel this year (after Sky 1 that is). It promises a fresh new set of programs that reflect the times we are now living in. This means an emphasis on current affairs, politics and economics. It’s not everybody’s cup of tea but it’s what everybody’s suddenly interested in now.

As Pat Kenny said as he left the Late Late Show:

“Politics is the new rock and roll” ”.

This season sees The Late Late Show change hands for the second time in it’s 47 year existence, with the young Ryan Tuberty taking the reins of RTÉ’s flagship show. Like all previous series current affairs will take the centre stage and the two previous presenters held debates very well. However this time things are different. Tuberty’s brother Garret unsuccessfully ran for Dublin City Council this year under the Fianna Fáil name (It was a very small logo on his poster but I managed to read it).

I have reservations about a FFer having the minds of the nation at his grasp every Friday Night however we’ll have to judge him as the show proceeds. However don’t be surprised if the opposition are being shushed to let the Minister explain his position!

Pat Kenny, of course has moved on and this season he has his own show to replace the second longest running show on RTÉ, Questions and Answers. This was by far my favourite show on RTÉ these past few years so Pat has a lot to live up to here. His new show The Frontline will be on our screens every Monday night.

While politics is mainly a boring topic Ardal O’Hanlon appears to have stepped in to provide a satirical look at political life. His new show Val Falvey T.D. sees the former Father Ted star play a newly elected TD in a brand new six-part series. And who would know better than Ardal, his father is a TD of course. Rory O’Hanlon of Fianna Fáil is a TD for Cavan-Monaghan and he served as Ceann Comhairle from 2002-2007. Like Tuberty I fear a FF bias coming on however Ardal has shown restraint in the past and I hope we’ll see it here too. His previous show for RTÉ “So You Want To Be Taoiseach” was a great success.

And the political satire doesn’t end there. Following in the footsteps “The Panel” which has been renewed for a new season, is a similar untitled show to air at 10 o’clock mid-week. It’s quoted as “A brand new topical comedy show, which looks back on the events of the week.”  Also in the comedy genre is a new show by Jason Byrne. It’s a six-part panel show called The Byrne Ultimatum. He has me caught with the funny title, but whether the show will be funny is another thing.

Moving onto RTÉ factual now in which I see some more promising programs.

• Addicted To Money: David McWilliams surveys the wreckage of the global economy.
• If Lynch had Invaded: How Jack Lynch dealt with the crisis of August 1969
• Charlie Bird’s American Year: Behind the scenes with RTÉ Washington Correspondent Charlie Bird through an extraordinary year in American and Global Politics.
• The Way We Worked: A six-part series looking at changes experienced in work practices in Ireland

The Final highlight for me comes from RTÉ Young Peoples (Very innovative name I might add). “The Guitar” is where 16 of Ireland’s most electric young guitarists compete to win Fender’s extraordinary Rory Gallagher Tribute Stratocaster guitar. My friend Shane McDonnell is in this competition so I wish him well in that.

All in all this looks like a fine list of shows from a station that is gripping with falls in advertising revenue and with the economic crisis as a whole.

Howard Wolowitz (Big Bang Theory)

This week on the International Space Station the unthinkable happened. Their toilet broke down. This is surely a once in a lifetime cock up? No, it isn’t.

The CBS comedy The Big Bang Theory very amusingly acts out this event with the character Wolowitz designing a faulty toilet which breaks down after about 10 flushes!

Him and the other scientists work tirelessly to fix the fault on a model they have on earth, but to no avail.

They can’t fix it and so the words “Houston, we have a problem!” become very poignant.

It’s also coincidental that this major mistake occurs on the week when we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the moon landings.

Wolowitz, by  the way is a engineer who lives with his mother and who desperately tries to pick up women with silly one liners. It never works!

I love the Big Bang Theory. It’s a show about 4 nerds who are totally removed from the social realities of the real world and who struggle to come to grips with the most simple of situations. Sheldon is by far the funniest character.

The show just finished it’s 2nd season and there’s a 3rd on the way, which I can’t wait for!

Even if you don’t like science or nerds, this is a very funny show for anyone to watch.