a new thing 20 December 2008
I did a thing tonight that was new and something I had never done before (yes, yes, I know – at MY AGE!) I hosted a show called The Panel for Irish television. It’s a weekly programme that looks at current events and life and pokes fun – sometimes unmercifully – and, basically Has A Go. Tonight’s was, and is, a recording that will be broadcast as a ‘round up of the year’ on sat 27th (i THINK!) but for those of you who live beyond the reach of Irish channels be easy in the fact that I will be away then myself and never see it. In the early days of the show I used to be an actual panellist, tonight I was ringmaster. It often went out live and was TERRIFYING. To add to that plain and simply AWFUL terror was (and is) the fact that most of the panellists are actual stand-up comedians – I am not and don’t have that arsenal of material to draw from. Tonight, however, as the show wasn’t live and I was basically there to steer conversations I quite enjoyed it…mind you the SMELL of fear off my clothes when I changed at the end of the recording was UNREAL. As it ain’t live anymore there’s not a lot that can’t be gone over again if needs be so that’s good to know though, in fairness, that never happens in the cut and thrust of the show but only if the guests are inconvenienced/mikes not working etc.
an interesting experience all round and i might get the Mammy to tape it for me so I can check out how kind the edit was…or otherwise… (hey, no matter what, i ain’t gonna whinge – it’s SHOWBIZ*!)
*DOH! – or should that be ‘MEH’ these days? I’m not as ‘hip with the kids’ as I used to be…
