Once upon a time, this was the sort of thing we watched quite happily on Saturday night telly.
But what sort of show, you may ask, could it possibly be? A radical sci-fi-meets-reality-TV format in which four balding (yet slightly furry) creatures are locked into a living-room done up to resemble a jungle? A live self-help session for smokers? An early incarnation of speed dating? It's none of the above, of course. It's Saturday Live. Created to fill the gap in the schedules left by the move of The Late Late Show to Friday nights, the show had two mildly successful seasonal runs from the spring of 1986 to the autumn of 1988.
Its gimmick was that it was hosted by a different presenter each week, including Rhonda Paisley, Eamon Dunphy, Alan Dukes and – in our photograph – the playwright and songwriter Dominic Behan.
On Behan’s couch are, from left, the mouth-organ maestro Larry Adler, the madcap comedian Spike Milligan and the Belfast writer Sam McAughtry; a formidable trio, none of whom would have been short on either music or chat.
The photo has an endearing oddness, perhaps because it creates a mischievous gap between the larger-than-life Behan and his guests.
It also – appropriately for a chat show – raises a number of questions. Why are the guests all clutching their knees? Who decided that that very strongly patterned upholstery print would be a good idea for the seating? And what’s with the plinth to Larry Adler’s right, with its little round, blank, alien head?
And as the evenings lengthen, the question many folks around the country are beginning to ask themselves: what will Saturday nights be like from September onwards, in the company of Ray D’Arcy? Soon enough, we shall see.
Arminta Wallace
