For the first time, an RT╔ children's drama series has been nominated for a prestigious BAFTA award. Custer's Last Stand-Up, an RT╔/BBC co-production, is up for the award for best children's drama, along with BBC's Byker Grove, Channel 5's Harry & Cosh and Granada's My Parents are Aliens. The awards ceremony takes place in London tomorrow night.
Custer's Last Stand-Up is based on the adventures of teenage would-be stand-up comedian Jamie Custer (George McMahon) and his best friend and manager, Dallas O'Rourke (Ciaran Nolan). A second series of the drama has been completed and will be broadcast on RT╔ and BBC in the New Year. George McMahon and Ciaran Nolan - both 16-years-old - will attend the ceremony, accompanied by the series producer, Ferdia MacAnna.
Commenting on the nomination, Cathal Goan, RT╔'s director of television, said: "We're delighted and proud of the achievement of this series. The development of drama to suit all age groups is a clear ambition for RT╔ and, with the advent of Bachelors Walk and On Home Ground, it is something we are close to realising."
The nomination is for the first episode of the first series, Leave Them Laughing, which was written by Gail Renard. The episode was directed by Graham Harper and produced by Mickey McGowan.
The awards ceremony is to be hosted by TV presenter Kate Thornton. A half-hour highlights programme, My Big Night at the BAFTAs, will be shown on ITV on December 27th.
RT╔ has advertised internally for an assistant commissioning editor for the factual programming department. The department recently had its brief extended to include in-house factual programming, as well as that from independent producers. The new assistant will work across features and lifestyle programming and will report to the commissioning editor for factual programming, Kevin Dawson.
Mindful of its current difficulties, RT╔ says it's seeking a candidate "capable of originating and developing commercial opportunities around programmes". The ad says: "The successful candidate will benefit from experience as a programme-maker, with a knowledge of programme origination, content and style and of production and organisation within a rapidly changing personnel and production environment in RT╔." Ain't that the truth.
'Tis the season to be jolly and the Christmas party season for the broadcast world is already in full swing. TV3 hosts its annual bash for all staff earlier than usual in the Alexandra Hotel tonight.
Next Friday, the Reel Film Ball takes place at Lobo in the Morrison. It's described as "a celebration of the past 12 months in the film, television, animation and new media industry in Ireland".
Friday is also the night for the Today FM Christmas bash, which this year is taking place in Kilkenny. There were ructions at last year's Today FM party when Eamon Dunphy and the entire Last Word production team walked out during the after-dinner entertainment. The team swept the boards at a mock awards ceremony which they apparently felt was insulting to them - hence the hasty departure. This year, Dunphy won't be going along, citing his seven o'clock off-air time as the reason, but Last Word producer Stephen Price and researcher Amanda Browne are expected to attend.
'Tis also the season for launching videos and DVDs that might be just the things for Christmas stockings. This week, a new sell-through label for RT╔ productions, Raw, launched a video of the AprΦs Match team on stage at the Olympia. The show features Risteard Cooper, Barry Murphy and Gary Cook in the last stage show of the most recent AprΦs Match tour. The video was recorded in October during the Dublin Fringe Festival and is now for sale countrywide.
On Monday, Clarence Pictures will launch a special-edition DVD box set of the Beckett on Film series, which was broadcast earlier this year on RT╔ and Channel 4. The box set contains four DVDs with all 19 plays, a documentary on the making of the films, a stills gallery with commentary, interviews with some of the actors and directors of the plays and a souvenir book. The set can be purchased from shops or directly from Clarence Pictures. It will be launched on the UK and US markets early next year and there has already been strong interest in it from universities and libraries, particularly in the US.
RT╔ has just launched an 80-minute CD-Rom marking 75 years of RT╔ Radio. It contains video footage, archives and more than 800 photographs. It is introduced by Pat Kenny and spans the history of Irish radio from its launch at Little Denmark Street, Dublin, on January 1st, 1926, up to the present. The CD ends with a special Just-a-Minute quiz from Larry Gogan, testing users' knowledge of RT╔ radio.
This CD is not for sale, however, but will be distributed to all schools, libraries and third-level institutions throughout the country.
mkearney@irish-times.com