BASED on his best selling book David McWilliams authors a three-part series on RTE1 tonight (Monday) at 9.30pm examining the economic and social landscape of Ireland in 2006.
In what could be an intriguing exposé David introduces us to 'The Pope's Children' a new Irish generation; they are young, sassy and successful.
We meet DIY Declan, Low GI Jane, Breakfast Roll Man, Yummy Mummy and the HiCos - the elite whose distance from deckland and the new middle class is measured by their cool sophistication and their ability to feel equally at home on the Boulevard Saint-Michel and on Hill 16.
The first programme in the series explores our current state as the hedonists of Europe. We are boozing, eating, shopping, spending, playing hard and working even harder. Ireland is richer now than any of us would have thought possible ten years ago. We have more money in our pockets than almost anybody else in Europe, this year alone we will spend 75 billion on consumption which equates to about ¤20,000 for every man, woman and child.
David explains how we have been pushed together and lifted up in a sort of 'Wonderbra economics' effect, which has allowed us to display our rather impressive material cleavage.
The economic success of Ireland as split the classes into two tribes. These are the HiCos and the Decklanders.
David examines our path from being the sick man of Europe in the 70's when Hibernian Ireland was an isolated outpost shielded from any foreign cosmopolitan views which were rarely viewed as anything other than threatening to the extent that a fatwa was placed on the humble Curly Wurly bar. Ireland's Baby Boom peaked nine months to the very day that the pope kissed the tarmac, these babies all 620,000 of them are The Pope's Children they are the future of Ireland and our economic drivers.
In Search of The Pope's Children will explore how we arrived here and endeavours to project forward to see what might be around the corner for all of us. It challenges the views of the commentariat surrounding New Ireland and its perceived ills, uncovers the reality of our relationship with cheap credit and asks are we going to build on or blow or economic prosperity?
Should be good.
MOST infuriatingly, one of the other (possible) best programmes on this week is also on at the same time as The Pope's Children (see left).
Tonight at 9pm on Channel 4, too big to walk is the first of a trilogy which continues all week.
Eight seriously obese people are making the journey of a lifetime, walking 500 miles from the south coast of England to Edinburgh in a bid to get fit before it's too late. The walkers weigh up to 32 stones and are risking their lives if they don't get fitter and lose weight.
Gary's been told that if he doesn't change he could be dead in two years and will never see his daughters grow up; Stacey wants to be an airhostess, but can't fit into airline seats; Jane wants to have kids, but she's been told that her weight will make pregnancy dangerous. It's a huge lifestyle change for the walkers, who prefer comfort-eating on their sofas to hiking in all weathers. And, despite help and advice from experts, it's down to them to find the physical and emotional strength to complete this amazing challenge.
In the first episode, the walkers set off from Devon for Bristol and have problems before they get over the first hill, for many of them this is the most exercise they have ever done. That's not the only problem, as the group struggle with having to camp and getting along with each other. And they start to realise that they won't lose weight if they carry on tucking into mammoth meals. Before they reach Bristol, one of the group is threatening to quit and another is told by doctors that their body can't cope with the strain of the walk.
Eight seriously obese people are making the journey of a lifetime, walking 500 miles from the south coast of England to Edinburgh in a bid to get fit
THIS Thursday on Channel 4 at 9pm, The Last Aztec is hopefully going to be inspiring stuff.
Booker prize winner for Vernon God Little, DBC Pierre is of English and Australian descent but grew up in Mexico City. As a young man, he discovered a book that purported to reveal the resting place of the Aztec Emperor Moctezuma and his treasure.
And so began Pierre's lifelong obsession with the Aztecs, researching their history, meeting a rogues gallery of Mexican explorers, hustlers and Aztec descendents.
Finally, Pierre tracked down the valley in the Sierras where the sorcerers still protect a cave system, which he believes could be the key to the riddle of what happened to Moctezuma's legacy. He tried to raise funds to make a film about the Aztecs and, in desperation, he stole from his friends and even sold a friend's house without the person's knowledge. The film didn't get made and Pierre's life spiralled out of control until salvation came with his book. From the royalties, he paid back his friends and now he has made his film.
The Last Aztec follows the author back to the Mexico of his youth to explore the downfall of one of the greatest civilisations ever.
Combining compelling, in-depth history with the spontaneity and excitement of a gonzo road movie, this film sees the literary bad boy bring one of the greatest clashes of civilisations to life and reveals its legacy on the vibrant, beautiful and troubled modern Mexico.
The search leads him to a native village of witches high in the Sierras where he meets the people who are arguably direct descendants of Moctezuma's court. He consults with their sorcerers, participates in their rituals and tries to determine what it is they are guarding in a hidden cave: could it be the gold of Moctezuma?
This could be the programme of the year, that is, if he doesn't try to steal the truth from under us. As if.
