It had to happen. 'Come Dine with Me Ireland' (TV3) has arrived and it doesn't disappoint, whatever your expectations are. If you're looking for cringe-worthy, face-palm tv, then you've got it by the bucketful - it copies earlier versions, except, this being Ireland, the guests seem to drink even more ('thetvreviewguy' is Irish, he's allowed say things like that); and, if the indications of the first few programmes are correct, they don't mind making complete numpties of themselves either. 'Reality' TV has always been about the selection process; who the producers pick is essential to the ingredients of the show. Naturally, if for you have a dinner party with clashing personalities who all happen to be annoyingly 'me-pointing', you'll be hitting telly jackpot. Now ‘thetvreviewguy’ knows all about the fleeting moment of fame that comes with appearing on the box; he twice captained his college in the not-much lamented 'Challenging Times' (for his US friends that was an Irish version of 'College Quiz Bowl'). So he can understand why mass media exposure has appeal (okay, in the case of 'Challenging Times', a bit less of the 'mass'). But he really doesn't want or need to make a complete tool of himself on national television (having perhaps done so in the past ). 'Come Dine with Me Ireland' hits the high tide mark in reality telly but reaches down to the lows when it comes to LCD entertainment. Not that funny, not that charming, 'Dine with Me' is like a passable but ultimately fruitless first date which won't have you rushing back for a second; more in the 'just good friends' category.
It somehow seems so much more downmarket than the UK version....
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