Bernard's Working Comics (RTÉ2, 9.30pm) is well-intentioned but never really comes together. The premise is that comedian and Republic of Telly regular Bernard O'Shea is mentoring "witty workers" with "ordinary day jobs" as they take their first baby steps into stand-up. So it's human interest plus comedy. Or as RTÉ would call it: a leap into the unknown.
The problem in the first of three episodes is that the show fails to fully commit to the premise. Instead, we are treated to extended sequences in which O'Shea hangs about with gardaí in Portlaoise and Stradbally, Co Laois, pretending to answer the phone, posing for mugshots etc. At one point a garda jokingly threatens to lock him in a cell. At least I assume he's joking.
Interspersed with these scenes are clips of O’Shea’s own routines. There are gags about gardaí pronouncing vehicle “veh-heh-kill”, going to “Coppers” and so forth.
Generations from now, comedy anthropologists will identify this as the post-Father Ted "did you leave the immersion on?" school of Celtic stand-up (Hibernicus Guffaw-icus).
O’Shea reveals his own father was a garda and that he himself considered joining the force. But the personal angle is quickly glossed over, which feels like a missed opportunity.
There is surely potential to delve deeper. How does O’Shea feel about his decision now? Has the pandemic affected him professionally? As he jousts with hecklers, does he ever wonder whether he should have followed his dad to Templemore?
With soul-searching avoided at all costs, O’Shea scours Ireland for gardaí willing to go to stage. He eventually locates two, Sarah from Clare and Joe from Laois. However, right up to their debut gigs – in front of a smattering of sympathetic gardaí - they come across as hugely ambivalent about whether they want to actually participate.
O’Shea seems a jolly sort and there is little of the darkness you often get with comedians (who can be surprisingly dour and peevish in real life). His philosophy on comedy feels revealing, too.
He tells one garda that audiences have no interest in listening to a comedian brag about all the positives in their life. They want to hear about the tragedy, the humiliations, the cruel reversals. That’s an intriguing insight – and one of the rare moments Bernard’s Working Comic ventures beyond surface level chortles.
