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RTÉ was risking bringing back the beloved 1990s children’s show The Den (RTÉ One, 6.30pm) but the gamble is worth it during a riotous first episode. The good news is how little you feel at stake. Jokes don’t always work.
Ray D’Arcy spends much of his time being yelled at by the puppets Zig and Zag and the latex turkey Dustin. Nobody seems to know very well what is happening. It is perfect.
As D’Arcy reunites with Zig, Zag, and Dustin, it’s clear that everyone involved is improvising. There is a phone competition and a quiz on the air in which three roommates win a new television and a year’s supply of potato chips.
It shouldn’t work, and often it really doesn’t. However, it turns out that one thing Irish television excels at is feel-good anarchy.
But mostly it’s just three shabby puppets and D’Arcy flying around the set of his zogabongs. It’s everything you could wish for.
The new Den serves as a partial vindication for D’Arcy, who had faced criticism for his Saturday night chat show (essentially the Late Late Show, but less riveting). You are in your element here. You can almost watch the years go by as he jokes around with Zig and Zag.
The biggest surprise is how quickly the 60 minutes go by. A Wise Puppet Hour sounds like a stretch, even taking into account the massive nostalgia factor. However, The Den is cleverly padded. CMAT singer, also known as Co Meath native Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, comes out into a phone booth to do a duet with Dustin on Islands in the Stream.
Meanwhile, a sketch segment sees Zig and Zag pretending to be Americans and telling terrible jokes. Ronan Keating appears on Zoom to chat with two fans who originally appeared on The Den as children. Dara Ó Briain joins in announcing his book on aliens (“25 years later, I still can’t say a word,” he tweets immediately afterwards).
It shouldn’t work and often it really doesn’t. However, it turns out that one thing Irish television excels at is feel-good anarchy. That was always The Den’s selling point. And 30 years since D’Arcy made his slot debut and 10 since The Den went off the air, this is a brilliantly loud comeback.
It says something about the Irish psyche that an hour of deranged puppets hurling low-grade insults is precisely what we need right now. But we need it, and The Den rises to the occasion wonderfully.
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