The Blizzard of Odd was an Irish

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

 comedy

Comedy

Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...

 television programme broadcast on RTÉ

RTE

RTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey...

, presented and written by Irish comedian

Comedian

A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...

 Colin Murphy

Colin Murphy (comedian)

Colin Murphy is an Irish comedian. He was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland but now lives in Downpatrick, Northern Ireland. He is best known for his television work hosting and co-writing The Blizzard of Odd, The Unbelievable Truth, and as resident panelist on The Panel for RTÉ and The Blame Game...

. The half-hour show (including commercials

Television advertisement

A television advertisement or television commercial, often just commercial, advert, ad, or ad-film – is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization that conveys a message, typically one intended to market a product...

) was aired usually on Tuesday nights at 22:25 on the RTÉ Two

RTÉ Two

RTÉ Two is a free-to-air general entertainment channel operated by Irish state broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. RTÉ Two is available throughout the island of Ireland through digital terrestrial service Saorview, VHF and UHF bands, and is also available via satellite to Irish subscribers of...

 channel.

The programme incorporated a number of segments such as Boggle Box, reviewing the week's television programmes, Made in Ireland, which features clips from various Irish B-movies (including low budget Irish pornography

Pornography

Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...

 films, which Murphy dubbed "Lepraporn"). Also "reviewed" in comical fashion were bizarre cult material such as recurring favourites Vampyros Lesbos

Vampyros Lesbos

Vampyros Lesbos is a 1971 erotic horror film directed and co-written by Jesús "Jess" Franco, inspired by Bram Stoker's short story Dracula's Guest.- Plot :...

 and the Leprechaun

Leprechaun (film)

Leprechaun is a 1993 horror film directed by Mark Jones, starring Warwick Davis and Jennifer Aniston in her first film role. The film was shot in Saugus, California...

 film series

Leprechaun (franchise)

Leprechaun is an American comedy horror franchise consisting of six films and a comic book series. Beginning with 1993's Leprechaun the series centers around a malevolent and murderous leprechaun, who, when his gold is taken from him, resorts to any means necessary to reclaim it.-Overview:In the...

, plus other segments which varied from week to week.

On one occasion Murphy was reviewing Star Trek

Star Trek

Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...

, in particular the Star Trek: The Next Generation

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...

 episode "The High Ground" However, he was unable to show any clips of it, as the episode was banned from broadcast in Ireland and the UK due to a positive reference to Physical force Irish republicanism

Physical force Irish republicanism

Physical force Irish republicanism, is a term used to describe the recurring appearance of non-parliamentary violent insurrection in Ireland between 1798 and the present...

. Murphy got round the ban by reading out the script of the offending scene, attempting to play both characters (Jean-Luc Picard

Jean-Luc Picard

Captain Jean-Luc Picard is a Star Trek character portrayed by Patrick Stewart. He appears in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and the feature films Star Trek Generations, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection, and Star Trek Nemesis...

 and Data

Data (Star Trek)

Lieutenant Commander Data is a character in the fictional Star Trek universe portrayed by actor Brent Spiner. He appears in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and the feature films Star Trek Generations, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection, and Star Trek...

).

While the show was very cheaply produced – the set for later seasons was simply a white backdrop onto which Murphy occasionally brought props – it remains a cult favourite among sections of the viewing public in Ireland. It is on an indefinite hiatus and hasn't aired since 2005. Although it has been removed from the RTÉ website, the show has yet to be formally cancelled or renewed, leaving it in a state of limbo.

The show's title music was "Television Screen", a cover of The Radiators From Space

The Radiators From Space

The Radiators From Space are an Irish punk rock band. The band formed in 1975 in Dublin, originally under the name Greta Garbage and the Trashcans, and consisted of Philip Chevron , Pete Holidai, Steve Rapid, Jimmy Crashe and Mark Megaray. They were one of the earliest punk rock bands...

's single by Centipede on the Roof.

Controversy

In 2005 clips from low-budget 1997 movie Space-jacked were aired on the show. The film featured two actors from soap opera

Soap opera

A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...

 Fair City

Fair City

Fair City is an award-winning Irish television soap opera on RTÉ One. Produced by Radio Telefís Éireann, it was first broadcast on Monday, September 18, 1989...

; Mick Nolan who plays Ray and Ciara O'Callaghan who plays Yvonne. O'Callaghan was noted at the time for appearing naked.

External links

• The Blizzard of Odd official site archived copy from the Internet Archive
  Internet Archive
  The Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...