RTƒ's Christmas throws up the good, the bad and the ugly

This Christmas, more than ever, we should be looking forward instead of back over the worst year we’ve endured since Noah kicked our ancestors off the ark – which is why it seemed like a good idea to take a peek at RTÉ’s Christmas schedule.

There had to be nuggets of delight in there somewhere, among the endless parade of has-beens and wannabes dressed in red jumpers and sitting in front of an open fire as though television from the sixties was somehow still at the cutting edge.

But no – RTÉ’s Christmas feast is largely made up of last year’s leftovers, thrown together with a few crumbs from others tables into a sort of visual gruel that most certainly won’t leave anyone looking for more.

Let’s start with the positive however and a couple of home-grown documentaries – David Blake Knox’s one on Gerry Ryan should be insightful given how well he knew him, and Jimmy Magee’s enthusiasm, never mind his incredible knowledge, makes his documentary a must for all sports fans.

Horslips – the Road to the O2 will serve as a slice of nostalgia for music fans of a certain vintage, and – depending on what style of comedy tickles your fancy - Des Bishop’s stand-up show, Desfunctional live from the Roisin Dubh in Galway may or may not be your thing.

Galway’s own Owen McDonnell has made it safely through another series of Single Handed and should be worth watching when he stars in Wild Decembers, described as a story of land and love and adapted by Edna O’Brien from her own novel.

Sports-wise, Galvinised is a specially commissioned fly-on-the-wall documentary reflecting a year in the life of Kerry GAA star and pantomime baddie Paul Galvin, while The Fields of Athenry tells the story of the highly popular song which has become a sporting anthem. It has nothing to do with Athenry, by the way.And there’s the ususal end of year sporting reviews – reflections on the World Cup, the All-Irelands, our boxers at the European Championships in Moscow, and of course the RTE Sports Awards for 2010.

But then there’s the dross that fills endless hours, masquerading as cutting-edge, home produced television, when it reality it has all the appeal of a turkey curry on December 29.

The Hardy Bucks are hard to take at any time of the year but they have all the festive appeal of an enema; ditto Wagon’s Den, while The Republic of Telly and Mattie are only yards behind.

For more, read this week's Connacht Sentinel.