Fair City

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Fair City
Genre Soap operas
Created by Therese Smith
Starring Current
Country of origin Ireland
Language(s) English
No. of series 23
Production
Executive producer(s) Brigie de Courcy
Producer(s) Teresa Smith
Location(s) Raidió Teilifís Éireann, Donnybrook, Dublin 4
Camera setup Multiple-camera setup
Running time 23 minutes
(excluding ad breaks)
Broadcast
Original channel RTÉ One
Original run 18 September 1989 – present
External links
Website

Fair City is an award-winning[1][2][3] Irish television soap opera on RTÉ One. Produced by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ), it was first broadcast on Monday 18 September 1989. Plots centre on the domestic and professional lives of the residents of Carrigstown, a fictional suburb on the north side of Dublin.

Originally aired as one half-hour episode per week for a limited run, it is now broadcast year round in four episodes per week. It is the most popular Irish soap opera, and the longest running.[4]

The programme has viewing figures of between 500,000 and 600,000 making it the most watched drama in Ireland.


Contents

[edit] Setting

Fair City is set in Carrigstown, a fictional suburb of Dublin. Many of the scenes take place around the main street in Carrigstown, with notable landmarks on the street including McCoy's pub, Phelan's corner shop (now Spar, formerly Doyle's), The Hungry Pig (formerly The Bistro), the Community Centre (formerly The Haven) and Vino's (formerly Rainbows Sandwich Bar). Other notable settings include the Acorn Cabs dispatch centre, the shared office, the Helping Hand charity shop, the surgery and most recently The Station.

Fair City occasionally makes use of real Dublin locations. Sequences have been shot in the Natural History Museum, on Grafton Street, during the Dublin City Marathon, and, more recently the Zoo and on the Luas, as well as at the National Ploughing Championships.

[edit] Characters

Main article: List of Fair City characters

The series was originally focused on five families: the O'Hanlons, the Kellys, the Clarkes, the Doyles, and the McCoys. Some of the earlier characters also included Lily Corcoran, her womanizing nephew, Jack Flynn. A young loved-up Paul Brennan, who worked for Jack Flynn, and Linda O'Malley, an acquaintance of a Jack's, whom he had promised fame to. This was similar to the British soap Eastenders, which also originally focused on a number of families and the community in which they lived. Over time the emphasis has moved away from the four families and grown to include the wider community of Carrigstown.

During the 1990s the Phelan, Doyle, and Molloy families were introduced and dominated storylines for that decade. Bela and Rita Doyle, along with their brood of five children and Rita's mother Hannah, were involved in many stories. The Phelan family originally consisted of Hughie and Natalie, but later a new branch of the family arrived including Hughie's mother Eunice, and his brother Christy, along with Christy's wife Renee, and their two children Floyd and Farrah. The Molloy family was introduced in the mid-1990s and consisted of patriarch Harry, his wife Dolores, and their two teenage children Wayne and Lorraine.

The Halpin family was gradually introduced in the early 2000s, but since then the show's focus has shifted to individual characters more than family groupings. Notable characters introduced subsequently include Carol Meehan, Tracey Kavanagh, Ray O'Connell, and Jo Fahey. Another change in recent years has been the introduction of ethnic minority characters such as Lana Dowling (née Borodin) and the Udenze family. However, the Udenzes moved back to England after the father Gabriel was burnt to death in a fire, and Lana Dowling was kidnapped and murdered. In 2009 an Israeli character was introduced to the show – Avi Bar Lev (Asaf B. Goldfrid). Avi hails from the town of Haifa in Israel.

Former executive producer Niall Mathews believes the soap's success is due to the large cast and the fact that no single character or group of characters dominates. "Difficulties are inherent if you are dealing with just one family", he says. "Look at Dallas and Dynasty; both did well at the beginning, but because all the action was centred on a single family, the writers ran out of things to say."[5]

[edit] Production

Each week rehearsals for the four episodes take place on Saturday and Monday. From Tuesday to Friday, the interior scenes are recorded on two RTÉ sound stages. The schedule runs from 08:00 to 18:30. The exterior scenes are filmed on Thursday and Friday either on the lot within the grounds of the RTÉ headquarters, or in various locations in Dublin. The series is planned in blocks of 16 episodes. The first stage is the development of story and plot, which is done by a team of writers. Once the stories have been fleshed out and agreed, a scene breakdown is created. The episodes are then assigned to script writers, who create the dialogue and stage directions for the actors.[6]

Running in parallel with the writing process is the production process, which includes: casting, wardrobe, make-up, design and construction of sets, purchase of props, finding locations, booking facilities, developing schedules, and other administrative tasks involved in managing a large production. From 1989 until 1994, all interior shots were filmed at Ardmore Studios in Wicklow. In 1994, the show moved to a RTÉ studio specifically adapted to cater for this flagship drama. All exterior shots were initially recorded in Drumcondra on Dublin's northside, where residents were politely asked to stay indoors during shooting. Two years later, Carrigstown moved south of the Liffey to RTÉ where set designers replicated the façades and interiors of the original houses.[7]

The show has had four different opening sequences and three different theme songs. The opening features several scenes of contemporary Dublin, while the closing credits show a frozen image of the River Liffey.

[edit] Social realism

The show has featured a number of gritty storylines reflecting major issues in Irish society, particularly from the mid 1990s onwards.

In 1998, the show tackled the subject of rape, with the rape of Lorriane Molloy by Dr Jack Shanahan, who later committed suicide. The show also featured a homosexual relationship in 1996, with characters Eoghan and Liam engaging in Ireland's first gay "kiss" on television. Abortion was portrayed in the early 2000s as Kay McCoy decided to abort her pregnancy despite her husband's wishes, for fear the child would be born severely disabled.[8] Drug addiction has also been portrayed a number of times. One of Fair City's best-known storylines took place in 2001, with crime lord Billy Meehan abusing his wife Carol and mistress Tracey McGuigan before being murdered by Carol's son Lorcan. [9] Prostitution was also shown in 2001 when Tracey turned to prostitution in order to pay for drugs.

Mental health issues were confronted in 2002 when Yvonne Doyle developed schizophrenia (which led to her taking a drug overdose in a failed suicide attempt). In 2003, storylines included teenage pregnancy (Kira Cassidy giving birth to a baby girl, Juliet),[10] incest (Heather Lyons' relationship with her half-brother Floyd Phelan). Domestic abuse was highlighted with the Halpin family when, in 2003, Tess was murdered by her husband Marty following years of domestic abuse.[11]. More recently in 2010, there was a domestic abuse storyline involving Suzanne and Damien. Suzanne was the abusive person in the relationship and this ultimately led to them breaking up.

In 2004, Fair City continued to feature hard-hitting issues such as bulimia (Robin McKenna's eating disorder) and teacher Sorcha Byrne's illicit affair with 19-year-old student Ross O'Rourke (which culminated in Sorcha's boyfriend Barry O'Hanlon being overcome by clinical depression and having a mental breakdown). Homelessness was shown in 2005 when Cleo Collins slept rough on the streets. Gangland killing was also featured in 2005 when Mick O'Shea killed a member of a criminal Ukrainian gang under the orders of crime lord Sylvester Garrigan (which led to his niece Ali being held hostage by them in 2006).

Missing persons were highlighted in 2007 with the disappearance of Lana Dowling. 2008 covered the issue of euthanasia (Floyd's death in a pact with Heather's husband Brendan) and the Criminal Assets Bureau (Carol losing her pub and nightclub which were purchased by Billy with his ill-gotten gains).[12] In 2009 mental health issues were confronted such as Keith McGrath's desertion of the British Army and Bill Taylor's psychological torture over Annette Daly's alcoholism. 2009 also saw the show's first bi-sexual love triangle and lesbian storyline when Yvonne Doyle had an affair with her best friend Connie Boylan.[13]

In 2010, Damien Halpin's unemployment reflects the 2008–2011 Irish financial crisis. In addition the many scenes of domestic abuse towards Damien by his wife Suzanne have brought into the open the taboo subject of spousal abuse towards males. The series has been praised for this edgy and at times controversial storyline.[14] Organ donor awareness was raised in 2011.[15] Aside from this, soap opera staples of youthful romance, jealousy, domestic rivalry, gossip and extramarital affairs are regularly featured. Late 2011/early 2012 saw Orla Kirwan and Caoimhe Dillon engage in numerous shoplifting sprees around Dublin.[16][17]

[edit] History

[edit] Concept and inspiration

Fair City was conceived in 1989 by RTÉ when it decided that it needed an urban soap opera to compete with Coronation Street and EastEnders.[18] Though the creator of the soap was Margaret Gleason, Tony Holland - co-creator of EastEnders - was brought in as a consultant with the early episodes of the show.[19] Fair City derives its title from the opening line of the traditional song "Molly Malone": "In Dublin's fair city, where the girls are so pretty..." and is the only English-language soap opera produced in Ireland. The show was launched in September 1989 and at the time was described as "the most ambitious production of its kind ever undertaken by RTÉ".[20]

[edit] Broadcast format

The show was initially aired with one episode per week for a limited run (16 weeks).[21] In 1990, RTÉ opted to recommission the soap and air one episode a week between September and June, taking a summer break. In 1994, its output was increased to twice weekly on Tuesdays ands Thursdays at 7pm.[22] After 1997 the show started being broadcast all year around. In 1998 an extra episode was added and a fourth was added in 2001.[23] Up until 2003, the soap only aired two episodes over the summer months however the four episodes were aired all year round from summer of that year.[24][25] In 2004, Friday's 8.30pm episode was moved to Sunday nights at 8p.m.

On 17 January 2002, Fair City reached its 1,000th episode.[26] In 2004, the soap opera celebrated its fifteenth year by broadcasting an hour-long compilation episode entitled Fair City: The Ten Commandments.[27] This episode showed old clips of characters breaking the Ten Commandments. It also featured interviews from the cast and fans. On 30 November 2006, Fair City reached its 2,000th episode.[28]. In September 2011 Fair City celebrated its 3,000th episode.

[edit] International screenings

Many viewers in Northern Ireland can watch Fair City on RTÉ One, because much of the population are able to receive Irish television, including RTÉ One. During the 1990s UTV broadcast the show during the day.

Fair City was shown on the Tara Television network in the United Kingdom via cable and Sky Digital from 1997 until the closure of the station in 2002.[29] Classic episodes were shown in the daytime and repeated in the early evenings on weekdays, and current episodes were simulcast with RTÉ One.


[edit] Product placement

In 2011, BWG Foods, operators of the SPAR brand in Ireland, invested €900,000 in a three-year deal to have SPAR appear in Fair City. The new shop, formerly Christy Phelan's corner shop, was unveiled in an episode broadcast on 6 December 2011.[30][31][32] It was RTÉ's first high-profile product placement deal, and followed the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland's decision to allow paid product placement on Irish television, in line with relaxed EU regulations.[33] There are 450 Spar outlets in the Republic of Ireland.[34] RTÉ was obliged to inform viewers before each episode aired it contained product placement.[35] RTÉ said that Fair City's editor-in-chief would ensure there were no gratuitous references or prominence given to Spar that would not happen anyway.[36]

[edit] Popularity and viewership

Fair City has consistently high official viewing statistics. The viewing figures for each episode are around 500,000 - 600,000 and rising to 700,000 or more for specials. The soap has proven particularly popular with viewers outside of Dublin and continues to attract significant audiences on Irish television, beating stalwart British imports such as Coronation Street, Emmerdale and EastEnders in the ratings.[37][38] The launch show attracted 1.06 million viewers.[39] On 21 November 2001, Fair City attracted 840,000 viewers who tuned in to see Billy Meehan being killed by Lorcan Foley.[40] 731,000 fans watched on 23 November 2010 to see the latest development featuring battered husband Damien Halpin. [41] The serial was not initially a critical success, but it has received acclaim recently for its more credible, sophisticated and psychological stories under executive producer Brigie de Courcy.[42]

The Wire star Reg E. Cathey has expressed his interest in a part on the show, saying he would like to play "an American guy coming to meet his daughter who is now a big singer, someone like Laura Izibor". Alex Lester was beyond "gitty" to hear there were American viewers![43]

[edit] Awards

The programme was nominated for an IFTA as 'Best Television Drama' in the years 2000 and 2003. Stuart Dunne, who portrayed Billy Meehan, was nominated for an IFTA as 'Best Actor in a Television Drama' in 2003.[44]

Pat Nolan, who plays Barry O'Hanlon, won a Rose d'Or award in the 'Best Soap Actor' category at the international Rose d'Or Festival in Switzerland on 7 May 2005.[1] The series has also been nominated for a TVNow Award as 'Favourite Soap' in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009. Its first ever victory, in 2008, was matched by a second victory in 2009.[2] Fair City won 'Best Soap in the International Entertainment' category, at the Mediamixx festival in Bulgaria in July 2007.[3]

[edit] Controversy

RTÉ pays some Fair City cast members only €432 a day, although the soap generates revenue in the region of €7m each year for RTÉ. Despite its earnings, Fair City costs almost twice that amount to produce.[45] Detective Deegan was embroiled in a row with another taxi driver over a €10 fare in November 2011.[46]

As a result of a storyline, school managers feared that students were starting "copycat" fight clubs in post primary schools around the country.[47] RTÉ has also launched an investigation into how a convicted paedophile appeared as an extra in the soap.[48] Fair City was criticised by Down's Syndrome Ireland for using the derogatory term "mongo" in the 20 January 2006 episode.[49]

[edit] RTÉ Player and RTÉ 1+1

At the launch of the RTÉ Player, Fair City was provided for one month as part of the trial service. It was later removed as the actor's union (Equity Ireland) would not agree to terms to provide the show online. On 27 May 2011, RTÉ 1 +1 launched on Saorview without Fair City, during the broadcast of Fair City the following announcement is made "This programme is not available on Saorview".[50]

[edit] Merchandise

In 2005, script writer Brian Gallagher wrote a book about the show, entitled Inside Fair City.[51] A DVD under the title Fair City: 20 Years of Carrigstown was released in 2009.[52]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b "Fair City's Pat Nolan wins Best Soap Actor Award". RTÉ. 7 May 2005. http://www.rte.ie/about/pressreleases/08052005.html. Retrieved 23 March 2007. 
  2. ^ a b List of Nominated Soaps" TV Now. URL last. Retrieved 5 April 2008.
  3. ^ a b Issue 370, TV Now, published 10 July 2007.
  4. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (19 October 2008). "Keith Duffy joins Irish soap 'Fair City'". Digital Spy. http://www.digitalspy.ie/soaps/s95/fair-city/news/a133071/keith-duffy-joins-irish-soap-fair-city.html. Retrieved 19 October 2008. 
  5. ^ "[1]" Irish Independent. URL last. Retrieved 16 March 2007.
  6. ^ "[2]" Irish Playwrights & Screenwriters Guild. URL last. Retrieved 16 June 2007.
  7. ^ "Temporary set lands Fair City in hot water" Sunday Times.
  8. ^ "City" Estudiosirlandeses. Retrieved 9 January 2010.
  9. ^ "Soap actor in a lather over whitewash" Sunday Tribune. Retrieved 17 December 2009.
  10. ^ "It's not Fair (City)" BNET. Retrieved 30 January 2010.
  11. ^ "[3]" Irish Independent
  12. ^ "[4]" BNET. Retrieved 30 January 2010.
  13. ^ "Did Fair City's Ciara O'Callaghan quit Carrigstown real life affair" Daily Mail. Retrieved 23 November 2010.
  14. ^ "Men flood helpline over fair city story" Evening Herald. Retrieved 22 November 2010.
  15. ^ "[5]" Evening Herald. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  16. ^ "Luck runs out for Fair City thieves". RTÉ Ten (Raidió Teilifís Éireann). 5 January 2012. http://www.rte.ie/ten/2012/0105/faircity.html. Retrieved 5 January 2012. 
  17. ^ "Confession time in Fair City tonight". RTÉ Ten (Raidió Teilifís Éireann). 11 January 2012. http://www.rte.ie/ten/2012/0111/faircity.html. Retrieved 11 January 2012. 
  18. ^ "[6]" Evening Herald. URL last. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
  19. ^ [7]The Guardian
  20. ^ The Irish Emigrant - June 25, 1989[dead link]
  21. ^ "[8]" RTE. URL last. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
  22. ^ "[9]" RTE. URL last. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
  23. ^ "A tale of two soaps" Irish Independent. URL last. Retrieved 16 June 2007.
  24. ^ "[10]" Sunday Business Post. URL last. Retrieved 16 June 2007.
  25. ^ "[11]" Sunday Business Post. URL last. Retrieved 16 June 2007.
  26. ^ "[12]" Irish Examiner. URL last. Retrieved 16 June 2007.
  27. ^ "[13]" Irish Examiner. URL last. Retrieved 16 June 2007.
  28. ^ "[14]" Irish Examiner. URL last. Retrieved 16 June 2007.
  29. ^ Independent.ie article on Fair City moving to British TV
  30. ^ "Spar takes residence in Fair City". JOE. 2 November 2011.
  31. ^ "New product placement rules sees Fair City gets a SPAR". The Journal.
  32. ^ "Fair City gets a new SPAR store". RTÉ Ten. 2 November 2011.
  33. ^ Slattery, Laura. "Spar takes dramatic step into 'Fair City' product placement". The Irish Times. 2 November 2011.
  34. ^ Hegarty, Shane. "Spar comes to Carrigstown, but the benefits may be imaginary". The Irish Times. 5 November 2011.
  35. ^ "RTE cuts €900,000 deal for a Spar in 'Fair City'". Irish Independent. 2 November 2011.
  36. ^ Last, Jane. "Viewers put on advert alert as Spar signs up for Fair City". Evening Herald. 2 November 2011.
  37. ^ "[15]" Sunday Mail. Retrieved 21 September 2009.
  38. ^ "New Irish TV channel" Sunday Business Post. Retrieved 21 September 2009.
  39. ^ "[16]" RTE. URL last. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
  40. ^ Independent.ie article on the Billy Meehan fictional murder
  41. ^ "Battered husband draws in fair city fans" Eveing Herald. URL last. Retrieved 26 November 2010.
  42. ^ "[17]" Irish Independent. Retrieved 20 October 2009.
  43. ^ "The Wire star hopes to appear in Fair City". RTÉ Arts (Raidió Teilifís Éireann). 3 June 2009. http://www.rte.ie/arts/2009/0603/regecathey.html. Retrieved 3 June 2009. 
  44. ^ "List of IFTA Awards" RTÉ. URL last. Retrieved 30 March 2007.
  45. ^ Lawrence, John; O'Brien, Jason (7 March 2007). "Star actors in top-earning soap on €432 a day". Irish Independent (Independent News & Media). http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ca=42&si=1788626&issue_id=15335. Retrieved 2 January 2009. 
  46. ^ Gittens, Geraldine (19 November 2011). "Half of soap stars from fair city have second jobs... just to make ends meet". Evening Herald (Independent News & Media). http://www.herald.ie/entertainment/tv-radio/half-of-soap-stars-from-fair-city-have-second-jobs-just-to-make-ends-meet-2939911.html. Retrieved 19 November 2011. 
  47. ^ Walshe, John (7 March 2007). "Schoolboy fight clubs 'copying' Fair City story line". Irish Independent (Independent News & Media). http://www.independent.ie/education/latest-news/schoolboy-fight-clubs-copying-fair-city-story-line-48371.html. Retrieved 2 January 2009. 
  48. ^ Kelly, Fiach (17 March 2008). "Family feels 'betrayed' after son's sex abuser appears on Fair City". Irish Independent (Independent News & Media). http://www.independent.ie/national-news/family-feels-betrayed-after-sons-sex-abuser-appears-on-fair-city-1319586.html. Retrieved 2 January 2009. 
  49. ^ Independent.ie article on Down Syndrome controversy
  50. ^ Bray, Jennifer (30 January 2011). "RTÉ in row with 'Fair City' actors". Sunday Tribune. http://www.tribune.ie/news/article/2010/mar/14/rte-in-row-with-fair-city-actors/. Retrieved 1 June 2011. 
  51. ^ Fair City brought to book by a man who knows it all - National News, Frontpage - Independent.ie
  52. ^ Fair City DVD - 20 Years in Carrigstown - DVD Sales

[edit] External links

Fair City
Characters
Dramas and soap operas by RTÉ Television
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Bracken · Fair City · Glenroe · The Riordans · Tolka Row
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