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Press Packs ±«Óãtv Northern Ireland Comedy

±«Óãtv Northern Ireland Comedy

Category: N.Ireland; TV Ent; Radio
Date: 19.01.2006
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Although enjoying seven series on ±«Óãtv Radio Ulster and five series on ±«Óãtv ONE NI, the satirical sketch show The Folks On The Hill is most certainly not over the hill.

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Since its beginnings on ±«Óãtv Radio Ulster more than four years ago, The Folks On The Hill has continued to amuse audiences with its wry and deeply comical look at the world of Norn Iron politics and beyond.

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No one is safe from satire as local writer and impressionist Sean Crummey pokes fun at the worlds of politics, showbusiness and sport at home and further afield.

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The Folks On The Hill has been a popular listen on ±«Óãtv Radio Ulster on Saturday mornings since 2001 and the popularity of the programme increased further two years ago when it made its television debut on ±«Óãtv ONE NI.

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With Sean Crummey continuing to provide the uncanny impressions, the televised version added a new dimension to the programme as animator Liam O'Neill provided hilarious computer-generated images of all the politicians and celebrities.

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These 'virtual' politicians are created by computer using the same software technology that brought movies Toy Story and The Incredibles to life.

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It takes approximately eight to 10 days to create each 'virtual' politician; four to five days to model and another four days to 'wire' the model for movement and expressions. The results are hilarious. Where else would you see Gerry Adams and Ian Paisley playing chess?

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Owen McFadden, who produces The Folks On The Hill for ±«Óãtv Radio Ulster and ±«Óãtv ONE NI says: "The Folks On The Hill has grown from strength to strength since it started on ±«Óãtv Radio Ulster.

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"The comedy is first class and the impersonations are spot on. We've had lots of feedback from viewers and the politicians featured in the series have also commented on what it was like to see their virtual 'clones'.

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"With The Folks On The Hill, we hope to be as topical as possible so we're right up to date with what's happening on the political scene here and able to give viewers a satirical picture of the day or week's events."

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The Folks On The Hill can currently be heard on ±«Óãtv Radio Ulster at 11.00am on Saturday mornings. A new series on ±«Óãtv ONE NI will be broadcast later this year.

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