Rory and Paddy's Great British Adventure

infobox television
show_name = Rory and Paddy's Great British Adventure


caption =
format = Sport documentary
director = Jamie Goold
presenter = Rory McGrath
Paddy McGuinness
country = UK
network = Five
num_episodes = 4
num_series = 1
producer = Jamie Goold
company = IWC Media
first_aired = 13 August 2008
last_aired = 3 September 2008 |

"Rory and Paddy's Great British Adventure" is a documentary television series presented by comedians Rory McGrath and Paddy McGuinness. The series was broadcast on Five between 13 August and 3 September 2008.cite web|url=http://demand.five.tv/Series.aspx?seriesBaseName=RoryPaddysGreatBritishAdventure|title=Rory and Paddy's Great British Adventure|publisher=Demand Five|date=2008-09-03|accessdate=2008-09-04] The series follows McGrath and McGuinness travelling around Great Britain, taking part in, "strange but quintessentially British sporting events". Examples of sports that appear in the series include cheese rolling, pie eating, bog snorkelling and Eton Fives.

Plot

"Rory and Paddy's Great British Adventure" sees McGrath and McGuinness compete against both the public and themselves in unusual sports around Britain. The contest is split into four parts: Middle England; Scotland and Northern England; Wales and the Shires; and Southern England. In each edition, McGrath and McGuinness go head-to-head at different sports, and also take part in a separate sport each. The results are recorded in their "Black book", with McGrath and McGuinness fighting each other to see who is best.

Reception

The series received mixed reviews. The programme was originally broadcast during the 2008 Summer Olympics, which resulted in some media outlets saying that Britain should play in sports depicted in the show, rather than actual Olympic events. [cite news|last=Shennan|first=Paddy|url=http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/views/liverpool-columnists/echo-columnists/2008/08/16/that-s-proper-sport-100252-21542922/|title=That's proper sport!|publisher="Liverpool Echo"|date=2008-08-16|accessdate=2008-09-04] Andrew Tong wrote in "The Independent on Sunday" that; "we mustn't play them at their own game. Rather we should regale them with all the sports we invented but which the IOC won't allow in the Olympics. Not cricket and rugby, but games at which we're the best in the world, such as toe wrestling, mountain bike bog snorkelling, egg throwing and, of course, worm charming." [cite news|last=Tong|first=Andrew|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/olympics/news-and-features/andrew-tong-chinese-are-no-match-for-russian-roulegg-913868.html|title=Andrew Tong: Chinese are no match for Russian Roulegg|publisher="The Independent on Sunday"|date=2008-08-31|accessdate=2008-09-04]

Noam Friedlander in "Metro" gave the programme four stars out of five, saying: "The pair packed a lot into the hour but a swifter romp through Middle England would have been more welcome. At least the eccentricities that make Britain 'great' got their minutes of fame. It makes a change to give these genuine characters airtime rather than the caterwauling wannabes we'll be seeing on this weekend's "The X Factor" auditions." [cite news|last=Friedlander|first=Noam|url=http://www.metro.co.uk/metrolife/article.html?in_article_id=263718&in_page_id=9&in_a_source=|title=Eccentric England with Rory and Paddy|publisher="Metro"|date=2008-08-13|accessdate=2008-09-04]

However, James Walton in the "Daily Telegraph" was more critical of "Rory and Paddy's Great British Adventure" saying, "that a sense of almost existential pointlessness had soon settled over the entire programme – a sense not banished by perhaps the least alluring pre-advert announcement in TV history. "Coming up," said Paddy, "Rory's a no-hoper at tiddlywinks."" [cite news|last=Walton|first=James|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2008/08/14/nosplit/bvtv14last.xml|title= Last night on television: Who Do You Think You Are? (BBC1) - Rory & Paddy’s Great British Adventure (Five)|publisher="Daily Telegraph"|date=2008-08-14|accessdate=2008-09-04]

Episodes

References