Friday, September 29, 2006

Drama is Drama in Any Language

I've never been much of a fan of soap operas. My mom, however, tapes her shows every day and watches them religiously every night. I just could never get into them...well, not for very long anyway. Yes, I know it's mindless entertainment, but it's just a bit too cheese for me.

So, the other day I was flipping channels and caught a glimpse of subtitles across the bottom of the screen. I figured it would be Spanish I would hear, but to my surprise, it wasn't. Since I have digital cable, I hit the "info" button to see what it was, but all it said was the title Ros na Run. After watching the drama unfold and listening intently for a name (to confirm what I was thinking)...sure enough, I start seeing the likes of Mack, Maire, Tadhg, Deirdre.

In case you still haven't guessed, it happened to be an Irish soap opera, in the Irish language. After doing some research online about the show, I found out that Ros na Run is actually a made-up name for a town set in Western Ireland (it does however closely resemble names of real towns and villages in that region).

Well, anyway...this is a soap opera I could definitely get into. The English translations made me chuckle and some of the "drama" that went on seemed very inherently Irish. Maybe if I watch it more often, I'll pick up some Irish words!

In case you're interested, check your local listings. Those in the Philadelphia/Tri-State area can find it on public television (WYBE).

[Whatever you do, make sure to check out the show's website to view the synopsis...just a note, the Catholic priests don't need any more scandals!!!]


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I watch soap operas on Telemundo and Univision sometimes, but I watch it for all the wrong reasons :-) (although I probably do learn a little spanish). WYBE is actually a pretty cool station. I've seen the show they have in Polish and I watch their weekeday news show in French sometimes.

Colleen said...

Ha ha, Tom...what a cultured guy you are!

I've watched those Telemundo soaps before. They talk so quickly that my 3 years of high school Espanol do me no good ;-)

They're hilarious though...maybe even more so than the Irish one. I don't think I've seen the Polish or French shows, though. I'll have to pay closer attention I guess!