D’TELLY AND D’VIDEO.
Out of all Jon Kenny and Pat Shortt’s work together as D’Unbelievables, these two were perhaps the great staples of Irish household video collections in the ’90s.
And there’s a good chance anyone growing up then will instantly recognise some of their more memorable characters.
You had Crimebusters
Away in a Home
The young lad who comes into the shop
And, of course, the story of Bridie’s christening – which is worth watching again in full
Back in the day, when you rewound the tape for the fourth time that morning, you could probably recite every single line from the story – even with Kenny’s lightning fast delivery:
And you’d know the way you’d be after coming from a christening, after stopping off in a pub – about 30 or 40 or 50 people in one shot… you couldn’t get a drink!
I won’t says I, I’m fine.
And:
Whatever move I made, every blishter that was on top of my back bursht
1996′s D’Video was a full stand up show of characters
And their intense interaction with the audience was always a highlight
But it was D’Telly two years later that has provided their most iconic characters.
Not just the ones mentioned above, but The Weather Men, Joe Dolan as the local butcher and the shop burglar all produce great lines.
And then you have fictional chat show host Ricky Whitelaw
Who gets referred to online and in real life all the time - normally during various RTÉ chat shows
The story of Martin and Geraldine the cow was pure gold:
First thing the followin’ morning, Larry arrived into the yard with the lorry. She knew there was something goin’ on alright at the time. There was awful trouble trying to get her into the lorry, like. So Larry went around to the front of the cab and he brought out a big length of wavin pipe and he hit her a couple of flakes with it.
Featuring Ricky’s constant creepy looks to the camera
He’s a niche national phenomenon at this stage
Whoops!
We couldn't find this Tweet
The D’Unbelievables might not have performed for years, but they live on across the internet.
There’s a Facebook page dedicated to D’Unbelievables memes
And short clips often get millions of views for the pure nostalgia
We use them as a little cultural reference points all the time
Whoops!
We couldn't find this Tweet
It’s those repeat viewings on the old video that have instilled them in our memories.
Good times.
