''Paths to Freedom'' was a popular
comedy
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...
on the
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
television network
A television network or television broadcaster is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay television providers. Until the mid- ...
RTÉ Two
(RTÉ) (; Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the national broadcaster of Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, while ...
. The shows stars two characters, Jeremy (
Brendan Coyle
David "Brendan" Coyle (born 2 December 1962) is an English-Irish actor. He won the Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role for ''The Weir'' in 1999. He also played Nicholas Higgins in the miniseries '' North & South'', Robert T ...
) and Rats (
Michael McElhatton
Michael McElhatton (born 12 September 1963) is an Irish actor and writer. He is best known for playing the role of Roose Bolton in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones''. He joined the series as a guest star in the Game of Thrones (season 2), sec ...
), who have both recently been released from a Dublin prison. The show takes the format of a
mockumentary
A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary.
These productions are often used to analyze or comment on c ...
, with a
fly-on-the-wall
Fly on the wall is a style of documentary-making used in film and television production. The name derived from the idea that events are seen candidly, as a fly on a wall might see them. In the purest form of fly-on-the-wall documentary-making, ...
camera crew
A film crew is a group of people, hired by a production company, for the purpose of producing a film or motion picture. The crew is distinguished from the cast, as the cast are understood to be the actors who appear in front of the camera o ...
following the two characters, who are from
thoroughly different backgrounds, as they try to reintegrate back into society. There were six episodes of the show produced, the first airing on 13 November 2000, and the final episode airing one month later. The series was followed-up by a movie based on the character Rats, ''
Spin the Bottle
Spin the bottle is a kissing party game commonly played by teenagers. The game was very popular among teenagers during the second half of the 20th century because it fostered "sexual" interactions between boys and girls. It has even been describe ...
''.
Characters
Jeremy
Dr. Jeremy Fitzgerald, played by
Brendan Coyle
David "Brendan" Coyle (born 2 December 1962) is an English-Irish actor. He won the Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role for ''The Weir'' in 1999. He also played Nicholas Higgins in the miniseries '' North & South'', Robert T ...
, was a distinguished
gynaecologist, living in the
affluent
Wealth is the abundance of valuable financial assets or physical possessions which can be converted into a form that can be used for transactions. This includes the core meaning as held in the originating Old English word , which is from an I ...
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
suburb of
Blackrock
BlackRock, Inc. is an American multi-national investment company based in New York City. Founded in 1988, initially as a risk management and fixed income institutional asset manager, BlackRock is the world's largest asset manager, with trill ...
, before being
convicted
In law, a conviction is the verdict reached by a court of law finding a defendant guilty of a crime. The opposite of a conviction is an acquittal (that is, "not guilty"). In Scotland, there can also be a verdict of " not proven", which is co ...
of
dangerous driving causing injury. He was
sentenced to a custodial sentence and sent to a Dublin prison. After his release, with his
license to practice medicine lost, Jeremy pursues the release of his
controversial
Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin ''controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an opposite d ...
book, 'Women inside Out'. However, he struggles to find a
publisher
Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...
given his recent legal troubles, and this eventually leads to a
breakdown
Breakdown may refer to:
Breaking down
*Breakdown (vehicle), failure of a motor vehicle in such a way that it cannot be operated
*Chemical decomposition, also called chemical breakdown, the breakdown of a substance into simpler components
*Decompo ...
. During the series, Jeremy displays his love towards a
wealthy style of life, driving a new
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...
, playing
golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...
at his
local club 'The Fitzhatton', and repeatedly describing his admiration of
Michael Flatley
Michael Ryan Flatley (born July 16, 1958) is an Irish-American dancer. He became known for Irish dance shows '' Riverdance'', '' Lord of the Dance'', '' Feet of Flames'', and '' Celtic Tiger Live''. Flatley's shows have played to more than 60 mi ...
. This is demonstrated at one point in the series when Jeremy is questioned by the camera crew as to what affect prison has had on him, and he responds that it caused him to lose his
'no-claims bonus' and raise his
golf handicap
A golf handicap is a numerical measure of a golfer's potential that is used to enable players of varying abilities to compete against one another. Better players are those with the lowest handicaps.
Historically, rules relating to handicaps have v ...
by six strokes. The
legal costs
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
of defending himself in the
case brought by the
Ukrainian man that he
hit
Hit means to strike someone or something.
Hit or HIT may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities
* Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super''
* Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...
while
drink driving
Drunk driving (or drink-driving in British English) is the act of driving under the influence of alcohol. A small increase in the blood alcohol content increases the relative risk of a motor vehicle crash.
In the United States, alcohol is invo ...
are large, and this causes the Fitzgeralds to sell their home in Blackrock to raise funds. Repeatedly,
Jeremy disputes the man's claim that he is paralysed, and at one point Jeremy
attacks the man in
attempt to prove he is lying. At this stage in the series, Jeremy is
seriously mentally ill, and he soon
takes up home in a
tent on the
7th green at the Fitzhatton. The series ends with Jeremy, now
separated from his wife Helen (
Deirdre O'Kane
use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) -->
, death_place =
, death_cause =
, resting_place =
, resting_place_coordinates =
, education ...
), in
full-time psychiatric carebr>
Rats
Raymond "Rats" Doyle, played by
Michael McElhatton
Michael McElhatton (born 12 September 1963) is an Irish actor and writer. He is best known for playing the role of Roose Bolton in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones''. He joined the series as a guest star in the Game of Thrones (season 2), sec ...
is a character that has been
Crime, in and out of trouble throughout his life. In the series, he also has just been released from prison, having been convicted of
burglary. Rats
struggles to find a job, with his problems compounded by the fact that his
wife
A wife (plural, : wives) is a female in a marital relationship. A woman who has separated from her partner continues to be a wife until the marriage is legally Dissolution (law), dissolved with a divorce judgement. On the death of her partner, ...
Sharon, along with his two children Tarquin and Snoopies, has left him. Rats has several jobs in the course of the series including
security" \n\n\nsecurity.txt is a proposed standard for websites' security information that is meant to allow security researchers to easily report security vulnerabilities. The standard prescribes a text file called \"security.txt\" in the well known locat ...
, working in a
fast-food
Fast food is a type of mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. It is a commercial term, limited to food sold in a restaurant or store with frozen, preheated or precooked ingredient ...
restaurant and
busking. While busking, Rats performs the
poetry
Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...
that he writes in his
spare time
Leisure has often been defined as a quality of experience or as free time. Free time is time spent away from business, work, job hunting, domestic chores, and education, as well as necessary activities such as eating and sleeping. Leisure ...
, and though it is
crude and
childish, he sees it as a serious expression of his feelings and beliefs. The
uncensored and brash nature of the poetry attracts the attention of the
Garda Síochána, and lands Rats in further trouble. Throughout the series, we see Rats concentrate on trying to bring his band, 'spermdotcom', into the mainstream. The band did experience some minor success some years beforehand,
reaching No. 27 in the charts in
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
. The series ends with the band continuing to struggle, having been
conned out of
£400 they had paid to arrange a gig, and eventually having to play this gig in a small
gay
''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'.
While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...
bar in Dublin.
Helen Fitzgerald
Helen Fitzgerald, played by
Deirdre O'Kane
use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) -->
, death_place =
, death_cause =
, resting_place =
, resting_place_coordinates =
, education ...
, is the
middle class
The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Com ...
,
middle-aged wife of Jeremy. Keen to maintain an
aura of nonchalance, stability and normality, she repeatedly expresses her
indignation
IndigNation was Singapore's annual, month-long lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer pride season, first held in August 2005 to coincide with the republic's 40th National Day.
Background
IndigNation begun as a series of LGBT-themed events meant to f ...
at Jeremy's treatment by the
justice system
The contemporary national legal systems are generally based on one of four basic systems: civil law, common law, statutory law, religious law or combinations of these. However, the legal system of each country is shaped by its unique history and ...
, and questions the
validity of both the charges pressed against him and the credibility of the paralysed victim of Jeremy's hit-and-run. Helen lives a
lavish lifestyle, and at various points throughout the series she is seen dining in expensive
restaurants, attending
theatrical productions and
hosting garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...
parties
A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature ...
. As the plot develops, we observe Helen's increasingly
superficial nature, most particularly in relation to her husband. As Jeremy's mental well-being declines, Helen becomes increasingly frustrated with his inability to communicate coherently and his violent
mood swing
A mood swing is an extreme or sudden change of mood. Such changes can play a positive part in promoting problem solving and in producing flexible forward planning, or be disruptive. When mood swings are severe, they may be categorized as par ...
s. Her
frustration is also of a sexual nature, and in episode 6
she invites both Rats and the series' camera crew to have sex with her in her family home, with Jeremy residing in a tent in the back garden. Further instances of Helen's marital
infidelity
Infidelity (synonyms include cheating, straying, adultery, being unfaithful, two-timing, or having an affair) is a violation of a couple's emotional and/or sexual exclusivity that commonly results in feelings of anger, sexual jealousy, and ri ...
are also alluded to, and we learn that she engaged in sexual relations while on
holidays with her friend Gwen in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
, with a
French man who
'rogered her senseless' on a 'crate of
aubergines'. In later episodes, Helen is rarely seen without a glass of
white wine
White wine is a wine that is fermented without skin contact. The colour can be straw-yellow, yellow-green, or yellow-gold. It is produced by the alcoholic fermentation of the non-coloured pulp of grapes, which may have a skin of any colour. ...
in hand.
Tomo
Tomo, played by
Peter McDonald, is Rat's
best friend and fellow
musician in the band Sperm.com, in which he plays
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...
. His
long black hair and
style of dress identify him as a
heavy metal fan; he is seen to wear
t-shirt
A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt), or tee, is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a ''crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shirts are general ...
s featuring the bands
No Sweat and
Ministry during the series. He is portrayed as being
quite unintelligent – a
classic comedy buffoon – and also as being
overwhelmed when it comes to contact with the opposite sex.
Barney
Played by Darragh Kelly, Barney (affectionately referred to as "Barnser") is Jeremy's closest companion and golfing partner. He is blindly supportive of Jeremy and fails to see his friend's shortcomings, appearing somewhat of a
side-kick. Even as the series progresses, and he appears to grow increasingly embarrassed by Jeremy's behaviour, he never overtly speaks out against him.
External links
*
{{authority control
2000 Irish television series debuts
Irish comedy television shows
Mockumentary television series
RTÉ original programming