''The Spike'' is a controversial Irish

drama television series Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode ha ...

, broadcast by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) in 1978. The ten-part series was set in a

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

. The script was written by Patrick Gilligan who was a vocational school teacher.

Reviews

The series was negatively reviewed by critics who took issue with the poor script, bad acting and the clumsy thematic treatment. A review in ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'' stated that " this much publicized drama series has turned out to be so bad it must now be taken seriously". Dr Helena Sheehan, a lecturer in social history, wrote in 2002 that

Controversy

In episode five, "the briefest glimpse of

naked Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. The loss of body hair was one of the physical characteristics that marked the biological evolution of modern humans from their hominin ancestors. Adaptations related to h ...

flesh" caused outrage and angry phonecalls to newspapers. The show's producer defended the nude streak as an intent "to examine the attitude of pupils and staff to nudity". The ensuing fuss led to one of the actors requiring medical treatment after he was, as the '' Evening Press'' elegantly phrased it, "thumped by a fat elderly lady". The episode sparked debate in

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland rea ...

and was condemned by the

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legislature) and the of ...

Jack Lynch John Mary Lynch (15 August 1917 – 20 October 1999) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1966 to 1973 and 1977 to 1979, Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1966 to 1979, Leader of the Opposition from 1973 to 1977, Ministe ...

, despite him having never seen the programme. On the day that the sixth episode was due to air with a story of a schoolboy bomber, it was axed. The remaining episodes remain locked away and have neither never been broadcast on RTÉ nor viewed by members of the general public. ''The Spike'' was later featured on RTÉ's scandal series, '' Scannal'', with the ''

Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis. The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines. Traditionally a broadsheet new ...

'' naming it as one of their "Top 10 Worst Irish TV Programmes".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spike (Tv Series), The 1978 Irish television series debuts 1978 Irish television series endings 1970s Irish television series Irish drama television series RTÉ controversies RTÉ original programming Irish teen drama television series