Baz's Culture Clash

Baz's Culture Clash is a six-part television series. The presenter, Bazil Ashmawy, of half Egyptian parentage,[1] spoke of this as his next television project on The Podge and Rodge Show on 21 October 2008 as he was filming the series. It is his first solo television show, having previously starred in How Low Can You Go? with Michael Hayes and Mark O'Neill.[2] He had begun filming in September 2008 and finished the following April.[3] He travelled the world to film the show.[4][5] It was aired on RTÉ Television during September and October 2009. It was initially expected to be aired in March 2009.[2] Paili Meek produced and Barry Egan directed.[3] The series commenced broadcasting on 14 September 2009.[3] A second series is on the way.[6]

Baz's Culture Clash
Directed byBarry Egan
Presented byBazil Ashmawy
Country of originIreland
Original language(s)English, Irish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes6
Production
Producer(s)Paili Meek
Release
Original networkRTÉ Two
Original release14 September 2009
External links
Website

Ashmawy visits a coven of witches in Kells, County Meath during one episode and undergoes hypnosis there to allow him to meet his Egyptian ancestors.[1][2][7] He also visits a haunted house with a group called "Leinster Paranormal".[2] He also teams up with a group of ghostbusters to visit the haunted Carlow Shopping Centre where a little girl and some former prisoners from the old county gaol are among the ghosts which are said to haunt the building.[8] The episode in the shopping centre was filmed at night and in one incident a member of Ashmawy's film crew collapses without explanation when his body is invaded.[7] In another episode Ashmawy meets a man who diets on roadkill, including badgers and cats.[1]

Reception

The series was poorly received by the Irish media.

Irish Independent critic John Boland said the first episode "gives a new meaning to the notion of meaninglessness", questioning the purpose of a show where Ashmawy "grinned and grimaced his way through southern California in an unserious search of alternative therapies".[9] Hilary Fannin of The Irish Times said a later episode "investigated (well, that might be too strong a word for it – let’s say glossed over) the world of the paranormal".[10] Paul Whitington in the Irish Independent described the topics covered in the series as "new-age nonsense".[11]

References
  1. Anrea Byrne (20 September 2009). "Our love-hate relationship with Ireland's sexiest man". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
  2. "The biggest shock of 2008 as hell-raising Baz vows to give up booze in 2009 (for a while, at least...)". Evening Herald. 31 December 2008. Archived from the original on 17 February 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
  3. "'Baz's Culture Clash' Invades our Screens". Irish Film and Television Network. 14 September 2009. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
  4. "2008 -- the year Baz found fame and fell in love". Evening Herald. 29 December 2008. Archived from the original on 5 October 2009. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
  5. "Baz Ashmawy". Irish Independent. 27 December 2008. Archived from the original on 17 February 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
  6. MF (25 March 2009). "RTE cutbacks have stars running scared, admits sexiest Baz". Evening Herald. Archived from the original on 17 February 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
  7. Aoife Anderson (24 September 2009). "Baz spooked by ghostly goings on as he films in supermarket". Evening Herald. Archived from the original on 17 February 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
  8. Elizabeth Lee (15 September 2009). "Baz left spooked by shopping centre visit". Carlow People. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 2009-10-16.
  9. John Boland (19 September 2009). "The gong for Worst show goes to . . ". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 23 September 2009. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
  10. Hilary Fannin (3 October 2009). "Getting jiggy with it". The Irish Times. Retrieved 16 October 2009. Skirting the precipice of RTÉ2's Monday-night comedy zone, Baz Ashmawy, an easygoing chap with the leather jacket and sexed-up self-effacement that are obligatory for television presenters nowadays, got all spooky on Baz's Culture Clash, which this week investigated (well, that might be too strong a word for it – let's say glossed over) the world of the paranormal.
  11. Paul Whitington (12 September 2009). "Just for laughs". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 14 September 2009. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
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