Reeling In the Years is an Irish historical documentary series created by
RTÉ (abbreviation of Raidió Teilifís Éireann which translates to Radio and Television of Ireland), the national broadcaster of the Republic of Ireland (think the
The BBC in the UK of
NHK in Japan). The series recaps the significant and memorable events of each year as seen through the perspective of Irish media, being made entirely of archive footage consisting of mostly news articles with each year dedicated to a specific year. The series does not have any voiceover narration, relying on on-screen text to describe each event and a
Nothing but Hits soundtrack of songs from each year to act as background music and often as a thematic context. It’s a very simple premise really, and has become one of Ireland’s most beloved television series ever and possibly most universally beloved domestically produced program.
Tropes featured in Reeling In the Years include:
- The '60s: The show starts in 1962 as Teilifís Eireann (now RTÉ One, where Reeling airs) would not begin broadcasting until New Year's Eve 1961 so this would be the earliest point that RTÉ has footage in their archives that can be used for the series.
- The '70s:
- The third season, covering the Beatles breaking up, the Fall of Saigon, Watergate, Patty Hearst kidnapping, Jonestown and the Iranian Revolution along with the Irish experience of the decade, starting with the Arms Crisis with Charles Haughey accused of smuggling weapons across the Irish border to the IRA, Bloody Sunday and the escalation of The Troubles and Pope John Paul II visiting Ireland in 1979.
- Playlists for episodes feature "Top of the World" by The Carpenters,"20th Century Boy" by Thin Lizzy, "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen and, of course, ABBA performing "Waterloo" at the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest.
- The '80s:
- The first season covers this decade including Chernobyl, the Challenger disaster and the fall of the Berlin Wall alongside repeated stories of mass emigration out of Ireland in search of better work opportunities, the Haughey and Fitzgerald governments, Bob Geldof and Live Aid and the 1981 IRA hunger strike in the Maze Prison. The impact and discussions of the AIDS epidemic in Ireland is depicted.
- Episode soundtracks feature the original "Time After Time" by Cyndi Lauper, "Should I Stay or Should I Go" by The Clash, Johnny Logan winning at Eurovision with "Hold Me Now" and, duh, "Do They Know It's Christmas?" by Band Aid.
- There's even a clip of Gay Byrne playing with a Rubik's cube.
- The '90s: The second season, complete with the beginning of the Celtic Tiger, The Commitments hitting cinemas, Riverdance, the Good Friday Agreement, a Planet Hollywood opening in Dublin (with Arnold Schwarzenegger saying "I'll be back" in Irish), Bill Clinton visiting Ireland and references to the scandals in the Catholic Church and institutional schools.
- Downer Ending:
- The 1980 episode ends with John Lennon's "Imagine" playing over news of his murder and then leading into the anticipation of another hunger strike by the prisoners in the H-block of the Maze Prison.
- The last five minutes of the 2001 episode focus on 9/11 and its immediate aftermath while U2's "Stuck In a Moment You Can't Get Out Of" plays.
- Nothing but Hits: Each episode features popular music from the year in question playing throughout. However, if a major disaster happened in a particular year, no music accompanies the archive footage about it.
- Once an Episode:
- Eurovision and Ireland's entry is almost always shown since it's an annual event.
- Any time new U2 music is released it'll almost certainly be featured in the roundup of the year's music.
- The All Ireland Gaelic Football and Hurling finals appear in every episode without fail.
- Special Guest: Whenever a celebrity visits Ireland doing promotions for a project.
- The Stinger: The 2014 episode ends with clips of various celebrities participating the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.
- Turn of the Millennium: The fifth season, featuring the anti-climax of all the planning for the Millennium Bug from an Irish perspective (which makes sense considering the country's then status as a European tech giant), the Irish World Cup team's saga from Saipan to eventual defeat by Spain on penalties, the decommissioning of paramilitaries and devolution of the Northern Irish assembly and the 2008 Irish Property Crash that largely ended the Celtic Tiger alongside 9/11, the War on Terror, the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami in Southeast Asia, Hurricane Katrina and the election of Barack Obama.
