| Jo Maxi | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Brash, Hullabullu, Get a Life, Babel and The Plastic Orange |
| Genre | Teenage |
| Starring | Ray D'Arcy, Clíona Ní Bhuchalla, Antoinette Dawson and Geri Lawlor (1988 - 1990) Shauna Lowry, Micheal Sheridan and Celine Whelan(1990 - 1993) , Gemma Hill (1993 - 1994) Susan Kavanagh Colin Murnane, Niamh Walsh(1993 - 1994) |
| Country of origin | Ireland |
| Language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Dermot Horan, Carol Chaffer (1993/1994) |
| Camera setup | Brian Miley (1993/1994) |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | RTÉ Two/Network 2 |
| Original run | September 1988 – June 1993 |
| Chronology | |
| Followed by | Echo Island |
Jo Maxi was an Irish teenage entertainment show which would report on teenage issues. The presenters would discuss issues relating to teenagers through reports and studio discussions. They would also review books, movies and other TV shows. Gig Guides and job/study information was also reported each night. It was broadcast on Network 2 now RTÉ Two as part RTÉ's redevelopment of its second channel. It was first presented by Ray D'Arcy and various other presenters and reporters.
Contents |
Jo Maxi was presented from the RTÉ Studios in Donnybrook. It was broadcast each weeknight at 6 o'clock. Various reports were made by different presenters around the country with link-ups to different individuals telling viewers of events coming up in their areas. New bands and music videos were also showcased.
In 1993 Jo Maxi was revamped; this revamp did away with the Jo Maxi brand but the end credits would state that it was a JMTV Production, and would also use the Petrol Pump logo. The relaunch followed on from the successful redesign of Friday's JMTVshow, originally a pop video show, as 'Rocks The Garden' presented by Colin Murnane. It was a wide ranging arts and music magazine show, shot in Temple Bar with live music performed in The Rock Garden Dublin.
The new look Jo Maxi had a different show each weekday. Monday’s was an arts review show called Brash presented by Niamh Walsh, Tuesday’s was a chat show called Hullabullu, Wednesday’s was presented by Gemma Hill called Get a Life it was a job/study guide, Thursday’s was presented by Eileen O’Reilly and was a debate show where different schools would debate a topic in a debate competition, it was called Babel and Friday’s was called Plastic Orange, an alternative pop music show presented by Colin Murnane. Each of the new shows (bar Brash) were presented from RTÉ; Brash was presented around Dublin City. Plastic Orange Crush was a late night spin-off screened in the summer and highlighted by HotPress Magazine as one of the TV Highlights of the year.
In 1988 RTÉ 2 was revamped as Network 2. This revamp involved a new logo and brand but also a brand new Schedule. The schedule would move most of RTÉ’s sports, children's and Irish language programming to Network 2.
As part of this new station RTÉ extended its children’s programming starting with Bosco at 14:30 and Dempsey’s Den at 15:00 until 18:00, effectively Network 2’s afternoon schedule was a children’s channel. Jo Maxi would air each week night at 18:00 following The Den. It preceded the Australian teenage soap opera Home and Away. It was aimed at a Teenage audience as a lead into Home and Away.
In 1994 Jo Maxi was replaced by the Children's TV Show Echo Island, the 6 O'Clock slot would host various shows mainly imported children's TV including Garfield and Friends and Are You Afraid of the Dark? but ultimately it was replaced by The Simpsons.