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Jiver

Jiver is an idea that Webby and I had a few years ago about an average young man called John Iver who decides to run for local election. To sound older and more respectable, his campaign posters bear the name ‘J. Iver’, which gains him the nickname ‘Jiver’ (making him a big hit with students). You may remember Gearoid and I even made a short promo for it a while back. Well, that was a snippet of the idea we had for a Jiver series. We pitched it a few times to no avail. ‘It could never happen!’ they (probably) said! But look – it’s only gone and bloody happened!

It’s quite encouraging to see a young, positive, fresh voice running for election. The similarities to Jiver are amusing to me, though, down to the odd, neatly combed hair (well, roughly combed with a hand in my case). Jiver, however, was running out of spite. He’d had enough of a local politician called T. Lynch, who was always in the paper giving out about silly things (like burning the shrubbery in the park, as ‘it’s a breeding ground for delinquency!’). When Jiver is unable to feed his beloved ducks because Lynch is being interviewed there, it’s the final straw. And there was a love interest in there for the ladies. He is helped along by Lynch’s secretary, who also dislikes her boss (he is a massive dickhead, but very funny). Jiver kind of learns to be a decent politician along the way, and finds some causes he really believes in. But, even if he does get voted in, can he really become a politician?

That’s the series in a nutshell. It went through a few changes and scripts, but that was the latest version. There is also a 30-second pitch we made that doesn’t really belong on the internet, but I will send a private link on to anyone who is curious about it. And there are even a couple of short scripts to read, too. We may as well share them now as with the inevitable imitations of real life to follow, and The Thick of It pretty much nailing political satire, I do not think we will ever make Jiver. And Val Falvey, TD kind of covered Irish politics, though I have not seen much of it. It is sort of a pity, but this is how it goes. We have made many other things that we thought we wouldn’t and are proud of, like A Dog’s Life (the final episode of which will be out soon). Mainly though, I would’ve liked to play Jiver. I’d imagine he would’ve been fun to portray: a cross between Alan Partridge and myself, most likely. Not that there isn’t some crossover there anyway. Here is the promo again for anyone who fancies a minute of Jiver. Savour it! And if you really want more Jiver, feel free to leave a comment and I’ll send on the scripts.

— Dara

Leave a comment ...

1. TF! still thinks JIVER could make it. But don’t see the Alan Partridge element. Dara is an actor that mostly embues a certain “kindness” or “good nature” in all his characters. Partridge has a mean under layer, funny, but somewhat reprehensible.

   — THE FUTURIST! · Feb 11, 10:55 AM · #

2. I knew before I clicked that link Dylan Haskins would pop up! He previously managed Heathers apparently. That will fare him well in the Dáil….

   — Alex · Feb 11, 02:16 PM · #

3. TF!: Yes, you may be right about that. The character of Jiver was a bit different originally, a sad character like Alan going around in his campaign car blaring Journey’s ‘Anyway You Want It’ to get votes. The way he is now, I guess he would be more like me than Alan. Not that I have an acting range or anything. Also, we wrote the part of Lynch for the Chief. Now he was a reprehensible character, but very funny.

   Alex: I just found out that he was on RTE 2 for a while. I thought he looked a bit familiar. Also, he’s 23! He looks much younger. Best of luck to him anyway. He’s a hungry, young fighter!

   — Dara · Feb 11, 04:36 PM · #

4. Dylan Haskins, you have to say fair dues. I hope he does well. “He has the stuff to do it and and he’ll go out and do it.” It’s funny how life imitates art. However, as Dara said our character was a good guy but motivated by spite, which is probably the most powerful motivator.

   — Paul · Feb 13, 08:57 AM · #

5. I would love to have seen Jiver happen.

   — Nick · Mar 15, 12:31 PM · #

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9. TF! still thinks JIVER could make it.

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