Reeling in the Years

Reeling in the Years is a historical documentary series broadcast in Ireland by RTÉ. Each episode, approximately 25 minutes long, looks back at the news and events of a particular year, from 1962 to 1999. The programme uses news archive footage, along with subtitles as the means of narration, to recount notable Irish and international events of the time. Music from the particular year is also played over the footage, with occasional scenes of live performances or music videos, generally (but not exclusively) by an Irish artist.

The theme tune for the series comes from Steely Dan's 1972 hit "Reelin' in the Years".

Series

There have been four series of Reeling in the Years, each focused on a different decade:

1980s - first broadcast in 1999
1990s - first broadcast in 2000
1970s - first broadcast in 2002
1960s - first broadcast in 2004 (only covers 1962 to 1969)

The most recent series does not cover 1960 or 1961 because these years pre-date the official launch of Telefís Éireann, the television arm of the national broadcaster. It was felt, presumably, that there would be too little archive material from which to make an engaging programme about these years. Indeed, the episodes covering the first half of the 1960s are characterised by extensive use of photographs and posters, as opposed to film and video footage, in order to represent various historical events.

All four series are marked by a knowing attitude, where certain stories that seemed inconsequential at the time are remembered because they have taken on significance in the present day. This has gained the programme a reputation for being very funny. An example is seen in the 1987 episode: Taoiseach Charles Haughey discusses what he would do if he were to win money in the newly-formed National Lottery. Haughey, whose lavish lifestyle was later revealed to have been funded by "donations" from businessmen, exclaims, "I might keep a bit for myself!".

Copyright and DVD release

RTÉ has said that, because of the number of clips from external companies used in the series, it would be infeasible to release it on VHS or DVD. It claims that securing "video clearance" for each clip and song would make any release prohibitively expensive. RTÉ did consider releasing an altered version of the programme which would only contain the images that they owned the rights to. However, this idea was abandoned because they felt that it would not be as good as the broadcast version of the show. In recent years, Reeling in the Years has been used regularly by RTÉ One as a filler programme during the summer months and Christmas period.