TV & Radio

In this week's TV Review, we watched Louis Theroux revisit the porn industry 15 years after a "Weird Weekend", while Ray D'Arcy shone the spotlight on depression in Ireland.

Though Louis Theroux is now best known for his uncompromising documentaries centred around prison life and unflinching looks at dementia, it's easy to forget about his previous "Weird Weekends", which ran for three seasons and saw the documentarian interview those within frowned upon subcultures.

No episode fit that exact remit than the first season's porn episode back in 1997, in which Louis light-heartedly interviewed budding adult entertainers and those already in a business that with the popularity of the internet skyrocketing, was heading towards a new dawn.

Flash forward to 2012 and with Louis Theroux: Twilight of the Porn Stars (BBC Two, Sunday 10pm), we saw just how much had changed in 15 years. A notable interviewee on the previous documentary had committed suicide, a porn newcomer had taken a job in IT and most crucially of all, the industry had suffered more than most since the financial crisis.

To most JOE readers, the latter should not come as a surprise. Most men consume pornography with little to no interest in what's going on behind the scenes nor any interest in what adverts are attempting to win their attention while they load up a clip from a YouTube style video site.

The proliferation of easy to find, free and usually illegally distributed porn has, however, led to shrinking pay packets, widespread piracy and a situation in which despite numerous unemployed men and women entering the industry through a lack of options, a lack of movies been made too.

This had led to many - including one female adult entertainer profiled in the show - making ends meet (please pardon that pun) by setting up webcam shows in their bedrooms. As the aforementioned porn star turned IT worker ominously declared, there won't even be porn stars in the next five years, while a prolific director told Louis that if the business is to survive, porn stars will have to realise that it will only ever be a part-time gig in the future.

While the impact of the pornography industry's decline was the main focal point of the show's clearly established narrative, it was one award-winning male porn star's plight that was most compelling.

The full-on confessional details of the preposterously-named Tommy Gunn (the Christian Bale lookalike in the story image above) did not fit in with the criteria of details that Theroux evidently wanted to discover when returning to investigate the porn industry but for that reason, his interview sections were a lot more eye-opening.

Having built himself a giant ranch and a bizarre but undeniably cool zombie-proof van as a hobby (you really would've had to have seen the show to understand...) Gunn's interviews were nothing less than gripping. Having forgoed a regular sex life, love life and the possibilities of raising a family, Gunn was beginning to discover the toll that the porn industry had taken on for him in exchange for selling his body for cash.

Later scenes in which the aging porn star attempted to make an emotional connection with young twentysomething female performers - just minutes before they would literally have sex with one another on camera - were excruciating and portrayed Gunn as a lonely, broken figure to be sympathised with. It was stark contrast from the simplistic idolisation some might have towards male porn stars "living the dream" of emotionally detached, paid sex with strangers.

Over on RTE a couple of days later we had the enlightening Ireland's Depression Epidemic with Ray D'Arcy, TV3, 10pm (TV3, Tuesday 10pm), the first of a three-part series focusing on a condition that remains taboo for many in Irish life.

Though the broadcaster may have not have been the first of many to host such a weighty topic, D'Arcy amiable qualities helped elevate the subject matter tremendously, as he began to explain some of the most commonly used terminology relating to the illness, and met people from a variety of backgrounds who have had to cope with depression.

Just as Theroux had recently taken viewers through the little-seen but vital strugglers of those with autism or dementia, D'Arcy's efforts proved that a trusted voice is needed to present such tough subject matter to a wide audience.