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TV REVIEW: The Rutland, RTÉ1, Tuesday; Fight or Flight,RTÉ1, Monday; Higher Ground,RTÉ1, Wednesday; Desperate Romantics, BBC 2, Tuesday - WE LIKE TO drink in Ireland, and aren’t we proud of it. There are problems, sure – negative health effects, street violence, car accidents, we won’t deny it. But drawing undue attention to those problems is considered to be kind of like turning the lights on and the music off halfway through a good party – why spoil the fun?

Watching the first part The Rutland, a sensitive, well-judged two-part documentary about the addiction clinic, it became obvious why we need to turn the lights on and the music off. Alcoholics and drug addicts and gamblers are forceful reminders that the pastimes we enjoy so much are damaging and corrupting when allowed to consume us.