The TRY Channel launched on YouTube on April 30, 2018; with several "pre-release" videos in the three weeks before this as advertising. It grew out of a recurring series on the Facts channel, where a group of Irish people would film reaction videos about various (usually) non-Irish things.
The premise is simple: up to six different people per video, usually grouped into pairs, will spend each episode either eating, drinking, or watching another video, and the TRY video shows their reactions. If it involves food or drinks, there will be, usually, four rounds, representing four different flavors or varieties; a video reaction "shoot" usually involves the group watching one episode of a show (generally the first episode), or other Web Original.
Most of the TRY'ers are, (according to their Twitter bio's,) comedians, independent filmmakers, or otherwise involved in film/TV production already.
They have their own website
, and YouTube Channel.
Also, there's a mailing address for sending them things to try:
- "If you'd like to send us stuff to TRY, our postal address for packages under $60*:
The TRY Channel
PM3530292
Unit C1, North City Business Park
North Road, Dublin 11
D11 RW30
Ireland
(* If you're sending food/drink to use in a video, please send 4 variants with enough to share between six people.)"
Tropes:
- Anachronic Order: Some of the pairings will film several segments, but they'll show up out of chronological order; since the other pairings in each video will change it will make it hard to tell when anything was filmed. (Usually the only clues to this happening will be comments under each YouTube video from one of the participants, or a later pair will open a package which an earlier pair had already taken food from.)
- And Your Reward Is Edible: The basic premise of any episode involving trying food; one had a pair being bribed into trying Reese's (which has peanut butter, they don't like it at all) with Heineken.
- Arc Words/Catchphrase:
- "That's class!" - Usually Lolsy
- "I don't like [cinnamon/peanut butter/chocolate/etc.]" - Various TRY'ers
- "Sláinte!" (Pronounced sounding often like "slancha", means "health" in Irish and Scottish Gaelic and a common drinking toast.) - Usually Leather Jacket Guy, but others have joined in.
- Berserk Button: Most TRY'ers have one food item (or flavor) they don't enjoy (e.g. Brian and cinnamon; Lolsy and chocolate), but to see fireworks... well, don't have Dermot and peanut butter in the same room. Or Justine Stafford and anything with durian fruit.
- Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: Blondes (examples: Anne, Eadaoin, Nicole), brunettes (examples: Davey, Dermot, Justine) and redheads (examples: Lauren, Blaithin, Paul).
- Bread, Eggs, Breaded Eggs: "Drink Roulette - Strongest Alcohol Edition"; it combines their previous "Strongest Alcohol" AND "Drink Roulette" episodes....
- Call-Back: Several videos has a TRY'er bring up something that was said, or done, in a previous episode (with two, so far, getting a "Previously, on TRY..." recap)."How does this work? I've watched the 'Strongest Alcohol' video, and I've watched the 'Drink Roulette' video..." - Clisare
- Clip Show:
- The first 3 episodes are audio/clip shows; but these mainly served as advertising, with audio taken from some of the next few episodes as voiceovers.
- Most of the 'watching' videos give the impression that they're watching clip shows, due to not being able to fit commentary on full episodes into 10 minutes or less.
- Deadpan Snarker: Almost everyone has had a chance to shine at this; it's pretty much guaranteed that at least two out of each 6 will also make one of the others crack up by being this.
- Dissimile: Nicole smacks one out of the park when trying a Krispy Kreme Lotus Caramelized Biscoff donut.Nicole: This is like my first lesbian kiss. Like, I'm confused but I love it.Paul: That's an amazing analogy! (*both laugh*)
- Does Not Like Spam:
- Dermot absolutely HATES peanut butter. George hates peanut butter, too, but he is less vitriolic in his hatred than Dermot.
- Justine heavily dislikes whiskey. Also, while no one on the channel likes durian fruit, Justine's reaction to it is closer to outright trauma.
- Gilligan Cut/Smash Cut: Usually used in a form of 'question asked and answered', or 'statement/Instantly Proven Wrong'.
- Hilarious Outtakes: Three compilations of various outtakes and bloopers — mostly made while drunk — can be found on the channel. Some highlights include Ciara and Mary-Claire speculating about how much tail Jack Daniel got, Dermot and George doing Nicolas Cage impressions, Lolsy and Brian painting each other, and Dermot devolving into a borderline-unintelligible Midlands accent:Dermot: Dy'know whutimean? M'turnin mor'Athlone?Colin: What?Dermot: M'turnin mor'Athlone?Colin: What are you saying, Dermot?Dermot: M'on da fookin' town.Colin: Are you speaking English?Dermot: M'on da fookin' town.Colin: What?Dermot: Ama poke da fookin' jaws outta yer... (trails off into gibberish)
- Ice-Cream Koan: Mary-Claire, tipsy off "1792" bourbon, busts out one of these.We'll never know what it would have been like to have been born, or living in that time. But we can know what it would have tasted like, and that, my friends, is how history connects us. And also makes us forget, because if you drink too much, you'll have no history of the night before.
- The Lad-ette: Justine Stafford has a very stereotypically "guy" sense of humor, and often makes sex-related jokes which, while not being explicit (in that she rarely uses crude slang), are usually unexpected enough to break the TRY'er she's paired with. Her segments often devolve into giggling as the other person gets blindsided.
- Large Ham: Lampshaded in one video; George Fox pointed out, while disliking a particular item, that "some people [state] in the comments that we're overacting; we're not." Given that, they occasionally will bring some porcine production, to point out some feature that caught their attention. Or to make a joke.
- Looks Like Jesus: Paul Finglas, aka Irish Jesus, due to his long hair and cropped beard.
- Never Gets Drunk: A Running Gag is Ciara O'Doherty's insane alcohol tolerance. It took four shots of the strongest absinthe they could get their hands on to make her only slightly giggly. Even in the second bourbon video, after four drinks, she looked totally unaffected. Averted for the rest of the cast back in the first bourbon video, complete with lampshading by George.Oh, this video's gonna devolve so fast.
- Odd Couple: Part of the comedy is the pairing of vastly different personality types and observing their often dramatically different reactions to the same thing.
- Once per Episode: At the end of each episode, one of the pairs will (try to) make an appeal to the viewers to subscribe, and "hit the notification bell." (Sometime they fail to get it out; it depends on if they're making each other laugh too hard, or if it was a "drinking" video...)
- One-Steve Limit: Averted; there are two Justines and two Seans.
- Only One Name: Clisare definitely qualifies here (as noted above, it's her internet handle and not her real name). Lolsy, Eadaoin, and Pagan, too.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: The official Tryers page lists several cast members by their nicknames instead of their real ones:
- The Leather Jacket Guy; or at least it's a Screen Name to help separate private and public life (his real name is Max Byrne).
- The same goes for Irish Jesus (Paul Finglas).
- "Lolsy" is a nickname (her real name is Laura).
- Please Subscribe to Our Channel: At the end of most videos. They do mention that subscribing lets you get notifications for new videos, which — except for the Livestream ones — come out on a regular schedule.
- Pronouncing My Name for You: Some of the TRY'ers have Gaelic names, which to a non-Gaelic speaker do not look like they're pronounced at all; luckily, most of them get said by other TRY'ers at some point. These include Blaithin (pronounced "blah-heen"), Eadaoin (pronounced "ay-deen") and Ciara (pronounced "keer-uh"). Averted with Clisare, which is her internet handle; her real name is Claire.
- Silver Fox: Paddy.
- Trademark Favorite Food:
- Mostly an Inverted Trope; watch enough videos and you'll learn that Dermot despises peanut butter (and George doesn't care for it, as well), Brian doesn't care for Cinnamon (and a few other items)...
- On the flip side, several TRYers (particularly Dermot, Martin, Brian, and Ciara) love strong alcohol, especially whiskey. There were also episodes centered around red velvet treats and white chocolate snacks because they were sent as gifts to TRYers who particularly loved them (Dermot and Lolsy, respectively). Dermot even gets an extra bag's worth of stuff he doesn't have to share with anyone, to his great delight.
- Sincerity Mode: One video had four LGBT Tryers discuss their coming-out stories. As you might expect, it gets very emotional, and aside from some dry jokes here and there it’s very serious. Not a bad thing at all, though, and many comments praised the participants for their courage and offered support.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Lolsy is not amused when two of the "most disgusting shots" in a row have mayonnaise as an ingredient. She gets so upset her accent strengthens.Fuck off wit' your mayonnaise! Where -- whoo -- who d'you think you arrre?
