THE real problem with this genre of reality television is that real life moves too slowly for anyone other than relatives to sustain interest in the progress of a family that has moved away.

After the inevitable (and traumatic) going away parties and tearful goodbyes, what true sentiment remains? Bulletins and snapshots are all that is really required by those on the fringes. And that is what viewers of The Great Escape will get when they tune in to watch the travails of the Casserly family, ex-Swords, Co Dublin, and now resident in, NB, chateau-hankerers, an exceedingly plain house in Montplon, an hour away from Bordeaux.

In 2004, Ger Casserly moved his family . . .and the programme very much presents the move in that way . . . to France. Ger had been made redundant from his job as a printer earlier that year. Used to a good wage, when he looked around for alternative employment he found little to compare.

With a chunky redundancy cheque in his pocket, Ger and his wife, Eimear, and their three children, Eoin, Niamh and Ciara, upped sticks and moved to France.

With hardly a backward glance, and seemingly none in the direction of the Junior Cert looming on Eoin's horizon, off they went. Summer 2004 was spent driving around looking for somewhere to live, followed closely by the crew of Coco Television's earlier programme Househunters in the Sun.

The Casserlys had been going on their holidays to France for 10 years or more when they decided to make the move. As Ger says, "We'd been up the length and breadth of the country, staying on campsites. We always knew that we were gong to live in France at some stage. Except I'd thought it'd be when we got rid of the kids, when we were older. We'd go to France and have some fun.

We had a good feel for the country. And I've always loved the arrogance of the French.

The fact that they couldn't give a shit about what you're driving or the clothes that you're wearing. I've always loved their attitude."

In the winter of 2004, the Casserly family bought five hectares of land for 58,000.

For some time they lived in a rented house.

They have since bought a plain house for 104,000. They rejected the house initially as too ugly and too small. The romantic arrivistes have become pragmatic locals.

The girls of the family are now sharing a bedroom pending the addition of more rooms.

Ger's dream from the outset was to establish a pitch and putt course in France.

Because golf is generally perceived as elitist in France, he thought that pitch and putt could prove the ideal compromise in a tricky market. Hence the acreage he was seeking.

Anyone familiar with the tried and tested formulae of property shows abroad will have anticipated what comes next. The Casserlys have problems with . . . list 'em . . .

architects, builders, planners and water diviners. The latter, in particular, is old and local and photogenic, and also crucial to the business (just pause for a moment to consider the importance and logistics of watering golf greens in a dry, hot climate).

Two years on and, despite planning permission, the pitch and putt course isn't yet open. Eimear, seen in the programme as little more than an adjunct housewife, is discontent. "In the programme it doesn't show that until we left I was working full time for Fingal County Council. I really liked my job there. For me, the move to France has been the biggest change of all. And then in some ways it's no change at all. I still do the shopping and cleaning and cooking and endless school runs, except that I do it in French. I have a lot of time on my hands. I can't wait for the Pitch and Putt to open so that I have a job. This lady of leisure stuff doesn't suit me."

For Ger, working in renovations while he waits for planning for the pitch and putt to open, the move has been a total success, despite all the delays. "There's nothing I miss about Dublin, other than family. And they all love to come and visit us here, so there's no issue at all. I'll never go back."

The kids, meanwhile, seem happy enough.

Both Ger and Eimear are relieved to have escaped the Dublin teenage scene. All of Eoin's French friends have scooters, and there's a relaxed local network that (maybe) smokes and drinks and dances, but modestly, in a low-key way. As a result, freedom is far beyond what would be given in Dublin.

Eoin has yet to decide whether he will stay in France after schooling, or return to Ireland.

The girls, Niamh, now 14, and Ciara, 12, are already embarked on the programme that will see them taking their baccalaureate and eligible for university in France.

Currently, they are both well-ensconced in a network of friends that's a million miles away from Dublin. Unfortunately, they wouldn't tell me anything about it. Other than that it's great. And PS, for the friends at home, they are on MSN.

Coco Television is currently seeking participants for a new series of Great Escapes.

If you are planning a Great Escape from Ireland, please contact producer Nicola Ronaghan on (01) 4970817 or info@cocotelevision. ie