The Spike is a controversial Irish drama television series, broadcast by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) in 1978.
The series was negatively reviewed by critics who took issue with the poor script, bad acting and the clumsy thematic treatment.
Those who would have been willing to accept a critical perspective on the education system and explicit references to human sexuality were undercut by the clumsiness of the treatment of the issues, the superficiality of the characterisation and the immaturity of the underlying point of view.
The show's producer defended the nude streak as an intent "to examine the attitude of pupils and staff to nudity".
The ensuing fuss led to one of the actors requiring medical treatment after he was, as the Evening Press elegantly phrased it, "thumped by a fat elderly lady".