Sam Brooks 
Every day in the leadup to Christmas, open the door to reveal a Spinoff writer’s short, sizzling commentary on a weighty subject. Our arbitrary and strictly enforced word limit: 365. Today: Sam Brooks with a hot tip for a hot meal on Christmas Day. It was the morning of Christmas 2016, and being New Zealand, … Read more
It’s our first shock elimination – and one that genuinely leaves the show worse off. Sam Brooks power-ranks episode four of House of Drag. “Skits are for scouts.” is one of the many pearls of wisdom that my mother gave me. Skits are sketches that weren’t good enough to be sketches, so they’re called skits. … Read more
The Basement Theatre Christmas Show is celebrating its tenth year as the most fun you can have in December. To acknowledge the achievement, Basement regular Sam Brooks spoke to the writers, actors and audiences from across the decade. Jacinda Ardern playing Helen Clark. Rose Matafeo playing Dame Kiri Te Kanawa. Chris Parker, for one brilliant … Read more
Mediaworks launched their 2019 slate today. Sam Brooks has the lowdown on what you should be watching (and voting) for. 2018 is almost over and what a ride it’s been. Now, as we look ahead to 2019, who’s going to be dancing with other stars? Who’s going to be getting married at first sight? And … Read more
The Hitman series has been all around the world – Europe, Africa, Australia, other continents – but it’s taken eighteen years to reach our dusky shores. So how accurately does Hitman 2 capture Hawke’s Bay? Sam Brooks investigates. There are scant few games that are set in New Zealand. It’s basically just Jonah Lomu’s Rugby, which is … Read more
It’s costume chaos week on House of Drag – but who surfs the waves and who gets washed ashore? Sam Brooks power-ranks episode three of House of Drag. After a shaky beginning, it seems that House of Drag is beginning to find its feet on the catwalk. Episode three is an altogether tighter ship, with clear narratives for the … Read more
It’s a story as old as time: a great book makes for a perfectly fine television series. Sam Brooks reviews My Brilliant Friend. You know how when you see a photo of the Mona Lisa it doesn’t look that impressive? When you’re actually there in front of it – despite its suprisingly small size, despite the … Read more
Following in the strong, deep footsteps of Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy comes another remaster of a 90s classic. Sam Brooks reviews Spyro: The Reignited Trilogy. The plumber. The bandicoot. The lady with the triangle shaped boobs. The electric yellow rat. All of these gaming mascots have survived into the present day whether through sequel, reboot or … Read more
New Zealand has its own drag reality show now, House of Drag – but how does it fare under the mighty shadow of RuPaul’s Drag Race? Sam Brooks tunes in. Once in a generation, a piece of work comes along that is so much of landmark, so much of a game-changer, that everything that comes along after … Read more
Inarguably the best sports drama of all time, Friday Night Lights, dropped in its entirety on Lightbox last week. Sam Brooks on why you should watch it – and the other cult classics you might not know are on the service. Friday Night Lights (S1-5) I’m surprised this show didn’t incorporate some sort of partnership with … Read more
It’s twenty of the games of your youth in one package – but is the Playstation Classic worth the price tag? Sam Brooks had a swing at the new-old console. Nostalgia is a potent poison – and one that big companies have learned how to effectively weaponise. There’s a reason why one of the biggest … Read more
Six flavours, six packets of biscuit, one power ranking. Sam Brooks risks his waistline for the decadent trans-Tasman cake-biscuit known as the Tim Tam. Is a Tim Tam a biscuit that dreamed it was a cake, or a cake that dreamed it was a biscuit? Not even Zhuangzi was able to answer this, because he … Read more
What do you get when you mix a South Korean auteur, a French-sounding British spy author and a ridiculous attractive cast? A genuine must-see. Sam Brooks reviews The Little Drummer Girl. When I think of John le Carre, I don’t think sexy spy drama. If anything, the man has done whatever he can to dispel … Read more
You’ve heard of them. All your cool friends and your coolest aunt watches them – but what the heck are these blonde dramas with subtitles? Sam Brooks is here to school you on the ubiquitous Scandi-drama. Lock the doors, lower the blinds, fire up the smoke machine and put on your heels, because I know … Read more
They said he couldn’t do it, but what else are you going to do in seven days? Sam Brooks watched 42 episodes of Outlander in a single week to catch up before the fourth season premiere tonight on Lightbox. One week ago today I sat around The Spinoff’s story-pitching firepit, and said I thought it would … Read more
Meghan Markle and her ranked but unimportant husband came to New Zealand this week, and a huge amount of people lost their collective and metaphorical shit. Self-appointed royal commentator Sam Brooks explains the obsession. Who doesn’t remember where they were when Meghan Markle and her plus-one landed in Wellington airport one windy afternoon? I do, … Read more
To you, she’s just Phoebe from Friends. To me, she’s the one of the finest actresses of the small screen, writes Sam Brooks. Lisa Kudrow was the best actor on Friends. Regardless of how you rank the Friends characters (and if you rank Ross anywhere but last, you’re wrong), Kudrow’s performance is unimpeachable. When I watched all ten seasons of … Read more
The High Court yesterday ruled in the latest legal tussle between disgraced Conservative leader Colin Craig and disgraced blogger Cameron Slater. Sam Brooks reads the judgement and shines light on the shade. Look, there were no winners in this case. Legally, sure. Morally, it’s like when the checkers team had a scrap against the backgammon … Read more
It has been announced that Celebrity Treasure Island, the iconic New Zealand reality show that almost killed Mountain Dewer Lana Coc-Kroft, will return next year. Sam Brooks peers into his dollar-store crystal ball to predict the contestants. It’s coming back. The show that introduced us to celebrities… again. The show that almost killed our most … Read more
Does my soul still burn? After six years, kind of! Sam Brooks reviews Soul Calibur 6. It feels appropriate to start this review of a fighting game by admitting I used to be the kind of person who beat semi-experienced players in Tekken 3 as Eddy by button-mashing. If one was to ever call into question my … Read more
It’s time for the annual Assassin’s Creed game, but 2018’s version doesn’t feel very much like an Assassin’s Creed at all. So why does it work so well? Sam Brooks reviews. The first Assassin’s Creed blew my mind eleven years ago. It was the first game that proved the power of the last generation’s consoles: it was a genuine graphical … Read more
The new drama from Facebook Watch (yes, that’s a thing) is the small screen’s most delicately rendered and thoughtful tackling of grief since Six Feet Under, writes Sam Brooks. Grief is like a snowflake made of shit – every experience is unique and unpleasant in its own way. When someone dies, the grief radiates outwards … Read more
It’s been a beloved cultural phenemenon for a few years now, but the Bake-Off finally makes it way to our shores. Hosted by Hayley Sproull and Madeleine Sami, Sam Brooks interviews the pair spearheading the Great Kiwi Bake-Off ahead of its premiere tonight. Straight up: I haven’t watched an episode of the Great British Bake-Off. It sounds like the most … Read more
Last year it was the ubiquitous seagull! But who has nabbed the title of the Dirtbag Bird of the Year 2018? Sam Brooks has the result. It’s been a fierce two days of votes, deep-seated resentment and Facebook comments. I’ve done the numbers (looked at how many votes) and thought hard about my decisions (y’all … Read more
RNZ is set to announce the Bird of the Year for 2018 on Monday morning. In honour of this event, and our finest dirtbag birds, Sam Brooks revives The Spinoff’s alternative contest: New Zealand’s Dirtbag Bird of the Year. Reacquaint yourself with last year’s Dirtbag Bird of the Year finalists and the popular vote winner. … Read more
Sam Brooks has played over one hundred hours of Dragon Quest – and found it to be an act of self-care, not grinding torture. This is his story. When it comes to J-RPGs, there are two titans: Final Fantasy, which I have slipped into enough articles on this site that I might as well be a … Read more
Alias is mostly remembered as the show that launched Jennifer Garner’s career. But it deserves more kudos for being a genuinely groundbreaking show, writes Sam Brooks. “My name is Sydney. Seven years ago I was recruited by a secret branch of the CIA called SD-6. I was sworn to secrecy, but I couldn’t keep it … Read more
Life is Strange 2 repeats the sins of its predecessor – for good and for bad. Sam Brooks reviews. Video games are, as an artform, not known for their subtlety. If you’re not a gamer, your video game references are likely Mario, Grand Theft Auto, Fortnite, maybe Final Fantasy. These are the technicolour dreamcoats of games, known less for their … Read more
Three’s Pilot Week is done – but how good were the pilots, and which ones should get commissioned? Sam Brooks reviews. It’s been a wild week, y’all. I can’t remember the last time we had two and a half hours of new New Zealand comedy content for an entire week on our screens. (Probably the first … Read more