Rizzoli & Isles was gayer than you thought it was – or at least, it should’ve been. Sam Rutledge reflects on the frustrating experience of being a queer fan of the ridiculously named cop procedural. They say it’s harder to write about something you love than something you hate, so it’s a good thing I … Read more
Sam Rutledge dives into Arthur, the 90s animated classic making headlines for a recent gay rat wedding, because of course it is. Remember that absolutely delightful kids TV show Arthur? Chances are, if you’ve spent any time on the internet in recent weeks, you have. The 90s classic has jumped back into the cultural conversation due to … Read more
Forget Daria, Pepper Ann was the 90s’ greatest cartoon depiction of teenage girlhood, argues Sam Rutledge. Somehow the beloved Pepper Ann, which ran for five seasons is – wait for it – 22 years old. I know, I don’t believe it either, but it turns out we’re all much closer to death than we thought. It … Read more
Two seasons, one Eliza Dushku and a pre-Hangover Zach Galifinakis – how could a show with all this fail? Sam Rutledge writes about the two-season wonder that was Tru Calling. I have a controversial opinion for you: the shortlived Fox network drama Tru Calling was actually good. “Wait, what show?” I hear you ask. Fair question. It … Read more
You saw her in The Favourite and you obviously loved it, but where can you experience Queen (quite literally) Olivia Colman on the small screen? It may be wildly out of line considering she’s won a Golden Globe and a BAFTA and now an Oscar (!!!) but I don’t think it’s greedy to want Olivia Colman to … Read more
It’s Valentine’s Day, so why not pay homage to the New Zealand icon herself, Xena: Warrior Princess (the first three seasons drop on Lightbox tomorrow). Sam Rutledge writes a love letter to the woman herself. Question: was anyone who was alive in the 90s in New Zealand ever NOT watching Xena? I was only born in the … Read more
Unisex bathrooms, weird homophobia and even weirder visual effects. Sam Rutledge revisits the simultaneously regressive and progressive Ally McBeal. “Men are like gum anyway – after you chew a while they lose their flavour.” Calista Flockhart’s titular Ally McBeal delivers this line in 1997 with all the guts of someone who has had absolutely enough right … Read more
The groundbreaking sci-fi TV series The X-Files turns twenty-five today. Sam Rutledge writes a love letter to the show and the things that make it special even now. I have something to confess. When I was in my teens, I was one of two moderators for a Livejournal community dedicated entirely to watching episodes of The … Read more
All eight glorious horsey seasons of McLeod’s Daughters comes to TVNZ on Demand today. Sam Rutledge ranks the daughters – by order of McLeodiest (just go with it). “Farm soap” isn’t as a ubiquitous term as I’d like it to be. All the drama of a regular soap, but plunked into the rural wild where there … Read more
Nearly 30 years ago The Animals of Farthing Wood debuted – and promptly traumatised a generation of children with its cavalcade of animal slaughter. Picture it: an idyllic wood, teeming with all sorts of delightful creatures big and small, feathered and furred. Thick with green leaf and underbrush. Perhaps there’s the sound of a gentle … Read more
Sam Rutledge is a die hard McLeod’s Daughters fan. Here she posits her (entirely canon and correct) theory that all the characters in the show are, in fact, gay. If you somehow managed to miss every single episode of McLeod’s Daughters when it aired, because you didn’t have a television or you had better taste than me, … Read more