Tara Ward watches the iconic TVNZ 1 series Shed of the Year, and brings together some key criteria for an average shed to reach shed glory. I have a confession: I love sheds. My new love blossomed last Tuesday night, when George Clarke strolled onto my screen in Amazing Spaces: Shed of the Year. He … Read more
Tara Ward brings you her rankings for Shortland Street, including #warnerproblems, more fruit mince pies and a bunch of bad Santas. 1) So much Santa drama it felt like an early Christmas cliffhanger Nothing upsets the fragile testosterone balance in a hospital like three Alpha Santas on a pastry bender. It was an inevitable as … Read more
Tara Ward watches The Job Interview, an awkward fly-on-the-wall series that goes inside one of life’s most hellish experiences. A new show began on TVNZ1 this week that confirmed several popular beliefs about job interviews: they suck, and nearly everyone sucks at them. Filmed in a fly-on-the-wall style, The Job Interview promises to reveal what really … Read more
Who will host 7pm current affairs show The Project when it comes to TV3 next year? Tara Ward makes some very early, very plausible predictions. All my dreams came true in one press release when Mediaworks announced the launch of current affairs panel show The Project. Scheduled in the troublesome 7.00pm timeslot, Mediaworks promises The Project … Read more
Tara Ward brings you her rankings for Shortland Street, including TK’s testosterone, fruit mince pies and a wild Warner week. 1) Chris goes commando and all is right with the world again Colour me happy, because that was the best Warner week since 1992. In truth, it should have been terrible. Chris couldn’t turn the TV … Read more
Tara Ward, The Spinoff’s supreme queen of the period drama, tells you why you should bravely enter the court of Victoria. It’s 1837 and Queen Victoria is up to her ears in worries. Is her head too small for the crown? Are her ear plaits symmetrical? Is her uncle plotting to dethrone her and seize … Read more
Tara Ward brings you her rankings for Shortland Street last week, including Bella’s move to Raglan, Chris Warner’s afternoon delight, and Boyd being miserable yet again. 1) Bella makes like a tree and leaves It took sitting on a park bench for Bella to realise that the universe was telling her to leave Ferndale. “Get out,” … Read more
Tara Ward brings you her rankings for Shortland Street last week, including the sad departure of Curtis, Halloween disasters, and way too much condensed milk. 1) TK’s fabulous Halloween tribute to…um, Cheryl West? It’s the halloween gift that keeps on giving. This is spectacular on a bazillion different levels, so feast your eyes, my pretties. Wait til … Read more
With the Presidential election just days away, America is on the verge of making history regardless of who wins. Tara Ward watched as Michael Moore made a desperate, and perhaps successful, attempt to talk sense with potential Trump voters. “I think Hilary Clinton will have dead people vote.” It’s indisputable logic like this that makes Wilmington, … Read more
Tara Ward brings you her rankings for Shortland Street last week, including rashes, a ghost, and conceiving babies in hospital corridors. 1) Curtis takes one for the team Life was grand for old mate Curtis, but no amount of pashing Esther in the hospital café could stop him becoming tangled in Cam’s web of lies. Somebody needs … Read more
Shit got real on Bake Off this week. Forget American Horror Story or Scream Queens, the real horror this Halloween was found in a marquee in the English countryside. Tara Ward witnessed it all fall apart. Tuesday’s episode of Great British Bake Off served up the stuff of nightmares: possible sabotage, irrational behaviour, and terrifying meltdowns. Plus … Read more
Tara Ward brings you her rankings for Shortland Street last week, including undercover superheroes, fishy dilemmas, and Esther’s messy love life. 1) Rajiv is a superhero in a plastic apron Whipping off his jacket and throwing it aside like he was Patrick Swayze about to pull Baby from the corner, Rajiv revealed that he wasn’t just a … Read more
You may not have heard of Minute To Win It and now it’s finished. But there’s still time to catch a few episodes online, as Tara Ward relives TV3’s final episode of the greatest talent show for the uncoordinated. As TV3’s long run of Minute To Win It came to a sad end, I wanted to understand how a … Read more
Tara Ward brings you her rankings for Shortland Street last week, including super-yacht surgery, love triangles, and the arrival of a brand new cocky doctor. 1) Drew: oh Captain, my Captain Talk about better work stories: “Kylie, remember that time we were cooking tenderloins and were suddenly taken hostage on that super-yacht? With the anaesthelogist who … Read more
Beauty pagents are often thought of as outdated, superficial and sexist. Lucky nobody told the folk at Miss Universe New Zealand, who recently gathered twenty of the country’s most beautiful women together to compete for a sparkly tiara and a huge bunch of flowers. Miss Universe NZ 2016 was a bizarre old night. The audience screamed like they were … Read more
Tara Ward brings you her rankings for Shortland Street last week, including intense tent problems and the sad departure of Rachel McKenna. 1) Rachel walks towards the light Just another ordinary week for our Rach: she got drunk, knocked down a wedding marquee and vowed to find herself. Before our tiny little brains could comprehend the ridiculous idea … Read more
The Great British Bake Off is back on our screens, bringing with it treacherous sponge cake, dry nuts and a myriad of emotions. Tara Ward breaks down the six psychological stages of the show. Imagine an idyllic paradise of wildflowers and lush green grass, where tiny lambs frolic next to a gurgling stream and daffodils wave … Read more
Celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal makes elite home cuisine look possible with little more than an old mushroom and an iron. But how achievable are his recipes? Tara Ward watches How to Cook Like Heston to find out. For those of you who think being adventurous in the kitchen means using a non-stick frypan, How to Cook … Read more
Tara Ward brings you her rankings for Shortland Street last week, including Bella’s massage, Warner tears and Kate with the good hair. 1) Rachel has left the building Do you ever feel like a plastic bag, drifting through the wind, wanting to start again? That’s exactly how Rachel McKenna felt as she was ushered from the building … Read more
Tara Ward brings you her rankings for Shortland Street last week, including Rachel’s war path, Warner’s windswept hair and some incredible VR technology. 1) Rachel is scary Rachel picked up a plethora of life skills during her 10 seconds of rehab, like how to not give a shit, and how to scare the bejeesus out of everyone … Read more
Tara Ward dives into a delicious, piping hot serving of all-new Breakfast, and breaks down the key changes in TV One’s revamped morning show. A fresh day dawned in New Zealand yesterday and with it a new era of breakfast television. “This is your Breakfast, this is New Zealand’s Breakfast” said new co-host Jack Tame. “I’m … Read more
Tara Ward brings you her rankings for Shortland Street last week, including the arrival of Sass, sad bears, and everyone’s favourite, Damo. 1) Leanne is a sweet scented, demented Jezebel The 100% pure romance of Leanne and Howard’s love affair pierced my cold dead heart like a pungent sprig of rosemary through a freshly butchered piece of … Read more
Tara Ward brings you her rankings for Shortland Street last week, including Dom’s arson, black mould from hell and a haunted dolly. 1) Blue rocks his way around Ferndale “Change yourself, change the world. Rock on, people.” Holy Moses, this powerful life-affirming message had such insight and clarity that it could have come from Gandhi, Mandela or Angela Stone. … Read more
Tara Ward brings you her rankings for Shortland Street last week, including Rachel’s Kitchen Nightmare, ghost boobs and Chris Warner via Skype. 1) Harry is the change you want to see in the world Harry had a cracker of a week. He saved Rachel from a watery grave and, if that wasn’t exciting enough, was named captain … Read more
Forget Mummy bloggers, Tara Ward collates all you need to know about pregnancy and childbirth from the 1950’s nuns of Call the Midwife. Call the Midwife follows a group of 1950’s nurse midwives in the East End of London, who spend every episode pretending they’re not shitting themselves at the thought of being responsible for bringing … Read more
Tara Ward brings you her rankings for Shortland Street last week, including handbags at dawn, Ferndale’s Taxi Fight Club and our weekly dose of Damo. 1) Lucy puts herself in the corner TFW you realise your father only loves you for your liver. With Glen diagnosed with liver failure, Lucy faced a tough decision: should she give Glen … Read more
Tara Ward brings you her rankings for Shortland Street last week, including Leanne’s facelift, Rachel McKenna’s pashfest and Damo’s stark white thighs. 1) Rachel makes a startling announcement “I’m not made of fingers, Damo!” The strain of being a drug-dependent alcoholic who couldn’t make her computer print got to Rachel, and she began to unravel like an out-of-control … Read more
With an exciting new cast photo coming out of Ferndale this week, Tara Ward digs through some of the finest offerings from Shortland Street‘s archives. Forget the Olympics, ignore the housing crisis, pay no heed to Justin Bieber deleting his Instagram. The big news of the week comes from Ferndale, where the Shortland Street 2016 cast photo … Read more
Tara Ward brings you her rankings for Shortland Street last week, including cheese dreams, sharp jaws and virus-laden horse stables. 1) Leanne orders a takeaway burger stuffed with Phyllovite and a side serving of crazy “You’re not a turkey!” Nicole yelled at her mother. “Gobble, gobble, gobble!” replied Leanne. Leanne’s bloodstream was 100% Phyllovite, meaning she hooned around Ferndale … Read more