A birth, a betrayal, a flogging. Things continue to get darker on episode 8 of The Handmaid’s Tale, available on Lightbox. Tara Ward recaps. “Gilead eats you from the inside out,” June said during this week’s episode of The Handmaid’s Tale, titled ‘Women’s Work’. It’s true, Gilead is the bleeding ulcer on the stomach lining of … Read more
You’ve got three days off work – why would you want to spend it outside being cold when you could be cosily binge-watching the best of Lightbox in the comfort of your own home? Some people spend their public holidays in the fresh air, having ‘experiences’ and meeting ‘people’. To them, I say: please stop. … Read more
Tara Ward recaps the seventh episode of this season of The Handmaid’s Tale, which shipped her and her emotional stability off in a crimson coffin. Ship me off to the colonies and throw me your smallest shovel, because I am of no use to anyone after that episode of The Handmaid’s Tale. It had everything: tension, dread, … Read more
Morag Bellingham QC was a rare gem in soap television: a complex, fiercely flawed character who viewers loved nonetheless. Tara Ward pays tribute to the character – and the actress who played her, who died yesterday. For 29 glorious years she graced our screens as Alf Stewart’s evil sister in Home and Away, the brutally honest … Read more
Obsessed with the royal wedding and not sure what to do with the few hours that are left in the lead-up? Proud royal(wedding)ist Tara Ward shares her pre-planning schedule. Friends, there is one more sleep until Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in the event of the century, and I am gripped by wedding fever. Gripped, … Read more
You want mothers? Lightbox has ’em. Tara Ward takes a look at the best TV mothers to hang with this weekend. Mothers. They’re everywhere these days; at work, at the gym, on the television. They’ve even had the audacity to give themselves a day in their own honour (it’s tomorrow, FYI). Nowhere is safe from women … Read more
There’s some huge Coronation Street news: New Zealand is in for a hardcore catch up. A shaken Tara Ward explains what’s happening. Hold the phone, stop the runaway tram, throw your wobbly trifle at the wall. Mark this day down in television history, for it’s the day that TVNZ made an announcement that will make Coronation … Read more
Patsy Stone visiting two of the most beautiful places in the world? Sold! Tara Ward watches Joanna Lumley’s TWO travel series which you can watch on Lightbox right now. Last night I dreamed I saw Patsy Stone trapped in a warm embrace with an over-sized, dancing seal. The sun was shining, Patsy was grinning wildly, … Read more
This week, TVNZ announced our very own local version of The Great British Bake Off, The Great Kiwi Bake Off. Tara Ward comes in hot with her predictions of what it could possibly be like. Unless you’ve been hiding under a croquembouche helmet for the past few years, you’ll know that The Great British Bake Off is … Read more
The Americans is not only one of the best shows on TV right now (with the fifth season dropping on Lightbox this week), it’s an education tool. Tara Ward studied the show and came away with tips on how to decipher if your real-life neighbours are also real-life spies. If you’re looking for an intelligent drama … Read more
It’s got big hair, rollerskating, and Reebok hi-tops, but what exactly is The Goldbergs? Tara Ward is here to give you the low-down on this 80s-set sitcom, which drops all four of its seasons on Lightbox today. What’s the story? The Goldbergs is a family comedy that will speak to anyone who lived through the ‘80s, knows … Read more
The Great British Bake Off returned to Prime last night. Amateur baker and Bake Off fan Tara Ward was watching to see how the new Mel, Sue and Mary-less season fared. When last we saw The Great British Bake Off, everything had turned to shit. After Channel 4 bought the show from the BBC for a bargain … Read more
Cops, doctors, variety shows writers, reality show producers, women are running the show – and running the shows. To celebrate International Women’s Day, Tara Ward is saluting ten of Lightbox’s best shows made by women. It’s a well-known fact that women are awesome. They also make awesome television, whether its comedy, drama or a bicycle-riding … Read more
Rent Week 2018: Shortland Street expert Tara Ward finds the best – and worst – places to live in the mythical Auckland suburb of Ferndale. It’s a hard road finding the perfect place to live, but friends, I bring exciting news. I’ve stumbled across a suburb that is the answer to every renter’s dream, a … Read more
It was one of the most critically acclaimed cult shows of the late-00s, and it’s coming to Lightbox today. Tara Ward runs down Community’s 10 most gloriously wackadoo episodes. If you’re seeking a clever comedy bursting with pop-culture satire and musical parodies, then look no further than the televisual gem Community. When the egotistical Jeff … Read more
Need some ideas for a crazy romantic gesture this Valentine’s? Tara Ward’s got you covered with some of the best and most outlandish romantic gestures from the streaming screen. Some might say Valentine’s Day is a heaving cesspit of rampant commercialisation, but to them, I say stick a heart-shaped chocolate in your mouth and hush. … Read more
Tara Ward watches The Good Doctor on Lightbox and tells you why you should be tuning in to the medical show smashing records in the US. What’s it all about? The Good Doctor centres on Shaun Murphy, a young doctor with autism and savant syndrome who moves from a small town to work in a … Read more
Tara Ward will probably never be a Chaser on The Chase, but by gum will she power rank them in order of supreme dominance and knowledge prowess. Take your barbeques and beaches and stick them in your happy little quiz-hole, because the only place you should be this summer is in front of your screens … Read more
Tara Ward stargazes beneath the celeb-studded galaxy of Philip K Dick’s Electric Dreams. The trippy anthology series Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams boasts one of the most formidable collections of actors in a single television series. Not even Sharknado could gather together the creative talents of award-winning stars like Bryan Cranston, Anna Paquin, Vera Farmiga, … Read more
Tara Ward witnesses Suzanne Paul do something extraordinary — not for the first time and not for the last time. Someone alert the authorities because there’s a genius in my living room and her name is Suzanne Paul. I thought I’d seen it all when Suzanne Paul sold a clip that could jazz up your outfit … Read more
With help from our TV sponsors at Lightbox, Tara Ward rounds up some of the most delicious Christmas TV specials for you to feast upon. There’s 100 reasons why Christmas is so bloody awesome, and 99 of them relate to watching TV specials about Christmas. Indeed, there is no better time than Christmas to watch … Read more
Tara Ward watches the power-chucking, beard-itching, blood-soaked finale to Shortland Street. Contains spoilers. Lie me down on Chris Warner’s soft, pink bed and let me die quietly. The Shortland Street 2017 cliffhanger just served up so much glorious Christmas goodness that even my fat pants can’t handle it. I am stuffed full of drama, I … Read more
Tara Ward counts down the top ten moments from the finale of Outlander season three. Contains major spoilers, obviously. You could have knocked me over with a ginger feather when ‘Eye of the Storm’ began with Claire announcing she was dead. Dead as in not breathing, tied to a ship’s mast, plummeting to the bottom of the … Read more
Tara Ward counts down the top ten moments from the twelfth episode of Outlander season three. Contains major spoilers, obviously. Nothing kills a party like a wild prophecy about a kid being 200 years old when it dies. It makes as much sense as Coco the Talking Nut and the Dunbonnet’s hair, yet when Margaret Campbell uttered … Read more
Tara Ward falls in crazy, stupid love with Young Hercules, the bizarre 90s classic made in New Zealand and starring a young Ryan Gosling. Once upon a time, in a land far away called 1990s New Zealand, someone made the greatest television show in the history of the universe. Alas, I’m not talking about Face the … Read more
Tara Ward counts down the top ten moments from the eleventh episode of Outlander season three. Contains major spoilers, obviously. This morning I woke to the crushing news that I am no longer engaged to Prince Harry. Thankfully, one can always rely on Outlander to soften life’s cruel blows with a soft, billowy cushion of ginger joy. … Read more
Tara Ward counts down the top ten moments from ‘Heaven and Earth’, the tenth episode of Outlander season three. Contains major spoilers, obviously. Let us bow down at the Outlander altar, because ‘Heaven and Earth’ featured two loves of my life: potpourri and cheese. I never thought the day would come when the King of Men yarns … Read more
Tara Ward does a deep dive into one of New Zealand’s weirdest national obsessions. There’s something about the Big Red Chair on The Graham Norton Show that pulls New Zealanders towards it. It’s like a giant magnet of truth, sucking the shame and dignity out of our fellow citizens. Resistance is futile. Week after week, … Read more
Tara Ward counts down the top ten moments from ‘The Doldrums’, the ninth episode of Outlander season three. Contains major spoilers, obviously. Anchor me in the middle of your deep blue sea, Outlander, because the dramatic winds of ‘The Doldrums’ filled my emotional spinnaker like never before. I don’t know if it was the fresh ocean air … Read more