Tara Ward brings you this week’s Shortland Street Power Rankings, including Boyd’s boring babysitting and Esther’s terrible needlework. 1) Return of the Mac(kenna) I figured Rachel had been sucking on the nitrous gas last week, especially after she came over all feeble and let blackmailer Gareth and his dodgy medical wares into her hospital. Thankfully, the … Read more
The Spinoff’s editor, Duncan Greive, co-authored the just-released Dan Carter: My Story with the All Blacks’ first five. Here he shares his memories of the tumultuous year the pair spent working on the book. The lowest I ever heard him was late in February. We spoke via Skype, as we often did through that portion of … Read more
The recently-announced proposal not to renew TV3’s flagship current affairs show 3D is now subject to fierce resistance from the show’s journalists, who have assembled a legal team to work on a challenge to the way employment process was conducted. The Spinoff can reveal that 3D‘s journalists have called on lawyers, forensic accountants and employment experts to help build a case … Read more
Alex Casey talks to Ben Daniels, star of new gritty drama Flesh and Bone, about working with both Breaking Bad writers and broken ballerinas. Watching Ben Daniels as Paul Grayson, the toxic artistic director in ballet drama Flesh and Bone, it’s impossible to avoid comparisons to Sparky Polastri in Bring it On. He brings with him the same venomous … Read more
Inside the Lightbox is a sponsored post where we mine the extensive Lightbox catalogue for shows you might like to watch. This Friday 13, we pick some of the unluckiest characters on television. 1) Pierce Hawthorne (Community) “When I was born, I got my umbilical cord wrapped around my neck, both arms, and one of … Read more
In the aftermath of Steve Williams’ controversial book which slammed former boss Tiger Woods for treating the Kiwi caddy like “a slave”, a good news story has emerged about Tiger. Well… Sort of… This is the tale of journeyman tour pro William McGirt. Or, as Tiger Woods would say: “An idiot”. As his brilliantly Dickensian name … Read more
Bringing together the best, worst and weirdest television moments of the week, including Rachel Hunter’s spit-take in Mexico and Story’s excellent coverage after the Parliamentary walk-out. Contributions by Alex Casey and Calum Henderson. The Women Speak on Story The one thing that became patently clear after Parliament seemingly burned to the ground this week is … Read more
Joseph Harper reviews a different game every week in a brand new column. First up: Neko Atsume. I started playing a new smartphone game this week. I’m probably the target market for these kind of things via vaguely addictive personality and enjoying the patronising simplicity of the kind of games that exist on this platform. I’ve … Read more
Alex Casey delivers her contestant power rankings for week five on My Kitchen Rules NZ. This week: jelly meat is on the menu and Simon courts a panna cotta. Sorry about the delay, what a bloody week it’s been. Sister week! The ultimate showdown between Manawatu and Auckland. Kimberley and Brooke vs Katrina and Natasha, … Read more
Has a seemingly sweet and kind gesture from primary school students cursed every contestant on The Block to hell? And more importantly, has it had any effect whatsoever on the Power Rankings? 1. (Last Week: 1) Brooke & Mitch – House 4 Despite investing heavily in The Block NZ’s first glass-encased outdoor television, Brooke and Mitch’s … Read more
Join the Men in Blazers Rog and Davo as they tackle all the talking points from Gameweek 12 of the Premier League. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyXoDOuBo18?utm_source=thespinoff&utm_medium=partnership&utm_campaign=partnership With a quarter of the season gone, Premier League Pass are offering a quarter off the price. To claim your 25% discount, simply sign up as usual to a Full Season pass, … Read more
For the second consecutive day, a group of opposition MPs has walked out of Parliamentary Question Time in protest at rulings by the speaker, David Carter, over remarks made by the Prime Minister. In the house yesterday, John Key enraged MPs who had raised concerns about New Zealand citizens in Australian detention on Christmas Island … Read more
In Geneva this week, Australian delegates appeared in a grey convention room as the UN Human Rights Council conducted its official Universal Periodic Review of the country’s human rights record. You can watch the whole thing, as it unfolded in the Palais des Nations, below, though it’s only fair to warn that it’s mostly tedious, … Read more
The tenth episode of our weekly pop music chat for umusic, shot and edited by The Spinoff’s own José Barbosa. It involves two pop rookies – The Spinoff’s Alex Casey and bFM’s Joseph Harper – listening to state-of-the-art pop music and having a chat about it. Simple. This week they discuss 5SOS’ ode to Duran Duran, … Read more
In 2013, the New Zealand’s woman’s rafting team won their fifth world title on the rivers of the Bay of Plenty. Two years later, Don Rowe joins them for an early-morning training session ahead of the 2015 World Champs in Indonesia. The dark jade waters of the Kaituna River flow 50km from inland Bay of … Read more
On Writing by Charles Bukowski On Writing is not an instruction manual. Nobody who knows anything about Bukowski’s boozy, belligerent shambles of a life would expect one. As he was fond of confessing, Bukowski did not like people. Even as a baby in the cradle, he reports in his largely autobiographical 1982 novel Ham on … Read more
Homai Te Pakipaki has been a mainstay every Friday night on Māori Television, encouraging people from all walks to life to “bring your keyboard and your mates for a jam”. José Barbosa went behind the scenes during the Grand Final, before the karaoke show shuts down after nine glorious years. The first time I watched Homai Te … Read more
An exposé of a perfectly legal former job exposed the hypocrisy with which we treat both reality TV stars and women, says Alex Casey Over the weekend Stuff revealed that Katrina from My Kitchen Rules NZ was once paid to pose in pornographic photos. As @johubris noted on Twitter, this really wasn’t a news story: TVNZ publicists were … Read more
On a rainy Saturday in October, Don Rowe headed to Armageddon with 20,000 sodden gamers, cosplayers and consumers. A forlorn pikachu trudged along Great South Road under a grey curtain of rain. Water ran from its drooping ears and down into a rapidly disintegrating paper loot-bag. The sagging and ragged hem of its yellow onesie legs … Read more
Aaron Yap reviews Flesh and Bone, the new drama from Breaking Bad writer Moira Walley-Beckett, and asks if it lives up to its lofty predecessor. To consider Flesh and Bone worthy of your time, especially in an ever-crowded market of dark cable dramas, some management of expectations is advisable. Not every new show can claim, … Read more
There have been false dawns before but American Rugby is about to take its first steps into the pro leagues with the announcement of the PRO Rugby competition. Scotty Stevenson talks to the men behind the league and assesses its challenges and potential. At Travers Island last weekend the Old Blue of New York defeated … Read more
Tara Ward brings you this week’s Shortland Street Power Rankings, including Virginia’s man-eating, Lucy’s woeful pikelets and Ferndale’s latest ill-thought-out engagement. 1) Virginia celebrates her divorce from Drew by shagging him senseless Sit back, girls, and let Auntie Virginia teach you this week’s life lesson. Recently spurned by the love of your life? Exhausted by a lengthy … Read more
This Friday the Wellington Phoenix play their first home game since Football Federation Australia’s refusal to grant them a ten-year license extension to play in football’s A-League. Right now, Wellington is trying to pull the wool over their eyes. It was a remarkable press conference. Two weeks ago A-League CEO David Gallop sat a desk … Read more
An expert’s guide to getting your sweet darling cutie pies to go to bed. How many hours do children need to sleep? Although it depends on the age of the child, one general answer is now clear: more than you think. Sleep loss affects everyone, but the impact is far greater on children who are … Read more
Greg Bruce, author of a masterful feature on Steve Williams, reviews the autobiography of a seething brat who is also undeniably the greatest caddy of all time. I wrote a feature about Steve Williams in Metro magazine early last year. It was a long process, begun in early 2013, when I sent him a handwritten letter, because … Read more
Craig expected to pursue legal action against Craig following Craig’s revelation about Craig. Contained within the thundering and snappily titled pamphlet Dirty Politics And Hidden Agendas: Colin Craig Vs The Dirty Politics Brigade and Their Campaign of Lies (PDF here), an unnamed interviewer speaks to someone called “Mr X”, a pottymouth insider. This morning Colin … Read more
Raise a glass of scotch for Days of Our Lives this weekend, as the surreal soap will be celebrating its whopper 50th anniversary on Sunday November 8. I was lucky enough to visit the studio set in LA the other week, and got talk to a few of the cast members who have survived the show through … Read more
The Spinoff enters the tittle-tattle market with a thrilling new zeitgeist-defining column, Jamboree. This week, All Blacks, boobies, women of influence, Steve Braunias, Camilla P-B, and Kate Hawkesby lets rip.News arrives from Jamboree’s London bureau of disappointment in the British capital when the All Blacks, on cloud nine following their Rugby World Cup victory at … Read more
Call of Duty Black Ops III comes out today amidst a general feeling of despair at what hath become of a once-great franchise. Daniel Rutledge is a solitary voice to the contrary. There’s a specific look of shock I know all too well. Sometimes it’s not shock, but rather disgust, or bemusement; but it’s always … Read more