For TV Autopsies The Spinoff ventures deep into the TV universe to check in with New Zealand’s fallen stars, away from the spotlight’s glare. In this debut instalment Alex Casey went to Manurewa to meet four-octave powerhouse and Harry Warner hater, Wayne Anderson. // Wayne Anderson, the greatest singer in Manurewa, first bellowed his way onto our screens in the 2005 series … Read more
Legend has it that the team who wins front garden week goes on to win The Block NZ. So there was no pressure this week as our teams planted, painted and pushed their way to front garden nirvana, all determined to create the best first impression for their buyers. Join me as we walk towards … Read more
This music monday, we visit the catchiest musical moments to come from the good folk at 30 Rockerfeller Plaza. // One of the greatest things about 30 Rock (aside from the dickey shirts, the sandwiches and the jokes about Kenneth being 100+ years old) is the musical element of the show. Set behind the scenes of a … Read more
Please enjoy this week’s episode of Shorty Street Scandal, wherein James Mustapic recaps the past week of Ferndale hijinks. This week? Kronos the cat gets karmic with Dallas and we revisit Harry before he got a major facelift/attitude problem: Kronos the cat is definitely a weird addition to the Shortland Street world. It’s not often that … Read more
Survivor San Juan Del Sur Blood vs. Water 2 Power Rankings 12) Swag-factor 10 for Jeremy’s modified capri pants. The warrior achilles amirite? 11) Don’t Bring a Fake Idol to an Idol Fight Props to Dale for a spirited scramble but, to be honest, this wasn’t going down any other way. He sealed his fate … Read more
Charlotte Red ventures to the altar of American satire that is The Daily Show, and finds herself in an unexpected confrontation with the great man himself. I’m sitting in the audience of The Daily Show thinking of all the things I should and shouldn’t do. In the hour-long queue to get into the small studio, the … Read more
Will it be Fourth Time Lucky for the Girls of Girls? HBO has confirmed that the fourth season of Lena Dunham’s Girls will premiere on January 11 in the States. Who knows what that means for us at this stage but, for now, please enjoy this set visit teaser. I always thought Shoshanna was born in … Read more
This Throwback Thursday Alex Casey finds a hotbed of young talent in the TV adaptation of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps. Reader beware, you’re in for a scare/moderate surprise. // The hottest news in the cinematic world is obviously the adaptation of R.L. Stine’s terrifying children’s horror series Goosebumps into a feature film starring Jack Black. So, now is … Read more
Alex Casey recaps her own My Kitchen Rules NZ recapping experience, summarising the tips and tricks she has learnt from Kitchen HQ.// “This is the night, I’m turning up the heat. This is the night, I’m standing on my feet.” – MKRNZ theme song One week ago, Neena and Belinda (The Modern Day Hippies) won … Read more
In the first instalment of a monthly column focusing on cartoons, Mark Martin argues that the sustained, unruly genius of South Park gives it the edge over its more famous rival. // South Park is the best cartoon in the world. I said it, and will stick by it. Sacrilege? Sure, maybe it’s a little like arguing The Beach … Read more
Two key Spinoff writers Alex Casey and Joseph Moore share a dirty little secret: they’ve never seen any of the defining ‘important’ TV shows of our time. They launched Catch Up Club to save them (and possibly you). This week’s show is Jane Campion’s chilling NZ miniseries Top of the Lake. // Alex: Top of … Read more
It’s due to hit our screens in early 2015, but already the search is under way to discover the next Benny Tipene or… whoever it was that won the first series of X Factor. Robyn Gallagher updates us with happenings land of the X. // Pre-auditions The pre-audition tour has just ended, which no doubt involved … Read more
Alex Casey went along to the official Outlander fan gathering, and discovered a visionary group of female fans who are as unconventional as the show they love. // I didn’t know a lot about Outlander. I had watched half of the pilot, had read some bits and pieces online, and raced through the infamous sexy episode … Read more
What’s not to love about Outdoor Week? Shirts off and shorts on! Bark and beersies! Spas and succulents! The judges’ brief was ‘holiday’, but I don’t think they meant Madonna’s 1983 hit single. Regardless, let us be nurtured and restored by the top five moments plucked from the abundant wilderness that was Week 10 of … Read more
For decades fans of pulpy TV genres like sci-fi and fantasy have made do with a few mainstream hits, a lot of late nights and many what-ifs. That changes with today’s arrival of The Zone, and Andrew Todd is thrilled. As a young New Zealander seeking to escape the hellish drudgery that was teenage life, … Read more
Everything that’s said about The Knick is sounds like an overstatement. People love it or hate it. It’s the best thing on television or the whole premium-cable anti-hero thing gone one step too far. Me? I’m a believer. Sure, there’s some less-than-genius writing, but, in nearly all other facets, The Knick is the most masterfully … Read more
“If you think you can fall, you’re more likely to.” – Nik Wallenda, inspirational speaker and King of the Wire Here at The Spinoff, we love a good live event – and Nik Wallenda is fast-becoming the modern day king of the live event. Last year, the world was gripped as he crossed the Grand … Read more
Saturday Night Live obsessive Eli Matthewson selects the show’s finest Halloween sketches. // It’s Halloween, and what better way to celebrate the day we get to yell “Go away, this isn’t America!” at children waiting outside our front doors than by sitting inside on the ol’ youtube. I’ve always considered Spooks and LOLs to be close … Read more
Trying to read everything on the internet can be a bit like trying to high-five a ghost, you will never manage and you will look like an idiot doing it. Never fear, we have taken the liberty of assembling an entire crypt full of spooky TV reading for you over this frightening weekend. Fill your skull … Read more
Horror had a fairly minor place on television until the last decade, when it rose from the grave. Andrew Todd looks at what has driven its revival.// Horror on television, like in the movies, has always seen peaks and troughs in popularity. Back in the day, most TV horror came in the form of anthology … Read more
On the night before Halloween, Duncan Greive went to the launch of MediaWorks’ new season. To some it would have been a vision of pure terror. But not to him. // “A living nightmare,” said Damo. His interviewer, radio DJ Mike Puru, nervously pressed him to expand. “It’s like a bad dream, but when you wake up … Read more
With Halloween just around the corner, Alex Casey finds costume inspiration from the trusty team at Dunder Mifflin. // “I love Halloween. You know, it’s just fun. Every year, it’s just fun. Last Halloween I came as Janet Jackson’s boob. It was topical. People got a big kick out of it. The year before that, … Read more
David Farrier reflects on how a pivotal X-Files casting decision eventually led to Bryan Cranston’s explosive role on Breaking Bad.// It was 1998 and I was 15 years old. It was season six of The X-Files, my favourite show in the whole wide world. It was a brilliant season – the mythology was in place, and … Read more
You know it’s the finale when the contestants have their special little chef outfits on. We have our first cry of the episode about four seconds in when Aaron muses that he’s already “the last man standing, technically.” I would have probably taken time get mad about that statement, but he immediately started crying. So I … Read more
The second semi-final is upon us. Dai and Dal vs. Neena and Belinda. Isn’t it amazing? One team all the way from Laos – and one all the way from Cambridge. Aaron and Heather were gently pushed aside, already through to the finals. Aaron’s sweater said “dead” on it, which I found quite dark for … Read more
Two key Spinoff writers share a dirty little secret: they’ve never seen any of the defining ‘important’ TV shows of our time. They launched Catch Up Club to save them (and possibly you). This week’s show is the taut-as-heck political drama House of Cards. // Alex: Hello, President Spacey here Joseph: Why hello theyar Aleyux … Read more
Survivor San Juan Del Sur Blood vs. Water 2 Power Rankings 14) Bald Jeremy Good look imho. 13) Survivor Copywriters Phoning it in “Are you tired of the long trek to the arena? Are you tired of battling loved ones? Then get ready to get tired. It’s time to go back to the arena” That’s the … Read more
Richard Dean Anderson was made famous by MacGyver and has been haunted by him ever since. Rosabel Tan headed to Armageddon to watch him talking with ghosts. // He’s a man who can fix a blown fuse with a gum wrapper, and who once built a defibrillator out of some candlesticks, a microphone and a … Read more
Can you believe this? The first round of semifinals? It’s happening, it’s all happening. One of these four teams will hold the glistening MKR shield (what actually is the prize?) of glory within a few episodes. It was time for a showdown between The Polynesian Cooks and The Corporate Dads. The tension was palpable, and … Read more