Has any TV show fallen as far or landed as hard as X Factor NZ did over the last seven days? We watched one of the 20 or so most controversial moments in our televisual history last week; this Sunday we sat and watched a bunch of mostly mediocre singers singing mostly mediocre songs, while … Read more
Please enjoy this excellent episode of Shorty Street Scandal, wherein James Mustapic recaps the past week of Ferndale hijinks. This week? Bella gives Vinny a “pizza her mind”, Leanne saves the day and TK pretends to know everyone: Still crazy after all of these years (comas), Nicole ill-advisedly returned to work this week. She jumped at the opportunity to … Read more
After an exciting introduction to The Bachelor NZ this week, Alex Casey delivers her first in our weekly series of Bachelorette power rankings. I can’t believe it has happened. Our headless oiled Bachelor has finally washed ashore, and revealed his handsome mug to the nation. What a week it has been. There’s been tears, there’s been somewhat excessive … Read more
Appointment viewing… is a regular column which features a Spinoff writer watching one or more episodes of a current show and attempting to decode its appeal. This week: Alex Casey watches The Naughty Bits, a brief history of censoring nasties in New Zealand. // What’s it about? The documentary series is a three-part journey through the … Read more
Duncan Greive breaks down the performances from last night’s X Factor NZ and power ranks the participants Natalia Kills: “Ladies and gentlemen, I’m just going to state the obvious and say we’ve got a doppelganger in our midst. As an artist who respects creative integrity and intellectual property I am disgusted by how much you … Read more
Please enjoy this excellent episode of Shorty Street Scandal, wherein James Mustapic recaps the past week of Ferndale hijinks. This week? Harper gets bizarre with a ham, lads steal a laptop and Leanne is the human embodiment of this song: Our favourite London lovebirds Ula and Dallas sent a delightful postcard snap from the London Bridge this week. It … Read more
The debut of Duncan Greive’s weekly X Factor power rankings, which will drop Monday mornings and serve as a guide to where the show’s momentum lies. Season two of X Factor New Zealand started recording months ago, and already feels like it’s been going for years. The show has already run for 14 hours, versus the 18 … Read more
Alex Casey recaps the sixth episode of Lightbox’s much anticipated Breaking Bad spinoff Better Call Saul. Can I just that this episode is so bloody beautiful and heart wrenching and perfect. It is easily my favourite so far, felt incredibly reminiscent of the Breaking Bad bottle episode “Fly”. Standing apart from the rest of Better Call Saul … Read more
Please enjoy this excellent episode of Shorty Street Scandal, wherein James Mustapic recaps the past week of Ferndale hijinks. This week? TK and Kylie hits the clubs, a bathtub hits the floor and Leanne hits the road: Although Pania had tried to get him into internet dating, TK found love in a hopeless place this week – with … Read more
Alex Casey recaps the fifth episode of Lightbox’s much anticipated Breaking Bad spinoff Better Call Saul. All I can say is, thank goodness there’s finally been some light shed on Chuck’s bizarre condition (candlelight of course, not anything fluorescent). After stealing the neighbour’s paper last week, the police busted in on Chuck with as much gusto as they have … Read more
Please enjoy this excellent episode of Shorty Street Scandal, wherein James Mustapic recaps the past week of Ferndale hijinks. This week? We meet Professor Boris, three Ferndale folk flee, and Chris talks about colons for some reason: It was Colon Week at the Street, with Professor Helgard (known to his friends as Boris) visiting the hospital to hear … Read more
Alex Casey recaps the fourth episode of Lightbox’s much anticipated Breaking Bad spinoff Better Call Saul. // Everyone is getting bloody tricked in this episode – the Kettlemans, Nacho, Jimmy, Chuck, innocent bystanders and even us plebs in the audience. The swindling is in full force, and nobody is safe as Saul Goodman slowly rises from beneath a pile … Read more
Please enjoy this excellent episode of Shorty Street Scandal, wherein James Mustapic recaps the past week of Ferndale hijinks. This week? Chris and Rachel reconnect, Clementine flirts with Santa and Murray has a small heart attack: Chris and Rachel, our very own Ross and Rachel, got back together this week. Harry was very upset to find a lipstick at … Read more
Alex Casey recaps the third episode of Lightbox’s much anticipated Breaking Bad spinoff Better Call Saul. // The episode opens with the sort of flashback we have come to know and love in Breaking Bad. A good wig has got to be the single most effective time travel device in all of television. Charles goes to visit a much younger, … Read more
The Spinoff knights meet at television roundtable to reveal their hopes, dreams and insights from the first week of The X Factor NZ. // Joseph Harper on TrendPrince Holy shit Trend Prince dot com is a real thing. There are no jokes anymore. Just real things that are kind of fucking terrifying. Trend Prince doing a rap is … Read more
Joseph Moore and Nic Sampson’s After the Factor podcast is joined by The Spinoff’s editor, Duncan Greive, to break down the opening trio of episodes. Topics approached include the drudge of wading through the bad-but-not-terrible contestants, the early backstories, the arrival of Fare Thee Well, aka #KiwiHaim and the shocking decision to deny Trend Prince more … Read more
Please enjoy this excellent episode of Shorty Street Scandal, wherein James Mustapic recaps the past week of Ferndale hijinks. This week? The characters laugh at the disabled and the elderly, watermelon solves the world’s problems and we witness NZ TV’s greatest background moment thus far: First of all, may we all pause to take in our new surroundings. … Read more
The venerable Halberg Awards are the last vestige of the amateur sporting era, but that’s precisely their anti-modern appeal. This year’s mixed olde worlde charm with cutting edge pop songs. Here’s Duncan Greive’s extremely high quality photo essay covering the night’s highlights. // Valerie Hearts Benny After a half hour of red carpet, Benny Tipene … Read more
Alex Casey recaps the first two episodes of Lightbox’s much anticipated Breaking Bad spinoff Better Call Saul. // Episode One: “Uno” “If I’m lucky, in a month from now, best case scenario, I’m managing a Cinnabon in Omaha.” – Saul Goodman, Breaking Bad Episode 15 “Granite State” Better Call Saul opens not with a bang, but with the … Read more
Duncan Greive watched Our First Home‘s opening week, and came away convinced that the three families at its core – considerate and good-hearted as they are – just shouldn’t be on TV. // We’re only through week one of Our First Home, but already the pain of renovation is palpable in the audience. The nauseating horror of having hacked … Read more
Fragmentary Thoughts is a new comic strip by José Barbosa, in which he’ll tackle a different television show or phenomenon each month. The first is a response to the debut episode of Better Call Saul. Warning: contains a spoiler. // Straight out of the starting blocks Better Call Saul‘s first episode didn’t quite knock it out of the … Read more
Please enjoy this excellent episode of Shorty Street Scandal, wherein James Mustapic recaps the past week of Ferndale hijinks. This week? Dropped babies, Kardashian-style sex tape antics and Dallas falling in love with a little green lady called Maryjane. Nicole may be out of her coma, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t hellbent on getting her baby into … Read more
Current affairs TV returned from its summer holiday last Monday, when One’s Seven Sharp and TV3’s Campbell Live came back to our TVs. We watched both shows and analysed their comebacks across 10 key areas. Here’s Duncan Greive’s take on Seven Sharp. What’s New? Toni is more pregnant, so there’s a new human growing before our eyes. … Read more
Alex Casey has never watched a second of Breaking Bad, nor read anything about it. Going in completely blind, she has committed to watching the whole series over summer in the lead up to spin off series Better Call Saul‘s arrival to Lightbox in February. Contains spoilers, obviously. Day 22, Thursday 22 January 6.30pm Watched: … Read more
Alex Casey has never watched a second of Breaking Bad, nor read anything about it. Going in completely blind, she has committed to watching the whole series over summer in the lead up to spin off series Better Call Saul‘s arrival to Lightbox in February. Contains spoilers, obviously. Day Fifteen, Monday 12 January 9pm Watched: … Read more
Alex Casey has never watched a second of Breaking Bad, nor read anything about it. Going in completely blind, she has committed to watching the whole series over summer in the lead up to spin off series Better Call Saul‘s arrival to Lightbox in February. Contains spoilers, obviously. Day Seven, Thursday 25 December (yes, it’s … Read more
Alex Casey has never watched a second of Breaking Bad, nor read anything about it. Going in completely blind, she has committed to watching the whole series over summer in the lead up to spin off series Better Call Saul‘s arrival to Lightbox in February. Contains spoilers, obviously. Day Three: Thursday 18 December, 7am Watched: … Read more
Alex Casey has never watched a second of Breaking Bad, nor read anything about it. Going in completely blind, she has committed to watching the whole series over summer in the lead up to spin off series Better Call Saul‘s arrival to Lightbox in February. Contains spoilers, obviously.// Day One: Tuesday, 11.30pm Watched: Episodes 1-3 … Read more
SURVIVOR SAN JUAN DEL SUR BLOOD VS WATER 2 POWER RANKINGS Another season of the best show in the world is in the can and it’s bloody great news that we have an absolute stunner of a winner to add to the pantheon of Sole Survivors. Natalie played one hell of a game that felt … Read more