Rumour has it that when Mark Weldon threw Campbell Live down a well, a tearful John Campbell cursed the 7pm slot on TV3: Road Cops, Come Dine with Me and Story have all met grisly fates there since. But last night Spinoff prophet Calum Henderson watched a live dress rehearsal for The Project, and predicts … Read more
Think media celebs are spoilt rotten? They are, confesses Jesse Mulligan – right up until the day they say goodbye. Hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders will watch Hilary Barry deliver her final bulletin on TV3 this Friday night, but the real tragedy is that only dozens will get to attend the party afterwards when … Read more
In May 2015, Campbell Live left our screens. We ran a rolling tribute page all day, here are the messages from fans, colleagues and other legends from across New Zealand. Saturday May 30, 12 PM Grant Findlay, Campbell Live Cameraman 2011-2014 (@GrantFindlay) One of the most stressful, yet exhilarating experiences of my life to date … Read more
With yesterday’s terrible news about flagship current affairs show 3D, Duncan Greive assesses the MediaWorks’ strategy, a year on from its flashy relaunch. Yesterday, at the well-known bad news dump slot of 4.56pm, I received this via email: 3D is TV3’s flagship current affairs show – the place where its best journalists go to do their most … Read more
Yesterday the All Blacks finally played a test in the Pacific Islands, thanks largely to the efforts of one passionate man with a bug in his head. John Campbell campaigned endlessly on the irony of so many of our most glorious ABs having island ancestry, yet the side never having played a test there. And … Read more
Bringing together the best television moments of the week, including Come Dine With Me‘s beautiful bromance, Campbell’s low-key cameo and Newsworthy‘s sauna dramas. 1. Campbell Goes Wild on The Crowd Goes Wild A marvellous event happened in a very low key way on Wednesday night – John Campbell returned to our screens at 7pm. Just on … Read more
Last night John Campbell got in front of a TV camera for the first time since his tearful farewell to ‘The Cup Song’ from Pitch Perfect. Once direct competition, he was billed as “Hurricanes expert”, taking to The Crowd Goes Wild desk to a cacophony of canned applause and cameraman cheers. “It’s John Bloody Campbell,” says Andrew Mulligan. … Read more
Fragmentary Thoughts is a comic strip by José Barbosa, in which he’ll tackle a different television show or phenomenon each month. In this instalment, he celebrates the best bonkers moments from week one of Come Dine With Me NZ. Among all the angst and genuine uncertainty that has come to characterise New Zealand’s TV industry, the local … Read more
It’s 7pm, it’s local content, it starts with a well-presented white guy driving around in a fast car. Joe Nunweek asks – did we get the 7pm show we deserved? Nature hates a void, so let us watch Road Cops reruns forever, and let us enjoy more motoring mayhem and unlawful adventures on New Zealand’s … Read more
With the final episode of Campbell Live airing tonight on TV3, we have set up a tribute page for friends, colleagues, fans and driving dogs to post their messages and favourite memories for JC and the team. This post will be updated regularly throughout the course of the day, the rest of the weekend, and … Read more
Stevie TV is a monthly column by Steve Braunias. In this instalment, he recalls the many faces of John Campbell through the ages. The final of Campbell Live on Friday night marks the end of an era which encompasses the entire history of New Zealand since the coming of Captain Cook. The show, and its genial … Read more
Guilty of being an apathetic audience member in the target demographic, Josh Drummond sat down and diarised a week of Campbell Live. HAMLET He was a man, take him for all in all, I shall not look upon his like again. HORATIO My lord, I think I saw him yesternight. Campbell Live! Campbell Live, the … Read more
When big name broadcasters have left their networks in the past it has been chasing vast sums of money, or with the kind of smugness which can only come from knowing you’ve just received the most golden of handshakes. The godly authority of their bully pulpits seemed to mean never worrying about job security. So … Read more
Finlay Macdonald on the imminent order from MediaWorks to pack up the Mazda, and how recent ratings successes were not enough to save Campbell Live. The writing was on the wall the moment John Campbell got behind the wheel of that Mazda and drove it through the opening titles of his show. It’s one thing to … Read more
After today’s news that John Campbell is leaving TV3, Alex Casey recaps the perfectly apt episode of Campbell Live that followed. It happened today. Just as I was lazily photoshopping John Key’s hand to stroke Toni Street’s hair (for another comparably inane story sure to see the light of day soon). “Holy shit,” asked Duncan, “has John … Read more
Greg Bruce interviews his Mum about her penchant for Seven Sharp‘s Mike Hosking over John Campbell. Mum came over last week to babysit my daughter and on arrival told me some story about something Mike Hosking had been talking about and, because this is a fairly common occurrence, I thought, ‘Why is my fundamentally decent … Read more
With TV3’s drive to find a new 7pm weeknight rating-killer, Joe Nunweek looks back at their mid-90s effort, a venture so amazing and bold that it was discussed in Parliament. If the doomsayers are right – and Campbell Live is not long for this earth – it won’t be the end of an era so … Read more
Joseph Harper responds to the outrageous revelations that Campbell Live may be on the outs. Tweet King and Herald media man John Drinnan dropped a bizarre and shocking shocker on us all this arvo with the revelation that Campbell Live could be facing the chop. Worse still, it could be replaced with a daily dose … 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 Alex Casey’s take on Campbell Live. What’s New? There are two unavoidable additions to the slick green kingdom of JC for … 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
We polled our esteemed writers and painstakingly tallied the votes. Now the results are in: here are what we judge to be 2014’s ten finest New Zealand shows. 1. The Late Night Big Breakfast Undoubtedly the best TV made in New Zealand this year, The Late Night Big Breakfast is an insane furniture store-based breakfast-style show. The … Read more
Last night David Cunliffe appeared on Campbell Live to give his first interview since Labour lost the election and he stood down as leader. John Campbell leaned forward, “you’re hard up against it aren’t you?” Their beady eyes aligned. Cunliffe looked more exhausted than any comparable cat picture on the internet, explaining that he had been … Read more