After blow-karting down The Bachelor NZ race track of love, Alex Casey delivers her fifth power rankings in our weekly series. If you missed last week’s power rankings, click here. Call the ambulance – nay (neigh, lol get it), the morgue. I’m officially dead after this week. We’ve been thrown down waterfalls, had our wrists broken and … Read more
After three long weeks the original gang is back together. Alex is back from Melbourne and Duncan back from dinner with his mum, while Jane’s busily raising her babies, as always. We drank a bottle of Lindauer Fraise – not our favourite – and ate a lot of lollies, then talked about this week’s Bachelor … Read more
Please enjoy this excellent episode of Shorty Street Scandal, wherein James Mustapic recaps the past week of Ferndale hijinks. This week? Holiday madness goes completely awry, Chris Warner dresses like a Playboy bunny and TK says no to violence against women: Terrifyingly, Vinny’s son Michael walked around backwards this week wearing a paper mask, like some mash-up of … Read more
A DOUBLE elimination this week! Joe and Finlay are gone! And with them go all the things we thought we knew about this show and what it stood for. Where are we going? Why are we here? Why can’t we just let Mae Valley win? Former The Wireless X Factor commentator Matthew McAuley and Tumblr … Read more
Alex Casey visited the Breakfast set this morning to enjoy an intimate concert with hairy guitar chaps Counting Crows. // This morning I woke up early, got in a big yellow taxi (small gold Uber) and made my way to TVNZ to watch Counting Crows play live on Breakfast. My Uber driver Plamen was keen … Read more
The Spinoff knights meet at the television roundtable to discuss week nine on X Factor NZ, featuring the shock elimination of Finlay and Joe. Calum Henderson on 50 Shades of Broad I love the Invercargill sexyman Steve Broad. I love his damp charisma, his done-in confidence, the fact that X Factor is the third(!) reality singing show he has … 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 shares his initial reaction to the first week of Paul Henry. // A week has passed since MediaWorks carpet bombed the country with the new Paul Henry show, Paul Henry. Landing … Read more
Alex Casey goes through the Bachelorette’s pop quiz answers with a fine tooth comb, in order to find out what’s really lurking behind the smiley faces, scribbles and love hearts. // There is no better way to discover someone’s worldview than a hand-filled out form. So you can imagine my delight when I found out … Read more
Double elimination. Two words, either heavenly or horrific. They sounded so sweet to us at home, carrying with them the promise of a shorter show, relieved of two more can’t-winners from this cursed season. To the performers they were a chill wind blowing through their mansion, a reminder that their dreamy existence – fame, coaching, … Read more
News broke yesterday that Jono and Ben was being considered as a replacement for Campbell Live – which would have been up there with KillsMoon as the most scandalising TV moment of this or any other year. Thankfully a recent press release has informed us, in extremely certain terms, that the speculation was entirely, indisputably ill-founded. Phew. … Read more
You don’t really see ads on TV anymore. What with the mute function, DVRs and streaming, this once proud tradition is not necessarily dead – but definitely not as great as it once was. I’m not saying there aren’t still great ads – the drug driving ads in the dairy and takeaway stores are comic … Read more
After a an exciting wet and wild week on The Bachelor NZ, Alex Casey delivers her fourth power rankings in our weekly series. If you missed previous power rankings, head here. // Yet another great week traversing the rose petal-lined path to true love. But before we begin, let’s check in with Art to see how his workout is … Read more
The Spinoff knights meet at the television roundtable to discuss week eight on X Factor NZ: One Hit Wonder edition.// Robyn Gallagher on Pleasing the Older Woman In week two, the show theme was “Biggest Records Right Now” and Twitter was filled with 30-somethings having existential crises because they didn’t recognise any of the music. It’s been easier since, … Read more
The Paul Henry Show landed this morning at 6am on TV, online and on the radio. Duncan Greive and Alex Casey dissect TV3’s new multi-platform experience. // The Host: After delightedly pressing the button, much like a kid allowed to honk a horn, Paul Henry’s sting “you can run, but you can’t hide – this … Read more
After a kiss-fueled week three on The Bachelor NZ, Alex Casey delivers her third power rankings in our weekly series. If you missed week two, head here. What a week. The walls are coming down, the padlocks are unlocking, the closed books are being pried open. No metaphor left behind. I actually believe that some girls are starting to … Read more
My Life in TV is a weekly feature interview with a member of the television industry. This week, Alex Casey talked to 7 Days producer Jon Bridges about bringing the competitive laughs each week. // Jon Bridges is the current producer of TV3’s flagship comedy panel show, 7 Days. Going into its sixth year now, and … Read more
The Spinoff knights meet at the television roundtable to discuss week seven on X Factor NZ: Streets Fruttare Sounds of Summer edition.// Robyn Gallagher on the Spooky Haunted Forest One of the big differences between X Factor and other TV talent shows is the staging. X Factor doesn’t just give its performers a few smooth moves and a microphone. Instead there’s … Read more
In a Spinoff exclusive, we have rare intel about where The Block 2015 is going down. An anonymous tipper, currently living in the Sandringham/Mt Roskill border sent us this lovely bit of mail this morning: There has been speculation that this is the potential spot for all of the drama, pregnancies and pant ripping that … Read more
José Barbosa watched the on-screen festivities of Campbell Live‘s 10th anniversary, and considers the marvellous legacy of Mr John Campbell. // Last week marked 10 years of TV3’s flagship current affairs show, Campbell Live. The last decade has seen John Campbell drop his “Gidday yous fellas” greeting, literally drive the opening titles with the sponsor’s … Read more
More like Flop Gear Jeremy Clarkson was officially fired by the BBC this week, after punching the producer of Top Gear during a lovely steak dinner. After fronting Top Gear for 12 years, Clarkson has had his fair share of controversies. Racism. Sexism. Class Wars. His sacking could cost the BBC around £67million a year, with … Read more
Alex Casey talks to comedian Rose Matafeo about her eclectic TV upbringing, getting toenails in the mail and becoming a television star. // Rose Matafeo has already lived many television lives. Just 23, but already a grizzled showbiz vet, having been on the TV and comedy grind since the age of 15. That’s essentially child labour! … Read more
Alex Casey pitches ten potential celebrity candidates to perform on Dancing With the Stars 2015. // This afternoon, some incredible news was delivered down to us mortals from the reality TV gods: Dancing With the Stars will be returning to TV3 later this year. I’m floored. I’m ecstatic. I’m doing the Charleston all the way to … Read more
After all the drama in week two of The Bachelor NZ, Alex Casey delivers her second power rankings in our weekly series. If you missed week one, head here. What a show. What great television. What a time to be alive. This week The Bachelor became everything it needed to be. The tears started welling up, … Read more
Calum Henderson watched Good Morning every day for a week, and recorded every joyful moment of the bizarre lifestyle show. // If Judy Bailey was the mother of the nation, then Mary Lambie was like an aunty you went and stayed with in the school holidays. Every Good Morning was filled with pointless, time-consuming crafts … Read more
The Spinoff knights meet at the television roundtable to discuss week six on X Factor NZ, and our new additions to the judging panel. Eli Mathewson on the Tough Calls The toughest criticism so far came for a completely unexpected victim… “You disgust me. You make me sick. You ruin everything I love about the world. I want … Read more
Brand new judges. The same old singers. Slightly different podcast guests. With Joseph Moore fleeing our smiley and sanitised bully-free country to the mean streets of Melbourne, Nic Sampson is joined by Spinoff staff writer Alex Casey and Perlina Lau, soon to be social media presenter on the new Paul Henry breakfast show. Together they … 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
Alex Casey talks to Guy Williams directly after his devastating loss to Ben Mitchell in the TV Guide’s Sexiest Man awards. // This morning I saw something that I knew was going to devastate Guy Williams, reigning champion of the TV Guide’s Sexiest Man award 2014. Anyone on Twitter will remember his extensive campaign to … 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