The Spinoff knights meet at the television roundtable to talk week 10 on X Factor NZ. Topics include opportunities for cross-promotion, Israel Dagg’s music video debut and a general sense of apathy. Renee Church on The Blatt-Chelorette We can’t deny it anymore. Mel Blatt is a straight babe, and all males in association with the show (who would be/are in … Read more
After another baffling elimination, After The Factor turns to more important discussion: Do fish eat other fish? Will Stan and Dom ever play sqaush? Is Nic allowed to be mad if he doesn’t even vote? What was Chris Mac doing on a boat with Joe Cotton? Will Natasha’s evil plans for Dom come true? How does … Read more
A confession: Sometimes when I sit staring uncomprehendingly at the blinking cursor, trying to figure out how something which once brought me so much joy came to be such a chore, I lean back and think of the winter of 2013. It was very cold, my wife very pregnant and our house a building site. … Read more
In an all-new Bachelor group think, the Spinoff knights meet at the television roundtable to discuss dreaming of Art, praying for Mike and where the love story all began. Paul Williams on the Origins of The Bachelor A lot of people think The Bachelor franchise began in 2002 with season one of the American show. These people … Read more
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
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: Calum Henderson watches Flog It!, a sub-par Antiques Roadshow with bizarre new wave beats. What’s it about? I first became aware of Flog It! via an ad which … 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
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
Paul Williams takes us on a heartfelt journey through his ongoing online courtship of Lili Bayliss from The X Factor NZ. // Episode 13 of the second season of X Factor NZ will widely be remembered for one thing: Natalia Kills firing up at Joe Irvine for wearing a suit and combing his hair. While … 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
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
With Alex battling to complete her power rankings ahead of a trip to Melbourne, Duncan and Jane had a one-on-one in The Fantasy Suite (not like that) to discuss the week’s Bachelor NZ action. Topics covered include a week of not kissing, Natalie’s failure to launch and the dramatic showdown between Alyssa and Chrystal. All … 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
This week Sarah Spicer went home to her family. But what now? We must continue on. Forever on. But there’s is a ray of light in the tunnel in the form of Paul Williams’ love for Lili Bayliss. Will true love win through? Or at least make this show more fun to watch? Find out … Read more
“We ditched the drama this week – it’s all about the fun factor!” – Dom Bowden It wasn’t much fun, and I feel bad that slick, professional old Dom has to come out and lie to us every week. X Factor NZ is in a hole now, and I struggle to see a way out. … 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
Duncan, aka Dad, was away this week, so Jane and Alex had the pod all to themselves. They took advantage of the freedom and drank a bottle of delicious Lindauer rosé while watching Wednesday’s dynamite episode. Then they talked about kissing, sushi protocol, ziplines, dress recycling and the week’s Bachelor news – but essentially just … Read more
Live from beautiful Melbourne, Nic and Joseph are guestless as they download an illegal copy of this week’s episode, watch it during the day time, and spend longer talking about Thirsty Merc, drivers licenses and nap-ettiquitte than they ever thought they would on this trip. They also start a new movement. #JustBeard. Let’s go viral, … 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
Dom wore shorts! That was the biggest revelation and bombshell of the night, one which was both better than last week and also cemented the sense that this new look X Factor is going to be mostly drama-free. It’s not a disaster. There were a handful of great performances, and Dom, Mel and Stan have … 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 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
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
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
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