Alex Casey delivers her power rankings for week three of My Kitchen Rules NZ, including Paul and Laurence’s sad departure and a rare possum solution from Kimberley and Brooke. I can’t believe we’ve already lost New Zealand’s sweethearts Paul and Laurence. Despite Paul whipping out his finest horse impression, it wasn’t enough to keep our … Read more
What is the scariest television viewing this Halloween? Once you are done with all of the on-trend prestigious horror shows, take a trip down memory lane to the darkest corners of your childhood telly-watching. Halloween is creeping up this week, which could well get you in the mood to endure some scary television shows. The likes … Read more
For monitor this week, Aaron Yap applauds the sophomore effort of Fargo, and explains how the second season has created an even richer and more nuanced world than the first. It doesn’t seem that long ago that the idea of adapting Fargo for TV sounded kinda lame. What? Not Fargo. Why would anyone want a TV … Read more
Tara Ward brings you this week’s Shortland Street Power Rankings, highlighted by Ferndale’s own Rawshark, Dayna finding love in a hardware store and a diagnostic demon in ED. 1. Damo is Dick of the Week™ Damo was batshit crazy this week and Shortland Street was all the better for it. Jealous of Chris’ superior wealth, … Read more
HDPA gets fired up over firearm rules It started with a hidden camera sting exposing a dodgy real estate practice, a fearsome Heather Du Plessis-Allan doorknock and Duncan Garner cutting off a home detention bracelet. TV3’s Story returned to its early roots on Wednesday with its boldest bit of proactive stunt journalism yet, when Heather … Read more
The villas are being fitted with expensive and unnecessary fireplaces and Dinner Wars hangs precariously in the balance – Calum Henderson ranks the Block NZ teams going into the break in living room week. 1. (Last Week: 2) – Brooke & Mitch – House 4 A low cloud of inevitability rolled over the Sandringham / … Read more
Sam Brooks journeys deep into the heart of Lipstick Jungle, the lesser-known Candace Bushnell TV adaptation which followed Sex and the City. If you mention Lipstick Jungle to somebody, you’ll probably get one of two answers: 1. Is that the one with Lucy Liu? 2. What is Lipstick Jungle? To answer both questions: 1. No! … Read more
Funny Girls began life as a talent development plot hatched between New Zealand on Air and TV3. On Friday it debuts as one of the most hotly anticipated comedies in recent memory. Duncan Greive watched its creation. It’s late afternoon on a Wednesday in early October. Outside commuter traffic crawls along Khyber Pass; one side … Read more
The Spinoff has the rare and singular pleasure of bringing you a full scene from TV3’s eagerly anticipated sketch comedy ‘Funny Girls’, debuting on TV3 this Friday at 10pm. For the past few weeks I’ve been traipsing across Auckland to bars, breweries and bars, watching a brand new New Zealand comedy being made. It’s a … Read more
Alex Casey delivers her power rankings for week two of MKRNZ, including Laurence’s new character ‘Stace’ and the worst restaurant theme television has ever seen. We’re in week two and I’m just so glad that we are all becoming friends. The contestants are letting their guards down, warming up to each other and repeatedly touching … Read more
Xena: Warrior Princess showed 90’s kids that girls could kick ass just like boys. An alternative reading implies they could do much more than that besides. If you were to design a feminist superhero, you could do a lot worse than just copying Xena. Righteous, strong and ready to kick a pervert right in his Ancient … Read more
Calum Henderson watches Newsworthy every day for a week, to see how TV3’s late night current affairs show manages to balance both the credible, the incredible, and Gene Simmons. MONDAY Walking home from the bus stop, a long-haired orange cat followed me all the way to the front door. He wandered around the flat for a … Read more
Tara Ward ranks her favourite moments from the past week of Ferndale hijinks. This week: TK gets gruesome, Bella gives birth and a random man makes waves. 1) Bella gives birth to a fully formed human being As if childbirth wasn’t painful enough, Bella just found out that Lucy’s handmade soap features heavily in this week’s … Read more
Thinking of applying for the new season of The Bachelor NZ? Last year’s winner Matilda Rice shares her secrets for success, including sweating profusely and eating a lot. Today the casting call was opened for second season of The Bachelor NZ, calling for “females aged between 21 and 35 who are genuinely looking for love.” … Read more
At the height of survey season, Jono and Ben made an attempt to cross Lake Taupo in an inflatable castle. Don Rowe watches from the sky. Some time around the year 180 AD an explosion in the Pacific turned the sky over eastern China red. The violent upheaval threw over a thousand cubic kilometres of … Read more
Bringing together the best, worst and weirdest TV moments of the week, including crazed celebrity cameos and forklift driving champions. Contributions by Calum Henderson and Alex Casey. Brand Power Takes Over Seven Sharp On Tuesday afternoon, a sweaty man seemingly wearing jeans under jogging shorts sprinted into TVNZ and demanded to be put on television. … Read more
As we await the results of the vitally important Bathroom Week on The Block NZ: Villa Wars, Calum Henderson looks at how the teams are tracking. 1. Cat & Jeremy – House 3 The happy-go-lucky couple on the corner are leading a charmed life on The Block NZ, scooping Kid’s Bedroom Week from under Jamie and … Read more
Catherine McGregor sits in on the Games of Thrones panel at Comic Con in New York, and finds out exactly what Margaery Tyrrell and Kermit the Frog’s new girlfriend have in common. New York Comic Con doesn’t attract quite the same fan frenzy as its San Diego cousin, but the gap is closing fast. Since … Read more
Alex Casey’s first power rankings for the new season of My Kitchen Rules NZ, including Pete Evans’ tan and Paul’s extraordinary cow art. The best cooking show in the world is back and I couldn’t be happier. Last year I broke my brain recapping every single episode of My Kitchen Rules New Zealand, which you … Read more
Ben Stanley embarks on a True Detective pilgrimage, visiting the most famous Louisiana sites from the first season. Pensive but mystically lucid, Rust Cohle looks up from a half-empty Lone Star, and considers his answer. Two detectives stare him down in a cigarette smoke-filled New Orleans cop station room. They’ve been bailing up Rust – everyone’s … Read more
For Monitor this week, Aaron Yap looks at how Homeland has embraced explosive twists and stories pulled-from-headlines to breathe new life into the political thriller. Homeland made an unexpected, somewhat miraculous comeback with its fourth season. It wasn’t perfect, but improved immensely on the wobbly second and third. Back then, the show couldn’t decide what to … Read more
Tara Ward ranks her favourite moments from the past week of Ferndale hijinks. This week: Bella reaches peak pregnant, Dayna is a local legend and there’s a surprise visit from a 1940s gentleman. 1) Dayna surfs her way through a sea of fools and idiots Dayna rockets up the power rankings this week for her endurance and … Read more
Every lazy Sunday we select an excellent local short film from Lightbox’s Show Me Shorts catalogue. Queenie is an animated short film by Paul Neason, following a geography lecturer Danny Mulgan as he works with his students on a mysterious personal project. Through talking heads (that immediately bring all the humanity and agony of David … Read more
Alex Casey visits the set of The Brokenwood Mysteries and finds more mystery and murder than you can shake a blood bag at. I couldn’t believe I was staring at my first dead body. He was lying there stiff, a calming shade of pale blue. “That’s going to be me one day,” I thought to … Read more
Bringing together the best, worst and weirdest TV moments of the week, including an alarming amount of butt-based broadcasting. Contributions from Alex Casey and Calum Henderson. Rachel Hunter’s Enigmatic Enema This week, Rachel put her arse on the line in the name of beauty… again. Rachel Hunter’s Tour of Beauty travelled to India this week, … Read more
Claire Adamson is undoubtedly New Zealand’s premiere expert on the 90s What Now series This is Serial Stuff. This week she hit the jackpot after being sent over an hour of kiwi childhood nostalgia on Youtube. The Reddit envelope of doom blinked angrily from the corner of the page. “Read me!” it screamed, a tiny, triangle-filled precursor of terrible, hate-filled, … Read more
To celebrate the arbitrary three-day respite TV3 have offered us from The Block NZ: Villa Wars, Calum Henderson looks back at the last week-and-a-bit of daybed dramas, dangerous drilling, dick moves and a hundred pre-line inspections. 1) Cat & Jeremy – House 3 The New Plymouth jokers took out first week honours with their guest bedroom … Read more
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the BBC’s Pride and Prejudice adaptation, fans share what the soggy shirts and fiberglass statues mean to them. It is a truth universally acknowledged that most women in this country will encounter Pride and Prejudice at some stage in their lives, be it a set of old VHS tapes, … Read more
Love Grand Designs but can’t afford to build a concrete oasis? Alex Casey lists the top affordable style tips from the series premiere. Sunday night saw the premiere of New Zealand’s first ever Grand Designs, swapping out Kevin McCloud for Chris Moller and giant glass houses in England for concrete spaceships plopped in the middle of … Read more