Most people like to watch TV. I like to look at TVs. For the past five years I’ve been trawling through TradeMe and saving photos of televisions to my hard drive, with a collection that totals in the hundreds and is quickly approaching the thousands. It’s a bizarre obsession that started innocently enough. I needed … Read more
I don’t want to overstate anything here but, after watching the first episode, it feels like Caitlyn Jenner’s new docuseries I Am Cait could be the most resonant and groundbreaking piece of television to come around in a long time. It follows the journey of Caitlyn Jenner, formerly gold medal-winning decathlete Bruce Jenner, as she … Read more
Bringing together the TV moments on the week, including peak Shortland Street crazy, dancing tractor routines and strong women making waves. 1) Peak Panic for Pania on Shortland Street The start of the week on Shortland Street had a heavy prescription of drama, and was hardly going to put anyone to sleep. Unless you’re Caleb, … Read more
It’s that time of year. Everyone within a two metre radius of your work desk is sniffling, blowing their nose subtly into their sleeve on the bus and coughing loudly through the film at the cinema. You are being faced with giant, human-sized germs at every turn. So it’s no wonder you have been, are … Read more
I have spent a very large chunk of 2015 floating on the choppy whitecaps of the MediaWorks reality TV sea. I’ve recapped and podcasted every week of The Bachelor NZ, Dancing With the Stars NZ and hesitantly lowered myself briefly into X Factor NZ waters. And for what? I’ve often wondered. It’s fun, it’s what … Read more
Aaron Yap celebrates the reckless abandon of Louis C.K.’s Louie, a surreal comedy-drama that consistently transcends the boundaries of both genre and reality. I’ve long been fascinated by the idea of genres operating beyond their foundations. How far can you stretch the boundaries of a genre before it becomes something else? Is a comedy a comedy if … Read more
Katherine Kelly Lang, star of The Bold and The Beautiful for over 28 years, has brought her luxury kaftan line to New Zealand. With nothing else to do on a Monday, Alex Casey went along to the launch party. It was a Monday morning and, like any normal day, I was off to a kaftan … Read more
The morning after the X Factor final a workmate told me he was on his way to interview Beau Monga. “Oh yeah?” I said. “What’s Boh been up to?” “Uh… winning X Factor?” Ah shit. Why had I assumed he was talking about Boh Runga, who fronted the band Stellar* 15 years ago, rather than … Read more
Last night, whilst Simon Barnett was weeping his way through a winning pasodoble, another notable New Zealander debuted a winning performance piece of their own. It was Max Key, who finally launched his holiday video after much Instagram anticipation/boob-leering promo shots. I’ll be honest, I was a little disappointed. In this post-Blair Witch GoPro era, it … Read more
Thank our heavenly Dads, we’ve made it to the grand finale of Dancing With the Stars NZ for 2015. Congratulations Simon Barnett, it’s time for us to crack into The Spinoff’s wig department, and finally hear Jane’s chilling story of Ronan Keating and the bad catering. Join Flapper-era Siobhan Marshall (Jane Yee), satin shirt-era Red … Read more
Your daily rolling recap of Come Dine With Me NZ, serving up piping hot takes on New Zealand’s greatest social experiment. Welcome to Come Dine With Me Daily, The Spinoff’s hub for all things Come Dine With Me NZ.We’ll be updating this post throughout the week as the show plays out, providing you with a denser dining experience … Read more
Duncan Greive and Alex Casey run through the Emmy nominations for 2015, picking their favourites to take home the dangerously spiky golden awards. Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series: Better Call Saul • AMC • Bob Odenkirk as Jimmy McGill Bloodline • Netflix • Kyle Chandler as John Rayburn House Of Cards • Netflix • … Read more
Aimie Cronin spends a maniacal week incessantly ruining TV shows for her nearest and dearest. Spoiler alert: contains a very well-known Game of Thrones spoiler. When someone has been told the ending of the show they are watching before they have watched it, their face looks like those guys on action shows who have taken … Read more
Ever wondered why has a horse never won an ESPY? Joseph Harper spends a vexed afternoon watching the surreal awards ceremony, and reports back with his findings. Yesterday I watched the Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards, aka the ESPYs. It was super weird. I’ve never watched the Halberg awards, but based on video highlights and pictures … Read more
Bringing you the best and worst TV moments of the week, including gnarly shoot-outs, powerful haircuts and terrible advertorials. 1) The Mother of the Nation Rises Again This week on Paul Henry, Hilary Barry’s regular spot was filled with another beloved member of TV news royalty. Judy Bailey showed up to keep her seat warm … Read more
Alex and Duncan get inside the heads of Peep Show’s Mark and Jez, and tell you why should fall for their dysfunctional, inappropriate charms. Click here to become Lord of the Bus and watch Peep Show on Lightbox today ––––––––– Also: this content, like everything we do at The Spinoff, is brought you thanks to the truly wonderful … Read more
In three minutes you could make yourself a bowl of two minute noodles (prep time + meditation included), look through someone’s ‘Bali 2009’ album on Facebook, or watch some incredible short kiwi documentaries on TVNZ Ondemand. Part of the Loading Docs initiative, filmmakers are given the opportunity to produce three-minute documentaries across a wide range … Read more
Re-watching Dawson’s Creek – the classic late ’90s, early ’00s teen drama that launched the careers of Katie Holmes, Michelle Williams and Joshua Jackson (and was probably the high point of James van der Beek’s, lets be honest) – it has become obvious I previously lacked a complete understanding of the finer nuances of the show. … Read more
Don Rowe celebrates the unexpected triumphs of Lady Hoggers, the redneck reality show that follows two women with a thirst for hog blood. At this moment, approximately six million wild hogs are trotting across the southern USA, leaving a $1.5 billion trail of carnage in their wake. Despite a $20 million Department of Agriculture effort and … Read more
Alex Casey watches over three hours of Miss USA 2015 coverage, and reports back with some giant sneakers, rough public voting systems and a growing sense of despair. I have a shocking, groundbreaking announcement: Miss Congeniality lied to us, and the Miss USA competition is nothing like the movies. Sandra Bullock has left me high … Read more
Alex Casey delivers her semi-final round of Dancing With the Stars power rankings, including deep conspiracies, low-resolution underwear decals and a winning NZ flag pitch. It’s semifinals week, and we are all but a meat hand away from the finish line. The couples each performed two dances this time around, which meant far less time … Read more
It’s the tense semi-finals this week, and the old crew are back together to freestyle their recap with no props, no scripts and no clue. With each dancer having two chances at the disco ball trophy of dreams this week, there’s more action to rip through than Dom Harvey’s terrible stripper pants. Does Jane think … Read more
I was leaving Countdown Whangaparaoa with a bag of bananas and some chocolate milk when I saw the poster. “Gary McCormick and Mayor Tim Shadbolt,” it read. “Stand-up comedy at it’s best!” And there they stood, suited and grinning, framed in yellow hibiscus flowers. The poster raised more questions than it answered, like: what the … Read more
This morning on Paul Henry, Hilary Barry’s regular spot was filled with another beloved member of TV news royalty. Judy Bailey showed up to keep her seat warm whilst Hilz holidays for the week. The mighty microphone baton has been passed back from one Mother of the Nation to another, as have their eerily identical … Read more
Thirty years after the sinking of Greenpeace’s Rainbow Warrior, Joseph Nunweek sits down with a bizarre 1993 made-for-TV film about the momentous historical event. It was the 30th anniversary of the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior this weekend just past, and it’s an event that’s lived a odd sort of double life since then. The … Read more
Your daily rolling recap of Come Dine With Me NZ, serving up piping hot takes on New Zealand’s greatest social experiment. Welcome to Come Dine With Me Daily, The Spinoff’s hub for all things Come Dine With Me NZ. We’ll be updating this post throughout the week as the show plays out, providing you with a … Read more
Jono and Ben have combined two of The Spinoff’s favourite things this week: massive pranks and our good friends at Dancing With the Stars NZ. They were nice enough to lend us this teaser trailer of what mayhem is coming tonight at 7.30pm. All the classics are in there: Hayley Holt, Candy Lane, Sharyn Casey, Simon Barnett … Read more
TV One’s new lifestyle show Kiwi Living begins at 7.30pm tonight, an “all-encompassing lifestyle show covering food, travel, gardening, living spaces, health and well-being, fashion and the outdoors”. It will be hosted by celebrity chef and caravan enthusiast Michael Van de Elzen and 20/20‘s Miriama Kamo, featuring many other specialist presenters. Fine. Those are words. … Read more
1) John Campbell Live in Samoa Say what you want about John Fellett, but he’s as adept at the counter-punch and exploiting an opportunity as anyone in television. So when TV3 dramatically dumped John Campbell a few weeks back, you can bet one of the first calls the broadcaster took was from a Sky exec, … Read more