A hole lot of fun: We go behind the scenes of Celebrity Treasure Island
Plus: It’s The Spinoff’s 10th birthday, Slow Horses is as good as ever, and a stonkingly good rec for fans of Jack Reacher.
Happy Friday everyone, and a happy 10th birthday to The Spinoff! This week we’ve been celebrating 10 years of your favourite little website, with a look back on some of our most memorable moments. The wonderful Alex Casey remembered what The Spinoff looked like on the day it launched, Duncan Greive wrote the epic story of The Spinoff’s first decade, and we must also tip our birthday hats to Hera Lindsay Bird’s intrepid ranking of all The Spinoff rankings (that’s right, all 85 of them).
Thanks for your support over the past 10 years, and happy watching!
We’re on the sidelines as Celebrity Treasure Island begins
It’s a warm, grey day in March, and Duncan Garner is up to his elbow in a hole. The well-known broadcaster is lying on a beach, flinging sand into the air in a desperate attempt to dig up some treasure. “This is like trying to find an honest politician,” he shouts, while nearby, current Labour MP Carmel Sepuloni digs her own hole and drag artist Spankie Jackzon announces she’s getting sand in the most unlikely of places. “Oh, the glamour,” Spankie jokes.
It’s a lot to take in from the sidelines, but I wouldn’t expect anything less from Celebrity Treasure Island. A few months ago, I was part of a small media team invited by TVNZ to watch the first day of CTI filming, held at a remote location in the Coromandel accessible only by boat. The celebrities had spent the past two days sitting through media interviews and hours of promotional filming, and by the time we arrive, they’re fizzing with nervous energy. “Let’s do this!” Jackzon yells, as the castaways race across the sand to… dig themselves a hole.
Celebrity Treasure Island, of course, is the beloved New Zealand reality show that takes well-known personalities and pushes them outside their comfort zone to win $100,000 for charity. This is the only show where you’ll find a political journalist digging a hole next to a current politician, or reality TV star sharing a bunk with a former league player. CTI is a great leveller, because it doesn’t care what these celebrities do in the outside world. In this moment, on this beach, they’re just a bunch of people, up to their armpits in sand.
As a wall of camera operators chase the celebrities from hole to hole, it becomes clear that this treasure won’t be uncovered quickly. After several minutes of unsuccessful burrowing, the producer tells the castaways to team up and keep talking. (Note to self: always talk about your hole on CTI). Co-host Bree Tomasel stands on the sidelines, hyping up the contestants by making jokes about mounds and pretending to give Spankie CPR when the digging gets too much.
While the celebrities dig, we’re treated to a sneak peak at Team Wētā’s camp. The rustic wooden building is nestled under an enormous pōhutukawa tree, and this season, the castaways will strategise in comfort on the old lounge suite – complete with a glass-topped coffee table – that sits on the front deck. It feels like we’ve stepped into someone’s vintage camping holiday, and if you didn’t have to spend your days digging holes, this would be an idyllic place to spend three weeks.
Inside, several wooden bunk beds with hessian sacking for mattresses fill the room, and in keeping with this season’s 1960s camping theme, Kiwiana knick-knacks are scattered everywhere. A cricket bat and ball is propped against one wall, a Buzzy Bee hangs silently from a bunk, and there’s even some vintage swimming togs pegged on the clothesline out the back. These delicious little details might not even make it to screen, but it shows how much love and thought goes into the world-building of the series.
In fact, infomercial queen Suzanne Paul probably won’t believe her eyes when she arrives at Team Aihe’s camp, located over on the next bay. Paul told me that on her first CTI season in 2003, the celebrities slept on “pieces of foam on the beach”. In 2024, her camp sits on a cliff top with sweeping views out to the Pacific, and even has a bath. We make the 10-minute trek over to Camp Aihe, along a rugged track that takes us through thick bush and past the elimination arena with its incredible hilltop vista. Paul and her teammates are digging in the sand too, and from our vantage point on the hill, they look like tiny pink ants scattering all over the beach.
Back at Team Wētā, league player Wairangi Koopu finally digs up the treasure. The team celebrates, mostly because they want to stop digging, but there’s bad news. The producer needs close-ups, wide shots and drone shots, and he instructs the castaways to keep pawing away at that sand. “I’m a politician, not an actress,” Sepuloni jokes to Tomasel.
Even though the lengthy challenge will only play a small part in episode one, Garner joins in with his teammates, chucking his arms deep into the sand, one more time. That’s the magic of TV and the power of CTI. These celebrities know there’s no treasure to be found, but it’s still game on.
Celebrity Treasure Island screens Monday-Wednesday on TVNZ2 at 7.30pm and streams on TVNZ+.
Party like a 10 year old
You have until Sunday to go in the draw to win a mega hamper of goods ranked by The Spinoff. All you have to do is have your say on Hera Lindsay Bird’s ranking of our rankings. If you’re a member, you can get an extra entry by logging in and collecting the treasure hidden in stories posted this week. Find out more here.
Not a member? Now is a great time to show your support. We cannot overstate how vital support from our readers is, so thanks for being part of our story. Ten years, 29,000 articles published, all free to read, we wouldn’t have made it to this mighty milestone without you.
Why you should watch: Takeout Kids
In the fourth episode of the thoughtful, heartwarming short docuseries Takeout Kids, we meet 13 year old Pitchta, who waitresses in her family’s Thai restaurant in Akaroa. “Phitcha exudes a glacial calm on the restaurant floor, unflinching in the face of relentless customer queries,” Alex Casey writes. “‘It is not safe for me to eat mushrooms,’ asks a British visitor, ‘so can I eat this?’ Phitcha calmly walks back into the kitchen and asks her dad, the chef, for more information. Later, when an Australian asks for the satay chicken, but doesn’t know which number on the menu it is, Phitcha gently points in assistance.” Check out all the previous episodes of Takeout Kids here.
Why you should watch: Slow Horses S4 (AppleTV+)
It’s rare to find a television adaptation which is just as satisfying as the books, but the fourth season of Apple’s Slow Horses is giving Mick Herron’s hysterically deadpan novels about a group of disgraced M15 employees a serious run for their money. Gary Oldman is radiant as the unapologetically flatulent Jackson Lamb. The supporting cast is brilliant. The script is phenomenal. And although the scenes of Gary Oldman eating Chinese takeaways are not for the faint-hearted, everything about this show is top-shelf, blue-ribbon, Pam’s finest television. One of the most original and well-constructed shows on air. / Hera Lindsay Bird
More pop culture news from The Spinoff
We took you behind the scenes, and now you can see how the drama really unfolded in the inaugural Celebrity Treasure Island power rankings.
Alex Casey took a trip back to September 11, 2001 to revisit Shortland Street’s astonishing long-forgotten musical episode.
Damian Alexander and Shelton Woolright of Blindspott share their perfect weekend playlist.
Don’t miss everything new to streaming this week, including a wholesome new reality TV show and our own version of Location, Location, Location.
Before she returned a CTI castaway, infomercial queen Suzanne Paul sat down with us to share her life in TV, including a deep regret over The Blue Monkey.
Sam Brooks attended Aotearoa’s largest gaming festival and discovered an event that was for both kids and the kids at heart.
Duncan Greive takes us into the feud between Auckland's best live music venue and the world’s biggest promoter - but only one side is willing to speak about it.
Why you should watch: Rebel Ridge (Netflix)
After Tom Cruise cursed Lee Child's perfect novels by casting his diminutive ass as the human giant that is Reacher, it seemed like the Jack Reacher catalogue was destined to only exist as a very-good-but-not-truly-great Amazon Prime series. That was true until Netflix dropped Rebel Ridge last week. Now, to be fair, this is explicitly not a Jack Reacher movie, and has no association with the franchise. Only, it is.
I'll explain. The lead character is a tall, moody, muscular ex-military guy who is incredibly good at fighting, who travels by unconventional means to a small American town, when he uncovers unfathomable corruption – and a hot girl who needs help. Instead of moving on, he sticks around and tears them a new one in glorious, naturalistic style. Rebel Ridge (bad name) shows how some IP really doesn't have much of a moat, and based on its early performance for Netflix I can absolutely see this becoming a franchise of its own. / Duncan Greive
Before we pop off…
Don’t miss Hayden Donnell’s look back on the “man had eel in his bum” story that almost broke the New Zealand Herald in 2012.
Gabi Lardies watches a reunited Fur Patrol play almost a quarter century after the release of their hit single, and wonders: do they still have it?
Podcast It’s Personal with Anika Moa (RNZ) is back for a second season, as musician and broadcaster Moa chats with more guests (including Morgana O’Reilly and Kiritapu Allan) about issues close to their hearts.
Great news for basketball fans: TVNZ is the free-to-air home of the BNZ Breakers for the 2024/25 season, with all regular season games available live on TVNZ+.
That’s it for Rec Room for this week. If you liked what you read, why not share Rec Room with your friends and whānau.
