Stopping for a cuppa
A small hiatus while we gorge on the election, then a comeback with a brand new author
This is just a quick note to say that Rec Room will be going on a month-long break as we head into the election, before returning with a brand new author… Duncan Greive. That name may or may not be familiar to you, but allow me to introduce myself: I’m the founder and first editor of The Spinoff. I have also spent most of my adult life writing about pop culture in some form or another.
I’m really excited to be taking over Rec Room, and having a place to geek out about TV, music, podcasts, movies, writing, and live shows – particularly great stuff that comes from or is happening in Aotearoa. I adored what Chris Schulz did with the newsletter, the way he captured the glory and dynamism of the modern TV environment. I will try and honour that, while also evolving it to inevitably take in a bit of what I try and do with my podcast The Fold, nodding at the way culture's form, distribution and content is evolving over time. But make it less boring than that sentence, ideally.
I am truly sorry to not be picking up and running with it right away – sadly I have made commitments I feel like I must honour to cover the election over the next four weeks. But luckily the election is itself one of the last great monocultural events, a process which (nearly) all of the adult population partakes in, and inevitably produces a plethora of strange, hilarious, wrenching and infuriating moments along the way.
So, I will leave you with a pop cultural primer for the next four weeks to tide you over until normal service resumes on the other side.
See you on the other side of October 14!
- Duncan
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The election for your viewing and auditory pleasure
It feels highly partisan and also just obviously true to say that of all the political podcasts now saturating the market (NZME has five, I think, with On the Campaign is my pick) The Spinoff’s own Gone by Lunchtime is the best. It has gone to another level lately, with Ben and Annabel seemingly living in our office, and the leader interview series has been incredible. One more podcast rec: Stuff’s Tova entered the race late, but is also excellent.
Related: next Wednesday at 9am, Gone By Lunchtime’s host, my friend and idol Toby Manhire, is attempting a joyous stunt: a 12 hour non-stop pre-election podcast he is calling Megapod. It will be extremely chaotic, but also a lot of fun and, I’m certain, just really good. Head to The Spinoff next Wednesday to bear witness.
The pre-election debates are always wildly compelling – I heard Paddy Gower, who takes them incredibly seriously, is going off diary for two straight weeks just to prep for one 90 minute show (Three and ThreeNow, 27 September). The first is on TVNZ1 next Tuesday, but my dark horse pick for the most entertaining is the TVNZ minor party debate (TVNZ1 and TVNZ+ October 5). It has the most divergence in views, the most charismatic personalities and, in Jack Tame, the country’s current reigning best political interviewer.
Goes without saying, but I’m saying it: Q+A, Newshub Nation and Te Ao with Moana are all essential from now through October 14. Same goes with RNZ’s Morning Report and (ducks) Mike Hosking’s leader interviews on ZB.
Lastly, if you’re finding this election a bit dull, lacking the electricity of 2017 or 2014, can I recommend a journey back to one of our history's most extraordinary and consequential elections? The 1984 showdown between Robert Muldoon and David Lange is captured brilliantly on Revolution, a four part documentary available on NZ on Screen. It’s the kind of public service TV that the backers of the TVNZ-RNZ merger were no doubt imagining it would create. The merger is off the menu, but this production shows you just what might have been. It’s an absolutely riveting documentary – and yes, trainspotters, this newsletter’s subject line is a reference to David Lange’s decision to halt Roger Douglas’ barnstorming reforms before he imposed a flat tax on Aotearoa. You get a cup of tea and a biscuit.
On The Spinoff this week
Not one, but two episodes of The Spinoff’s must-watch election season show, Youth Wings:
Young Act’s Ollie Murphy became an Act supporter while he was still in high school. Now, he is number 28 on the Act party list and picking up party leader David Seymour from the airport in his dad’s ute.
Young NZ First’s Keegan Langeveld describes himself as an underdog and devotes his spare time to inspiring young people, but he’s about to take a seat at the big kids’ table as the NZ First candidate for Dunedin.
The third episode of Dear Jane is now out. This five-part narrative podcast for The Spinoff explores the impact of an intimate relationship between a young teenage girl and her adult youth group leader.
All 172 tasks from Taskmaster NZ, ranked from worst to best
Everybody had the same idea this Rugby World Cup: sending former All Blacks to film a TV show in France. Calum Henderson compares them and gives out a series of arbitrary awards.
New to streaming: what to watch on Netflix NZ, Neon and more this week
House Rules NZ has come to take The Block’s reality renos crown
Remember the very first cast of Celebrity Treasure Island? The Real Pod revisits the very first episode of 2001’s Celebrity Treasure Island and finds out what the contestants are up to now.
Sam Brooks reviews a ‘revolutionary leap in entertainment’ that shows the possibilities and limitations of AI art.
How to get your te wiki o te reo Māori fix without leaving the couch
My life in video arcade games: ‘There was always a shop with a spacies machine’
That’s it for Rec Room for this week. We’ll be back after the election. If you liked what you read, why not share Rec Room with your friends and whānau.
Can’t wait!!