What we've been enjoying this week
Rec Room #4 – "You won, Jane"
Kia ora, welcome to this week’s newsletter.
I reckon I’ve probably watched “What a sad little life Jane” more times than any other clip on the internet. If you haven’t seen it before, I’m talking about a scene from Come Dine With Me UK in which the host (Peter) kicks off big time after learning he’s lost to his arch nemesis (Jane).
Everything about it is amazing. The way the shot frames Peter looming angrily over the other contestants sitting on his couch, his fourth-wall breaking glance at the camera, the way his voice quivers slightly as he orders Jane to “take your money and get off my property”.
Whether you’re a WASLLJ fan from way back or you’re only just hearing about it for the first time, I’d like to draw your attention to this Twitter thread. It’s a compilation of highlights from the week’s worth of dinners leading up to the big moment, offering the full backstory to Peter and Jane’s rivalry, including a rare extended cut of the iconic scene. The whole thing is absolutely essential viewing.
Enjoy the rest of this week’s newsletter, I hope it makes you very happy.
–Cal
Emily Writes recommends the comedy series Shrill, both seasons of which just started streaming on Neon. “I just cried all through the first episode, I love it so so much. And the way it depicts abortion is really good.”
Emily also recommends this long read from the New York Times Magazine, which has the irresistible headline How Two British Orthodontists Became Celebrities to Incels. “It sent me down a rabbit hole of searching for before and after pics and there’s literally no difference.”
Partnerships director Matt recommends popping an ollie in the remastered Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 for PS4. “I put in some serious hourage over the weekend – turns out I'm still very good at it, and also turns out that 'Superman' by Goldfinger is way more apt and depressing when you're in your thirties. Here I am, growing older all the time.”
Culture editor Sam recommends the new season of fictional true crime podcast This Sounds Serious. “It’s a super well-produced parody of true crime podcasts that's just as compelling and cliffhanger-y as the real thing, but also devastatingly funny, especially if you’re familiar with the genre. The first season was about a guy who died in his waterbed, the second was about America's “most missing person” and this season is about an Argo-like movie. I love it.”
Live updates editor Stewart recommends The Boys on Amazon Prime Video. “Season two just came out and it’s violent and outrageous and amazing.” Josie agrees: “Many people aren't keen on ultraviolence but for those who are: get in.”
Finally this week, a couple of nice soothing TV tips. Several people recommend The Dog House (watch on TVNZ On Demand) – “it's like if a TV show was Lorazepam,” says Emily Writes. Toby Morris recommends The Repair Shop (also TVNZ 1 On Demand). “Great accents, close-ups of competent craftspeople working, emotional old people... Just a lovely time.” I’ll throw my own soothing balm of choice, Relaxing Old Footage with Joe Pera (YouTube), in here as well.
Gone By Lunchtime
New Zealand’s most relaxing politics podcast returns this week with the dulcet tones of Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee Mather and Ben Thomas talking all the latest developments from the election campaign. There’s Labour’s promise to make Matariki a pub hol, National’s promise to fund a health-driven response to meth addiction, James Shaw’s many apologies for the Green school debacle and Winston doing what Winston does best: smoking darts and getting mad at Jack ‘James’ Tame. Plus a bonus chat with Alice Snedden about the latest series of Bad News, which you can watch here.
Business is Boring
In writing, like any other business, it’s important to find your niche – and the latest guest on Business is Boring found hers in the pre-teen horse book market. Stacy Gregg’s Pony Club Secrets series and standalone titles like The Princess and the Foal have found loyal readerships both here and overseas, and now she’s also got an international TV series, Mystic, available now on TVNZ On Demand. She joined Simon Pound last week for a chat about the business of writing and promoting her books.
Predicting the election results using traditional soothsaying techniques
How did you spend the two-and-a-half weeks of Lockdown 2.0? The Spinoff’s José Barbosa spent it creating his magnum opus in the form of this quite cooked 16-minute video. He uses an array of ancient occult techniques to predict the fortunes of all 18 parties registered in this year’s election and gaze into the next three years of parliament. Time will tell, but this will probably age better than most of the other political punditry published in New Zealand this month.
Two Sketches with Toby Morris
While we’re on the topic of soothing TV, here’s by far the most soothing thing The Spinoff has ever made. Cartoonist Toby Morris goes around to other famous New Zealand doodler’s houses (or in the case of Michael Hill Jeweller, his luxury yacht) and they draw together while having a chat. Low-key, low-stress, very lovely series.
That’s all for this week. Please feel free to share Rec Room with anyone you think might like it, and reply if you’d like to get in touch.
See you next Wednesday 👋