NZ tv

There aren't a lot of things on  NZ daytime tv that I actually enjoy but I do watch (or listen to while I do something else) some of the cooking competitions. I watch them mostly because I don't have to see what's going on to understand where things are headed.

Of course, there are ads for other food competitions on these programs and some of the trailers just make me roll my eyes to hear them.

One is 'Jr. Master Chef', a British show. First of all, as I have mentioned before, I can't see NZ kids being participants because real competition is not encouraged in the schools as far as I noticed. Everybody gets a reward. In fact, what we used to call 'graduation' in my day is aptly called 'prize giving' because--yes, you guessed it, everybody gets a prize, at least in the lower grades!

The other reason this show's trailers make me roll my eyes is one judge complimenting a contestant saying, 'That literally blew me away!' NO, IT DIDN'T! If it did, you would not still be standing there, you dipstick. Look up the word 'literally' in the dictionary.

When someone decides that a program should be mirrored in NZ, like 'My Kitchen Rules' or 'Come Dine with Me', it just doesn't translate well. I really do try to watch them and I try to like them, but it just doesn't work for me.
And so, the previews for the latest 'Come Dine with Me NZ' don't impress me either. See, as a kid, I was taught to always act civilized in public--look your best and use nice words, don't argue without good cause. No, that's not being a hypocrite, it's being respectful and a good representative of the family name. It seems that the NZ contestants have been raised differently because they act less than mature on national television with name-calling and bad manners.

Hubby thinks these shows are all manipulated to put people together who are guaranteed not to get along, thus making for 'good tv'. He might be right when it comes to NZtv. The Aussie and British versions, of course, have clashing personalities but nothing like the NZ shows.

Then there is the NZ version of 'The Great British Bake Off' that I heard advertised. One female judge said, 'That's the worst thing I've ever tasted!' Granted, as a judge, she should let her opinion be known, but it's not very professional for her to be that rude, even if it tastes like dirt.

Whatever happened to dignity and respectability?

Maybe I'm just getting old but I think that some words and actions should never leave the confines of your home--especially, if it would make your mother blush.

Some things cannot be un-seen

Today, I saw something that I wish I could un-see.

We have a channel that is dedicated to programs in the Maori (indigenous people's) language.

As we scrolled this evening through the few free channels that we have, I noticed on the Maori channel that it said 'Mr Ed'. Considering that Kiwis abbreviate everything I didn't think much about it the instant I saw it. A few seconds later, Wilbur and his horse came to mind and I had to back up to make sure that the show wasn't what my brain was trying to process.

It was.

It was the old 60's program with English subtitles and one man translating all the parts into Maori.

I have nothing against the Maori language but it's still something I wish I could un-see.

NZ telly

We are considering doing away with our Sky (cable) TV because there is nothing new on lately. My favorite few shows are showing reruns--even though there are many more episodes of them made.

The movies channels show, mostly, movies I rented from the grocery store in KS before I moved here 5 years ago. That's just a statement of fact, not a judgement of the situation.

I understand that this is a very small country whose number of residents would have to be doubled to be the population of NYC. Yes, there are a few NZ made shows, but I don't  understand the jokes because I'm not British or Kiwi.

So when I read the following article on Stuff.co.nz, I thought it would be more advantageous for all the stations to just get together and show stuff that is more up-to-date from England and the US. But, that's just my opinion and it's not going to happen. But, hay, a girl can dream.

Sky TV ponders alternatives
Sky Television is weighing up whether to launch a new low-cost, pay-television service, dubbed Sky Lite, or add up to an additional 24 channels to its existing satellite service using radio spectrum freed up from the closure of analogue television broadcasts.
Chief executive John Fellet said he was cooling on a third option, which was to use the spectrum to broadcast a pay-television service to a new class of mobile phones that would be specially designed to receive television broadcasts. Another possibility was that Sky would simply hand back the spectrum to the Crown and claim a multimillion-dollar refund.
Fellet expected the company would make a decision by the end of the year. Read more here.

Hubby and Otterboy aren't that interested in tv and I usually have it on for the noise, so I think we'll just get another computer for games and stuff and be happy with no tv. It's time to get back to reading books. And there's always Youtube.

NZ telly

So you think you have nothing to watch in the evening?  Be glad you don't live here! These are the American shows I can get at the moment. Keep in mind they are not always shown in order nor are they totally up-to-date and they can disappear any time.

• McGyver
• Mash
• Cheers
• Starsky and Hutch (the original series)
• Dukes of Hazzard
• Miami Vice
• My Wife and Kids
• How I Met Your Mother
• Judge Judy
• That 70's Show
• Ugly Betty
• The Drew Carey Show
• According to Jim
• Hope and Faith
• 8 Rules for Dating My Daughter

We get Dr. Phil and Oprah followed by Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. 

The Simpsons are on several channels, but most of them are reruns.

Even with cable tv, it's good to have broadband.

NZ telly

There aren't many TV shows or movies that are produced in NZ. Oviously, there are not the resources available to produce shows like there are in the US. I am rather picky about what I watch and a few new series don't appeal to me. I have, though, watched two NZ series to the end, both of whose plots I found quite intriguing.

'The Cult' was about a group from very different life-styles who were each trying to get loved ones from a place called  'Two Gardens.'

This is Not My Life' was about people having their memories replaced so that they could fulfill someone else's destiny  in a place called Waimoana. I hope this one has a sequel, but I'm not holding my breath.

Now there is another one,  The Almighty Johnsons' which has a very creative plot--the NZ family is really Norse gods reincarnated.

I think all of these programs have great plots. All of them. But I think they all would have held more Kiwi attention to the end if they had only been 4- or 5-part mini-series instead of ongoing shows. As in most shows, they have to fill a lot of time that isn't always related to the plot and that is where they lost their audience, me included. I've already stopped watching the Johnsons.

But on the bright side, NZ telly is offering a larger choice of American shows, even if' MacGyver' has just taken the place of 'The A Team' and 'Friends' is  in an infinite loop of reruns in no particular order. 'Fringe' comes and goes, as does '11th Hour', but 'Drop Dead Diva', 'Bones', 'NCIS', 'Cold Case', 'Without a Trace' and 'Criminal Minds' are running strong.

BBC shows a lot of programs, but it's amazing how much I don't understand with a British accent and idioms. I do like 'Midsomer Murders' even if the area of Midsomer should have no residents still alive by now.

Of course, this is all subject to change tomorrow--which would not happen in America without a good reason. Oh, well, at least it keeps me on my toes.

You should be so lucky!

I haven't updated you on our wonderful tv listings in a while. It's the one thing that I find quaint but a bit erratic. We, of course, get a lot of British TV, but the American stuff is what intrigues me.

We got to see the first 5 whole seasons of Survivor, twice a day. Then the first season again. Then nothing. Now there's a Heroes and Villains season on once a week.

And I get to revisit the 70's and 80's without moving from the couch. And I don't need no steenkin TVland!! We can watch one episode (or six) of a program and it will disappear forever.

These are available lately....

Sledge Hammer
Miami Vice
The Guardian and The Mentalist
8 Simple Rules
Reba
A-Team
Malcolm in the Middle
Chuck
Ugly Betty
Moonlighting
Home Improvement comes and goes
US version of Life on Mars (as opposed to the British version that came out first)

We saw the last episode of Bones and now have hit-and-miss reruns. We saw the last episode of Friends, too, and it's still on twice a day.

I'm glad to say we have a few almost-up-to-date shows, but, as I said, they are subject to disappearing at any moment.


I'm loving
The Big C  
Castle
Human Target
NCIS


I watch these, too...

CSI
CSI- Miami
Cold Case
Criminal Minds

Without a Trace

I don't know what happened to NCIS-Los Angeles  after the few episodes we had.
And, of course, the Simpsons are everywhere!!

There are some American shows that I don't watch for one reason or another. Mostly because they are really lame (IMHO). If you're bored enough to want to check it out yourself, here's the link....



Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore!

'The Cult' - new NZ series

'The Cult' is a New Zealand series that has a great NZ cast and is set in the beautiful northlands of the country. You can read a bit more about it here.

I recorded the first episode of the series and watched it earlier this week. It has 'big' names, as far as NZ actors go. I know the scenery will continue to be terrific. And, as far as the plot goes, I think it has a lot of potential for entertaining television.

The only thing that makes me curiously frustrated is the 'leader' of this cult. He is the only one in the cast with an American accent.

I assume that's because NZers believe that the 'only Americans' have such things as cults. Then, again, being politically correct is not a strong point here. Stay tuned.