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Revelation: The Block NZ is actually just What Now? for adults
Calum Henderson watches the return of The Block NZ, and pines for the rhombus daybeds of yesteryear. Host Mark Richardson took a deep breath and began to speak slowly, measuredly, the way a judge...
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We found the most savage people on TV and they are five years old
TV One’s documentary The Secret Life of 5 Year Olds is full of backstabbing and manipulation and tearful emotional breakdowns – it’s also very cute and ultimately quite heartwarming, writes Calum...
View ArticleA cat got onto the pitch at Pepper Stadium and cursed the Penrith Panthers
It was one of the greatest things that has ever happened in a game of rugby league, but at what cost, asks Calum Henderson. Fullback Ben Barba scored two first half tries to lead the Cronulla Sharks to...
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Conspiracy: Rawdon Christie thinks aliens are using Pokémon GO to destroy...
Calum Henderson tuned into Breakfast this week to witness what was potentially going to be the end of the Rawdon and Nadine era. What he discovered was a conspiracy theory that probably requires urgent...
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Stone the Flamin’ crows! Alf Stewart explains his most famous phrases
Summer Bay bait shop owner Alf Stewart (aka actor and legend Ray Meagher) talks Calum Henderson through some of his famous Aussie vernacular. One of my favourite things to do as a teenager was come...
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Gloriavale: Where a woman’s place is submissive and pregnant
Calum Henderson asks why our taxpayer money continues to fund rose-tinted documentaries about the sexist hellhole known as Gloriavale. Our annual visit to Gloriavale is becoming a weird New Zealand...
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Revealed: Highlights from the next 23 seasons of Westside
Westside has finished for another year, but the good news is there could be at least 23 more seasons to go. Calum Henderson previews some highlights coming up between now and 2039. Season two of...
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One brave critic dares to love the Richie McCaw movie
An extreme latecomer to the Richard McCaw fan club reviews his heroic new autobiographical documentary. Watching the All Blacks pull apart Wales then the Wallabies in their trademark clinical fashion...
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Getting owned at spelling by the cool teens of Spellbound
The New Zealand Spelling Bee finals have made it to TVNZ 1’s Spellbound. It’s like a 3-hour long penalty shootout where you don’t want anyone to miss, writes Calum Henderson. “Furlow. F-U-R-L-O-W.”...
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First Dates New Zealand goes down like a tall pint of milk
Calum Henderson has his first date with First Dates New Zealand, and finds an odd mix of charm, milk and Tom Hardy tattoos. If a guy orders a tall pint of milk on the first date it’s probably not a...
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Soap stars collide: When Chris Warner met Alf Stewart
What happens when you get two soap immortals and sit them down together for a chat? Calum Henderson was there to recount the making of television history. WATCH: History is made: Sparks fly when...
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The crowd calls for blood – the Hunger Games of FIFA mobile
The new FIFA Mobile game is a satisfying but less life-destroying alternative to its console counterpart, writes Calum Henderson. Every couple of weeks I entertain an increasingly vivid fantasy in...
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I changed my mind: David Warner is actually cool
The Australian cricketer’s refusal to sign an R.M. Williams boot during last night’s One Day International forced me to reconsider his character, writes Calum Henderson in a stunning flip-flop. Someone...
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The unauthorised history of What Now gunge
An in-depth Spinoff investigation reveals exactly who invented What Now gunge and unravels the mystery of the secret recipe. Calum Henderson reports. A traditional What Now gunging. (Photo: YouTube –...
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Summer reissue: History in pictures – the 2016 Waitangi Dildo Incident
It was a different, more innocent time, when a sex toy thwacking into a senior minister’s head made global headlines. Relive Steven Joyce’s great day in Calum Henderson’s frame-by-frame analysis of the...
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Mr Bean’s back, baby… and this time he’s solving murders
Calum Henderson review Maigret, the two-part detective drama featuring the man in the Mini as you’ve never seen before. Mr. Bean is back, baby … only this time he’s a pipe-smoking police detective in...
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Put your clock back for the winter: How Shihad’s ‘Home Again’ became New...
Every year Shihad’s 1997 single ‘Home Again’ helps countless New Zealanders remember how Daylight Saving works. But as Calum Henderson discovers, its famous opening line was almost something completely...
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Is the number 69 banned for the Blackcaps?
Close to 100 cricketers have represented New Zealand in limited overs internationals since numbers were added to the backs of players’ shirts, but none have ever worn the number 69. Why not? Calum...
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Good news: The columnist from 800 Words finally got fired
Calum Henderson spent season one of 800 Words helping main character George Turner turn his shambolic column excerpts into finished newspaper copy. In season two, Turner has lost his writing job – and...
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A message from the future: The Project is going to be just fine
Rumour has it that when Mark Weldon threw Campbell Live down a well, a tearful John Campbell cursed the 7pm slot on TV3: Road Cops, Come Dine with Me and Story have all met grisly fates there since....
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