TV obsessed website The Spinoff brings together the best, worst and weirdest moments on television each week. Contributions by Alex Casey and Calum Henderson.
HDPA buys a gun
It started with a hidden camera sting exposing a dodgy real estate practice, a fearsome Heather Du Plessis-Allan doorknock and Duncan Garner cutting off a home detention bracelet. TV3's Story returned to its early roots on Wednesday with its boldest bit of proactive stunt journalism yet, when Heather Du Plessis Allan bought a gun. She bought it online despite not having a gun licence, using a fake name and quoting a made-up licence number. "It was way too easy," said Garner. "We think that the rules [around buying firearms online] need to be tightened up and tightened up quick smart."
Some of the best bits from TV this week.
Within 24 hours police had changed the rules around online firearms purchases, and David Tipple, whose store Gun City had sold the gun, had promised to launch a private prosecution. It was a battle won for HDPA, and for what looks to be becoming Story's signature style of journalism - sharp, righteous and instantly gratifying stings in contrast to Campbell Live's deep, patient campaigns. But should Tipple go ahead with his prosecution promise, who will win the war? / CH
On the same day that Marty McFly travelled to in Back to the Future, Peter Williams - who started working at TVNZ six years before the movie was released - rode a hoverboard. Well, it was a 'Glideboard,' but close enough. Weirdly the two events were not linked - the Glideboard was brought into Breakfast for a segment by 'Gadget Guy', who, along with fellow chaperone Sam Wallace, led Williams on a strange and uneasy dance around the studio floor.
Some of the best bits from TV this week.
"Do you feel like you're mastering it?" asked host Nadine Chalmers-Ross. "No, not at all," was Williams' tight-lipped answer. "I feel completely and utterly out of control." This was almost certainly the closest the distinguished broadcaster has ever come to being on drugs. "It's pretty freaky though... seriously freaky." Let him off! / CH
John Oliver shows NZ's dick pic to the world
If there's one thing New Zealanders love it's when our funny little country gets a mention on an overseas TV show. Luckily(?) John Oliver seems to be developing a mild obsession with our Prime Minister - first the ponytail debacle, then the flag debacle, and now his interview on the Radio Hauraki breakfast show, where he weighed in on topics as diverse as whether the Virgin Mary was really a virgin ("no"), if he wees in the shower ("yes"), and whether he had ever sent a dick pic ("no," but note the word 'sent' - this doesn't completely rule out the possibility he may have taken one).
"I actually think the only time he might have lied is during the dick pic question," speculated Oliver, "because of course he has sent one, and I'll tell you why... When you are Prime Minister John Key, every pic is a dick pick." (Click here to watch the collected works of John Key on the John Oliver Show) / CH
Cryogenically frozen TV show from 1983 returns
Saturday night saw the rebooted University Challenge return for another season on Prime, this year promoted to a plum 7:00pm slot. The show remains remarkably unchanged from its 80s origins, and therein lies its charms, writes Duncan Greive:
Some of the best bits from TV this week.
"Despite its age, it is not broken, and does not need fixing. Host Tom Conroy might be the most old-fashioned thing about the setup - he betrays little humour or affection for the participants. No joking, no allowing slipups to slide. If he'd been in charge of Scotland versus Australia Cheika's mob would be on a plane. His rigour is commanding, his authority absolute." (Click here to read the full review). / CH
Binge:Lipstick Jungle on Lightbox - the lesser-known Candace Bushnell TV adaptation, following Sex and the City, is a "ridiculously watchable" guilty pleasure of Sam Brooks. (Click here to read his overview of the show).
Movie:Austin Powers 2: The Spy Who Shagged Me on TV2 at 8:55pm on Saturday - Enjoy the long weekend with a truly shagadelic masterpiece.
