Money...it's a Latta matter

Nigel Latta is on the money with his latest series...which is about money. A-270716NZHDSLATTA3

I was scanning across the telly schedules for the next week and spotted the familiar name of Nigel Latta which was linked in to a familiar article called money.

A show on next Monday night called Mind Over Money.

Now herein is the difference between blokes like Nigel and me, because if I was asked to work up a series about the way people look at, work with and deal with money I'd be stuck after the opening title had been run.

And even on that front I'd probably had been hard pushed to come up with one.
But Nigel Latta is a clinical psychologist who started his telly career with the rather heavy Beyond The Darklands series.

He got into the minds of serious criminals to basically try and sift through the psychological fragments which made them do what they did...and some did some seriously terrible things.

Yes, heavy watching but illuminating in that it worked to explain what was effectively the inexplicable.

But as his screen consultations and appointments increased he kind of lightened up, and he's created rather a solid following.

There was The Politically Incorrect Guide to Teenagers and The Politically Incorrect Parenting Show.

And for a spot of volume, with a whiff of Mythbusters, he rolled out Nigel Latta Blows Stuff Up.

And for a spot of landscape analysis he wandered far south and brought back Nigel Latta in Antarctica.

So yeah, he kind of gets around and here he is analysing, psyching out (or whatever these "please lie down on the couch" chaps call it) that damnation of a thing called money.

Everyone has an opinion about it with the common theme being that money can't buy happiness...but it sure does help.

I mean, the only way I'm going to garage the Italian of my dreams, the MV Agusta F4-R312 is to somehow get my hands on a lot of money...like about $34,840.

It is my dream and I like happy dreams because they make me...happy.

Oh, and why is it called the R312?

Well, it's theoretical and geared top speed is 312km/h, although a European bike mag' tester could only get 292.9km/h out of it.

But hey, I'm happy with that.

Crikey, I could do Taupo in about 35 minutes.

Now this is where Dr Nigel would step in and say two words..."grow up".

To which I would reply with seven words.

"I would like to...but I cannot."

Now I would never entertain the thought of gassing the thing seriously anywhere but at a race track day (they are great fun) and at the end of the day if I had one I'd have it displayed on a big strong shelf on the wall.

All I need is the money so, Nigel, what's the gig mate?

To which he would likely tell me to watch this particular episode of his new cash-driven series because it centres around why it is many people tend to spend money they don't have...I daresay because it is easily accessible in some way or another.

"Take this piece of plastic and sign here..."

And he also then examines ways of dealing with that troublesome factor.

Ways of preventing it happening.

I'd simply say just don't do it but that's kind of like finally being able to garage an MV Agusta F4-R312 and insisting "don't worry...I won't give it a burst."

If you don't fancy watching telly that night then just play a game instead.

Monopoly's kind of fun.

● Mind Over Money, TV1 at 8pm next Monday: And now, the worst joke of the week...inspired by this show.

It is a good thing it is not hosted by a chap called Harold Parsnip...because people seeking cash solutions would insist "you can always get HP".
It's not getting any better.

ON THE BOX

● Outback Pilots, TV1 at 7pm Saturday: Somewhere in the back of my mind is a very old song - a theme song from a radio series about the medical practitioners whose "patch" covered several thousand acres of desolate Aussie outback.

It possessed the line "call the flying doctor..." which I suppose you would if you were eight hours driving time from the nearest town and an emu had just nipped two of your fingers off.

I do recall an Aussie drama series many years back called The Flying Doctors, which I suppose was inevitable given the uniqueness of this medical service.

But here we have the real thing. A doco' crew follows the outback medical flyers from one side of the great red outback land to the other, and in this episode it's a serious snake bike that gets the props turning.

● Top Gear, Prime at 8.30pm Saturday: I think by this stage the only person who finds yet another familiar repeat of this now parked up television vehicle is Jeremy Clarkson...because he looks so much younger.

Oh yes they were entertaining tales but there comes a time...when you pretty well know what the next spoken line and scripted "mistake" is going to be.

Still a few smiles to be had but now probably best left in neutral.

● Te Matatini 2017, Maori TV at 8.30am Sunday: Maori Television will be extensively covering this remarkable festival which sparks into cultural, competitive and musical life on Thursday, and here we have the great culmination of it.

Matai Smith, Kahurangi Maxwell and Chey Milne will host the live coverage of finals day from the Hawke's Bay Sports Park.

A great event which will firmly underline the talent and pride there is out there.