Wayne Thompson: Holmes saves barb for last

Paul Holmes on Prime looked sharper than he has all year, his yellow-and-black striped tie making him look like a busy bee, or was it a wasp?

He was more like Paul the Piranha than Everyone's Mate of last week's shows.

Coming out strongly to bat for battery and caged hens, his speech was crisper and his questioning more persistent than of late, sometimes talking over his studio guest's replies.

He took on Egg Producers Federation executive Michael Brooks over the show's allegations that captive chooks' eggs were being mislabelled "free range".

He then swung into an empathetic mood for his interview with a TV reporter about the Terri Schiavo right-to-die case. He explained the woman's plight in a gentle, humane tone.

Holmes couldn't resist ending his show with a little barb aimed at TVNZ news boss Bill Ralston.

Holmes read a text message from "Gary Wilson", of Tauranga, who said if Ralston thought Paul Holmes had only "one or two viewers" then he would like to meet the other one because this person would be equally intelligent.

Paul Holmes

Animal rights organisation Safe is launching a campaign to boycott eggs from battery hens.

Holmes interviewed a reporter from National Channel Nine News in Los Angeles about the Terri Schiavo right-to-die case in Florida.

Reporter Steve Hopkins interviewed "world whistling champion" David Morris, who is visiting for concerts.