There are many different forms of Enlightenment and in the hands of award-winning British playwright Shelagh Stephenson it becomes a cool, sophisticated piece of theatre.

William dart writes: Director Lindy Hume described Rossini as a genius who didn't muck around. Nor has she with her vivid take on his 1817 fairytale La Cenerentola.

Westside arrived on our screens, not just offering a promising start to this six-part encore to Outrageous Fortune, but yet more evidence of global warming.

Silicon Valley is the Apple of comedy. A show that's so smart, even dummies like me can get into it, writes Karl Puschmann.

The final half hour of this daily current affairs show rose above its remit to become an event, writes Karl Puschmann.

There's nothing to make you yearn for the good ol' days of music quite like a 19-piece jazz orchestra.

Overshadowed by other seismic shifts in our TV landscape, Maori TV recently debuted local Friday-night comedies Brown Eye and Find Me a Maori Bride.

Four Game of Thrones fans share their thoughts on season five's seventh episode, The Gift.

This doco, made and heavily branded by the V&A, is likely to be as close as fans here will get to it without an airfare.

Poltergeist 2015 is a faithful tribute, produced with an eye to introducing the Steven Spielberg-produced original - and the phrase "they're here" - to a new audience.

It's worth being reminded, by this semi-fictionalised oral history, how unbelievably insolent and sordid "Underwatergate" was.

She's So Rad are a duo with wonderful musicality.

Five Game of Thrones fanatics - Russell Baillie, Karl Puschmann, Cameron McMillan, Chris Schulz and Robert Smith - share their thoughts on season five's sixth episode, Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken.

Beau Monga is buzzy about a lot of things. He also thinks Willy Moon and Natalia Kills are good people: "We're all humans, we all make mistakes."

X Factor NZ put us out of our misery, crowning the talented but appallingly coached beatboxing singer Beau Monga its second and likely final winner.

Bizarre and iconic Kiwi-made TV brought comfort to the lounge, writes Alex Casey.

Who knows what happened on May 8, 1945 when Princess Elizabeth, the future Queen, and sister Princess Margaret went on to the streets of London to celebrate Victory in Europe (VE) Day.

It seems odd that Microsoft would bother upgrading State of Decay. Released in 2013,it was a middling zombie romp at best, with emphasis on stealth, survival and saving your mates over bloodthirsty brain bashing.

He's been a rapper, an actor, a porn movie mogul and, most recently, a terrible reggae singer called Snoop Lion. How many lives has this Dogg used up already? Six? Seven?

This exceptional album is named for Stevens' schizophrenic and drug-addicted mother who died in 2012 and the stepfather (married to Carrie for five years when the singer was a young boy) who was his stability and currently runs Stephens' record label.

The Backstreet Boys brought their 20th anniversary tour to Auckland. Joanna Hunkin says it was everything her 15-year-old self could have asked for.

Six Game of Thrones fanatics - Russell Baillie, Karl Puschmann, Sophie Ryan, Cameron McMillan, Chris Schulz and Robert Smith - share their thoughts on season five's fifth episode, Kill the Boy.

Thousands of music fans were treated to a heavy rock masterclass as veterans Alice Cooper and Motley Crue rocked Auckland's Vector Arena last night.

Pitch Perfect was hilarious, feel-good fun, and one of the surprise hits of 2012.

The budget is minuscule. There are no big names. Set pieces are delivered infrequently, and on a small scale. And if it's monsters you're after, there are precious few ghouls, goblins, ghosts or gremlins.