Ten turbulent years of TV

TREVOR AGNEW

Technology leapt ahead during the last decade, but the shows didn't, writes Trevor Agnew.

This decade has been noticeable for improved ways of receiving programmes (digital and hi- definition) and recording them (MySky and TiVo).

It just hasn't produced better dramas, documentaries, comedies and current affairs programmes.

A catalogue of the worst television of the decade would need an entire issue of The Box. The good programmes are a different matter.

Good programmes are rare. Here are a few moments that make the nightmare of professional television- watching worthwhile, a few flickers in the pile of dross.

Our drama was mainly imported. From the United States networks, we watched Sex and the City, The Sopranos and CSI and its many spin- offs.

The West Wing put Martin Sheen in the Oval Office, while Commander in Chief put Geena Davis there. Some series, such as Six Feet Under and Mad Men, enthralled us, while others, such as Lost and 24, left us baffled.

Angels in America showed that television could be superb, Deadwood was brutal, Boston Legal was witty, Pushing Up Daisies was magical, and Ugly Betty was cute, while Dexter and Big Love showed there was more to serial killing and bigamy than we thought possible.

New Zealand's television programmers seem reluctant to screen British-made programmes, but it is the British programmes viewers enjoy most.

TVNZ has never been able to extinguish enthusiasm for Coronation Street and Antiques Roadshow, while the burgeoning of channels such as UKTV on Sky has given wider access.

Cold Feet, The Royle Family, Canterbury Tales (who can forget Julie Walters as the Wife of Bath?), Blackpool, The Book Group, Bleak House, Life on Mars, Ashes to Ashes, Criminal Justice and Cranford - the British drama list could go on.

Series such as Masterchef, Pop Idol and Dancing with the Stars prove that Britain creates, America copies and New Zealand duplicates. As always, bad programmes, such as Project Runway, Wipeout and the Survivor clones, drove out good programmes.

Then there were those series that defy categories but reward watching: Who Do You Think You Are?, The Kumars at No 42, Walking With Dinosaurs, Top Gear and Grand Designs.

Michael Palin went to Himalaya and David Attenborough invited us to The Blue Planet, Life in the Undergrowth and The Life of Mammals.

Comedy is a matter of taste. Those who like Black Books may loathe Friends.

The decade that began with Father Ted and 3rd Rock from the Sun, ended with Gavin and Stacey and a revived Family Guy, certainly has something for everyone.

The Vicar of Dibley, Green Wing, Scrubs, The IT Crowd, 30 Rock, The Office(s), Extras and My Name is Earl spanned the decade.

In New Zealand, TVNZ and TV3 reduced current affairs and documentary coverage to introduce the ludicrous "we cross to our reporter live" feature, where hapless journalists huddle in the dark outside closed court-houses, pretending to offer breaking news.

TV One's news service did, however, excel with coverage of the funerals of Sir Edmund Hillary and the Maori Queen, Dame Te Atairangikahu.

Simon Dallow's use of te reo in the latter was particularly impressive. It was Dallow who presented What Lies Beneath?, a ground-breaking New Zealand archaeology series, almost unseen because of poor screening times.

John Hawkesby and Judy Bailey left; Paul Holmes returned.

Was there no joy in 10 years of television? Maori Television has been a miracle, providing Kiwi programmes for Kiwis.

It was Maori TV that brought us Kai Time on the Road, Ask the Aunties and It's In the Bag, not to mention some decent musical shows, discussions, documentaries and an Anzac Day triumph that forced every other channel to improve its coverage.

Maori TV is a taonga.

TVNZ6 and TVNZ7 also show programmes of which New Zealanders can be proud, without swathes of commercials.

There is the sheer bliss of watching the 8pm news, without the nonsense, on 7.

If they were to be suggested today, neither Country Calendar nor Fair Go would be commissioned, yet they still flourish, a reminder of the qualities of the past.

Good New Zealand shows for younger viewers are almost extinct. Honourable mentions go to Margaret Mahy's series, Maddigan's Quest, and Martin Baynton's creation of Jane and the Dragon and The Wot-Wots.

 Interestingly, it is Maori TV which will screen Mahy's Kaitangata Twitch, set on Lyttelton Harbour, in 2010.

There is always the excitement of seeing Kiwis doing well overseas, whether it is Rachel Hunter in the US Dancing With the Stars or the world triumph of Flight of the Conchords.

Good New Zealand drama, such as The Insider's Guide to Happiness, became rare, squeezed out by cheaper reality programmes.

TVNZ has shied away from comedy since the imaginative Seven Periods with Mr Gormsby, although TV3 has taken up the slack with marvellous series such as Outrageous Fortune, Bro'Town, A Thousand Apologies and The Jaquie Brown Show.

Somehow or other, the Topp Twins managed to keep their many faces on our screens.

In conclusion, new technology means we now have many more ways to see old programmes. They are available on DVD, YouTube and at on-demand internet sites.

Ironically we can now see that many old programmes - Callan, Under the Mountain, War and Peace - are superior to those of the last decade.

Meanwhile, for 2010, TVNZ is promising us Hung (hero with large penis), Cougar Town (lusty older women) and The Vampire Diaries. The next decade looks grim already.

qTrevor Agnew is a long-time television critic for The Press.

- © Fairfax NZ News