HD Heads-Up: March 21 – 27
March 12, 2020 
2 Comments
➢➢ TVNZ 1 will replace Jamie’s Ultimate Veg with another healthy lifestyle series, Easy Ways to Live Well (8.30 Thursdays from March 26). River Cottage’s Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Steph McGovern (Shop Well for Less) team up to highlight the easy fixes to dramatically improve our diet, fitness and mental wellbeing. The series went to air two months ago in the UK and was dubbed a “primetime turkey” and “nonsense” by the Daily Mail:
Since the [BBC] bosses are clueless, and the presenters haven’t been picked for any particular expertise, you wouldn’t expect any insights or useful information from Easy Ways To Live Well (BBC1). And you’d be right. It’s pointless.
➢➢ But another critic thought the duo “a match made in heaven. His allotment chic clashed with her BBC Breakfast sheen and love of junk food but they bonded over a shared sense of the ridiculous”. And The Times argued: “These types of health documentary are always exhaustingly upbeat, but Steph McGovern and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall might just have a winning yin-and-yang chemistry” …
➢➢ TVNZ 1 will follow Live Well’s premiere with the 8.45 tribute special, 20 Years of Jamie Oliver. It chronicles his rise and stumbles, from his accidental discovery at The River Café to how he revolutionised cooking shows, from his campaigning to improve the food system to the closure of his UK restaurant group …
➢➢ Ending their runs that week are The Sixties, Hellfire Heroes, Aussie Pickers and Location Location Location …
➢➢ TVNZ 2 will have two movie premieres in the week starting March 21: Midnight Special (10.45 Saturday) and Rough Night (8.30 Sunday). Other HD coming attractions will include:
- A Cinderella Story (TVNZ 2, 7.00 Saturday)
- Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (Maori TV, 7.00 Saturday)
- Allied (Three, 8.55 Saturday)
- Takers (Duke, 9.20 Saturday)
- Sleepwalker (Three, 10.45 Saturday)
- Rumour Has It (TVNZ 2, midday Sunday)
- Jurassic World (Three, 8.30 Sunday)
- Blackfellas (Maori TV, 8.30 Sunday)
- Alien 3 (TVNZ 2, 10.35 Sunday)
- Exit Wounds (Prime, 8.30 Monday)
- Gravity (Duke, 8.30 Tuesday)
- This Means War (TVNZ 2, 8.30 Wednesday)
- Fantastic Four (TVNZ 2, 7.30 Friday)
- The Bourne Identity (Three, 7.30 Friday)
- School of Rock (Duke, 8.30 Friday).
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March 13, 2020 at 3:09 pm
Hi Phil. Whether it’s me and my tastes are changing, but I am getting more disinterested in Freeview content. Maybe I’m cynical, but I’m sure the quality barometer is falling? I do still like a few Freeview highlights, and NZ on Air seem to have deep pockets, but there is literally so much content available now and so much good content. Yes, this is supposed to be the Golden Age of TV, but does it come at a cost to a situation like ours with a small domestic market? The current lineup is great for those who like dating shows, home makeover shows, or cheesy canned laughter American sitcoms … but for me there has been nothing worthy to be added to my Freeview planner for months, I’m just following my nose on what I like and searching out my own content whether that be via Netflix or elsewhere.
Hey, Rosco. I think your dissatisfaction with Freeview content is widespread. TVNZ relegates most of its best stuff to OnDemand, a fraction of which surfaces on air, while Three is a monotonous parade of reality TV and procedurals. All the FTAs are heavy on lifestyle, game shows and re-runs. And when they do launch a new service, it’s just more of the same. ThreeLife’s replacement is a cheaply-programmed music channel while TVNZ 2 and Duke duplicate a lot of content. Anyone craving serious drama and distinctive comedy definitely needs Sky and/or Netflix subscriptions.