TV review
EVERYTHING might mean as pertains to policy. Gower said something about the age of eligibility for superannuation being potentially back on the table. Oh.
Then it was off into Gangnam Style and the three-way handshake and “mincing” and planking and the everyman dorkability which has been what has made Key the perfect Prime Minister for the relatable era.
These classic gags were also a fixture of TVNZ 1’s coverage, which weirdly opens with the weather now, even when a Prime Minister shocks the country by resigning.
They don’t bury their political editor so deep — or maybe someone mows Corin Dann’s lawns for him (not relatable) — but he essentially ran the coverage from inside the debating chamber. It feels symbolic and instructive that TVNZ are inside while TV3 yell across Lambton Quay. Dann and Katie Bradford had a good quick chat, but the voids at the heart of this story — why and who — were stubbornly hard to fill, especially at five hours’ notice.
Never mind — 7pm current affairs, that’s where the substantive analysis of the day’s big news goes, right? Garner and Hosking, running wild over the biggest New Zealand political curveball of the decade.
Nope. A total of 10 minutes on Story and a shocking seven minutes on Seven Sharp. Each was dominated by interviews with Key, which is fair. Story’s was conducted by Ryan Bridge, who really does have a tremendous amount of hair. From behind I initially thought it was Heather du Plessis-Allan, sweetly brought back from MediaWorks Siberia for the big moment. Like I said, the kid has a lot of hair.
Bridge handled the big get well, asking, along with the predictable legacy questions, a very pointed one about Pike River.
“I wish I could do what they want me to do,” Key answered, and already there was a touch more sincerity in his tone than the supreme political animal we’ve been used to.
Hosking — who, and I cannot stress this enough, still has spiked-up teen hair — conducted Seven Sharp’s via satellite over on the other channel. It lasted around three minutes.
Hard questions were asked, like this: “For the record, this is what it seems — a bloke who’s done eight years [as PM] and 10 years [as leader]. Thanks, we’re done.” Which isn’t so much a question as recharacterising Key’s presser for him.
The main part was Hosking dismissing English as Key’s replacement. “Every time I interview him, John, I’ve got to check that he’s got a pulse . . . He doesn’t have that magic leadership thing.”
What it really felt like he was saying is that English, while politically talented, is not great talent. He won’t do all those breakfast radio stunts, and offers a studiedly bland opinion on anything in the entire world. Which is why, as much as anything, Hosking and his commercial radio brethren will be mourning today.
Their shows, already pretty dull, will likely be duller as a result.
When the moment comes, the news can still do a pretty good fist of what it all means. But the 7pm current affairs shows are completely at sea — smashing it out quick at the top so they can get to their joking around with Coldplay or Keith Urban. Which just seems a bit sad and weird.