Plenty of laughs left in the ‘Para’ troupers
‘‘Policing. It’s not always better work stories.’’
Officer O’Leary (Karen O’Leary) makes this shock admission as the beloved team of New Zealand’s Wellington Paranormal unit return to our screens on Wednesday evenings for a third season of investigations and hijinks.
O’Leary is accompanied by Officer Minogue (Mike Minogue) and Sergeant Maaka (Maaka Pohatu) as the team face one of their toughest cases yet.
Called to a suspected breaking and entering in Lower Hutt, the officers firstly attempted to calm the frightened homeowners down (‘‘Don’t believe everything you hear, I read that you could put your phone in the microwave to recharge,’’ Minogue informs them, while producing evidence in the form of his twisted, mangled iPhone4).
The pair then enter the dwelling to discover the fridge in a state, with food strewn across the kitchen.
‘‘Our work is 50 per cent deduction, 50 per cent negotiation . . . ,’’ O’Leary assures the couple, before Minogue chimes in with, ‘‘and 20 per cent perspiration’’, as they inspect what initially appears to be a pool of blood. ‘‘Ah, anyone who loses that amount of . . . tomato sauce,’’ Minogue says after orally taking a sample, ‘‘won’t be happy’’.
Moving to a child’s bedroom, they uncover the source of the disturbance – an invisible being, which proceeds to make its escape by smashing a window. Pursuing it on foot, Minogue successfully Tasers it and, despite the tables turning, manages to bundle it into the patrol car.
Returning to the station, Minogue attempts to fingerprint, swab and take a mugshot of the alleged perpetrator, before the team settle in for an interview in their ‘‘conversation pit’’ (formerly ‘‘Interrogation Room’’). Unfortunately, thanks to the inattention of the hapless Constable Parker (Thomas Sainsbury), their suspect manages to flee.
‘‘I think we might have failed for the first time ever,’’ a dejected Maaka opines. ‘‘I take offence to that,’’ Minogue interjects. ‘‘We’ve failed many times before.’’
Yes, move over Police Ten7, Highway Cops, even Dog Squad: Puppy School, New Zealand’s most entertaining law enforcement series is back.
A spin-off of Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement’s big-screen 2014 mockumentary What We Do in the Shadows, through two previous series (and a Christmas special) Wellington Paranormal delivered Kiwis a deadpan comedy to rival Australia’s The Games or Frontline, gave us a spot-on police-procedural piss-take and, as cocreator Waititi first described it, ‘‘[The X-Files’] Mulder and Scully, but in a country where nothing happens’’.
Even our cousins across the Tasman have lapped it up – series three debuts over there on Wednesday night as well. The Sydney Morning Herald describes the show as ‘‘Get Smart meets Flight of the Conchords’’.
And, on the evidence of this seasonopener, there are still plenty of laughs to be wrung from the conceit. This Tim van Dammen-directed tale gives the central duo plenty of opportunities to showcase their deadpan delivery skills and penchant for physical humour. It’s true you have to have a certain tolerance for cringe comedy, but with the gag quotient extremely high, there’s something to tickle everyone’s funnybone as the 20 or so minutes fly by.
Keeping the performers and production sharp (and the country entertained) with a series of Important Covid-19 messages during the middle part of last year, the show has re-emerged with plenty of energy and even the alleged promise of the return of Rhys Darby’s ‘‘Swearwolf’’ Anton from Shadows later in the series.
However, it’s the sharp writing, brilliant observations and deliberately cheap production values that continue to provide the winning formula that drives the New Zealand Documentary Board’s outstanding comedy.
Season 3 of Wellington Paranormal screens on TVNZ2 at 8.30pm on Wednesdays. It will also be available to view on TVNZ OnDemand.