New Zealand Listener - October 13, 2018

OCTOBER 13 2018 LISTENER 65

SATURDAY OCTOBER 13

Star Trek (Jones! too, 10.00am).

The 87-year-old William Shat-

ner flies in to New Zealand

this weekend for raconteur

shows in Auckland, Christch-

urch and Wellington – and

the Jones! too programmers

have leapt on the chance to

give the first season of the

original Star Trek yet another

run. Episodes air all Saturday

and Sunday from 10.00am.

TUESDAY OCTOBER 16

The 2000s (Prime, 8.35pm).

This seven-part CNN

documentary series on “the

oughties” comes from the

same production team – Tom

Hanks, Gary Goetzman and

Mark Herzog – behind The

Sixties, The Seventies, The

Eighties and The Nineties.

So the format’s familiar, it’s

just that things

are a little more

adjacent. It will get

on to the war, terror

and War on Terror pres-

ently, but its creators chose

to make its opening episode

about ... television. Its thesis

that we lived – or, rather, sat

comfortably in our living

rooms – through the birth of

a golden age for the medium

is hard to debate, but there

might be some arguments at

home about

its priorities.

The Sopranos

is anointed early

on and Curb Your Enthusi-

asm, Lost and The Office are

all examined. But Buffy the

Vampire Slayer and Battlestar

Galactica warrant only a

fleeting mention and the

marquee police procedurals

such as CSI are ignored. The

fight for the remote control is

without end.

ment

There’s a spin doctor, a body

piercer, a flight attendant, a

competitive bodybuilder and a

teacher. Over 10 weeks, they’ll

be challenged with cakes,

pastries, loaves and more

cakes.

If the experience in other

countries is anything to go by,

their efforts will move New

Zealand viewers to get baking

themselves. In Britain, sales of

baking gear and ingredients

rose sharply and membership

of the Women’s Institute

reached its highest level since

the 1970s. Truly, there is

everything to bake for.

The Great Kiwi Bake Off

will also be available on

TVNZ OnDemand, along

with behind-the-scenes show

The Great Kiwi Bake Off: An

Extra Slice. l

Star Trek,

Saturday and

Sunday.

The Best of the Week

Television

Good for a

Laugh!

WILL & GRACE

TVNZ 2, Wednesday,

8.30pm

The 2000s, Tu e s d ay.

The Great

Kiwi Bake O,

Tuesday.