58 LISTENER FEBRUARY 29 2020
THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT
THE ARTIST AS
A YOUNG MAN:
As Taika Wai-
titi bestrides the
screen entertain-
ment industry
like an ironic
colossus, perhaps
we should recall
from whence
he came. Which
was, according to a 2002 episode of hip arts
show The Living Room preserved by NZ On
Screen, the Flight of the Conchords’ fictional
manager. Yes, before Rhys Darby was the hap-
less Murray, Taika was the ambitious, controlling
Larry Pritchard, the man with the plan to take
the Conchords all the way to Vegas. The two-
part story follows the duo from Wellington to
the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, creating parts of
the Conchords’ legend as it goes. It’s an insight
into the genesis of some of our favourite jokes- and it emphasises what a gem of a show The
Living Room was. tinyurl.com/NZLCONLR
CAUGHT ON VIDEO: In the age of multi-channel
TV and the internet, vintage television never
really goes away. But Media Burn Archive
targets a particular part of the world’s video
heritage – the years from the late 60s to the
80s, when portable video equipment found its
way into the hands of individuals. It’s a home for
clips from forgotten public-access cable shows,
celebrities before they were famous and inde-
pendent documentaries. tinyurl.com/NZLMediaBurnVeronica Mars, Sunday.in the day when Veronica
Mars was the coolest outsider
at Neptune High School, but
this eight-episode revival,
which was released on Hulu
last year, has a pretty decent
crack. Veronica is now a
private investigator with her
dad (Enrico Colantoni) and
gets pulled into investigating
a bombing campaign against
the spring breakers who
blight the town during the
holiday season. Who is really
behind the bombs, and what
has conspiracy theorist Penn
(Patton Oswalt) got to do with
it? Box Sets screens the whole
season from tonight.House of Cards (Jones!, Sky
008, 8.40pm). No, not the
American remake – the British
series co-written by Andrew
Davies based on the books
by former Conservative Party
politician Michael Dobbs.
It is set after the resignation
of Margaret Thatcher and
was broadcast in the UK,
coincidentally, two days
before the Conservative Party
leadership election in 1990.
Television viewers got Francis
Urquhart; the Tories got John
Major. Jones! is following
House of Cards with another
British classic from the
90s – Cracker.Onlineby RUSSELL BROWN
Catch of the Week
Of all the things that might
have been predicted when
hearing problems forced
Brian Johnson to retire as the
frontman of AC/DC, “success-
ful documentary series host”
probably isn’t one.
Yet, here he is with a second
season of Brian Johnson: A Life
on the Road (Prime, Sunday,
8.30pm), in which he againwanders the globe inter-
viewing his rock star mates.
It works, perhaps, because
although these stars may
have been interviewed into
the ground over decades,
the chance to kick back and
share a few yarns with a fellow
traveller is a different thing
altogether.
First up from the newDocumentariesby RUSSELL BROWN
SVOD HIGHLIGHT: What’s
good in subscription video
on demand. Outlander, the
thinking woman’s time-
travelling bodice-ripper,
is back for a fifth season
on Lightbox. Claire and
Jamie have made their
way to America and
wedded bliss, but the
Revolutionary War looms
and Jamie will once again have to walk between
two fires ...Outlander