Upcoming programmes and films not to miss on TVNZ heartland…

Hidden in the Numbers, Sunday January 29th, 7:30pm

Three-part series Hidden In The Numbers that looks at what statistics tell us about ourselves. Presented by comedian Te Radar, the series uses the NZ Census and other statistical information to document the changing face of New Zealand culture and life, and reveals the often unseen patterns that have shaped our society and made us who we are today.

Hidden In The Numbers also looks back at past statistics and examines the ways we have changed – both as individuals and as a nation. It looks at where we live; where we work; what we do with our spare time; how much money we have; how long we have to work to buy bread, are we getting richer or poorer, is it easier or harder to make ends meet than it used to be, what we buy; what we eat, how much we drink; what’s happening to our bodies our families, kids, marriage and divorce – they are all covered.

Location, Location, Location, Sunday January 29th, 8:30pm

Shot round the North Island, this series sees the extremes of human behaviour as the endurance of buyers and sellers are put to the test in the property market. Whether it’s the young couple making the big commitment and buying their first home together, or the classic investor looking for a do-up property on which to make a buck, the series sees a range of suburbs and house prices and situations you can relate to.

On tonight’s episode, Oliver looks a lot like other four-year-old kids.  The difference is he has autism, which seriously limits the way he interacts with the world. Gareth and Amanda know that intensive one-on-one therapy at this early stage could have a big impact on Oliver’s Future. Early therapy can improve his outlook and for that Amanda and Gareth have to pay.  The best option is to sell the house, the house that Amanda fell in love with at first sight

Street Legal, Wednesday February 1st 10pm

Jay Laga’aia is David Silesi, the maverick lawyer who is always on the side of the underdog, in Street Legal, the fast-paced, high-action drama series filmed entirely in New Zealand.

David Silesi and his colleagues use unorthodox methods of getting at the truth to see justice done for their clients but often their personal lives turn out to be more dramatic as the stresses and strains of living life on the legal edge take their toll.

In this series, David and Joni’s law firm, Wyeth & Associates, is in trouble. The repo man starts taking the furniture. The overdraft has run over its limit. Joni turns to Adie for a loan to keep afloat, but there are conditions. Lack of cashflow is a continual worry for Joni, a concern not helped by David’s tendency to spend lots of time on non-paying cases.

Street Legal co-stars Katherine Kennard as David Silesi’s law partner (and former love Joni Collins) and Charles Mesure as his nemesis Detective Senior Sergeant Kees Van Dam. It also stars Louise Wallace, Dwayne Cameron, Ingrid Park, Manu Bennett, Ben Baker, and Cal Wilson.

Eagle Vs Shark, Friday February 3rd 7:30pm

Lily (Loren Horsley) crashes Jarrod’s (Jemaine Clement, The Flight of the Conchords) party, ends up in his home town and lands a leading role in his hell bent plan to beat up an old high school bully. They tackle estranged family and stranger friends, only to find the real foe may be in the mirror.

Waititi’s first feature film, Eagle Vs Shark delivers a poignant social punch about facing up to who you really are. It is about accepting the good, the bad and the honestly awful – and when that happens everything can change.

TVNZ has announced its new season of programming. The line-up includes all the biggest returning series as well as local dramas and international blockbuster movies.

Top picks for TV1 include a brand news series of Absolutely Fabulous and our own Sam Neill starring in a new drama called Alcatraz revolving around America’s most infamous prison, as well as more stories from Beyond the Darklands and Big Fat Gypsy Weddings.

New shows for TV2 include 2 Broke Girls and Chelsea Straight Up starring Laura Prepon from That 70s Show, as well as returning series such as American Idol and Go Girls.

For the full line-up visit the TVNZ website here.

Below is a listing of the top ten programmes on NZTV, recorded as of the 25th September 2011 via Nielsen TV Audience Measurement.

The top programme being watched is still One news TV ONE, with a mixture of New Zealand drama and current affairs in the other top spots and RWC coverage making it into the top 10.

To watch some of these programmes please follow this link to the TVNZ website.

Below is a listing of the top ten programmes on NZTV, recorded as of the 18th July 2011 via Nielsen TV Audience Measurement.

The top programme being watched is Shortland Street, with News programmes dominating the remainder, and interestingly The Food Truck is currently rating fourth – a reality TV programme looking at the challenge of making fast food healthy.To watch some of these programmes please follow this link to the TVNZ website.

TVNZ is has announced its plans for its Rugby World Cup coverage.

The state broadcaster announced its commentary, presenting and news team today and they are clearly nicely placed to win the ratings war that is about to explode around the tournament.

With Sky Television, Maori Television and TV3 all having rights to the tournament the battle for the television audience will come down to points of difference.

Today’s announcement included:

• All Blacks great Jeff Wilson will be the broadcaster’s expert comments man.
• The award winning sports journalist Andrew Saville will be the lead commentator.
• Martin Devlin will front the World Cup coverage
• A new panel based show, Rugby World Cup 2011 – Tonight will air every match night.

“We needed to approach the Rugby World Cup with a fresh presentation,” TVNZ’s General Manager of Sport, Murray Needham said.

“With these key people on board I am anticipating that we will deliver an event which will be both informative and entertaining.”

Simon Dallow will be a regular guest on Rugby World Cup 2011- Tonight which will be hosted by Devlin and he’s excited by the groundwork put in by TVNZ’s executives.

“When New Zealand bid for the tournament they talked about a stadium of four million people,” he said. “Well, with the resources that TVNZ has, we will be able to take the Rugby World Cup to those four million. It’s hugely exciting for everyone involved.”

TVNZ 7’s launches a new local show – Raising Children In New Zealand – about parenting children from birth to age three.

The ground-breaking series is based on research that confirms the crucial importance of the first three years, will provide a ‘one-stop-shop’ for Kiwi parents and caregivers by combining the knowledge and expertise of New Zealand’s key child-focused agencies.

Raising Children in New Zealand is a joint initiative between Barnardos, Plunket, SKIP (the Family and Community Services arm of The Ministry of Social Development), TVNZ 7 and the Lion Foundation. The 10-part half hour series, as well as more than 40 short episodes, will provide a valuable source of practical information covering everything from breastfeeding, postnatal distress and how becoming a parent changes your life, to toilet training, coping with ear infections, parenting styles and encouraging good behaviour.

A free DVD of the series will also be distributed to all new parents through Plunket and Barnardos and episodes will be available to view online on TVNZ Ondemand and on a new Raising Children website which will provide additional information and links to other useful websites.

Featuring 18 core families, each of the 10 half-hour episodes will also be fronted by a well-known New Zealander and will focus on a particular age and stage of the first three years. These celebrity parents include actress Monique Bree (Kirby on Go Girls), sports presenter and former Silver Ferns’ captain Bernice Mene, All Black Cory Jane, TV presenter Sonia Gray and actor Kiel McNaughton (Scotty on Shortland Street).

Raising Children is the brainchild of producer Jude Dobson, who has been producing parenting TV shows for the past nine years. Inspiration came from an Australian resource which has been available to Australian parents since 2007.

“There has been a real need in New Zealand for a show like this,” says Barnardos Chief Executive, Murray Edridge. “It puts parenting in the spotlight and highlights what a hugely important job raising children is.

“The first three years last forever. Getting it right is hugely important – for our children, for families and for society in general,” he says.

TVNZ Kidzone24 will feature trusted educational and inspiring content for pre-school children in an advertising-free environment. TVNZ Kidzone24 will air 24 hours a day on the SKY platform from 1 May.

Chief Executive Rick Ellis is delighted that SKY has made it possible for TVNZ to extend the popular Kidzone brand beyond the two hours that are available on public service channel TVNZ 7.

“Kidzone has been an increasingly popular collection of programming, providing educational and entertaining content for young New Zealanders, with a significant amount of locally produced programming.

“It is fantastic that we are now able to offer a commercially-viable, expanded Kidzone channel, on the SKY platform.”

The TVNZ Kidzone24 schedule features a strong focus on local programming including existing favourites like Kidzone with Kayne which features p resenter Kayne Peters and offers opportunities for young viewers to think and learn about the world around them. Other local shows include Buzzy Bee and Friends , hilarious sketch-comedy show The Giggles and f rom the creative minds of the Academy Award-winning Weta Workshop, The Wot Wots .

TVNZ Kidzone24 will also feature exciting new content including Guess with Jess (the popular cat from Postman Pat) which will allow children to learn about science and nature and Babar And The Adventures of Badou – a show centred around Babar’s eight year old grandson, Badou and speaks to the importance of diversity, acceptance and strong family values.

The channel will be located on SKY Channel 046, within the stable of family channels and will be available as part of the SKY Basic Digital Package. Select content will also be available on iSKY.

For more information please follow this link

Below is a listing of the top ten programmes on NZ TV, recorded as of the 14th of January 2011 via Nielsen TV Audience Measurement.

The antics, drama and drug busts of Border Security seem to be proving popular , as Border Security is holding the top spot this week. And yet again reality TV shows are dominating the ratings. What has happened to Shortland Street? Shortland Street normally makes a good appearance in the top ten, because of a strong fan base. They may need to step up their game, as they are on a slippery slope down in popularity.

To watch some of these programmes please follow this link to the TVNZ website.

1  Border Security TVOne

2  One News TVOne

3  Piha Rescue TVOne

4  Fair Go TVOne

5  Animal Rescue TVOne

6  Islands of Britain TVOne

7  Close Up TVOne

8  Two and a Half Men TV2

9  Shortland Street TV2

10  Packed to the Rafters TVOne

Piha Rescue Lifeguards

Below is a listing of the top ten programmes on NZTV, recorded as of the 29th of January 2011 via Nielsen TV Audience Measurement.

The top programme being watched is still One news TV ONE, and yet again reality TV shows are dominating the ratings. One programme to watch out for is Shortland Street which returns to TV 2 on the 17th of January. With a strong fan base, and dramatic story line finish last year. It is sure to appear high in the top ten rating programmes on NZTV.

To watch some of these programmes please follow this link to the TVNZ website.

Sensing Murder Psychic's Kelvin Cruickshank, Sue Nicholson and Deb Webber

Fans of the popular show Sensing Murder want it back on their screens and apparently there has been interest from the other side as well.

Fans of hit show Sensing Murder want it back on television – and apparently so do the dead people who star in it is a growing movement to bring the show back to TV2 after an online petition gained huge support in just a few days.

Sensing Murder pulled in about 200,000 viewers an episode over five series and twice won best reality series at the Qantas Media Awards.

It featured Kelvin Cruickshank, Sue Nicholson and Deb Webber visiting the scenes of violent deaths and describing visions they claimed to be experiencing.

Nicholson and Webber have already signalled their support for a return on a Facebook page encouraging people to sign the petition and lobby TVNZ.

Nicholson said there was also interest from the “other side” and one victim had spoken to her about being involved.

“She said to me ‘I’ve been on telly. I always wanted to be on telly’.”

Creator David Baldock said he was encouraged to hear Facebook group “Bring Back Sensing Murder” had picked up more than 1000 members in 24 hours.

“Sensing Murder isn’t dead. It’s just resting,” he said.

Baldock said he owned the rights to the show in New Zealand and had been in discussions with TVNZ.

The broadcaster had not said “no” to a sixth series but told him he would need to find a sponsor. Previously TVNZ had funded the show.

A TVNZ spokeswoman said: “There are no plans currently on the table for a further series. We don’t have an option on the show.”

Petition organiser Craig Tristram has defended the psychics after a sceptic offered them $100,000 if they could prove they talked to the dead.

He said murder convictions would be gained on the evidence of psychics if police forces across the globe stopped feeling silly about accepting their evidence.

For the full listing of this story please follow this link