Can comedy be a bit shit and really quite good, all at the same time? Massey University Media Studies lecturer Nicholas Holm thinks so. Holm argues that New Zealand's most successful comedies often "consciously and lovingly" flirt with their own failure. Kiwi comedy, he says, makes good use of "rough edges, questionable content and disarmingly odd behaviour". Holm has come up with an impressive list of titles to demonstrate his point. Here he offers his take on what makes New Zealand comedy distinctive(ly shit).