Mikey Havoc and Newsboy (Jeremy Wells) take a typically sideways glance at the 2002 general election in this one-off special, broadcast live from inside "a giant stainless steel question mark on the neutral electorate of Rangitoto Island." In case you hadn't noticed (Havoc presents in Paul Frank pyjamas), the analysis is more satirical than factual, and along the way they find time to put the boot into Auckland's then-mayor John Banks, learn parliamentary etiquette from Jonathan Hunt and compliment Don Brash on his six-cylinder Ford.

The TVNZ Leaders Debate for the 2002 General Election attracted controversy for its use of an onscreen graph, which tracked the response of 100 undecided voters in real time. There was concern that the device – aka 'The Worm', first launched in 1996 – would put a focus on populism and TV performance over policy. This post-debate analysis, with broadcaster Peter Williams hosting a panel of political commentators, includes a behind the scenes look at The Worm. Peter Dunne’s later success in the 2002 election was credited in part to his mastery of the line's rises and dips.

Paul Holmes presents this third TVNZ Leaders Debate before the 2002 General Election. Prime Minister Helen Clark (Labour) talks of "keeping a good job going", while challenger Bill English (National) pitches that Kiwis "deserve better". After a campaign featuring GE corn and a controversial worm (used in the first debate), this final discussion before the election features the leaders of the two main parties arguing over "the issues that matter" (health, education, taxes, MMP machinations) in front of a half-Labour, half-National audience at Avalon's 'TVNZ election centre'. 

In this one-off documentary Te Radar takes his roving reporter skills to Takaka, and immerses himself in the groovy world of The Gathering. The New Year's dance music festival ran from 1996 to 2002. Radar proves the master of the quote, whether chatting to 'Lords of the Ping', electronic act Pitch Black or avoiding immolation from fire poi enthusiasts ("who doesn't love a fire poi", he says grimly). Watch out for Black Seed Bret McKenzie, laidback DJ star John Digweed and the earnest 'Jesus Food' crew, whose free dosh proves a bit too popular for rival food stalls.

This 2003 documentary examines what drove two of New Zealand’s most internationally successful golfers. Future 2005 US Open champion Michael Campbell and Phillip Tataurangi look back on their careers to date, and the part played by their Māori ancestry. Their natural talents are set against the hard work, supportive whānau and determination required to succeed on golf’s biggest stages: fro both being part of the Kiwi team that won the Eisenhower Trophy in 1992 to success as professionals on PGA and European Tours. Campbell retired in 2015.

In this tribute to veteran broadcaster Angela D'Audney — broadcast soon after her death in 2002 — colleagues and friends recall her tenacity and confidence. After nearly 40 years working in television, D'Audney earned the title of New Zealand's "first lady of broadcasting". D'Audney was 18 when she joined the NZ Broadcasting Corporation as an announcer in 1962; she went onto become one of the country's first female TV newsreaders. She recalls losing jobs, the thrill of reading live news and the scandal she faced when she appeared topless in 1982 TV drama The Venus Touch. 

It was third time lucky for twice-engaged Nick (Karl Burnett) and Waverley (Claire Chitham) to finally make it to the altar. Since first getting together in 1994, viewers had followed Nick (who joined Shortland Street on episode two) and Waverley through sickness and health, estrangement, and even a kidnapping during a previous marriage attempt. Their union was dubbed the TV wedding of 2002. The nuptials saw the return of Marj (Elizabeth McRae) and Jenny Harrison (Maggie Harper). In May 2017 the couple were set to return from Taranaki, for Shortland's 25th anniversary.

Hokonui Todd is a portrait of African statesman Sir Garfield Todd (1908 - 2002). Todd was an outspoken supporter of black right to self determination in Rhodesia (which became Zimbabwe in 1980, after a bloody civil war). Here Todd and wife Gracie reflect on their lives: from their "egalitarian" New Zealand upbringing; their arrival in Rhodesia as missionary farmers; Todd's time as Prime Minister; being imprisoned by Ian Smith's racist white regime (along with daughter Judith); to emerging as a "conscience of the country" burdened with postcolonial troubles.

On the 22 December 1995 episode of Shortland Street, a truck ploughed into the clinic’s reception, causing carnage. The first excerpt is taken from the follow-up episode, which screened on Christmas Day. Nurse Carmen (Theresa Healey), having apparently only received minor bruising, suddenly collapses. The second clip, from the next instalment, sees her wheeled into hospital — shortly before she died from a brain haemorrhage, and delivered a whopper of a soap shock. In 2002 longtime Shortland scribe Steven Zanoski named the truck crash among his favourite Street stories. 

This 2002 documentary profile of the late Ngāti Porou master carver and 2013 Arts Foundation Icon award winner Pakariki Harrison won that year’s Best Māori Language Programme at the TV Guide NZ Television Awards. The documentary follows Harrison, the eldest of 21 children from Ruatoria, who honed his practice while still a student at Te Aute College in Hawke’s Bay and who left a legacy as one of the finest tohunga whakairo (expert carvers) of his generation. It also examines the unique chisels used by the carver, and their specific uses and patterns.