Performance group The Front Lawn (Don McGlashan, Harry Sinclair, and later arrival Jennifer Ward-Lealand) stretched all of their prolific talents for their final, 24 minute short film. After he whistles a certain tune, Ben (McGlashan) finds that his partner Linda (Ward-Lealand) no longer seems to be conscious. Then things get stranger: Linda catches up with an old lover (Sinclair) and faces a life-changing dilemma, while her body — awol with a tennis player on Tamaki Drive — has other plans. The surreal romance was made for TVNZ. It won Best Short at the 1990 NZ Screen Awards.

In this Kaleidoscope report, Lorna Hope profiles poet, novelist and critic CK Stead as he resigns from his position as a Professor of English at Auckland University to write full time. Stead is filmed teaching, writing (at his Karekare bach), at home in Parnell, and at Frank Sargeson’s Takapuna house. He discusses his academic career, family life, walking for inspiration, and how he began writing as a teen. He also mentions his novel Smith’s Dream (adapted into 1977 feature film Sleeping Dogs), and how its themes are echoed in the 1981 Springbok Tour protests, where Stead was arrested. 

A look at the world of body piercing, from the everyday to the extreme. In the documentary an expert suggests that people pierce their bodies for three reasons: for aesthetics, for their ego, or to enhance their sexuality. A range of views about piercing are expressed, from those who love it to those who find it ugly or intimidating. Watch for Dean (who clearly loves his piercings) who bungy jumps with large meat hooks piercing the skin on his back. Piercing was another topic-based documentary made for TV3's Inside New Zealand series.

Tattoo explores the love-hate relationship many people have with this form of permanent body art. Stories range from those who are about to get a tattoo and those who are living with theirs, to those who want their tattoos removed altogether. The doco explores the devil-may-care approach of a tattoo virgin, as well as the quiet reflection of a tattoo veteran going through the long and painful removal process. Tattoo played in TV3's Inside New Zealand series.

In this first episode of the six part comedy drama, a suburban Mum (Jodie Dorday from movie Via Satellite) reaches the end of her tether with her washed-up rock singer husband Brian (Shane Cortese), and he comes to the end of his life — atop a broken bong. After her three closest friends convince her she’ll face a murder rap, Jodie makes a fateful decision to dispose of the body. The show marked a move into drama for reality TV supremos Eyeworks Touchdown. "Think Sex and the City meets Desperate Housewives in an Outrageous Fortune kind of way." wrote Listener critic Diana Wichtel.

Summertime daylight saving was reintroduced in New Zealand on a trial basis in 1974, for the first time since 1941. In this NZBC clip newsreader Bill Toft announces that clocks will be put forward one hour on 3 November. Despite concerns — dairy farmers fretting about having to rise in the dark all year; worries about effects on young body clocks, chooks' egg-laying and carpet fade —  the change became permanent in 1975. Citing benefits to recreation and tourism, the Government has since extended the daylight saving period twice, lastly in 2007.

In this episode of her TV3 series for pre-schoolers, Suzy Cato uses songs, stories, animations and puppets to focus on a topic that will soon loom large for her audience — going to school. Suzy explores the mysteries of the schoolbag with its lunchbox and pencil case; and she tells a story about her own first day at school. A blackboard is used to name parts of the human body in English and Māori; and there are field inserts that take a bilingual look at different colours, and join a family preparing a picnic which they then take to the beach.   

Marching girls and boys, Camp Mother and Camp Leader and synchronised lawnmowers dance down Auckland’s Ponsonby Road in a celebration of gay pride. The theme of this edition of the (nearly) annual 90s street parade was Age of Aquarius, fitting given the heavy rain. The parade went ahead thanks to sponsorship from Metro magazine, after controversy when the City Promotions Committee declined the request for funding. The parade attracted 70 floats, and up to 200,000 spectators. Among those watching are Julian Clary and Shona Laing, who is one of the judges.

This 2001 Mercury Lane episode is based around pieces on author Maurice Shadbolt, and OMC producer Alan Jansson. With Shadbolt ailing from Alzheimer’s, Michelle Bracey surveys his life as an “unauthorised author” (Shadbolt would die in 2004). Next Colin Hogg reveals Jansson as the “invisible pop star” behind OMC hit ‘How Bizarre’ and more. The show is bookended by readings from Kiwi poets: Hone Tuwhare riffs on Miles Davis, Fleur Adcock reads the saucy Bed and Breakfast, and Alistair Te Ariki Campbell mourns a brother who fought for the Māori Battalion.

Miranda, Gordon, Roz and Sharon deal with the life-threatening realities of obesity. Nominated for Best Documentary at the 2002 NZ Television Awards, Big explores their daily routines and difficult relationship with their size. Miranda is severely overweight and can't dress or wash without help; Roz is upfront about her bingeing and its origins in low self-esteem; Gordon undergoes lap band surgery in the hope of curing his tendency to retain weight. Big’s most poignant moments come from Miranda and Roz’s determination not to let their struggles affect their children’s well-being.