Icon in B Minor: a musical odyssey is the tale of two creative souls from different centuries with the same belief in spiritual transformation through their art. World-renowned New Zealand concert pianist Michael Houstoun is filmed on his pilgrimage to Germany, where composer Franz Liszt spent his last years. Houstoun is preparing for his performance of Liszt's monumental work, Sonata in B Minor. Produced and directed by Tainui Stephens, Icon in B Minor screened as part of the Work of Art series.

This full-length documentary looks at the grim reality of our fast-disappearing national symbol, and the efforts of people passionate about saving it. Remarkable facts about the evolutionary oddity are framed by the point that “the nation which laments that the moa was wiped out is committing the same crime against the kiwi”. The film raises the unsettling question: do we want the stoat or kiwi as our national icon? It also makes a compelling call to action to save a unique taonga, which could be extinct from the mainland in 20 years.

A jandal-shod journey through Kiwi pop culture. Kiwiana takes a light-hearted look at the fashion, art, architecture, attitudes, and icons (Buzzy Bees, Edmonds, Swanndri, Pavlova etc) we call our own. Directed by Shirley Horrocks, and shot by Leon Narbey, it featured personalities Gary McCormick, Ginette McDonald, John Clarke, Peter Jackson, and others. Screening at a time (1996) when New Zealanders were just beginning to appreciate these neglected everyday objects as ‘collectibles,' it rated highly, and inspired a sequel, Kiwi As.

In the days before 24-hour television, there was Goodnight Kiwi, a short animation from Sam Harvey that bade viewers goodnight once the day's broadcasting ended. Each night the plucky Kiwi shut up shop at the TV station, put out the milk, and caught the lift up to sleep in a satellite dish with The Cat. For a generation of kids, Goodnight Kiwi became a much-loved symbol of staying up well past your bedtime. Viewers never questioned why our nocturnal national icon was going to bed at night, or sharing a bed with a cat. The tune is an arrangement of Māori lullaby 'Hine e Hine'.

Australian diva Kylie Minogue is in New Zealand to promote her 1997 Impossible Princess album in this interview for the Queer Nation TV series. Filmed in an Auckland hotel room, Libby Magee asks the pint-sized gay icon why ‘the boys’ love her and whether she’s ever kissed a girl. Kylie talks about Royal Albert Hall collaborations with Nick Cave and Elton John, what it’s like to snog Jason Donovan, and needing to wear heels while performing at Sydney’s Mardi Gras: “Most of the Kylies here are about seven feet tall!”. Kylie finishes by coming out of the closet. 

Popular consumer affairs show Fair Go is one of New Zealand TV's longest-running series. In this episode reporter Phil Vine investigates Pure Air Ventilation: a "slippery snake" with a string of unhappy customers from Thames to Tokoroa. As burnt customer Belinda Muir says "I hate being taken for an idiot!" A showdown with the touters ensues. There's a classic spoof from the Fair Go archives, looking at "lawn aerator sandals" and featuring Helen Clark, Peter Dunne, Ed Hillary and Spiderman endorsing the jandals-meets-crampons product.   Contact Fair Go here.

New Zealand's beloved Goodnight Kiwi has been through a number of incarnations since debuting on South Pacific Television (later TV2) in the mid 1970s. TVNZ, aware that many Kiwis still held "a tremendous affection" for the kiwi and his cat, commissioned three animated spots to mark the 2008 Christmas holiday season. Auckland animator Tim Hunt was given the job of updating the originals while still retaining the hand-drawn, 2D look of the originals. Of the three clips, the one above most closely follows the original Goodnight Kiwi sign off, which ran for over a decade. 

In this documentary Cherie James pays tribute to New Zealand’s best-loved entertainer, telling Billy T James story from a daughter’s perspective. Performers who worked with Billy in his showband The Maori Volcanics also share their memories, as do family members who reminisce about Billy's early life growing up in the Waikato. Cherie provides her perspective on the well-publicised arguments that occurred after his death and why it was so important for Billy to be buried beside his mother on the sacred Taupiri mountain overlooking Huntly.

Following the conquest of Mt. Everest, Sir Edmund Hillary, accompanied by fellow New Zealand climber George Lowe, arrives in Auckland and alights from a flying boat to a hero's welcome from a proud Kiwi public. After a further welcome in his home town, Papakura, Sir Edmund is interviewed by his brother Rex. In this NFU newsreel he muses about the last challenging step (soon to be named ‘Hillary's Step') and the suitability of the Southern Alps as preparation for, to paraphrase Sir Ed, knocking the bastard off.

Ask Country Calendar viewers which shows they remember and inevitably the answer is "the spoofs" — satirical episodes that screened unannounced. Sometimes there was outrage but mostly the public enjoyed having the wool pulled over their eyes. Created by producer Tony Trotter and Bogor cartoonist Burton Silver, the first (in late 1977) was the fencing wire-playing farmer and his "rural music". This special episode collects the best of the spoofs, from the infamous radio-controlled dog, to the gay couple who ran a "stress-free" flock, and more malarkey besides.