This collection celebrates Kiwi comedy on TV: the caricatures, piss-takes, and sitcoms that have cracked us up, and pulled the wool over our eyes for over five decades. From turkeys in gumboots and Fred Dagg, to Billy T, bro'Town and Jaquie Brown. As Diana Wichtel reflects, watching the evolution of native telly laughs is, "a rich and ridiculous, if often painful, pleasure." 

Before X Factor there was New Faces, before Masterchef ... Graham Kerr, before Country Calendar there was ... er, Country Calendar. This collection picks the screen gems from the decade that gave Kiwi pop culture, "miniskirts, teenagers — and television." Peter Sinclair, Sandy Edmonds, Howard Morrison, and Ray Columbus star. Do your mod's nod and C'mon! 

The Big Art Trip was a TVNZ arts series that took the form of a road trip around New Zealand visiting artists in their homes or studios. The series featured two presenters — design writer and art historian Douglas Lloyd Jenkins teamed with screenwriter Nick Ward in the first series, and with musician Fiona McDonald in the second. Ward and McDonald were very much the neophytes — the everyperson asking questions on behalf of the audience that allowed Lloyd Jenkins to background, contextualize and explain what was being seen, heard and experienced.   

Kicking off in an inner city laundromat, this K' Rd Story travels strange places indeed. An unassuming man is going about the business of getting some clothes washed, when he realises that his clothes have disappeared mid cycle. Opening the washing machine, surprised by what he sees, he climbs in... Grant Lahood's pedigree in quirky, low or no dialogue short films dates back to the classic Snail's Pace in 1989. Peter Tait, who stars, played the hunter in Lahood's short The Singing Trophy — which scored an award at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival.

A woman running an Auckland laundromat finds herself accosted by a drug addict. A frustrated customer struggles with a machine that is out of order and ruining her expensive clothes. Somewhere across the city police are on their way to a drug bust. However all is not what it seems on Karangahape Road, and the consequences look to be life altering. The three tales in this film were made as part of NZ On Air funded K’ Rd Stories, a collection of short films which all tell stories set around Auckland’s most legendary, notorious, and arguably most beloved street.

Artist Tanja Thompson, aka Misery, joins her Mum Rochelle to take a magical tour of Tanja's life — from childhood and time as a graffiti artist, to the rise of her art, fashion and toy empire. In the second excerpt, Misery leaves her boutique next to Illicit Clothing in K' Road, and visits the Taipei Toy Festival to unveil her 3D characters. She also shows us animated footage inspired by them. Mark Albiston made the documentary for arts slot Artsville, after featuring Misery on his own arts show The Living Room. It won Best Arts/Festival Documentary award at the 2006 Qantas TV awards.

Douglas Lloyd Jenkins and Fiona McDonald hit the Auckland area for this leg of their Big Art Trip. They meet up with Black Grace artistic director Neil Ieremia, who is running a mentoring programme for young dancers; sculptor/painter Roger Mortimer, who is transforming bland modern day business letters into replicas of beautiful old documents; sculptor Warren Viscoe, who is busy at a wood symposium, fashion designer Kate Sylvester, at her High Street boutique; and abstract painter Judy Millar, at work in her studio.  

Joan Butland forged her father’s signature to join the Women’s Land Service. Her parents had already stopped her from becoming a nurse, so nothing was going to get in her way this time. Coming from a farm, her transition to the service was easy. But at just 17, her slight frame raised eyebrows among burly farmers, especially when it came to harnessing horses and driving four-horse teams. Butland shows pride in her home front contribution to World War ll in this interview, although in common with other former Land Girls it was only formally recognised in 2015.

Brought to you from "the Samoan Embassy" (in reality the Naked Samoans' motel room) this episode of The Living Room follows the comedic theatre troupe during their time at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Then it retreats to the wild west coast of the South Island, where acclaimed cinematographer Alun Bollinger reflects on his diverse life and career. Also featured is the first 'proper' exhibition of Illicit artists on K' Road (featuring the late Martin Edmond), and a visit to small town Mangaweka, setting for Michael Reihana's surrealist short film Little Gold Cowboy. 

Planning and preparing dinner becomes a sweaty ordeal in the second episode of reality show/'social experiment', Pioneer House. The family have moved into 2 Elgin St and are dealing with the hands-on chores involved in running a typical lower middle class household in 1900. The summer heat makes a trip to the shops clad in corsets and petticoats "like running a marathon", and 17 year old Anneke feels stifled by the restrictions placed on young women of the day. On the plus side, Michael appreciates the extra 'family time' this new/old life is giving him.