Conman and victim face off in the first, and arguably funniest Winners & Losers episode. Legendary vagabond The Shiner (Coronation Street's Ivan Beavis) sets out to prove to his fellow swaggers that he can con alcohol from a dour publican (Ian Watkin). Co-director Ian Mune dons a fake eye; singer Tommy Adderley plays harmonica. The real life Shiner — Irishman Ned Slattery — was immortalised in a series of stories by John A Lee.  Although Lee claimed to have "once walked thirty miles side by side" with Slattery, he admitted that his Shiner stories were far from gospel truth. 

This high-rating 1999 documentary follows Gary McCormick to Ireland to investigate "those strands which tie" Kiwis to the Emerald Isle, from Dublin to the north, where his forebears originated in the 1870s. He meets locals, (musicians, tinkers, playwrights, scuba divers) and Kiwi expats, and talks The Troubles, Celtic Tigers, and why Irish emigrated to Aotearoa. Irish Connection was another collaboration between McCormick and director Bruce Morrison (Heartland, Raglan by the Sea). Companion title The London Connection saw McCormick examining Kiwi links to London. 

In 2009 Māori Television rebooted the Selwyn Toogood-hosted 70s game show, with presenters Pio Terei and Stacey Daniels Morrison giving contestants the immortal choice: the money or the bag? In this episode — complete with web players — the road show comes to Ngāpuhi territory: the Northland town of Waimamaku. The series is bilingual; but how ever you say it be careful what you choose: as Stacey says, “Instead of a TV you might get a can of V!” The show ends with Pio leading a ‘Pokarekare Ana’ singalong. “Too much!”

The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) was waged between Republicans and General Franco’s Nationalists. Thousands of volunteers from around the globe joined the fight, mostly on the Republican side. These excerpts from a 1976 documentary on the 20 or so Kiwi veterans of the conflict feature Joan Conway, who reflects on the death of her brother Griff Maclaurin fighting the fascists; Tom Spiller, another International Brigade soldier; socialist George Jackson, who discusses official apathy from the NZ Government, and Geoffrey Cox, who wrote a book about the war.

This acclaimed TV series heads to Aotearoa’s heartland, dispensing with narration or a city slicker presenter so that local personalities can represent themselves. The opening episode travels to the West Coast to meet the 'Coasters' who live there: from publicans, prospectors and bushmen, to sheila truck drivers, knitting drag queens and musical theatre directors. The Dominion Post’s Karl du Fresne wrote of the show: "Producer Melanie Rakena has done a superb job seeking out engaging characters with interesting stories and allowing them to tell them in their own way." 

This documentary confronts attitudes to alcohol consumption in NZ. Interviews with those who see major problems (including police, ambulance, youth workers, Family Planning and Women's Refuge) and those who don't (brewers, advertising agencies, sports groups and publicans) are interspersed with often-graphic footage of excessive alcohol use. The challenging depiction of the culture piqued Lion Breweries, who complained to the Broadcasting Standards Authority. The BSA rejected their assertion that the programme was salacious, but did agree it "lacked balance".