Kiwi actor Rose McIver returns to the fictional kingdom of Aldovia for the third instalment of A Christmas Prince. This year's movie sees the arrival of a royal baby. Photo / Cos Aelenei
Kiwi actor Rose McIver returns to the fictional kingdom of Aldovia for the third instalment of A Christmas Prince. This year's movie sees the arrival of a royal baby. Photo / Cos Aelenei
Opinion by Anna Murray
Writes about television for the New Zealand Herald.
There's plenty to get excited about with Christmas just around the corner — the food, the drink, the looming summer holidays. Then, of course, there's the hours upon hours of festive TV at our fingertips. It's just not Christmas without watching some terrible yuletide special, after all.
So crackopen the nearest box of assorted chocolates and get thee to the couch, because this year's Christmas TV has a little something for everyone.
I'm sure my peasant head will be cut off for writing this, but the Queen's traditional Christmas Day message is usually an absolute snooze fest. Usually.
But not this year. If nothing else, we should all be tuning in on Christmas Day just to see how the Queen's speech writers address the small matter of her son's train wreck interview with the BBC last month.
The Christmas specials
New Zealand, you are positively spoilt for choice when it comes to the Christmas special this year.
For a start, two of TVNZ's biggest local properties will be dipping their toes into a festive episode. The Great Kiwi Bake Off will be getting the celebrity treatment on December 23, while Wellington Paranormal is also celebrating Christmas in their signature droll fashion — their Police Navidad looks set to become an instant classic.
Other popular shows getting the Christmas treatment include The Chase and Michael McIntyre's Big Show, while Corries of Christmas Past promises to revisit all the grim things that have happened to the people of Weatherfield on Christmas Day over the years.
But the Christmas special I'm really hanging out for is the return of Gavin & Stacey — for one night only — on Boxing Day. Watching Uncle Bryn cook Christmas dinner for everyone sounds well lush.
The Great Kiwi Bake Off will be getting the celebrity treatment on December 23. Photo / Supplied
The cheesy movies
When it comes to Christmas flicks, the more random and mindless, the better, I reckon. And I'm in luck, judging by the movie line-ups for 2019.
Sky's Christmas movies pop-up channel has an avalanche of festive titles this year (with a few of them also making an appearance on Neon). My picks of the bunch, based purely on their title, are Cancel Christmas, I'll Be Next Door For Christmas, and Nativity 2: Danger In The Manger.
Netflix has its usual slew of Christmas movies, too, although the ones on my radar will be The Knight Before Christmas, where a medieval knight time travels to the present day and meets a teacher who's "disillusioned in love", and A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby, which is Kiwi actor Rose McIver's third visit to the fictional kingdom of Aldovia.
After three movies featuring the Aldovian royal couple falling in love, getting married and now having a baby, I personally can't wait to see where the Christmas Prince saga will take us next year.
My money is on either A Christmas Prince: The Royal Divorce or A Christmas Prince: The Tabloid Injunction.
The high brow telly
If you can't stomach any more corny TV over Christmas and fancy being vaguely terrified instead, the BBC's spin on Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is coming to SoHo and Neon. Starring Guy Pearce as Ebenezer Scrooge, it's definitely not one for the younger members of the household.
But luckily, there's no shortage of kid-friendly Christmas viewing (unless your kids just want to watch the same Ice Age Christmas DVD — how quaint! — over and over again like mine).
Lightbox's line-up this year includes Once Upon A Sesame Street Christmas and The Wiggles' Wiggly Wiggly Christmas, while Nickelodeon is promising a marathon of Spongebob Squarepants Christmas episodes on December 21.
Netflix also has Klaus, a beautiful-looking take on the origins of Santa Claus. It's definitely on my list for the kids if I can hide that Ice Age Christmas DVD.
Wellington Paranormal's Christmas special, Police Navidad, looks set to become an instant classic. Photo / Supplied
The completely random
Of course, Christmas is the time of year when networks can get away with delivering shows that have the most tenuous of connections to the festive period.
Falling into that category this year is Police Ten 7: Christmas Special, with this Kiwi favourite looking back at "the hilarious, the shocking and the down-right most questionable cases of the year". Very festive.
But that still looks tame compared to E!'s Botched Holiday Special starting on Boxing Day. Because nothing says Christmas like extreme plastic surgery gone wrong, I say. Enjoy!
