KEY POINTS:
Strangely enough, as a woman, I'm often able to resist the exhortations of the testosterone-laden Moon TV Network (Wednesdays, 10.30pm) to "pull up a chair". But something got me watching the latest series. It must have been the full moon.
As its title suggests, the appeal of the
sketch comedy show waxes and wanes according to how puerile its humour is. Its send-ups can be hilarious deflations of the precious and the fraudulent or veer too much towards the gross-out end of the spectrum.
Last week's send-up of the Coast-to-Coast race was highly appreciated by someone who has spent too much time bailed up by endorphin-addicts banging on about their bike specs, training and nutrition. It was high time multi-sport events, which have turned Kiwis into a nation of uberfit, crashing bores, was given a serve.
Leigh Hart and Matai Johnson's contribution to the race, a pub crawl over the Southern Alps, was as refreshing a bit of Kiwi comedy as I've seen in a while. Their kayak section, towed behind the support vehicle along the road, was, literally, a scorcher. Less successful was the go at Target-style hidden camera shows, Consumer Watch. With the tradesmen of the nation so inventive in their furtive pursuits, the real thing simply cannot be improved on for shock value and embarrassment.
Naan Doctors, with its mix of medical clinic and Indian restaurant, is a nicely surreal spoof on Shortland Street. The best thing are the diagnoses, such as this to the wheezing patient: "Your chest x-ray has just come back, it appears you've got wees in your lungs." Yes, incredibly stupid but funny.
It's the Speedo Cops that have really made the show a winner, and the blokes are milking it. Last night we even got a double helping. The breathalyser skit was predictable but saved by such silly lines as, "Will you please pull over, sir. We're going to cone you off". Tailormade for those of us who have always suspected the traffic cops have an unnatural love for the orange road cone. And the ridiculous concept of cops in full police uniform on the top half combined with budgie-smugglers on the bottom is a great gag in itself. The mucking around with Tasers and frozen chickens is just the icing on the top.
The Late Night Big Breakfast show is always good value too, for its send-ups of the worst excesses of morning filler telly, with the constant sponsorship, infomercials for intimate products - a field day for the blokes, of course - and inanity of content. Although once the blokes got started on breast feeding, you knew it wasn't going to be pretty.
Reality TV star the "Hamsterman from Amsterdam" is a character of pure genius; last night's riff on selling bags of pet food - "How long do you expect your pet to live? - took the bungling salesman act to new levels.
You would not expect Moon TV to have much in common with the girly Sex and the City, but one of the highlights is undoubtedly the clothes. The Hamsterman's signature look of chunky hand-knit jersey and Stubbies-style shorts perfectly encapsulates a kind of Newzild male fashion ingenuity unrivalled around the globe.
Karen Walker should move on from the Swanndri thing and tackle a few more iconic Kiwi bloke looks.
All those bad-taste jokes about nipples, baby vomit and erectile dysfunction might be the dark side of Moon TV for certain sectors of the audience, but the outfits and the silliness shine through.