Top five columns of 2019: Anna Murray

NZME TV columnist Anna Murray. Photo / Doug Sherring

As we say goodbye to 2019 and welcome in 2020, it's a good time to catch up on the very best of the Herald columnists we enjoyed reading over the last 12 months. From politics to sport, from business to entertainment and lifestyle, these are the voices and views our audience loved the most. Today it's the top five from television columnist Anna Murray.

Why Married at First Sight needs to be cancelled - and now

As a reality TV junkie, Anna Murray would normally be celebrating the premiere of a new season of Married at First Sight NZ. But this was not the case in 2019, as much had changed since MAFS first arrived on our shores. So much so, that without seeing a single frame of the latest season, Murray thought it should be cancelled.

The verdict on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert: The Newest Zealander

Remember when former PM John Key awkwardly appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman? Anna Murray does. In the infamous clip, Key is asked to read out the "Top 10 Reasons You Should Visit New Zealand" - and the result was cringeworthy. So how did New Zealand fare on its latest attempt at promotion via The Late Show?

TVNZ faces tough challenge to replace Breakfast's Daniel Faitaua

Any idiot can be a TV newsreader. Right? However, it's actually a lot harder than it might seem - and involves a lot more than just reading an autocue on screen. Which is why Anna Murray reckoned TVNZ were going to have a hard time replacing the smooth-voiced Daniel Faitaua after he left Breakfast.

MAFS Australia's couples 'a little unsettling'

"I think this is going to go really well," said a hapless MAFS groom ... but as Anna Murray revealed, that probably wasn't going to be the case. Why? Because nothing ever goes well on MAFS Australia and there are clear statistics to back this up.

A deep-dive into the fresh new hell that is slow TV

New Zealand made its first foray into the popular concept of "slow TV" this year - but watching a whole lot of nothing for hours on end isn't for everyone. The debut of Prime's Go South promised a 12-hour odyssey following trains, boats and a 4WD in a journey from Auckland to Milford Sound – with nothing in the way of narration or dialogue.