Give It a Whirl, the final

By GRAHAM REID

It was the little series that wasn't. Give It a Whirl - the sixth and final episode of which screens tonight - seemed to have everything ahead of it: good time slot, heaps of advance publicity, early enthusiasm by the media for this rare look at the history of New Zealand rock'n'roll, and a first episode with excellent editing, remarkable footage and intelligent, if somewhat, humourless reminiscences.

And then it became the little series that wasn't. Quite why the programmers didn't know that a netball game was scheduled in that slot, then a game show which purported to test the nation's IQ, is one of those great unanswerables.

But it meant whatever momentum this series might have had was kneecapped. Pity. The programmes, while flawed in some important aspects, have never been less than interesting.

By letting articulate musicians speak for themselves we got the stories behind the art.

In tonight's episode the always thoughtful Tim Finn speaks of his doubts about the drive for originality and the craft of creating within the established forms of rock'n'roll, then Peter Urlich observes somewhat suspiciously that much of what is hip and happening now is simply old forms repackaged. These are interesting counter-perspectives and the series has wisely let such dichotomies stand unresolved.

But Give It A Whirl has also been problematic. Doco makers get only one shot at this topic, so to see so many bands overlooked gave the impression that each era belonged to only a few groups or artists.

Take last week's look at local reggae. You'd be forgiven for thinking Herbs were this country's only reggae band. Aotearoa, Dread Beat and Blood, Ngahiwi Apanui and others were never mentioned. Tonight much time is given over to the Headless Chickens (fair enough, they were big) but it's as if they existed in a vacuum.

A series such as this necessarily telescopes, but last week's leap from the first Crowded House album to Together Alone seemed like a freefall through a time tunnel.

Tonight the segue is from Upper Hutt Posse to DLT working with Che Fu on Chains. Supergroove, who were huge for a few years and from which Che Fu came, get one passing mention.

As a viewer with a passion for this stuff I sympathise with the problems of distilling a big story of art, creativity, people and money into such a small time-frame. But sometimes you wondered why not more musicians were included - even as soundbites or an image on screen - to give depth and context. Space Waltz were a great kitschy prog-pop band, but at the time there was a vibrant underground scene which was hinted at but never explored. Larry's Rebels weren't the only competition the La De Das had. Ardijah anyone?

That said, there has been much to enjoy in Give It A Whirl and tonight's episode is one of the more interesting. The story of How Bizarre reminds just what a phenomenon that song was. It is sensibly placed in the context of the rise of South Auckland, the Pride compilation, Sisters Underground and producer Alan Jansson's superb ears. Jansson's enthusiasm for living in the multicultural mix that is Auckland is inspiring, especially when immigrants seem a fair target for the narrow-minded or politically expedient.

It's telling therefore that tonight's episode ends with Nesian Mystik.

But again much is missed: no Head Like a Hole, Salmonella Dub, Garageland or King Kapisi, all of whom co-existed with those getting screentime. Again we get an intelligent look at few, but no sense of depth.

But over the long arc, and this is reinforced by Dave Dobbyn and others tonight, New Zealand rock'n'roll has moved from being a slavish copy of overseas music to something unique.

Upper Hutt Posse and Nesian Mystik could have come from no other place and that is what the series, despite disappearing from our screens sometimes, underscores.

These were our people, tonight.

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Give It a Whirl, the final

TV One, 8.30pm