Television: Battle of bulge is life or death

Lin Ferguson

Courageous New Zealanders who fight personal battles are featured in New Zealand Story, TV ONE, Saturday, 7pm, a programme which quietly tells the story with no histrionics or dramatic footage.

This programme is not out to shock.

It's a gentle series fronted by Buck Shelford, with no hard edges and not there to score ratings.

Last Saturday told the weighty saga of Wellington man Harley Thompson who hit the scales at 240 kilograms. This was a man who could eat, a man with no memory or conscience of his food intake.

Friends and family told him bluntly his eating would lead to an early death.

Harley first went for a slow walk, then he hopped in the briny for a swim, all the time thinking about what he needed to do. As he said, he really was in a "do or die" situation. The quick trips into McDonald's ended.

At mealtimes his every mouthful felt like a bomb ticking but he kept up the exercise to the point where he entered the Iron Maori. He came last, of course, but was heartened because he actually did it - the whole course.

So, quietly focussed, our humble hero showed his determination to eventually win out and lose the flab, especially after surgeons told him he was even too big a risk to consider surgery and a gastric bypass.

As he continues exercising, Harley's not heaving himself on the scales every day. Instead, he's tied a string around his middle and rejoices as it slowly becomes looser.

You know Harley will continue to fight his demon food habit and in this New Zealand story you got to know this quiet, lovely man who obviously had faith in a higher power as well.

This followed directly after at 7.30pm by This Town stories of small towns in New Zealand.

And again there was nothing go-get-em in this show either ... laidback, matter of fact, tell it how it is.

Last Saturday it was a piece on the isolated Chatham Islands and the small island community.

Absolutely not a tourist piece, well I hope not because was nothing remotely tempting apart from the fresh fish.

Having been to the Chathams, I can attest to the ferocious wind swept landscape with scrub and trees bent permanently at right angles, gravel roads, wild beaches. It's back to basics there, which is exactly what these islanders shout about saying theirs is the perfect lifestyle.

And you can fly to the Chathams and share the perfect lifestyle if this isolated non-town appeals.

In closing, the great little actor chap (Byron Cole), who featured in the Fair Go Best Ad Award for MasterCard with his support cast of All Blacks, is a marvellous talent. But I did laugh when it was suggested that the wee man may have to be paid more because his popularity was growing.

Needless to say the Bank and ad people choked ... in the politest possible way, of course ... mention money and everyone goes pale and silent.