Whanganui Chronicle
  • Whanganui Chronicle home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Taranaki
  • National Park
  • Whakapapa
  • Ohakune
  • Raetihi
  • Taihape
  • Marton
  • Feilding
  • Palmerston North

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • New Plymouth
  • Whanganui
  • Palmertson North
  • Levin

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Whanganui Chronicle

TV review: TV3 serves a tasteless mess

By Lin Ferguson
Whanganui Chronicle·
19 Jun, 2015 09:00 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

<i>Come Dine With Me NZ</i> has to be the only show I've watched that had me breathing a sigh of relief when the ads came on, says Lin Ferguson.

<i>Come Dine With Me NZ</i> has to be the only show I've watched that had me breathing a sigh of relief when the ads came on, says Lin Ferguson.

I know I'm made of stern stuff, chin-up, head high and all that but as I write this I'm feeling slightly hysterical from watching Come Dine With Me NZ this week, TV3 weeknights at 7pm.

The New Zealand franchise of this cooking show started Monday night replacing Campbell Live.

It's a decision which I can only imagine was reached by channel bosses under extreme torture by the network owners.

Amazing what a bit of nail-pulling, being stretched on a rack for a day or two, or having a few fat slimy slugs forced down your neck will do.

"Yes, Yes we'll do it ... anything just let us at it," they had shrieked.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

And so starts this new series advertised to bring us together as fun-loving Kiwis, loving a plethora of below-the-navel jokes, revolting food and chatting on the level of six-year-olds hurtling and yelling in the playground.

I have seen the UK version of this show which manages a modicum of enjoyment because narrator British comedian Dave Lamb delivers a dry, deeply sarcastic and clever commentary.

And though there have been some seriously questionable contestants it lurches through quite well.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Back to us.

Why is it that New Zealand reality TV shows are in the main embarrassing, cringe-making and don't lift our spirits or confidence at all.

I get a bit fed up with shrinking back into the sofa or diving out to the kitchen for a brief respite.

Come Dine With Me NZ has to be the only show I've watched that had me breathing a sigh of relief when the ads came on.

The food served up was worse than appalling.

I choked when one contestant whacked out burnt hamburger buns before stuffing them with her filling-de-jour.

She wasn't in the least concerned that her tray of buns had black crispy edges and she didn't even have a back-up bag-full to re-toast.

Then, with a lot of verve and no panache, another contestant serves up wilted bok choy and noodles and throws cold baked beans from the tin on top of this droopy-looking mess.

I was sitting very still at this point.

Why do we have to present the average, down-home Kiwis as total morons and drongos on our television.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Am I missing something?

But this show could be saved if our esteemed man John Campbell jumped in as the narrator.

I can hear him now.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

Whanganui Chronicle

Good news for pilot academy as planes cleared to fly

Whanganui Chronicle

Wills Week promotes charitable giving

Whanganui Chronicle

Whanganui backs new water services body with Ruapehu


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

Good news for pilot academy as planes cleared to fly
Whanganui Chronicle

Good news for pilot academy as planes cleared to fly

The Whanganui academy's training certification remains suspended.

16 Jul 04:00 AM
Wills Week promotes charitable giving
Whanganui Chronicle

Wills Week promotes charitable giving

16 Jul 03:00 AM
Whanganui backs new water services body with Ruapehu
Whanganui Chronicle

Whanganui backs new water services body with Ruapehu

15 Jul 09:15 PM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Whanganui Chronicle e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Whanganui Chronicle
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP