Sam Brooks is a playwright, journalist and critic. Email him on sam@thespinoff.co.nz
It's time for the annual Assassin's Creed game, but 2018's version doesn't feel very much like an Assassin's Creed at all. So why does it work so well? Sam Brooks reviews.
The new drama from Facebook Watch (yes, that's a thing) is the small screen's most delicately rendered and thoughtful tackling of grief since Six Feet Under.
It's been a beloved cultural phenemenon for a few years now, but the Bake-Off finally makes it way to our shores. We chat to the two hosts of the Great Kiwi Bake-Off ahead of its premiere tonight.
Last year it was the ubiquitous seagull! But who has nabbed the title of the Dirtbag Bird of the Year 2018? Sam Brooks has the result.
RNZ is set to announce the Bird of the Year for 2018 on Monday morning. But what about our less-loved birds? We present: Dirtbag Bird of the Year 2018.
Sam Brooks has played over one hundred hours of Dragon Quest - and found it to be an act of self-care, not grinding torture. This is his story.
Alias is mostly remembered as the show that launched Jennifer Garner's career. But it deserves more kudos for being a genuinely groundbreaking show, writes Sam Brooks.
Life is Strange 2 repeats the sins of its predecessor – for good and for bad. Sam Brooks reviews.
Three's Pilot Week is done – but how good were the pilots, and which ones should get commissioned? Sam Brooks reviews.
Anika Moa Unleashed had a triumphant first season, and showcased the singer-personality as one of our best interviewers, but what does the second season do with her?
It's taken three games to get there – but Valkyria Chronicles 4 finally recaptures the addictive and bizarrely positive magic of the first game.
Three's Comedy Pilot Week starts this Sunday night on Three - but what is this newfangled thing?
Last night, Sony announced the PlayStation Classic - a console that looks like a PlayStation One and plays those games too. Is that all it is, though?
61% of people working on the minimum wage in New Zealand are women. RNZ's new documentary series gives a voice - and more importantly, a face - to these women.
This generation's Tomb Raider trilogy comes to a close - and it's with a limp, not a wild leap into the future. Sam Brooks reviews. The Tomb Raider series is the Maria Sharapova of …
If you expected one pop singer to have five sold-out shows at Spark Arena in 2018, would you have expected it to be P!nk?
Spider-Man is an unqualified triumph of a game - but the best thing about it is also the most surprising. Sam Brooks reviews.
It's one of the the longest-running television shows of all time – but what do people remember about it? The cast of the post-apocalyptic madcap theatre show based on The Simpsons weighs in.
Plus6Four Productions' non-linear who-dun-it web-series Alibi is something entirely new for New Zealand television - and it largely nails the landing.
Last night Rose Matafeo won the Edinburgh Comedy Award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, one of the most prestigious awards for comedians anywhere.
Impossibly, Lady GaGa's debut album The Fame came out ten years ago this week. Sam Brooks looks back at the album that launched an icon.
They're the lost seasons of RuPaul's Drag Race, but now they're back for New Zealand's viewing pleasure. Sam Brooks rounds up the early-episode moments that continue to live on in infamy.
Family Guy has been on our airwaves for almost 20 years, and mostly critically reviled. Sam Brooks stands up for the perennial punching bag.
Aretha Franklin has died. Sam Brooks remembers the Queen.
Madonna turns sixty today, so Sam Brooks rounds up the best sixty Madonna songs to celebrate this with her.
Been living under a proverbial rock for the past ten years and have never heard of RuPaul's Drag Race? Don't worry, Sam Brooks has you covered.
