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Monitor

Monitor: There’s a good show hiding on the man channel

Monitor: There’s a good show hiding on the man channel

For Monitor this week, Aaron Yap basks in the grinning goofiness of DUKE's Angie Tribeca, the best cop show spoof you probably aren't watching.
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By Aaron Yap | 27th September, 2016
Guest writer
Bad boss David Brent from The Office.

Monitor: A list of TV to movie adaptations that don’t absolutely suck

Aaron Yap rounds up some TV shows that managed to make it to the big screen without stuffing it up.
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By Aaron Yap | 15th September, 2016
Guest writer
Monitor: Is Snapchat becoming the new television?

Monitor: Is Snapchat becoming the new television?

In this week's TV column, Aaron Yap looks at how social media platform Snapchat threatens to usurp traditional viewing habits.
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By Aaron Yap | 2nd August, 2016
Guest writer
Monitor: Why The Americans is the best show on TV right now

Monitor: Why The Americans is the best show on TV right now

Aaron Yap celebrates the superb Cold War spy drama The Americans, which returns next week to New Zealand screens.
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By Aaron Yap | 15th March, 2016
Guest writer
Monitor: How Louis C.K. pulled a Beyoncé with surprise new series Horace and Pete

Monitor: How Louis C.K. pulled a Beyoncé with surprise new series Horace and Pete

Aaron Yap watches Louis C.K.'s new online series Horace and Pete, and asks if the off-putting, experimental style is what lies beyond the "peak TV" age.
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By Aaron Yap | 9th February, 2016
Guest writer
How Gareth from The Office unearthed comedy gold (again)

How Gareth from The Office unearthed comedy gold (again)

Aaron Yap digs up gold in Detectorists, the award winning comedy written by The Office alumni that went straight-to-DVD in New Zealand. We have several copies to give away, see the end of the piece for more details.
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By Aaron Yap | 26th January, 2016
Guest writer
Television: Monitor – David Simon Tackles a Housing Crisis with HBO’s Show Me a Hero

Television: Monitor – David Simon Tackles a Housing Crisis with HBO’s Show Me a Hero

Aaron Yap looks at Show Me a Hero, the six part miniseries from the minds behind The Wire that examines the 1987 housing crisis in New York – and eerily mirrors our own current property strife.
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By Aaron Yap | 15th September, 2015
Guest writer
Monitor: Do Humans Dream of Electric Slaves? Society Goes to the Synths in TV3’s Humans

Monitor: Do Humans Dream of Electric Slaves? Society Goes to the Synths in TV3’s Humans

"We’re fascinated by its potential to better humankind, but lurking within that fascination is a deep-seated fear that we could all possibly be replaced by machines." – Aaron Yap on the sci-fi drama Humans
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By Aaron Yap | 18th August, 2015
Guest writer
Programme Name: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell – TX: n/a – Episode: Ep2 (No. 2) – Picture Shows: The Gentleman (MARC WARREN) – (C) JSMN Ltd – Photographer: Matt Squire

Monitor: Conjuring Television Magic – How Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell Casts a Surprising Spell

Aaron Yap finds an "imaginative supernatural delight" in Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, the BBC One mini-series packed with magic, mystery and memorable characters.
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By Aaron Yap | 4th August, 2015
Guest writer
LOUIE: Season 5, Episode 2 “A La Carte” (Airs Thursday, April 16, 10:30 pm e/p). Pictured: (l-r) Louis C.K. as Louie, Hadley Delany as Lilly, Ursula Parker as Jane. CR: KC Bailey/FX

Monitor: Slippery Subjectivity and Bold Genre-Bending in the Liquid Reality of Louie

Aaron Yap celebrates Louis C.K.'s Louie, a surreal comedy-drama that consistently transcends the boundaries of genre and reality.
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By Aaron Yap | 21st July, 2015
Guest writer
Monitor: Supernatural Pulp Meets Gothic Splendour in Penny Dreadful

Monitor: Supernatural Pulp Meets Gothic Splendour in Penny Dreadful

Aaron Yap argues why you should bravely enter the "alluringly sensual and generously gory universe" of Showtime's Victorian horror Penny Dreadful.
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By Aaron Yap | 25th June, 2015
Guest writer
TV STILL — DO NOT PURGE — EMPIRE: (L-R): Trai Byers as Andre Lyon, Taraji Henson as Cookie Lyon, Terrence Howard as Lucious Lyon, Jussie Smollett as Jamal Lyon and Trai Byers as Andre Lyon. ©2014 Fox Broadcasting Co. CR: Michael Lavine/FOX

Monitor: How Lee Daniels’ Empire is Hip Hop’s Answer to Game of Thrones

"It’s all smashed into one big, bold, energetic slab of gloriously trashy TV that’s almost designed to be hoovered up the nose, " writes Aaron Yap
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By Aaron Yap | 9th June, 2015
Guest writer
Monitor: Like an Arrow Through the Heart – Why Do We Love to Hate-Watch?

Monitor: Like an Arrow Through the Heart – Why Do We Love to Hate-Watch?

Aaron Yap reflects on his own recent hate-watching of Arrow, Under the Dome and Catfish, and attempts to get to the bottom of this bizarre viewing phenomenon.
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By Aaron Yap | 26th May, 2015
Guest writer
Monitor: The Hopeful Return of Orphan Black’s Fast-Paced Femme Power

Monitor: The Hopeful Return of Orphan Black’s Fast-Paced Femme Power

Aaron Yap watches the first two seasons of sci-fi series Orphan Black, and hopes for a return of fast-paced, character-driven clone thrills.
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By Aaron Yap | 5th May, 2015
Guest writer
Monitor: Draper’s Demise and Sliding Door Lives – the Stunning Return of Mad Men

Monitor: Draper’s Demise and Sliding Door Lives – the Stunning Return of Mad Men

As Mad Men heads towards the end of its extraordinarily consistent eight-year run, the first two episodes of its final season usher in a brand new era – and an encroaching sense of inevitability.
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By Aaron Yap | 21st April, 2015
Guest writer
Monitor: Thawing the Unnerving Frost of Fortitude

Monitor: Thawing the Unnerving Frost of Fortitude

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By Aaron Yap | 7th April, 2015
Guest writer
Monitor: The Brutal Triumphs of HBO’s Olive Kitteridge

Monitor: The Brutal Triumphs of HBO’s Olive Kitteridge

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By Aaron Yap | 24th March, 2015
Guest writer
Monitor: The Sweet, Empathetic Zombies of In The Flesh

Monitor: The Sweet, Empathetic Zombies of In The Flesh

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By Aaron Yap | 10th March, 2015
Guest writer
Monitor: Better Call Saul and Going Back to the Well

Monitor: Better Call Saul and Going Back to the Well

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By Aaron Yap | 24th February, 2015
Guest writer

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