Alex Casey trawls the New Zealand Herald comments section to get a conclusive answer on our nation’s opinion of Daniel Corbett.//

I wrote an impassioned ode to the new TV One weatherman that miraculously made it into the top read stories of the NZ Herald. As a result, punters from North to South started weighing in with their ridiculous but deeply felt opinions on Daniel Corbett.

What happened next can only be described as the defining cultural conversation of 2015 – is the new weatherman good or bad?

The pro-Corbett camp were warm and welcoming in their responses to our new spidery shaman, commending his shadow puppet hands and well-fitted suits:

“He’s adorable, let’s keep him, with a nibble here, a nibble there.” – Grizelda

“He is a breath of fresh air. A true eccentric who isn’t doing a Jim Hickey impersonation. Rare.” – yourcrazy

“We thought it was just our family that sits down each night filled with anticipation of what the meteorolamagican is going to delight us with!” – Kate Alice Bruning

“We never watched the weather before but now we all sit in front of the tele re-enacting his hand gestures. Like a tai chi class in the living room really! – Em

Over in the negative Nance comments camp, things were not as complimentary. Basically, the comparisons between Corbett and a lizard were rolling in thick and fast:

“Looks like a gecko climbing a concrete wall” – Trixta

“looks like a lizard on a wall” – Trixta (2 hours later)

“Hypnotic? Robotic is closer.” – Alpha

“He is like a very creepy peacock” – JustMe

One user in particular (Lisbeth), went to absolute town the poor guy:

“No light comes off his face, its as if a dark cloud follows him about. Like a black hole, demanding too much viewer attention with his mesmerizing, excessive and creepy mannerisms – all the light is sucked in to him.”

And then there were the folks who just had general comments regarding the weather, TV and the world in general:

“i dont now watch the weather not due to this,my mobile tells me or like the farmers just look up to the sky that usually gives me an idea if its going to be good bad or s****” – Pete

“Have you seen how hot the CNN weathermen are?” ≠ Detto

“For a long time now I have just recorded the weather then watch it at x6 speed. You get all the information you need that way” – Kryten 2X4B-523P

So with no conclusive answer, and the comments section going awry with people getting generally irate about the state of modern television, I hit the books to find a conclusive answer. Through an in-depth series of tally charts, calculations and scribbling on blackboards, I boiled down what middle New Zealand thinks about their new rain man:

Is Daniel Corbett a Good Weatherman?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So there we have it. Despite the cold front of haters moving in, Corbett has endured like a suit-wearing lizard in an endless blizzard.