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What mood are you feeling? More importantly: What show do you want to watch to match that mood?
What mood are you feeling? More importantly: What show do you want to watch to match that mood?

Pop CultureMay 15, 2020

A show for any mood: What to watch when you’re feeling…

What mood are you feeling? More importantly: What show do you want to watch to match that mood?
What mood are you feeling? More importantly: What show do you want to watch to match that mood?

Are you in a mood? Like, literally any mood? Don’t worry, Sam Brooks has you covered with something to cater to (or escape from) some very specific moods.

There are so many great shows out there you could spend your time watching… but are you in the right mood for any of them? Your mood determines how much you get out of a TV show more than the actual quality of that TV show does, or so says my unscientific analysis. Sure, War and Peace is great, but if you’re in the mood to watch RuPaul’s Drag Race, you’re probably going to find this searing investigation of 19th-century Russia to be sorely lacking in wigs and lip-syncing.

In the aid of matching you up with the television you want to watch, I’ve prepared some television choices for some very specific moods. These are all great shows in their own right, so I’d suggest trying them out regardless, but I’ve picked moods I think they’re just perfect for. Think of them like a wine pairing, if wine pairings were for normal people and not people who don’t just drink the cheapest wine on the menu. Don’t worry, I know your vibe.

Without further ado, here are some moods, and here are some shows.

The true modern family: The Hills from King of the Hill (Photo: TVNZ)

For when you want to learn how to be a decent person: King of the Hill

King of the Hill is one of the most enduring shows of the late 90s/early 2000s for a reason: it has a whole lot of heart and a solid moral compass. Not only does it skewer small-town America, it makes sure the Hills are learning how to be good people and also teaching us something along the way. Also look at this title sequence: social distancing at its finest.

For when you miss Zach Braff: Scrubs

It’s a very specific emotion, but there are a few of us who truly fell in love with Zach Braff and the endless heights his boofy hair seemed to rise to on this show. There are also a few of us who fell in love with Garden State, but it’s a lot harder to own up to that now. Scrubs was his heyday, and it’s the kind of gooey, heartfelt comedy that will have you reaching for the feelings. There’s still one Dashboard Confessional (remember the 00s???) song cue that I think about all the time. Hold out for it, y’all. It’s worth it.

Two comic geniuses, Anna Faris and Allison Janney, in Mom (Photo: TVNZ)

For when you feel like watching two comic geniuses: Mom

Now, hear me out: a show about a mess of a woman who moves in with her equally messy mother might not sound like the height of comedy. But what if I told you that the former woman was played by Anna Faris (underrated, truly) and the latter woman was played by Academy Award-winner Allison Janney (exactly rated, really)? Yeah. Mom’s been running for seven seasons (with an eighth already confirmed) and it shows no sign of slowing down. Not only are Faris and Janney comic geniuses, they also bring a lot of heart to their relationship. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll learn to respect your comedic betters.

For when you want to feel smart but also laugh: Community

Before every comedy seemed to want to break the specific mould it was baked in, Community was doing high-concept genre episodes – the paintball episode, the one that’s a zombie movie, the Ocean’s 11 one – and doing them insanely well. If you want to learn everything you need to know about TV and film genre history in quick, 22-minute bites, then look no further than Community. Bonus point: it’s hella funny while it does it.

God, remember when all of these people were this age and also, by proxy, you were also younger? (Photo: TVNZ)

For when you’re feeling nostalgic: Freaks and Geeks

Not just nostalgic for the era that Freaks and Geeks expertly depicts, the 80s, but nostalgic for the era when Freaks and Geeks actually came out in: The late 90s. Remember when zoom was a noise your car made, rather than a thing you did in a professional work capacity? Remember when your phone line would scream at you for trying to connect to the internet? It was the worst of times, it was the… fine of times, really. Anyway, Freaks and Geeks is great, and it’s a big spoonful of two kinds of nostalgia. Like Neapolitan ice cream missing the yuck flavour.

For when you have no idea what you’re feeling and no interest in finding out: Scream Queens

You know that gif of Emma Roberts turning around and saying, “Surprise, bitch!”? That’s basically Scream Queens in a nutshell. If you want to have a wild, fun, inexplicable time for a few hours, look no further than the bizarre log flume of a show that is Scream Queens. It’s a satirical slasher series (think Scream, sorta) that follows a sorority plagued by a serial killer dressed up like their college mascot. It’s maybe the wildest thing that Ryan Murphy has ever put to screen, which is saying something!

Hey, it’s those wacky Kids in the Hall (Photo: TVNZ)

For when you want to feel like a true comedy nerd: Kids in the Hall

If you haven’t heard of Kids in the Hall, I wouldn’t blame you. While it started up in the same era as Saturday Night Live and was part of that particular sketch comedy boom, it’s never reached the same level of worldwide fame. Despite that, this late 80s Canadian sketch show has attained near-legendary status among comedy fans for its consistent excellence and out-there weirdness. I can confirm this: it’s aged incredibly well, and deserves the hype. Check it out, you won’t be disappointed.

For when you miss Joey but have seen all of Friends: Episodes

Matt LeBlanc was the secret weapon of Friends. He was always game for some of the dumber jokes, and always brightened up a scene. He committed to whatever the bit was, be it “Joey doesn’t share food!” or even that weird Joey/Rachel romance we don’t speak of any more. (On that note, the less said of Joey, the spin-off/sequel to Friends, the better.)

Episodes finds LeBlanc playing a lightly fictionalised version of himself, and it’s his best work yet. The show follows a British couple remaking their hit sitcom in Hollywood, and what happens when they cast LeBlanc. Hilarity predictably ensues.

Them? Not bovvered. (Photo: TVNZ)

For when you can’t be bovvered: The Catherine Tate Show

Look, some of these are just obvious.

For when you want to go on a weird and wonderful journey through dark suburbia without leaving your house: Weeds

What happens when your everyday suburban mum decides to get into the weed-growing business? Weeds finds out and follows that premise to a truly ridiculous, entertaining conclusion. What starts off as a high-cap comedy ends up as a searing critique of suburbia, and all the weird darknesses hiding underneath it. Remember this, guys: backyards are just another place to bury a body. Stay safe out there, lock your doors.

You can watch all of these shows plus many more on TVNZ OnDemand.


This content was created in paid partnership with TVNZ. Learn more about our partnerships here.

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Is that a Matty McLean in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?
Is that a Matty McLean in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?

Pop CultureMay 15, 2020

Why was Matty McLean in a dinosaur suit on Breakfast?

Is that a Matty McLean in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?
Is that a Matty McLean in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?

These are unprecedented times, and just when you think you’ve seen it all, Breakfast’s Matty McLean does the weather dressed as a dinosaur.

TVNZ 1’s Breakfast kicked off level two with a bang yesterday morning. As we viewers at home began to gleefully escape our own personal lockdowns, Matty McLean locked himself into a plastic sweatsuit of terror, just to tell us how hot it was going to be in Tauranga. This is how dedicated Matty McLean is to news and current affairs. Some might suggest he needs to contact his union rep, but to them, I say: talk to the tiny T.rex hand.

He was doing this for us, New Zealand. This is all our fault, and I’m not even sorry.

“I’ve done some stupid things,” Matty began, as John, Jenny-May and Anna explained the previous day’s news item about New Yorkers dressing up in dinosaur costumes to cheer people up. A Breakfast producer had a spare dino costume sitting around at home, and next thing we know, Matty McLean is taking one for the team, live on the telly.

“I can’t even see,” Matty protested, as his colleagues shouted instructions from the cheap seats. “You’ve got to point to Kapiti! Kapiti needs some love from the T.rex!” John yelled, but get in line, Kapiti. “This is ridiculous,” Matty wailed. The weather report had blown out of control before it even began, and in the eye of the storm was a big purple dinosaur, standing in front of a nation, asking it to love him.

But nothing stops Matty McLean, not even a cold front of shame about wearing an inflatable dinosaur suit on live TV.

From the Cape to the Bluff, T.rex McLean knocked that weather update out of the Jurassic park. His stumpy T.rex hands could barely hold the clicker, but he stood on his hooves to point to New Plymouth (sunny, high of 18), while his giant mouth ate Farewell Spit (also fine) and his puffed dino-neck made poor old Queenstown disappear off the map entirely.

Can you imagine such malarkey on the 6pm bulletin? Wendy and Simon wouldn’t put up with this, and frankly, that’s the nation’s loss.

The Breakfast studio hooted with joy through Matty’s forecast, as his plastic dino tail rubbed across the floor, sweeping up what remained of his broadcasting hopes and dreams. Matty didn’t care. Professionalism beamed out from the tiny square of plastic wedged into the dinosaur’s décolletage, and Matty unleashed the weather report of his life.

In fact, nothing sums up our Covid lockdown journey better than Matty McLean doing the weather as a dinosaur. At the beginning, it’s mystifying and a bit scary. Nobody know’s what’s happening or when it will be over, but after a while, you get used to it. It’s not so bad, and just quietly, you’re quite enjoying yourself. When it’s all over, everyone shakes their T.rex tales in a dino dance of celebration, and the sun just keeps on shining.

Matty McLean is a national hero. It might have been pissing down in Milford Sound, but a big, happy blob of purple sunshine beamed out of our screens this morning. Matty made that dino suit his own, and if there was an award for journalists who wear crazy costumes on live TV, then he would have definitely rated in the top three.

Matty McLean, your nation salutes you.

But wait there's more!