To celebrate the return of Country Calendar to TVNZ1, Alex Casey tracks down the show’s biggest canine fan.
This Sunday night at seven o’clock, Suki will run to the television and demand that her parents turn on TVNZ1 so she can hear her favourite theme song. She’ll then sit, nose against the screen, to watch the return of her favourite programme Country Calendar. She’ll be hoping that there are pigs, perhaps some farm dogs, but won’t be as interested in watching bees. Suki is a 12 year old border collie, and she’s loved Country Calendar her whole doggone life.
“She started to get interested in television when she was just a puppy,” Suki’s owner and Greytown resident Maura Marron says. “During the soccer world cup we’d be getting up in the middle of the night to watch games. There’d be food and clapping and lots of noise, so I think she associated TV with having a bit of a party.” Even after New Zealand was booted from the world cup, Suki continued to wake up at 2am and run to the TV, whining for it to be turned on.
Ever since then, Suki’s appetite for screentime has been insatiable. “After the world cup she got really into watching anything with animals,” Marron remembers. “One night we were channel surfing and the movie Babe was on TV. She particularly likes pigs, so she just sat there and watched the whole movie, she was just fascinated.” Marron has since bought Babe on DVD for Suki, who she says is now familiar with the story and “cries in the sad bits.”
But not even Babe compares to the weekly joys of rural life on Country Calendar, Suki’s paws-down favourite thing to watch. New Zealand’s longest-running television series has been on screens since 1966, and was a huge favourite in the Marron household well before Suki arrived. “My parents always used to watch it,” says Marron. “I always like it when they look at beekeeping or fishing, but Suki is not so keen on those bits.”
By the time she was one year old, Suki was able to recognise the opening twangs of the iconic Country Calendar theme song and would rush into the lounge from outside as soon as she heard them. “It’s her absolute favourite programme,” says Marron. “Every Sunday she’s right up in front of the screen. If an animal is in pain or something she tilts her head to the side, her ears prick up and move around – she’s definitely watching and understanding it.”
What makes Suki’s obsession all the more impressive is that she somehow knows what day of the week the show airs. “She knows that when the news finishes on a Sunday, Country Calendar is going to be on. She won’t get excited at the end of the news on a Tuesday or a Wednesday or a Thursday night, but after the news on the weekend she’ll start to bark because she knows her music is about to come on,” says Marron. “I don’t know how it happens, but it happens.”
Suki hates the summertime because that’s when Country Calendar goes off air. Luckily, there are safeguards in place for the dry season. The neighbours are dog enthusiasts and sometimes have Suki over for a slumber party to watch their Country Calendar box set DVDs. Marron keeps a couple of episodes recorded on the MySky and brings them out when the withdrawals set in. “She will wait for the TV to be switched on when it’s Country Calendar time. If we are sitting in the kitchen, she’ll go sit in front of the TV and start whining until someone turns it on.”
Marron doesn’t know exactly why Country Calendar has struck such a deep chord with Suki for over a decade. “She just knows what she likes, I suppose. I’m no dog psychologist but it’s clearly a show that she enjoys and its got a distinctive theme song. When she hears it, she knows that her favourite show is about to come on and she’s about to have a great half an hour.”
Watch Hyundai Country Calendar tonight at 7pm on TVNZ1.
Look at all the fun things you’ll be watching in March!
What are you going to be watching in March? The Spinoff rounds up everything that’s coming to streaming services this month, including Netflix, Lightbox, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+, Neon and TVNZ OnDemand.
Welcome back to everybody’s favourite show to watch and nod along to, then furiously look up online so they can figure out what the hell is going on. Thandie Newton (Emmy Award winner, y’all), Evan Rachel Wood and Jeffrey Wright return, and this season they’re joined by Aaron Paul in an unknown role. So basically, we know nothing about this season and the trailer above is of no help. But if you’re on the Westworld caboose, you’re unlikely to be getting off. My job is just to tell you where and when you can see it – March 16, Neon. / Sam Brooks
Better Things (Season 4 on Lightbox weekly from March 6)
Pamela Adlon’s award-winning dramedy Better Things captures all the joys and frustrations of parenthood, without the clichés or judgements. The show follows Sam (played by the wonderful Adlon, who also writes, directs and exec-produces) as she raises three feisty kids on her own while working as an actor in Los Angeles and juggling a hectic personal life. Better Things is sharp and funny and tender, and the most honest portrayal of parenting you’ll see on television. / Tara Ward
Feel Good (Season 1 on Netflix, binge from March 20)
Do we need another moody, yet profound half-hour show that isn’t really a comedy but also doesn’t quite have the stakes to call a drama that’s made by a comedian and is also autobiographical? No! But if we do have to have one, then I’m happy it’s from Mae Martin, who debuted a very winning half-hour special on Netflix’s Comedians of the World last year. Feel Good will tackle love, sobriety, and what it’s like to have a character played by Lisa Kudrow for a mother. That last bit alone is enough to recommend this to be honest, but I still have my reservations. / Sam Brooks
The Plot Against America (Miniseries on NEON weekly from March 17)
HBO’s apparent fascination with American fascism continues from Watchmen into The Plot Against America, a new miniseries from the creators of The Wire that adapts the Philip Roth novel. Set in an alternate 1940s where Franklin Roosevelt is defeated by Nazi-sympathiser and hypothetical president Charles Lindbergh, a Jewish family in New Jersey is forced to watch as antisemitism takes over the US. Lindbergh is a true historic figure who spoke out against US intervention in World War II and supported Nazi Germany, while Burton K. Wheeler (the show’s vice-president) was a US senator and outspoken non-interventionist before Pearl Harbour. Shit’s heavy, basically. / Felix Walton
The Notables
Ozark (Season 3 on Netflix, binge from March 27)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AA6xHVDodfo
Nice middle-class family man launders money for Mexican drug cartel. It turns sour. He and his family flee to rural backwater. Things get interesting… That’s basically the premise of Ozark, the third season of which is coming soon to Netflix. There are echoes of Breaking Bad and The Americans, and though in my book it’s not as good as either, the first two seasons are still a compelling watch: Jason Bateman stars with quiet intensity as Marty Byrde, whose relationship with his wife Wendy (the excellent Laura Linney) is on shaky ground even before the whole uprooting-the-family-and-fleeing-to-a-rural-backwater-because-I’m-a-criminal thing. The next two seasons bring dastardly deeds and dodgy characters aplenty as the Byrdes get drawn deeper into the criminal underworld. Season two ended with the opening of the Byrdes’ floating casino (a vehicle for money laundering), and I have a feeling not all will be plain sailing in season three. / Alice Neville
Scrubs (All seasons on TVNZ on Demand, binge from March 31)
Scrubs is back, baby. All nine glorious seasons of Zach Braff’s comedy series about the kooky shenanigans of the Sacred Heart Hospital medical team hits TVNZ On Demand this month. That’s 182 episodes of J.D.’s heart-warming bromance with Turk, 182 episodes of the off/on again love affair between J.D. and Elliot, and 182 episodes of delightfully off-beat banter and surreal daydream sequences. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll wish it was 2001 all over again. / TW
Self-Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J Walker (Mini-series on Netflix, binge from March 20)
Academy Award winner Octavia Spencer, Tiffany Haddish and Blair Underwood star in this uplifting period drama about African-American entrepreneur Madam C.J. Walker, America’s first female self-made millionaire. Based on true events, Self-Made tells the story of Walker’s trailblazing journey to build a cosmetics empire in turn-of-the-century America, overcoming business rivalries, gender prejudices and racial hostilities to revolutionise the beauty industry and inspire social change. Gorgeous costumes and powerful performances by Spencer and Haddish make this four-part series a must-see. / TW
Ahikāroa (Season 2 on TVNZ on Demand, binge from March 5)
Stuff called it the Māori answer to Shortland Street, which as far as I’m concerned is high praise. The show, which follows the lives of best friends and flatmates Hemi (Neia Takuira-Mita), Smooch (Te Ahorangi Whitana) and Geo (Turia Schmidt-Peke), goes into its second season on the platform. It’s specifically attuned and aware of the issues facing young urban Māori, and has created quite a buzz on Māori TV. Don’t get distracted by internationals, some of the best drama is being made right in your backyard. / SB
The Movies
John Wick: Chapter 3 Parabellum (Movie on NEON from March 5)
At the end of John Wick 2, our favourite retired assassin killed a man on neutral ground. Now, his wick is lit. Hunted by every guild assassin in the world for the dual prize of a $14 million bounty and the prestige of taking out baba yaga, the most fashionable Keanu Reeves in film history shoots his way across the globe in a two-hour neo-noir gun-fu kill fest. With the help of belts, dogs, and old mate Halle Berry, John Wick is able to evolve into his most pure form: an absolute bloody weapon. Don’t be scared off by the violence: the cinematography is outstanding and the acting befits its A-list stars. / Josie Adams
Mean Girls (Netflix, from March 3)
On Wednesdays, we watch Mean Girls for the thousandth time. Now on Netflix (along with Mean Girls 2, which I don’t recommend). / Sam Brooks
My Best Friend’s Wedding (Netflix, from March 1)
I have an endless amount of love for My Best Friend’s Wedding, which is not only one of the best mainstream movies of the 90s, but maybe the only genuine anti-romantic comedy that subverts the entire genre and showcases what your average rom-com really is at heart: absolute sociopathy. It’s Julia Roberts’ best performance (if not, then definitely top five) and it’s also a sorely needed reminder that Cameron Diaz is both unholily charismatic and very funny. Do you want to feel old? The ultimatum that Julia Roberts gives her best friend to marry her is that they have to find a partner before they turn thirty years old. Life is a series of horrible revelations! / SB
The Rest
Mark Wahlberg stars in Netflix’s Spenser Confidential.
Netflix
March 1
Go! Go! Cory Carson: Season 2
My Best Friend’s Wedding
Dr. Seuss’ Cat in the Hat
Austin Powers in Goldmember
Mean Girls
From Time to Time
Always a Bridesmaid
Freshman Year
Occupation
ZZ TOP: THAT LITTLE OL’ BAND FROM TEXAS
Knightfall: Season 2
Heartland: Season 13
Mean Girls 2
Tom and Jerry: The Movie
The Guilt Trip
Where The Wild Things Are
Girl Interrupted
The Karate Kid
Focus
Any Given Sunday
The Usual Suspects
An Officer and a Gentleman
Zombieland
The Big Sick
Collateral Beauty
The Hateful Eight
March 3
Taylor Tomlinson: Quarter-Life Crisis
March 4
Riverdale: Season 4 (Weekly)
The Blacklist: Season 7
Lil Peep: Everybody’s Everything
March 5
Castlevania: Season 5
March 6
Paradise PD: Part 2
The Protector: Season 3
I am Jonas
Guilty
Spenser Confidential
Ugly Delicious: Season 2
March 7
T2: Trainspotting
March 8
Sitara: Let Girls Dream
March 10
Marc Maron: End Times Fun
Carmen Sandiego: To Steal or Not to Steal
March 11
The Circle Brazil
On My Block: Season 3
Dirty Money: Season 2
March 12
Hospital Playlist
New Year’s Eve
Rampage
March 13
Elite: Season 3
Women of the Night
Kingdom: Season 2
The Valhalla Murders
Bloodride
100 Humans
Lost Girls
Beastars
March 15
Looney Tunes: Back in Action
Blended
March 16
Rugal
The Boss Baby: Back in Business: Season 3
March 17
Bert Kreischer: Hey Big Boy
Spotlight
March 19
Altered Carbon: Resleeved
Tag
March 20
Feel Good
Dare Me
The Letter for the King
Self-Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker
Ultras
Maska
The Platform
Fangio: El hombre que domaba las maquinas
Tiger King
Greenhouse Academy: Season 4
Arhicbald’s Next Big Thing: Season Two
Dino Girl Gauko: Season 2
Buddi
March 21
Life
March 23
Sol Levante
March 25
Signs
Curtiz
The Occupant (Hogar)
Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution
YooHoo to the Rescue: Season 3
March 26
Unorthodox
Black Lightning: Season 3
7SEEDS: Part 2
Dolphin Tale
March 27
Ozark: Season 3
Il processo
Car Masters: Rust to Riches: Season 2
The Decline
Uncorked
Mark of the Devil
There’s Something in the Water
Dragons: Rescue Riders: Hunt for the Golden Dragon
True: Wuzzle Wegg Day
March 28
Smurfs: The Lost Village
March 31
The Tourist
Here Comes The Boom
Jack and Jill
Battle: Los Angeles
Paul Blart: Mall Cop
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2
Finding Your Feet
Elisabeth Moss in Her Smell, coming to NEON this month.
NEON
March 1
Inglourious Basterds
March 2
Our Cartoon President: Season 1-3
March 3
The Walking Dead: Season 8b
Berlin, I Love You
Colette
The House That Jack Built
Artic
I Think We’re Alone Now
Minding The Gap
Capharnaum
How to Talk To Girls At Parties
Her Smell
Girl
Mega Time Squad
March 4
Room 104
Asterix: The Secret of the Magic Potion
March 5
Dave
John Wick: Chapter 3 Parabellum
Ocean’s Eleven
March 6
Charlie Says
March 7
Devs
The Lady Bug
March 8
Breakthrough
March 10
Almost Family
C.B Strike
March 11
Finding Steve McQueen
March 12
Godzilla II: King of the Monsters
Togetherness: Season 1-2
Ocean’s Twelve
March 14
Grace
March 15
Random Acts of Flyness
March 16
Westworld: Season 3
Funny Or Die Presents: Season 1-2
Black Monday: Season 2
Chicken Run
March 17
The Plot Against America
March 19
Ocean’s 13
March 22
Hung: Seasons 1-3
State of Play
March 24
The Curse of LA Llorona
March 25
I’m Dying Up Here: Seasons 1-2
March 26
Fast & Furious: Hobbs and Shaw
John Adams
March 29
Here Comes The Grump
March 31
Booksmart
X Men: Dark Phoenix
All nine seasons of Scrubs come to TVNZ on Demad this month.
TVNZ on Demand
March 1
From the Vault: Pasifika
McLaren
Change of Heart
Gaston Melies and his Wandering Star Film Company
The Departure
March 2
Deadwater Fell: Season 1
March 5
Ahikāroa: Season 2
March 10
My Brilliant Friend: Season 2
March 17
Roswell, New Mexico: Season 1
March 19
Motherland: Fort Salem
March 23
Bang: Season 1
March 27
MEME
March 30
Scrubs
King of the Hill
The unholy visage of Simba from 2019 remake of The Lion King.
Disney+
March 6
The Lion King
The Art of Racing in the Rain
The Sandlot: Heading Home
The Sandlot 2
March 13
Stargirl
March 20
I Didn’t Do It
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters
Sofia The First: Season 1-4
March 27
Be Our Chef
Season four of Better Things comes to Lightbox this month.
Lightbox
March 4
21 Bridges
Vita & Virginia
March 6
Better Things: Season 4
March 11
Knives Out
The Queen’s Corgi
The Whistleblower
Replicas
Mrs. Lowry and & Son
Beautifully Broken
March 18
The Good Liar
Killerman
Ask Dr. Ruth
The Courier
March 19
Single Parents
March 25
The Last Black Man in San Francisco
Tell It To The Bees
Playmobil: The Movie
Claire Foy in Amazon Prime Video’s Unsane.
Amazon Prime
March 1
Bates Motel: Seasons 1-5
Jamestown: Seasons 1-2
Psych: Seasons 1-8
Will & Grace: Seasons 1-8
Zafari: Seasons 1-2
Resiliencia Por Rafinha Alcantara
Sarileru Neekevvaru
March 6
Caronte
March 12
The Test: A New Era for Australia’s Team
March 16
Unsane
March 20
Blow the Man Down
March 27
Making the Cut
March 31
Strawberry Shortcake’s Berry Bitty Adventures
One of the amazing stories from Amazing Stories, dropping on Apple TV+ this year.
Apple TV+
March 6
Amazing Stories
March 20
The Banker
The mystery-solving gardeners from Rosemary & Thyme, coming to Acorn TV this month.
