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Image: Starz/Tina Tiller
Image: Starz/Tina Tiller

Pop CultureMarch 14, 2022

Outlander recap: Birth, death and the power of Roger’s beard

Image: Starz/Tina Tiller
Image: Starz/Tina Tiller

Who knew facial hair could make a man so wise? Tara Ward recaps episode two of season six of Outlander. 

Friends, we can never complain that Outlander is boring. This might be the second episode in a super short season, but it was fuller than a swollen pair of Beardsley tonsils. In one sweet hour of television, Outlander gave us politics, power plays, recreational drug use, a revelation, a birth and a funeral for someone who wasn’t even dead. Oh, and Bree invented matches.

Grannie Wilson was a kidder from way back, but this time she’d gone too far

After all that, I am now Grannie Wilson, lying on a plank with chunks of bread on my stomach and needing a wee sleep to recover from the absolute state of things. Episode two threw delicious detail after detail at us to quench our Outlander thirst, and yet, not a lot happened. Lizzie and the Beardsley brothers are a throuple now? Sure! Ian had a child while he lived with the Mohawk? Why not! The Major is allergic to cats? Delighted to meet you, mon ami.

Where has Grannie Wilson been all our lives, anyway? The old woman was dead, and then she wasn’t, and then she was dead again. It was an emotional rollercoaster, much like the unpredictable ride of being an Outlander fan. We soared to the passionate highs of Jamie and Claire having sex like it was 1743 all over again, only to then hurtle into the scene where drunk Fergus suckles on Marsali’s breast to bring on labour contractions.

Nearly old enough for their Gold Card FYI

Look, what a married couple does in the privacy of a time traveller’s medical surgery is their own business, but at that point I could have done with some homemade ether myself. Is there a better time to bring up “this is what we did in the brothel” than when your wife is nine centimetres dilated and preparing to expel a human out of her orifice? Grannie Wilson wouldn’t have put up with it, I tell you that.

Such is the circle of life on Fraser’s Ridge. Grannie Wilson departed, baby Henri-Christan was born with achondroplasia, and Roger was the Ridge’s emotional rock. He cheered Bree up when everyone thought her matches sucked, he helped a lost child and he gave drunk Fergus a good talking to. I don’t know what magic power lies in Roger’s facial hair, but ever since that beard grew in he has become a bushy tree of knowledge. Plant this shrub of common sense in the garden, Claire Fraser, and make a salve from his whiskers immediately.

“Matches suck, and don’t even get me started on elastic”

While Jamie wrestled with his knowledge of the upcoming American Revolutionary War and whether he should help arm the Cherokee, his nemesis Tom Christie continued to seethe his way around Fraser’s Ridge. Tom narrowed his eyes at everything he disapproved of, like women, fresh air, and the way the winter light brings out the rich russet tones in Jamie Fraser’s ponytail.

Christie’s new church was nearly finished, but after the shenanigans at Grannie Wilson’s funeral, he banned Claire from setting foot inside. It would have been powerful to see Tom accuse Claire of witchcraft, but instead Outlander let Claire casually drop this bombshell into the dinner conversation, somewhere between Marsali’s labour pangs and Roger’s thoughts on his sermon for a woman who wasn’t even dead.

Look, if Claire’s not bothered about being called a witch, then we’re not bothered either. Plus, we all knew Christie was bin juice, but now it seems he’s bin juice who mistreats his children. After Jamie told Christie to chill out, Christie was so mad he went home to beat his daughter Malva. The only thing that stopped him was his damaged hand, which Claire later agreed to operate on. Honestly, witches have more patience than a woman waking up at her own funeral.

Tom Christie, having a lovely time in North Carolina

Claire continued to rely on her DIY anaesthetic to control her PTSD, in between fun philosophical debates with Christie about whether God prefers goats over people (jury’s still out) and whether Christie is too scared to let a woman operate on him. Wait until he finds out what Bree can do with white phosphorus, or whatever the heck Lizzie’s up to with the Beardsley brothers. That’s a storyline we need to hurtle into, ASAP.

It’s no wonder we’re out for the count like a weary octogenarian covered in breadcrumbs.  Until next week, let’s channel the wisdom of Roger, the bravery of Marsali, and the fury of Grannie Wilson. At the very least, we can rest in the knowledge that the last thing Grannie saw was Jamie Fraser’s tricorn. A blessed exit, indeed.

Outlander screens on Neon, with a new episode every Monday night. Read more of Tara Ward’s Outlander recaps here.

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Pop CultureMarch 13, 2022

When Mike Hosking met Charlie’s Angels and Destiny’s Child

FeatureImage_SundayCelebs

To celebrate Sunday’s 20th anniversary, Alex Casey digs through the archives and unearths some early 2000s celebrity interview gems. 

Sunday is a current affairs institution in Aotearoa, remembered this week for two decades of groundbreaking investigations, explosive interviews and agenda-setting stories. But a lesser-celebrated element of the show is its longform celebrity interview slots, where some of the biggest names in journalism go deep with some of the biggest names in show business. 

For the past 20 years we’ve seen Michael Caine attempt a New Zealand accent, Cher lament the property prices in Godzone and Jerry Seinfeld promise to tip 100% of the bill to every restaurant he visits in the country. But back in the early 2000s, a plucky journalist by the name of Mike Hosking met two genuinely iconic trios in a pair of interviews for the history books. 

Hosking remembers them fondly himself. “Probably the part I enjoyed and remember best are the Charlie’s Angels type interviews,” he writes for 1News. “I strongly suspect I got most of them based on the fact the other reporters on the show didn’t fancy dealing with ‘fluff’.” Look, I don’t know about you, but I could do with more “fluff” at the moment, even if it is 20 years old.

So, let us take a trip back to when the world was simpler. Fashion was shiny, entertainment news was weirdly long and famous people and Hoskings alike could come and go as they pleased without thinking about vaccine passes and masks. Let us go back, back to 2002. 

The styling

Full throttle fashion

Much to discuss here, not limited to but certainly including the fact that Drew Barrymore is wearing an extremely large stripy tie. Both Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu are rocking a deep side fringe, while Barrymore appears to have adopted a half up, half down approach. Take note, Y2K-inspired teens reading this in 2022. 

Point if you are a floating head

For Destiny’s Child, Hosking goes full Johnny Cash. Black pants, black turtleneck, black jacket. Destiny’s Child are all rocking the jeans of the moment – bootcut – and Michelle is wearing a cream-coloured pleather jacket with maybe matching shoes. Beyonce is wearing a slouchy boho tunic, and Kelly Rowland is wearing sneakers with that unmistakably rugged Y2K grip.

The introductions

The Destiny’s Child interview begins, as a colleague pointed out, like a pure Alan Partridge tribute. “Sex, sass and sussed: three words that absolutely nail Destiny’s Child,” Hosking drawls from the passenger’s seat of a bright yellow Lamborghini. “And when you’re worth so much money, you can afford Lamborghini Diablos with just your lunch dough.”

Hosk, to quote another trio, “hanging out the passenger’s side of his best friend’s ride.”

Is the Diablo… his? In which case, is he the fourth member of Destiny’s Child? Hosk makes things clearer when he meets the Charlie’s Angels in 2003. The cameras are rolling when the guests walk in, so we can see the celebrities at their most unguarded. Unfortunately, the least guarded celebrity is Hosking, who exclaims “woah I bumped the light” as the Angels walk in. 

The banter

Before the Angels interview begins, Mike points around the room at the (presumably male) crew. “You want an autograph, you want a photo, he wants a date.” The Angels all laugh without smiling. He does not do the same gag with Destiny’s Child. 

There’s something about Mike.

The questions

We’re very used to seeing Hosking play hard ball in 2022, and with Destiny’s Child he was no exception. “How do you balance god and the cleavage and the skimpy clothes?” he asks. Kelly and Michelle begin explaining that they dial things up for their stage persona. Beyonce is less diplomatic, gesturing exasperatedly at her clothing. “Do we have cleavage now?” 

They don’t, but Mike is arguably the most chaste of them all – his turtleneck is nearly covering his chin.

Mike, asking the hard questions

With the Angels, Hosking is deeply concerned about Hollywood gossip. “How much should I believe?” he asks. Drew Barrymore has a theory involving hair, but the analogy quickly falls apart as she realises she doesn’t know how many hairs there are on a head. “Let’s say theres a billion, two billion hairs – there’s one hair of truth.” There are 100,000 hairs on a head.

Drew, searching for a strand of truth

The sign-off

Look at that Star Mart!

No entertainment package is complete without a snazzy sign-off. Hosking’s time with the Angels gets cut short by shuffling publicists, but he gets a proper outro for Destiny’s Child. “There are certainties in life like rain, and the weekends, but pop is about as reliable as the weather,” he muses, slamming the Lamborghini door. “Destiny’s Child know that truckloads of hype… can be quickly followed by mass indifference.” Hosking throws up his arms and the Lambo drives off. 

Now… what ever did happen to that “Beyonce” joker?

But wait there's more!