The Listener's June viewing guide: Robyn Malcolm's new Netflix show, David Attenborough goes to sea, and more
Walking with Dinosaurs
Period dramas
Screening: TVNZ 1, 7pm, Mondays from June 2
Streaming: TVNZ+. New episodes weekly
A long-awaited second series of the 1999 juggernaut BBC natural history series about prehistoric animals, which did for television what Jurassic Park did for the movies. Read.
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The Spinoff
12 hours ago
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Diary of a Junior Doctor will make you cry
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1News
2 days ago
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Stuntwoman Dayna Pomare-Pai trailblazing for others to follow
Dayna Pomare-Pai (Ngāpuhi) is an award-winning stuntwoman to the stars, but it's what she does on the ground that's shaping the future of the industry in Aotearoa New Zealand. Te Rauhiringa Brown caught up with Pomare-Pai on her stomping grounds in the Hunua Ranges for TVNZ's Marae. Watch part one of this two-part report on TVNZ+ now. When she's not on a film set, you can find Pomare-Pai at home on Sky High Ranch, training grounds to the next generation of stunt performers. 'Everyone who comes here says it feels like therapy,' she said. On this visit, the kind of therapy students are going through at the New Zealand Stunt School - which she founded - require swords and shields. ADVERTISEMENT 'We've just done three days of Roman riding and saddle falls and swords, and all sorts of things, and all horse-related stuff. Then, today, we're just bringing in some of the New Zealand stunt course students and getting them a bit around the horses.' At one stage they are paired off to go through the motions of pulling people off a barrel in a scenario set up to mimic someone on horseback being attacked. They each get a turn at being the victim and perpetrator. Stunt student Puriri Koria attempts to pull a clasmate off the 'horse'. (Source: Marae) For trainee Puriri Koria, stunt work was never on the radar. 'There's some of us here that are new to this, like myself. I was at first - I didn't know stunts was a thing.' He said he 'gave it a go' and found it was like play fighting. 'But that's what I love about this kind of mahi, the environment, these kinds of people.' He's relishing the opportunity to learn off one of the best in the industry - "she's kei runga noa atu.' ("She's top of the game.") ADVERTISEMENT Pomare-Pai first founded the school in 2010, and then, soon after, the New Zealand Action Talent Agency to represent homegrown talent for international projects. 'When we were training them up and then kind of going, 'well, they're so good how do we get them work?'' Pomare-Pai in her element. (Source: Marae) From there onwards, the pathway's foundation was laid. She started to bring others to run the agency and put graduates forward for stunt work. People from all over the world travel to take part in training at the ranch. In 2020, she brought her two worlds together, launching the New Zealand Horse Team where her love for horses and stunt work became one. 'We've actually been really busy, like we've just finished a six-month job," she said. 'We had 75 horses on that job over the six months – a whole big horse team of wranglers. So everybody was really, really busy, and then there's other horse jobs coming this year, and you know, we had heaps last year come through from commercials to Netflix shows.' ADVERTISEMENT A horse-riding stuntwoman is born Pomare-Pai fell into stunt work when she was asked to audition for a role on the iconic 90's hit show Xena: Warrior Princess. 'I was so active - I was a horse rider, dancer, gymnast - I did all these things and they were like, 'you'd be great', you know, 'give this a go'.' She got the gig and it was the beginning of a 30-plus year career stunt doubling for some of the biggest names in Hollywood. Her past credits, under her former name Dayna Grant, include Mad Max: Fury Road, Snow White and the Huntsman, and Wonderwoman. Despite her success in stunting, it comes second to her love for horses. Stuntwoman Dayna Pomare-Pai trains next generation of stunt performers (Source: Supplied) 'Horses has been my thing from day one. Like, I'd go and do stunts and I'd come back and my thing was getting back to the horses.' ADVERTISEMENT She recalls fondly how her dad would tie her into a saddle before she could even walk or talk. "I was only just sitting up and we would do six-week cattle drives and stuff like that and he'd worked a big station. He'd climb in the saddle, and I was happy on the horse. We'd go off and I'd fall asleep on there," she said. "I felt more comfortable on horseback, like, if I was crying, he'd put me on a horse. Straight away stopped crying. Happy as, go to sleep. So, yeah, that was from my dad.' Next chapter In 2021, Pomare-Pai sustained a serious head injury on set – a brutal reminder of the risks of stunt work. Scans later revealed an 8mm aneurysm that required urgent surgery. She raised the funds to go private and underwent a lengthy recovery stint. Stuntwoman Dayna Pomare-Pai trains next generation of stunt performers (Source: Marae) ADVERTISEMENT 'I'd spend days in a hyperbaric oxygen therapy chamber, and I learnt to meditate, which I never thought somebody with ADHD would be able to do. 'I didn't think I could teach myself to meditate, I didn't think it was possible, but I was put into a state where I had to learn how to meditate and that has now helped me out in life.' Now, she's turning that experience into helping those who need it the most. For part two of Dayna Pomare-Pai's story - Watch Marae on TVNZ1 on Sunday at 10.30am or on TVNZ+
The Spinoff
4 days ago
- The Spinoff
‘Who's this idiot?': Courtney Dawson on the irresistible pull of reality TV
The comedian and star of TVNZ series new series Don't, takes us through her life in television. In one of the funnier scenes from TVNZ's new documentary series Don't, Courtney Dawson gets dressed up to face one of life's greatest challenges: buying a house. With a charming purple feather fascinator atop her head, Dawson and comedian Bubbah (resplendent in a pair of pink lace gloves) meet with an Auckland real estate agent to find out exactly what people need to do today to buy a home – other than look the part of a wealthy homeowner. 'We thought we better get dressed up like ladies from Remuera,' Dawson laughs over Zoom. 'So we got some gorgeous wee crowns and silly little jewels, and we had a great time.' In Don't, Bubbah is joined by Dawson, Rhiannon McCall and Bailey Poching as they tackle the big issues facing young New Zealanders today: getting married, having children and buying a home. They speak to a variety of experts to learn what their options are, and consider what 'living the dream' in Aotearoa really means for our younger generations. It's the latest TV project for Dawson (Ngāti Kurī, Ngāti Amaru) who, as well as being an award-winning comedian, has appeared on shows like Rags are Riches, Have You Been Paying Attention NZ, Paddy Gower Has Issues and Celebrity Treasure Island. Not only was Don't a chance for Dawson to work with her friend Bubbah ('as soon as I got asked to be part of the project, I was like, 'if Bubba's in, I'm in''), Dawson appreciated how the docuseries offered a variety of perspectives from young people. 'It was nice to think it's actually all good if you don't want to own a home. There's lots of different ways to live a life.' That includes living your life through television, of course, so we sat down with Dawson to delve into a past filled with a nightmarish alien experience, an empowering Celebrity Treasure Island moment and a strong yearning to watch Love Island at the pub. My earliest TV memory is… My nan had a strong VCR game and she recorded all the episodes of the BBC's The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. I have vivid memories of going to this beautiful mid century cabinet and picking out the videos with the labels all peeling off and her beautiful handwriting. I would watch it and be completely transported. The TV show I loved as a kid was… The Simpsons was a big thing in my family, but we also had long periods of having no TV as well, probably because we were homeschooled. The Simpsons was the one that we would all stop and watch. My earliest TV crush was… Jonathan Taylor Thomas from Home Improvement, but I was a hard out tomboy so I would never admit that I had a crush on him. My best friend did, and I'd be like, 'oh, you're yuck', but really, I had a secret poster of him in my room from a Girlfriend magazine. The TV moment that haunts me is… Like lots of kids who grew up in the 90s, I was terrified of The X-Files. Whenever I used to hear theme music, I would run into my room. One night I was brave and sneaky and I peeked out – with just one eye – to look at the TV. As I was doing it, there was an alien that was peeking out from behind a drainpipe. I had nightmares that night, and I've had a recurring nightmare about that alien for years. My TV guilty pleasure is… Love Island. I thought reality TV was a waste of time, but my flatmate is a big reality TV fan. I'd walk in the lounge when she was watching Love Island and be like, 'who's this idiot?' Before I knew it, I was fully invested in all of these people's lives and looking them up on Instagram. I don't know whether I like Love Island, or I just like yelling at the TV. That's the only thing that I'm jealous of with men, is that they get to watch their programmes in bars and yell at the TV in public. I would love to do that with Love Island. My favourite moment from my own TV career is… Celebrity Treasure Island. It was an amazing but real harrowing experience. There was one challenge where we had to throw sacks of sand at a pole and knock it off. I was hanging back, but as soon as I threw it, all of this muscle memory came back from when I used to play softball, and I ended up knocking both the poles off. I felt like the most powerful woman alive. The funniest person on TV is… Bubbah, and I'm not just saying this because we made a show together. She's so funny on stage and television, but she's also a genuinely crackup person in her normal life. She's done something similar to Tofiga [Fepulea'i] in that she's built this beautiful, amazing career on her terms, in her own community, which is a real testament to the natural charisma that she has and the strong values that she has. She's a really inspiring, awesome person. My favourite TV show that I've ever been involved with is… My first TV show that I ever did, Rags are Riches. It was this little Māori TV show that Joe Daymond made. The only person on the cast and crew who had ever done TV before was the soundie. None of us had any idea, but it was so fun. The most stylish person on TV is… Janaye Henry. She made a show called 2 Cents 2 Much, and far out, the outfits and the styling of the set was so good. I re-watched it recently just to look at her outfits for inspiration. The TV show I wish I was involved with is… Taskmaster. It looks so fun. If I can make a career out of playing games on television, that would be awesome. What is your most watched TV show of all time? I've watched every season of Black Mirror because I'm terrified of AI and I like scaring myself. The show I'll never watch, no matter how many people tell me to is… Game of Thrones. The more someone tells me to watch something, the less likely I am to watch it. I'm happy you guys got to enjoy your dragons, but that's just not going to happen for me. The last thing I watched on TV was… Black Mirror, and before that, Severance, because I'm scared of computers. I'm scared of the robots. I love horror stuff, so combining fake horror with potential real life horror, that's my favourite.
