Episodes

  • The mess, the 25 year old monkey and me

    The mess, the 25 year old monkey and me
    Mar 10 2019
    It's been a monkey on his back for 25 years. It's time to try to understand what happened to bring about such a monstrous failure.
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    2 mins
  • 'I think of it like a cult'

    'I think of it like a cult'
    Mar 12 2019
    Kiwi TV show 'Melody Rules' came out in the 90s and is widely regarded as one of worst sitcoms ever made. But just how bad was it? Geoff Houtman - one of the show's original writers - embarks on a quest to find out what went wrong.
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    25 mins
  • 'What? You want us to write a kids' show?'

    'What? You want us to write a kids' show?'
    Mar 19 2019
    Geoff and some of the original writing group talk about the 'odd' way Melody Rules came to be chosen, and how micro-management from the outset set the course for sitcom-disaster.
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    25 mins
  • 'Even I thought I was a terrible choice!'

    'Even I thought I was a terrible choice!'
    Mar 26 2019
    Even a badly chosen idea and a micro-managed script needs someone to play it. And casting is crucial... especially with inexperienced actors.
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    23 mins
  • 'Just f#&%ing stand there and say your line!'

    'Just f#&%ing stand there and say your line!'
    Apr 2 2019
    Geoff tracks down the man who directed all 40 episodes of Melody Rules and hears about the challenges he faced: inexperience, arguments with the actors, news cameras on loan, making a sitcom in a broom closet.
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    22 mins
  • 'The one-eyed man in the kingdom of the blind'

    'The one-eyed man in the kingdom of the blind'
    Apr 9 2019
    Geoff tracks down John Vorhaus, the sitcom guru. How did John get the job of training the young writers and what did he make of it all?
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    24 mins
  • 'There was just... vitriol in the air'

    'There was just... vitriol in the air'
    Apr 16 2019
    Melody Rules is finally unleashed on a hyped-up New Zealand public and is greeted with virtual (and actual) hostility.
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    21 mins
  • 'The Network would say, here's what we're going to do, blah blah blah'

    'The Network would say, here's what we're going to do, blah blah blah'
    Apr 24 2019
    What were the Network people thinking when they made Melody Rules? Geoff gets their - surprisingly positive - take on the experience.
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    23 mins