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800 Words
''800 Words'' (stylised as ''800 words'') is a comedy-drama television series, co-produced by South Pacific Pictures and Seven Productions for the Seven Network. Premise George Turner is a popular columnist for a top-selling Sydney newspaper, writing a weekly column which he insists must be exactly 800 words. After his wife dies, he buys (over the internet and unseen) a new home in a (fictional) small New Zealand seaside town called Weld, where his parents took him on holiday as a child. He then has to break the news to his two teenage children, Shay and Arlo. But the colourful and inquisitive locals in Weld ensure Turner's dream of a fresh start does not go exactly to plan. Cast Main * Erik Thomson as George Turner * Melina Vidler as Shay Turner * Benson Jack Anthony as Arlo Turner * Rick Donald as Jeff "Woody" Woodson, an Australian expat builder who moved to Weld for the surf * Bridie Carter as Jan, George's former boss and editor in Sydney * Emma Leonard as Tracey Denn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Comedy Drama
Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical hour-long legal or medical drama, but exhibit far fewer jokes-per-minute as in a typical half-hour sitcom. In the United States Examples from United States television include: ''M*A*S*H (TV series), M*A*S*H'', ''Moonlighting (TV series), Moonlighting'', ''The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd'', ''Northern Exposure'', ''Ally McBeal'', ''Sex and the City'', ''Desperate Housewives'' and ''Scrubs (TV series), Scrubs''. The term "dramedy" was coined to describe the late 1980s wave of shows, including ''The Wonder Years'', ''Hooperman'', ''Doogie Howser, M.D.'' and ''Frank's Place''. See also *List of comedy drama television series *Black comedy *Dramatic structure *Melodrama *Seriousness *Tragicomedy *Psychological ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Māori People
The Māori (, ) are the indigenous Polynesian people of mainland New Zealand (). Māori originated with settlers from East Polynesia, who arrived in New Zealand in several waves of canoe voyages between roughly 1320 and 1350. Over several centuries in isolation, these settlers developed their own distinctive culture, whose language, mythology, crafts, and performing arts evolved independently from those of other eastern Polynesian cultures. Some early Māori moved to the Chatham Islands, where their descendants became New Zealand's other indigenous Polynesian ethnic group, the Moriori. Initial contact between Māori and Europeans, starting in the 18th century, ranged from beneficial trade to lethal violence; Māori actively adopted many technologies from the newcomers. With the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, the two cultures coexisted for a generation. Rising tensions over disputed land sales led to conflict in the 1860s, and massive land confiscations, to which ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Packed To The Rafters
''Packed to the Rafters'' was an Australian family-oriented comedy drama television program which premiered on the Seven Network on Tuesday 26 August 2008 at 8:30 pm. The show continued on Tuesdays in this timeslot for its entire run. The drama series features a mix of lighthearted comedy woven through the plot. It revolves around the Rafter family facing work pressures and life issues, while also tackling serious social issues. The Logie award winning series was the highest rating to screen on the Seven Network in 2008, and the show was consistently among the top 5 shows of the year throughout its run in Australia. ''TV Week'' announced 2013 that the sixth series of ''Packed to the Rafters'' would be the last, with Hugh Sheridan stating, "It's emotional letting go of ''Rafters'' – for all of us. It was such an amazing chapter in Aussie TV. I'm really proud we all came back together to send it off." The two-hour finale of ''Rafters'' aired on 2 July 2013, and saw the retur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elizabeth Hawthorne
Elizabeth Hawthorne (born 30 April 1947) is a New Zealand actress who is known for her role as Mrs. Macready in the 2005 film '' The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'' and the Peter Jackson supernatural comedy ''The Frighteners.'' She had a small recurring role as the voice of Hera on ''Young Hercules'', and partly played Alcmene in its parent show ''Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'' in the first season. She played Judge Harriet Caldwell in the 2004 TV movie '' Raising Waylon''. Married to Raymond Hawthorne, she is the mother of Emmeline Hawthorne and the late Sophia Hawthorne. Filmography Film Television Honours and awards Hawthorne was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren . ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miriama Smith
Miriama Te Rangimarie Smith (born 3 June 1976) is a New Zealand film and television actress who has played roles in various TV shows such as '' Xena: Warrior Princess'', ''Karaoke High'' and ''Shortland Street''. Her best-known roles, however, were the role of Moz in the third season of '' The Tribe'', and also the role of Elsa / Principal Randall in the 2004 ''Power Rangers'' series, ''Power Rangers Dino Thunder''. She was one of the three judges on the first season of entertainment show ''New Zealand's Got Talent'' that aired on Prime TV in 2008. She starred as Brady Trubridge on the TVNZ 2 drama series '' Filthy Rich.'' Early life Smith was born in Rotorua, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. She is of Te Arawa descent. Career Smith started her acting career when she was a teen. She did a few commercials and a role in one episode of the TV show ''Shark in the Park.'' She was in the movie The Other Side of Heaven in 2001. She played Elsa / Principal Randall in the 2004 ''Power Ran ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rachael Carpani
Rachael Ann Carpani (born 24 August 1980) is an Australian actress best known as Jodi Fountain in ''McLeod's Daughters''. Biography Carpani grew up on a property near Dural, in Sydney's Hills District. Carpani has twice been nominated at the Logies, both in 2007. Career She is most famous for her role as Jodi Fountain on the Australian TV drama ''McLeod's Daughters''. Carpani also had a role in the film '' Hating Alison Ashley'', starring Delta Goodrem, and appeared in '' All Saints''. Carpani attended The Hills Grammar School with Delta Goodrem. Carpani left ''McLeod's Daughters'' to pursue her career in the United States. She had been cast in the CBS pilot, ''Law Dogs'' with Janeane Garofalo, but the series was not picked up. She appeared in seven episodes of season one of ''Cane''. Rachael then returned to ''McLeod's Daughters'' as Jodi Fountain for the final episode on 31 January 2009. Carpani appeared commercially as one of the faces for Telstra's Next G network. She ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ditch Davey
Kristian "Ditch" Davey is an Australian actor known for his role as Evan Jones in the Seven Network's ''Blue Heelers'' from 2001 to 2006, and for playing the lead role of Julius Caesar in Netflix Season 2: Master of Rome ''Roman Empire'' in 2018. Early life and education Davey graduated from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), Perth in 1998. Career Not long after leaving the WAAPA in 1998 and the state of Western Australia, he got his first acting job on a Wrigley's Eclipse chewing gum ad. Following this, he was seen on Australian dramas such as '' All Saints'', '' Above the Law'', '' Water Rats'', and the telemovie '' Do or Die''. In 2001, he auditioned for the role of Evan Jones on ''Blue Heelers''. After winning the role, he quit his job as a part-time barman in Sydney and relocated to Melbourne. He also cut his long blonde hair and dyed it brown. His first episode was "Dragged". In 2006, ''Blue Heelers'' was axed after a 12-year-run. Davey hosted ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jackie Van Beek
Jackie van Beek (born 10 May 1976) is a New Zealand film and television director, writer and actress. Early life Van Beek was born and raised in Wellington and attended Onslow College. She studied contemporary dance at the Wellington Performing Arts Centre, then completed a linguistics degree at Victoria University of Wellington, graduating in 1998. Throughout her studies she wrote and produced plays in Wellington theatres and schools. Career In 1999 van Beek moved to Auckland and worked on theatre productions, and she spent a year at Ohio Northern University as the writer-in-residence. In 2006 van Beek moved to Australia and began making short films. Her first feature film was ''The Inland Road'', which was screened at the Berlin International Film Festival and the Seattle International Film Festival, followed by her second feature film, ''The Breaker Upperers.'' Van Beek has won a number of filmmaking awards, including SPADA New Filmmaker of the Year in 2013, as well as act ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tandi Wright
Tandi Wright (born 4 May 1966) is a New Zealand actress. She first gained recognition for portraying Nurse Caroline Buxton on the long running New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Street''. She is best known for her roles as Fenn Partington on ''Seven Periods with Mr Gormsby'' and Catherine Duvall on '' Nothing Trivial''. She played a recurring role in ''800 Words'' portraying the character Laura Turner. Life Wright was born in Zambia to New Zealander parents Vernon Wright and Dinah Priestley. She grew up in Wellington and attended Wellington High School and Victoria University of Wellington. She graduated from Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School with a Diploma in Acting in 1994. Her father Vernon Wright, is a former journalist for "The Listener" who now lives in Zambia, and her mother Dinah is a writer and actress in Wellington. Wright has two sisters, Nicky (DOC policy advisor) and Justine (film editor), and two step sisters, Stephanie (information architect) and Victoria ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Fane
David Rodney Fane (born 28 December 1966) is a New Zealand actor of Samoan descent. Early life and education Fane was educated at St. Pauls College in Grey Lynn. Career Fane got into acting quite late and trained at the New Zealand Drama School Toi Whakaari, graduating with a Diploma in Acting in 1992, which he upgraded to a Bachelor of Performing Arts (Acting) in 2003. He first appeared on television in a sketch comedy show called SKITZ alongside future Naked Samoans Oscar Kightley and Robbie Magasiva. He then did the sitcom spinoff "The Semisis" in which he played the father and the minister. In 2004 he performed in a play written by Oscar Kightley and Dave Andrews called ''Niu Sila''. The play won the Chapman Tripp Theatre Award for Outstanding New Zealand Play of the Year. Fane was a founding member of Naked Samoans. He played a leading role in Sione's Wedding. Other roles include parts in The Tattooist, bro'Town, Outrageous Fortune (TV series), Outrageous Fortune an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Leigh (actor)
John Leigh (born 1965) is a New Zealand actor. He has had roles in New Zealand TV shows such as ''Shortland Street'', ''Mercy Peak'' and as Sparky in '' Outrageous Fortune''. He is a voice actor, and worked for the ''Power Rangers'' franchise since 2003 (after the franchise had moved to New Zealand). He has appeared in films including the role of Háma in '' The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'' and as the bar-owner in '' Stickmen'', and in soap satire Serial Killers. In 2014 he acted in and wrote the short comedy film Snowmen. He is also a stage actor and started on stage in Wellington before getting film and television roles. He is based in Auckland. Theatre shows he has appeared in with the Auckland Theatre Company include ''Kings of the Gym'', ''Horseplay'', ''Stones in His Pockets'', ''Death of a Salesman'' and ''All My Sons''. Filmography Film Television Power Rangers Series *''Power Rangers Ninja Storm'' (2003) - Terramole / Toxipod / Super Toxipod / Dr. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Olivia Tennet
Olivia Tennet (born 4 January 1991) is a New Zealand actress and dancer best known in her home country for her role as Tuesday Warner on the nightly medical drama ''Shortland Street'', along with several roles in television and theatre. Outside of New Zealand, she is best known for her roles in '' The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'' (2002), ''Power Rangers RPM'' (2009), and the independent film '' Blood Punch'' (2013). Career Tennet began taking dance lessons at the age of four years following her older sister into dance, eventually stumbling into acting three years later She made her first major television appearance in the fourth season of '' Xena: Warrior Princess'' as the runaway Princess Alesia in the episode "If The Shoe Fits...". Eventually, Tennet made her way into films. She went on to win the "Best Juvenile Performer" award at the Nokia New Zealand Film and TV Awards in 2000, for her role as Nicole Mitchell in ''Kids World''. She also appeared in Peter Jackson's f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
