''Seven Periods with Mr Gormsby'' is a satirical

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

television series, created and written by

Danny Mulheron Danny Mulheron is a New Zealand actor, writer, and director who has worked in theatre, television and film. Mulheron graduated from Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School in 1983 with a Diploma in Acting. In 2012, he directed '' Fresh Meat'', ...

(who also directs and co-produces), Dave Armstrong, and Tom Scott. It stars David McPhail as the titular Mr Gormsby, whose

politically incorrect ''Political correctness'' (adjectivally: ''politically correct''; commonly abbreviated ''PC'') is a term used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in socie ...

attitudes and "old school" teaching style clash and contrast with the environment at the fictional Tepapawai High School. The show pokes fun at the New Zealand education system but also at modern New Zealand social attitudes more generally.

Plot

The story follows various events at a New Zealand ''low-decile''

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

in a low-income area having often poorly-qualified teaching staff and many students with difficult socio-economic backgrounds - mostly belonging to ethnic minorities, Māori and Pacifika.

Characters

* Mortimer Ellis Gormsby ( David McPhail) - Relief Teacher * Roger Dascent ( Paul McLaughlin) - The principal of Tepapawai Boys High School * Steve Mudgeway (

Jason Hoyte Jason Hoyte is a New Zealand screen and voice actor and radio DJ. He has at least 25 television shows to his credit and is best known for his roles as Steve Mudgeway in ''Seven Periods with Mr Gormsby'' and Malcolm "Smudge" in ''Nothing Trivial' ...

) - The school counsellor * Fenn Partington ( Tandi Wright) - English Teacher * Lauren ( Michele Amas) - Secretary * Alisdair Morton ( Thomas Robins) - Economics teacher * Hone Hakanui ( Louis Sutherland) - Māori studies teacher * Werner Hundertwasser ( Nigel Collins) - Head of Music * Marion Patterson ( Geraldine Brophy) - The

Education Review Office The Education Review Office (ERO) (Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture ...

school inspector * Rak ( Charles Lum) - School cleaner, formerly a nuclear physicist in Cambodia * Agnes Maria Teresa O'Flaherty - ( Dena Kennedy) Social Studies/History teacher * Lesley Tangaroa ( Grace Hoet)- P.E. teacher

Class 5F

* Emile Bastabus ( Joseph Moore) * Elvis Hohepa ( R.J. Smiler) * Afioga ( Feterika Sage) * Ama'ata'a Uleiata'aua Alupepe ( Halaifonua Finau) * Govind ( Hursh Saha) * Minh ( Samson Phommachack) * Gareth le Tissier ( Lyndon McGaughran)

Filming and broadcasting

The series ran for two seasons; the first was broadcast in 2005 on TV ONE in New Zealand and the ABC TV in Australia. The second series was shown in New Zealand in 2006 and in Australia, on

ABC2 ABC TV Plus (formerly ABC2 and ABC Comedy) is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and part of its ABC Television network. The channel broadcasts a range of general entertainment pr ...

, April 2008. DVDs of the series were sold in Australia through the

ABC Shop ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

. The series was nominated for Best Script and Best Comedy in the 2006 NZ Screen Awards. The program was filmed at two schools in the suburbs of Lower Hutt: the first season at Wainuiomata College and the second at Petone College. The first season's school's original location is now occupied by Wainuiomata Little Theatre.
Address 106 Moohan St, Wainuiomata, Lower Hutt 5014, New Zealand (
Google map location

Episode List

Series One

Series Two

Reception

The series was received mostly positively by Australian critics, although some aspects of its politically incorrect nature raised some eyebrows.Ray Cassin

''The Age'', 3 December 2005 Ray Cassin (''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory ...

'') writes that the series is attacking hypocrisy on all fronts and tries to unmasks deceits and pretensions with a rather relentless and gleeful insistence. Jim Schembri ('' Sydney Morning Herald'') argues the show skating on thin ice due to its politically incorrect nature and sees it as another example of how far New Zealand is ahead of Australia when it comes to dealing with delicate matters through comedy.Jim Schembri
"Seven Periods with Mr Gormsby"
''Sydney Morning Herald'', 14 December 2005 Alan Mascarenhas (''The Age'') states while the series has low production values and patchy acting it does nevertheless possess a pythonesque quality. He recalls that couldn't stop laughing even at scenes where he probably shouldn't have. According to him the show goes further than ''

The Office ''The Office'' is a mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, first made in the United Kingdom, then Germany, and subsequently the United States. It has since been remade in ten other countries. The original series o ...

'' ever dared balancing between fun and bigotry.Alan Mascarenhas
"Seven Periods with Mr Gormsby"
''The Age'', 28 December 2005

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0471059, Seven Periods with Mr Gormsby
Characters of Seven Periods with Mr Gormsby (TVNZ)

at the ''australian television information archive'' 2000s high school television series 2000s workplace comedy television series 2000s New Zealand television series 2005 New Zealand television series debuts 2006 New Zealand television series endings New Zealand satirical television shows Television series about educators Television shows filmed in New Zealand Television shows funded by NZ on Air TVNZ 1 original programming