29 September

The universe takes away and the universe provides.

The universe takes away and the universe provides. That’s a simple enough concept, right? Unfortunately, as with many things in this universe, the taking and the giving can often be imbalanced and, therefore, extremely unfair.

For example, just recently, the universe took away the baby who would have grown up to be my little half-brother. It would have been great having an offspring younger than me in this family, because then my Mum would have a whole new life-form to obsess over and terrorize for many years to come, which would, in turn, have meant that she’d be too busy to hassle me as much as she currently does. This would have been brilliant, but – of course – the universe conspired to take Tama away.

And what did the universe give us in return?

Eric.

Thanks a bunch, universe.

You know the phrase “hanging round like a bad smell”? That pretty much describes Eric to a tee in that he is more than just a little bit pongy; and he is currently infesting our house, moaning about spending three years in Palmerston North – to which I say ‘if you hated Palmerston North so much, why did you stay there for three years? Why not move to Masterton or Tokoroa after a year, if Palmerston North offended you so? Was someone keeping you prisoner there, Eric?”

But no, apparently it’s all our fault Eric is a miserable old git with nowhere to live, which means every time I turn around there he is, moaning.

When I was a kid I set fire to his beard a few times – just for a laugh.

I’m not above going there again, is all I’m saying now.

29 September

How Like an Angel!

Grandpa has a disturbing visit from Eric, aka The Angel of Death, with a message that Grandpa will die in jail. Yes, this is a nightmare, but Grandpa believes the message. So he asks Jethro to make his will.

Pascalle gets a visit from Nicky who pays her ten grand he’s earned on a fight tour. Pascalle is impressed. Gerard is disturbed and insists she give the money back. When Nicky realises this is on Gerard’s suggestion he is upset that Pascalle has not heeded his warnings about Gerard, who is not good with women. The reason? He abused his power as an officer to sleep with Sheree when she was fifteen. Pascalle is thrown by this, but now finds that Grandpa thinks he’s about to die in jail; that he’s made a will; that Loretta is executor; and it’s all because of some dream about Eric. Pascalle does her best to disabuse Grandpa, but as she’s doing so Eric turns up. Grandpa is shocked, but Eric-not-the-angel-of-death is angry to have wasted three years of his life in Palmerston North and is blaming Judd and Cheryl for this. As Grandpa has a turn . . .

Kasey and Munter find that Van has a female flatmate, who makes his lunch. Kasey is sure they must be on, so they go to inspect the flatmate, only to find it’s Angel.

“I want a shindig with sausage rolls, cheerios, a proper spread.” - Grandpa

Pascalle demands to know if Gerard did sleep with Sheree when she was an underage slut. Gerard admits this is true, but turns the tables on Nicky by revealing that he killed Sheree’s husband, Garth Loader, and also that he is jealous of anyone else who sleeps with his sister. Pascalle is appalled to realise he means incest. Loretta confirms this is likely, and is also convinced that they killed Garth for the insurance. But why should Pascalle care when Nicky is out of her life? A good question indeed, as – Grandpa returns having discharged himself from hospital and come to a decision. He wants a pre-wake wake, where he will reveal the contents of his will. After Tama’s recent death, this could be awkward, but Cheryl and Judd both agree to it.

Pascalle confronts Nicky, who denies that he is a murderer, but admits that he did sleep with Sheree. But once Pascalle hears the story of what happened, she almost understands how it could have happened. But Nicky still can’t satisfy her about the death of Garth, so he takes an extreme step and introduces Pascalle to the living Garth, who is none other than Angel. Pascalle sees this is true, but feels torn, as Grandpa now reads his will. This reveals that his estate will be split between Ngaire and Jane. But he also wants his debt to Pascalle to be repaid. Pascalle is moved by this and also comes to a new realisation. She is also part of the reason Grandpa is off to jail, not just Nicky, and she now believes he is honest. But – despite this, she’s not about to resume the relationship when Grandpa is off to die in jail. Nicky is disappointed, as Pascalle now uses the same excuse to claim she wants a break from Gerard.

Grandpa gives Loretta his black box to be opened on his death. Loretta breaks into it, to find that Grandpa is far, far wealthier than he’s made out. Loretta is angry, but also finds that Grandpa has a suspected heart condition. But as he makes his final preparations to go away, Jethro arrives with shocking news. Grandpa is not about to go to prison to die because Nicky has given himself up for the robbery. Grandpa takes back the black box. Gerard hopes that Pascalle will now resume their relationship, but instead Pascalle calls things off. She now knows just how much Nicky loves her and she visits him in remand to tell him so and that she will wait for him, as long as it takes.

  • Gutter Black

    (David McArtney)
    Southern Music Publ. Co. (A’Asia) Pty. Ltd

    Performed by Hello Sailor

    Courtesy of Zodiac

  • Light It Up

    
(M Royal/B Milligan/D McClure/D Sutherland) Control

    Performed by The Valves

    Courtesy of Broken Records

  • Electric Waterfall

    
(L Buda)

    Control


    Performed by Luke Buda


    Courtesy of Arch Hill Recordings

  • Make A Move Dub

    (M August/A Christiansen/T Jaray/J Murphy/N Patterson/J Ward/D Weetman)
 Native Tongue Music Publishing


    Performed by The Black Seeds

    Courtesy of The Black Seeds

29 September

Series 5 Episode 19: Tuesday 6 October, 9:30pm – TV3

29 September

Outrageous Fortune sisters say no to animal cruelty

WSPA2
The Outrageous Fortune sisters, Siobhan Marshall (Pascalle West) and Antonia Prebble (Loretta West) are urging New Zealanders to help end animal cruelty this World Animal Week by purchasing an exclusive Karen Walker for WSPA t-shirt.

The New Zealand made, 100% organic cotton t-shirts will be sold in The Body Shop stores from 12 to 18 October 2009. The t-shirts will sell for $40, with $20 from every sale going to the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) to help end animal cruelty.

This year’s range of Karen Walker for WSPA t-shirts has been designed by leading New Zealand fashion designer, Karen Walker, to raise much needed funds for the WSPA as well as encourage support for a Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare.

As Antonia explains, “In New Zealand we are lucky to have relatively high animal welfare standards, but sadly this is not true for a lot of the world.”

A Universal Declaration for animals will give official global recognition of animals as sentient beings capable of experiencing pain and suffering and will ensure the needs of animals remain at the forefront when governments formulate and implement policies concerning them.

Millions of animals face a life of toil, mistreatment, cruelty, pain and suffering as a result of human indifference and neglect.

Global recognition of animals and their welfare would provide the basis for their increased recognition and protection, and it is also closely linked with improving human health, social development and environmental sustainability.

More than 36,000 New Zealanders and 2 million people worldwide have already added their name in support of the Declaration.
Siobhan says, this is a really important issue and all New Zealanders should add their name in support for this Declaration.

The petition can be signed in The Body Shop stores or online at www.wspa.org.nz/animalsmatter.

28 September

Sarah asks: Was wondering if i can buy the series (all of them) as a download to my pc? I am a kiwi living in the UAE and getting stuff sent here is tricky, as if it’s a dvd they screen it for ‘objectionable content’ hehehe.

Hi Sarah,

At this stage no. Unfortunately you cannot purchase the series to download at this stage. Please note downloading full episodes of the show anywhere else is ILLEGAL.

Your best bet is the DVDs, so hopefully you can get them sent over safely! We’ll let you know if any other options become available.