I was brought to watch this show through comedian (and actor) Jason Hoyte, who plays the deplorable Mudgeway. I was not prepared to see something so funny come out of a NZ production. The comedy is based on the very old school Gormsby, who every kid in NZ can relate to as 'an out of touch teacher stuck in the 1950's'.
The racism is frequent in the show, but par for the course in New Zealand. Many of us look at racism as funny, and not a serious problem. This is elevated by cherry picked insults from Gormsby, who thoughout the series seems to be a massive racist but shows a lot of heart and traditional kiwi values. Cross that with the teaching staff (hilariously incompetent and underfunded, another NZ staple) and you have a TV show for the ages.
The show is unabashedly and hilariously offensive. Many of the caracatures of teachers we've all dealt with in New Zealand are dialled up to 11 (a PE teacher who is a morbidly obese lesbian, a milquetoast Principal butchering not only Maori, but Islander greetings, a Maori teacher who can't speak Maori, and many more besides!)
If you can get past the obvious stereotypes (which are obviously dialled up for comedic purposes) this is actually not just funny, but a pretty heartwarming story of a misfit class coming of age. The relationship that develops between the stereotypical missing parent Hohepa and 'old english discipline' Gormsby has way more depth than most comedies.
"Old Uncle Ned was buried under the Whenua, We'll never see his likes - again-ua"
The racism is frequent in the show, but par for the course in New Zealand. Many of us look at racism as funny, and not a serious problem. This is elevated by cherry picked insults from Gormsby, who thoughout the series seems to be a massive racist but shows a lot of heart and traditional kiwi values. Cross that with the teaching staff (hilariously incompetent and underfunded, another NZ staple) and you have a TV show for the ages.
The show is unabashedly and hilariously offensive. Many of the caracatures of teachers we've all dealt with in New Zealand are dialled up to 11 (a PE teacher who is a morbidly obese lesbian, a milquetoast Principal butchering not only Maori, but Islander greetings, a Maori teacher who can't speak Maori, and many more besides!)
If you can get past the obvious stereotypes (which are obviously dialled up for comedic purposes) this is actually not just funny, but a pretty heartwarming story of a misfit class coming of age. The relationship that develops between the stereotypical missing parent Hohepa and 'old english discipline' Gormsby has way more depth than most comedies.
"Old Uncle Ned was buried under the Whenua, We'll never see his likes - again-ua"