We Kiwis love competitions – a fact that our telly networks reflect throughout their schedules. From cooking to its natural conclusion “Extreme Makeover: Weightloss Edition”, to being the best model on TV3’s “NZNTM” (it’s not that hard, surely?), we relish the struggle to win.

The best competition of all though, has to be “Homai Te Pakipaki” over on Maori Television. “Homai” takes karaoke singing and elevates it to an art form.

Each week the programme plucks all comers out of their home-towns and marae and thrusts them in front of a live audience where they belt, croon and reggae their souls out. This isn’t simply getting up at the pub in front of your mates but in front of a live audience with the iwi watching at home. Pride is at stake here.

The winner is decided by text poll. But, whoever wins weekly, the result is always television gold.

The live audience – usually whanau supporting their boy or girl up on stage – hold up signs of love and support and start dancing spontaneously during the show. Sadly, if you want to catch it this year, you’ll have to wait.

The Grand Final went to air last Friday and had plenty of ‘feel good’ from whoa to go.  From the slick professionalism of presenter Matai Smith to his cohort TeHamua Nikora, who’s so loose he makes geese look uptight, this is the show where everyone is a winner without the artificial jeopardy that blights other competitive shows.

TeHamua exhorted the live audience at Auckland’s “Logan Campbell Centre” to “paki up” (pakipaki means to clap but pakipaki also means a dried human head! But I think he meant the former) and they did clap and roar as finalists choose their songs from the authorized song-book.

Paki Number Seven, Ngati Porou’s Chad Chambers, complete in bro’ couture of white meatworks gumboots was asked what he wanted out of the show. “A recording contract,” he replied quick as a flash.  Some savvy recording exec should oblige.  He was the winner on the night and his style of reggae-flavoured R&B was a huge hit with the punters.

“Homai” is what happens when a network knows what its viewers want and gives it to them. They’ve put the wairua back into heartland television. The result is a show that reflects its audience, showing us a part of Kiwi life we don’t get to see on any other network. We’re all the richer for it.

And, given that success, I know now where I’ll be watching Rugby World Cup 2011 – on the warmly human Maori Television Service.

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You don’t need to be Einstein to work out that I probably rank as the world’s most unproductive blogger.  Excuses aside (ok, if you want to know I have been pretty busy….yeah, lame eh?) I’ve taken matters in hand and given myself a bloody good talking to, which has resulted in an attitude readjustment.

Good blogs are like good columns. The author allows you to walk into their brain and try ideas on for size.  Up until now this blog, like so many others out there, has been all about anger. And like talk-back radio, while it can be energetically entertaining, it’s pretty much a cul-de-sac ideas-wise.

No more, long suffering reader. I promise to blog more frequently and about more diverse and positive subjects.

And, hey, you get to hold me to account if I don’t.  See, just like talk-back, only better.

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