Underplayed Gems

The Governor (1977)

The Governor poster
Genre
docudrama
Country
New Zealand
Length
1 season, 6 episodes
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

This New Zealand docudrama miniseries tells the story of Sir George Grey in the 19th century. It covers his time as Governor of New Zealand and later as Prime Minister. The series stirred debate for its focus on Grey's private life and its use of Māori language without subtitles.

historicalcontroversialslow-burnintimateseriouseducationalrestrainedperiod

What happens

The Governor is a 1977 New Zealand docudrama television miniseries on Sir George Grey, co-produced by Television One and the National Film Unit, with Grey played by English actor Corin Redgrave. There are six parts, screened from Sunday 2 October 1977; the series has not been rescreened as TV One omitted to obtain repeat rights. The series is about Sir George Grey as Governor of New Zealand from 1845 to 1853 and 1861–68. In the nineteenth century he was both Governor and (later) Prime Minister of New Zealand, and Governor of South Australia and Governor of the Cape Colony. Neville describes him as "a Victorian gentleman, a drug addict (he used laudanum) and a lecher". The cost (with over-runs) was $1 million, and Prime Minister Rob Muldoon instigated an investigation by the parliamentary public expenditure committee into budgeting and the control of expenditure in television. The series also aroused controversy because of the emphasis on Grey's private life, and the dialogue in the Māori language, often without subtitles. Keith Aberdein wrote the script, from an idea by Michael A. Noonan, and carried out his own historical research and interviews. The series was produced by Tony Isaac. It won the 1978 Feltex Award for best drama, and Episode 4 won the award for best script. The series was only aired in New Zealand and Australia. People can now view the whole series on YouTube. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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