The Son of a Gunn Show was a New Zealand after-school, children's television show, hosted by Jason Gunn, that aired on TVNZ from 1992, to the final episode in 1995. [1] It was produced in the Christchurch TVNZ Building and finished when the production of children's programmes was moved to Wellington. [2]
The Son of a Gunn Show saw Jason often accompanied by his sidekick Thingee, a grey puppet with bulbous eyes.
Television New Zealand, more commonly referred to as TVNZ, is a television network that is broadcast throughout New Zealand and parts of the Pacific region. All of its currently-operating channels are free-to-air and commercially funded.
Shortland Street is a New Zealand prime-time soap opera centring on the fictitious Shortland Street Hospital, first broadcast on TVNZ 2 on 25 May 1992. It is New Zealand's longest-running drama and soap opera, being broadcast continuously for over 7,700 episodes and 31 years, and is one of the most watched television programmes in New Zealand.
Moses Gunn was an American actor of stage and screen. An Obie Award-winning stage player, he is an alumnus of the Negro Ensemble Company. His 1962 off-Broadway debut was in Jean Genet's The Blacks, and his Broadway debut was in A Hand is on the Gate, an evening of African-American poetry. He was nominated for the 1976 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performance in The Poison Tree, and he also played Othello on Broadway in 1970. For his screen performances, Gunn is best known for his roles as Clotho in WUSA (1970), Bumpy Jonas in Shaft (1971) and Joe on Little House on the Prairie (1977-1981).
What Now is a New Zealand children's television programme that premiered on Saturday 9 May 1981. It is currently filmed before a live audience at a different school in New Zealand, which is selected every week.
Good Morning was a New Zealand morning magazine lifestyle television programme. It aired weekday mornings from 9 am to 10 am on TVNZ 1 from April 1996 to 2015. The programme was hosted by Jeanette Thomas. Episodes typically included segments on cooking, craft, exercise, fashion and beauty, and topical discussion panels, as well as interviews with celebrities and other noteworthy people. The show was typically broadcast live, with the usual exception of advertorials that were embedded in the programme.
The Electric Confectionaires were a four-piece musical group from Auckland, New Zealand. Their music is a diverse fusion of styles ranging from rock to garage, blues, surf and jazz. The band formed in 2005 at Takapuna Grammar School where original members Jaisi Sheehan, Haddon Smith, Rob Fenton, Calum Gunn and Toby McLeanan shared a music class. The group gained nationwide recognition when they won the 2005 Smokefree Rockquest.
Simon Barnett is a radio and television host and presenter in New Zealand.
Jason Kenneth Gunn is a New Zealand television and radio personality. He is known for The Son of a Gunn Show, What Now, Dancing with the Stars, Wheel of Fortune, and The Rich List, and also afternoon shows on radio stations Classic Hits and More FM.
TVNZ+, formerly known as TVNZ OnDemand, is an online New Zealand television and video on demand streaming service offered by TVNZ. It offers a variety of free content, such as news updates and programmes seen on TVNZ channels. TVNZ+ offers most of the programmes broadcast on air with licensing agreements to be shown for users in New Zealand. In addition, it offers dozens of local and international titles exclusively available on the platform.
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. He is also known for starring in the film The Insatiable Moon, and starred as Franklin Corke in the New Zealand Comedy/Drama Outrageous Fortune.
Thingee is a puppet which was used as an unofficial ambassador and icon for New Zealand children's television during the 1990s, appearing in multiple television shows such as The Son of a Gunn Show, and also children's programme, What Now. He appeared on T-shirts, dolls, puzzles and advertising all over New Zealand. He was voiced by After School camera operator and director Alan Henderson, who died on 15 February 2020.
Bumble is a New Zealand children's television series for children ages 2–7 featuring a magical bee. The title character is voiced by Jason Gunn. The series is produced for TVNZ by Gunn's wife, Janine Morrell-Gunn
Candy Michele Lane is a New Zealand dancer, choreographer and television presenter. She co-presented TVNZ's Dancing With The Stars with Jason Gunn, and also choreographed New Zealand's Got Talent, The Singing Bee, and Stars in Their Eyes. Most recently she was the Head Judge of the 2015 series of Dancing With the Stars. In August 2021, it was announced that she would feature in the 2021 Season of Celebrity Treasure Island 2021.
Melissa Katherine Rycroft-Strickland is an American television personality, host, and dancer. She is a former Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader and television personality. She has participated as a bachelorette on the thirteenth season of ABC's The Bachelor, on the CMT reality TV series Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team, and on the eighth and fifteenth seasons of ABC's Dancing with the Stars. Rycroft went on to host reality competition shows such as Bachelor Pad and Redneck Island.
New Zealand's Got Talent was a New Zealand reality television show which premiered in 2008. The show was based on the Got Talent series. The show featured singers, dancers, magicians, comedians and other variety performers of all ages competing for a top prize of $100,000 cash and a Toyota RAV4 car. Three judges appear on the show each week to provide feedback for the contestants.
Wheel of Fortune was a long-running New Zealand television game show that was last hosted by television personality Jason Gunn and co-host Sonia Gray. It was broadcast on TV2 from 1991 to 1996 and on TV ONE from 2008 to 2009.
Jase TV was a short-lived New Zealand children's television show in which hosts Jason Gunn and puppet Thingee introduced cartoons. It aired on TVNZ in 1992 and eventually led into The Son of a Gunn Show.
WhitebaitMedia is a local independent New Zealand production company producing children's programmes. It was founded by Janine Morrell-Gunn in 1998.
After School was a New Zealand children's television programme that aired weekday afternoons on TV One and, later, Network Two from March 1981 to December 1988. It was produced in-house by TVNZ.
Janine Rania Morrell-Gunn is a children's television producer from New Zealand. She is of the Ngāti Kahungunu iwi (tribe).