Sci-fi Kiwi comedy finds gold in a cosmic portal in the backyard

His life is upturned when Lucy (Louise Jiang, Sweet Tooth), disappears during her 18th birthday backyard barbecue, and his paternal instincts kick in. What ensues in the alternative realms into which they are transported, where Lower Hutt has been taken over by horrors such as smart fridges, a Big Brother-meets-Squid Game reality show, a stratospheric property boom and a cultured utopia devoid of rugby, is wildly entertaining and laugh-out-loud funny, with props reminiscent of early Doctor Who. Encircling the father-daughter bonding narrative is an eccentric ensemble of ordinary archetypes. Their mock reality-show descriptions in the second episode pinpoint their personalities – the classic poser (Millen Baird); the conspiracy theorist (Milo Cawthorne); the hedonistic recent divorcee (Sophie Hambleton); her drippy ex-husband (Cohen Holloway); and a mediocre real estate agent (Mayen Mehta). Comedian Ginette McDonald (aka Lyn of Tawa for New Zealanders in the know), is the nosy, mauve-rinsed neighbour. Warren’s wife, Hinemoa (Kali Kopae, who also appeared in Wellington Paranormal), becomes much more than the slightly fierce mum figure in the kitchen, as other incarnations of her personality are explored. Maori language, with subtitles, is threaded through the dialogue, the blending of two cultures presenting opportunities for amusing misunderstandings when intentions are lost in translation, and insults go undetected. The sight gags and pop-cultural references, even a friendly dig at fellow Kiwi Temuera Morrison’s Star Wars credits, run seamlessly together, meaning there’s barely time to stop giggling at the genius of one joke before another lobs.