Matt Heath: Best of 2017

The best thing I watched this year...

I loved Thor; Rangnorok. It looked amazing, was really funny and had a lot of heart too. Whether it was directed by a New Zealander or not this was a super enjoyable film. Star Wars: The Last Jedi is a close second for all the same reasons.

The show I stopped watching...

House of Cards but not because Spacey turned out to be a massive pest. The latest season had lost my interest before all is downstairs grabbing was outed I didn't finish series 5 because Frank Underwood had stopped being the smart conniving in charge evil genius character he was in series one and two.Which is what I loved about the show. Frank became a passenger in his own story so I got bored. The release of creepy stuff was perfect timing for me. I'd already checked out. I'd have been gutted if that had hit the press at the end of season 2.

The series I binged the fastest...

Stranger Things 2. I blasted through that in 24 hours. Loved it. I would have smashed The Good Place as fast too but it was only coming out once a week by the end.

The best thing I listened to…

I can't get enough of Dan Carlon's Hardcore History Podcast. Episode 60 - The Celtic Holocaust outlining Julius Caesar's brutal smashing of the Gauls was particular good and horrifying. The Hauraki Breakfast Podcast with Matt and Jerry is pretty good too.

The best live show I saw...

Paul McCartney was pretty damn good. The guy obviously has a lot of hits. It was amazing sing along experience. Very cool to be in the same general area as a Beatle. But for me for the best show of the year was Cat Stevens at the Spark Arena.

Mainly for personal reasons. My son loves Yusif . So I took him along. It was the night of his last day of primary school. He was feeling nostalgic and sung his heart out. Singing Father and Son with your arm around you son on a big day in his life was pretty special. I blubbed like a baby.

The biggest let down of the year was...

Louis CK and his fall from grace. I loved that guy. I downloaded everything from his site day of release. Louis was a great show too.

I was really looking forward to his movie. Now it's hard to watch anything he does. He's no longer the loveable weirdo who says super dodgy things. You have to deal with his great gags through the prism of unwanted public self-pleasure. Which sucks the funny out of things.

And my personal highlight was…

Forming a five person inflatable device flotilla in the waves out front of the Moana Surf Rider Hotel in Honolulu on a business trip. A great 8-hour trip complete with floating chilli bin full of punch.