Gary’s special credential

Press, 7 October 1988, Page 7

Gary’s special credential

Gary McCormick has an unlikely qualification that makes him the ideal presenter for TVNZ’s “Holiday” programme — he loathes travelling. Forget the romance of flying, the lure of exotic lands. After more than a year on the road, reporting on holiday venues for New Zealand viewers, he has few illusions left about the “Great Overseas Experience.” Foreign travel means pain and discomfort, and McCormick tolerates neither gladly. When viewers see the easy-going entertainer ambling through some luscious holiday location, there is usually no hint of the stress and strain involved in getting him there — late flights, missed connections, endless hours pacing airport lounges, constant hassles with foreign Customs, officious police and stroppy locals. “You have to admire a guy who can appear relaxed on camera three weeks into an overseas shoot,” says director Malcolm Hall. “The folks behind the camera can be as grumpy as hell, and nobody will ever know. “But just because we are all feeling tired and bad tempered doesn’t mean Gary can abandon his objectivity. He has to play it straight down the middle.” Hall points out that because McCormick hates travelling, every location gets more or less equal treatment.

“And let’s face it,” adds Hall, “if you want the truth about a place, you don’t send some wide-eyed innocent to take a look for you. Instead you send someone who won’t be too easily impressed. That’s Gary.” “Holiday” screens tonight at 7 on One.