Seven Periods with Mr Gormsby is a satirical New Zealand television series, created and written by Danny Mulheron (who also directs and co-produces), Dave Armstrong, and Tom Scott. It stars David McPhail as the titular Mr Gormsby, whose politically incorrect attitudes and "old school" teaching style clash and contrast with the environment at the fictional Tepapawai High School. The show pokes fun at the New Zealand education system but also at modern New Zealand social attitudes more generally.

Plot

The story follows various events at a New Zealand low-decile high school in a low-income area having often poorly qualified teaching staff and many students with difficult socio-economic backgrounds—mostly belonging to ethnic minorities, Māori and Pasifika. Season One sees the appointment of Mortimer Gormsby to the relieving role of Class 5F. His conservative ways and attempts to discipline students immediately see the rest of the faculty try to have him removed. The previously troublesome 5F slowly take to their new teacher, and in turn he develops a respect for them. However, at the end of Season One, Gormsby is fired. Outside of 5F, the rest of the school is plagued by mismanagement, poor test scores and the Education Review Office. Season Two sees the reinstatement of Gormsby. Meanwhile, the Education Review Office decides that Tepapawai and McLeod's Girls School should merge. The question of which school should close is the main storyline of Season Two.

Characters

Class 5F

Filming and broadcasting

The series ran for two seasons; the first was broadcast in 2005 on TV ONE in New Zealand and ABC TV in Australia. The second series was shown in New Zealand in 2006 and in Australia, on ABC2, April 2008. DVDs of the series were sold in Australia through the ABC Shop. The series was nominated for Best Script and Best Comedy in the 2006 NZ Screen Awards. The program was filmed at two schools in the suburbs of Lower Hutt: the first season at Wainuiomata College and the second at Petone College. The first season's school's original location is now occupied by Wainuiomata Little Theatre. Address: 106 Moohan St, Wainuiomata, Lower Hutt 5014, New Zealand (Google map location)

Episodes

Series One

Series Two

Reception

The series was received mostly positively by Australian critics, although some aspects of its politically incorrect nature raised some eyebrows. Ray Cassin (The Age) writes that the series is attacking hypocrisy on all fronts and tries to unmask deceits and pretensions with a rather relentless and gleeful insistence. Jim Schembri (Sydney Morning Herald) argues the show skates on thin ice due to its politically incorrect nature and sees it as another example of how far New Zealand is ahead of Australia when it comes to dealing with delicate matters through comedy. Alan Mascarenhas (The Age) states while the series has low production values and patchy acting it does nevertheless possess a pythonesque quality. He recalls that he couldn't stop laughing even at scenes where he probably shouldn't have. According to him the show goes further than The Office ever dared balancing between fun and bigotry.