The Life and Times of Te Tutu - Series One

Episode One - Welcome
It’s 1838 and colonial Māori chief Te Tutu (Pio Terei) meets three newly-arrived New Zealand Company settlers: Henry Vole (Jason Hoyte), his wife (Emma Lange) and upper class twit Herrick (Jonny Brugh). The Ngāti Pati elders debate whether or not to eat them. Tama (Dalvanius Prime) wants to, but Te Tutu mentions the dangers of Pākehā diseases to Māori private parts. The boys can’t decide until Tama’s wife (Vanessa Rare) turns up, and the kōrero turns to real estate. 

Episode Two - Food
Te Tutu (Pio Terei) faces problems from over-fishing kaimoana (seafood). Meanwhile a newcomer to Aotearoa — Herrick's brother, an English army toff (Charles Mesure) — attracts the attention of Hine Toa (Rachel House), who hatches an evil plan to ‘MAF’... Murder All Fishes. Meanwhile the patronising Henry Vole (Jason Hoyte) continues his campaign of colonisation.

Episode Three - Gold
Te Tutu tries to understand the settlers' desire for gold, and has designs on Henry Vole's stove. Objects of ridicule include settler lust for "a useless, worthless, dangerous, coloured stone", Pākehā and Māori cuisine, and patronising colonialism. Meanwhile, hāngī pits are causing a spate of injuries. Michael Saccente guests as an American miner.

Episode Four - Religion
Chief Te Tutu is disturbed by the bells ringing from the new church being built by Henry Vole, and goes to investigate. He finds a tohunga dressed like a tui. Te Tutu’s interpretation of the scripture leads to complications, and Mrs Vole (Emma Lange) continues to do all the work while the Pākehā blokes chinwag. John Leigh guests as an Anglican minister under pressure to spice up his sermons. 

Episode Five - Health
After Te Tutu has a bad back, his daughter Hine Toa (Rachel House) suggests trying out some alternative medicine: Pākehā bedding. Newly arrived nurse Veruca (Susan Brady) clashes with tohunga Tu Meke (William Davis), and stirs up symptoms in Henry Vole. 

Episode Six - War
Irish Colonel North (Ian Mune) and his British Army soldiers arrive, on their way north to fight Hōne Heke — provoking Ngāti Pati into action. Te Tutu’s warmongering with the settlers includes mooning, flagpole-felling and insulting Mr Vole's long-suffering wife. When the signals aren’t picked up, a stolen rooster gets things moving. A fierce haka is answered by a traditional English song.

Episode Seven - Treaty
Henry Vole argues that his land (purchased off that bloke he met at a bar in Tauranga) is fairly his. The pros and cons of a treaty are debated. Te Tutu explains his Martin Luther King-esque dream: “where the English are not marginalised in Aotearoa simply because they are a minority … where the English language won’t be lost, because we’ll have Pākehā language nests".