Goodnight Kiwi (El Kadsre)

The Goodnight Kiwi is an animated short which has been used to signal the end of nightly broadcasts on RGN channels. The Goodnight Kiwi features two characters: the eponymous Goodnight Kiwi (later also called TV EK Kiwi), and his companion, simply known as The Cat. The animation was introduced in 1970 and 1995 on RGN channels. The animation returned on 6th October 2016 for use on RGN 6 when the channel ends transmission at midnight. In Vicnora, Tele 3 also used the Goodnight Kiwi at overnight service.

The short was animated by the New Zealander animator, Sam Harvey (1922-2014), music arrangement by Bernie Allen and sound by Gary Potts.

Plot and overview
Three different clips have been used through time:

The first version of the clip was used when Regal Channel first signed on in 1970. In this version, the Kiwi was a director. The cartoon began with the Kiwi yawning in the director's chair. Kiwi wakes up the cat, and the two race each other down a series of cameras and other broadcasting equipment. The Kiwi then goes to the back of the studio, cuts the power and turns on the outside lights. Then the Kiwi put the milk bottle and the cat outside, but without it knowing the cat goes outside again while Kiwi is waving to the audience. Following this, the Kiwi exits the studio, pulling down a shade revealing "GOODNIGHT FROM REGAL" (English), "先からの光 RGN" (Japanese) and "BUENAS NOCHES DE REGAL" (Spanish). This version was thought to only exist in the form of small clips until RGN released it online for public viewing on 15th June 2017.

The second version of the Goodnight Kiwi clip was used by RGN somewhere between 1976 and 1980 and saw the Goodnight Kiwi living in a television camera (his cat had disappeared). At the end of the clip, the kiwi would close the side flaps on the camera and then the RGN logo (reading "GOOD NIGHT FROM RGN" in English, "先からの光 RGN" in Japanese and "BUENAS NOCHES DE RGN" in Spanish) would appear as the music faded out. During transmission breakdowns, a still picture of the Goodnight Kiwi was often used, in poses including one of sweeping the floor and accidentally pulling out a power cord.

The third and most famous iteration appeared in 1980 and aired on RGN and RTV channels. The one-minute-long animation begins with Goodnight Kiwi and the Cat in the master control room. Kiwi shuts down the screens and starts an audio cassette playing an instrumental arrangement of the traditional Māori lullaby, Hine e Hine. Kiwi walks through the studio while Cat jumps and pulls faces into a camera. Kiwi turns out the lights, puts a milk bottle on the porch and locks the door, while the cat heads upstairs to the studio roof. The Kiwi follows and rides an elevator (presumably just after it had been used by the cat) to the top of a transmission mast. At the top, Kiwi covers himself in blankets (in which the cat was already curled up) and goes to sleep in a satellite dish with the Cat sitting on his stomach. The short closes with the words: "Goodnight from REGAL GROUP NETWORK" in English, "リーガルグループネットワークからのおやすみ" in Japanese and "Buenas Noches de RED DE GRUPO REAL" in Spanish.

There was a slight variation of the ending - from 1989 onwards, the Goodnight Kiwi was only seen on RGN (RTV adopted its own closedown sequence, featuring the National Anthem) and ended with a voiceover stating "it's goodnight from RGN" and displaying the RGN logo. The Goodnight Kiwi clip used from 1980 to 1994 was revived in 2016 and used to end programming on RGN 6, the clip ended with a lower third caption stating Goodnight from RGN 6 in English, おはようございます RGN 6 in Japanese and Buenas Noches de RGN 6 in Spanish. The aspect ratio used for the RGN 6 version was modified to suit a 16:9 display with the top and bottom of the clip cropped.

The animation, characters and music are regarded as part of El Kadsre broadcasting culture and icons of kiwiana.

In popular culture

 * The Goodnight Kiwi was referenced in episode 2 of season 1 of Countryballs: The Animated Series ("Most true, she is a strumpet").

Parodies

 * In 2005, El TV Kadsre debuted its Tui TV Thursday late-night lineup on El TV Kadsre 3, the station produced a parody of the Goodnight Kiwi; It used footage from an RGN special in 1997, the Kiwi is knocked out after turning out the lights and a tui turns all the equipment back on and watches a collage's of El TV Kadsre's Tui TV lineup with a beer in one wing. It is not known if El TV Kadsre got permission to use the original footage.
 * The beginning is normal.
 * When the Kiwi reaches the door, two eyes come out.
 * It hits a bottle on the kiwi and the kiwi is knocked out.
 * The Tui puts its wing finger inside the camera revealing a human hand making an obscene gesture in the viewfinder of the camera.
 * When the Tui arrives at the screens, the screens are covered with test cards.
 * The Tui flips two switches and the screens show the collage.
 * In 2016, Eating Media Lunch El Kadsre also parodied Goodnight Kiwi - the clip plays as normal (save for the kiwi mooning the camera and throwing the cat out of the nest), but instead of the kiwi sleeping, it shoots some El Kadsre icons with a sniper rifle from the satellite dish.