Shortland Street

[Bright Eyes]

Nicole's story is so heartbreaking. Now she might have schizophrenia like her brother? Poor thing can't catch a break. Speaking of mental issues, last week it almost seemed to me that Victoria could be headed for a breakdown. She didn't seem all there, especially with her making a move on Mo and being rejected. I also wonder if they plan to keep Caleb around now that he and Pania are over. He seems more like an afterthought, so maybe he'll die at the end of the winter season or at the end of the year.

[Dion]

I forgot Wendy had an abortion, even though it was only two years ago.

I'm still of the thinking that somehow Nicole is being scammed because I think if she did have schizophrenia like her brother, we'd have seen her go to the ATM and take out that money and forget about it, but I could be wrong.

Yes I think Victoria is heading for a breakdown, she's clearly a bit unhinged, but at some point i'm sure she and Mo will hook up.

Caleb - wouldn't be surprised if they killed him off or he leaves, characters in his position (being the husband of a newly introduced major female character) never seem to last more than a year unless they are a doctor or nurse, Murray possibly being the only exception. (Granted Caleb is working at the hospital but Mo performs the same job and has a whole family of his own to boot).

[Bright Eyes]

I was going to mention the same thing about Wendy. My memory was only triggered a bit once Wendy mentioned Evan finding out and having a problem with it. Either way, I really do feel like it's time Murray and Wendy are written out. Maybe it's because I've never been as invested in them as the show wants me to be, but their stories always feel a little forced to me with it comes to their relationship woes. Time to have Dana run the bar on her own and move in with Lucy, where I'm sure Alex may be moving into shortly since Kylie is no longer there. Is it weird that I kind of love the musical chairs living arrangements? It fascinates me.

I agree with you about Nicole actually being scammed. This isn't a flashy story (none of the stories on the show are at the moment), but I'm really enjoying all the beats they're taking with it.

Knowing how this show likes to bring in minor villains, like the girl last year who held Rachel hostage in an elevator, I can't help but think the same will be true of Alex's boyfriend. He'll do some more damage at some point.

Mo and Victoria will get together and just when they do, a surprise return of his wife will certainly happen! I'm all in.

[Dion]

Yeah I'm surprised at myself for forgetting Wendy's abortion as I do remember the other five times a major or recurring character has had one.

I still want Murray and Wendy to stay on the show, but you are right about their relationship woes feeling a bit forced. I've always thought they introduced discord into their marriage a bit too early - first with Murray's attraction to Vasa and later with him leaving Wendy for Kat.

Regarding the living arrangements, whatever happens I hope TK's house remains on the show (Looks like Pania will be living there) as it's the only place thats been there since the beginning - even the hospital shifted premises at one point. Sam Aleni lived in TK's house for the first four years of the show (but I don't recall him mentioning that during his return stint last year),

[Dion]

I finally remembered how to do spoiler tags

Anyway,judging by next weeks previews:

Also in the latest NZ Tv guide some casting news:

Edited July 4, 2015 by Dion

[Bright Eyes]

I saw that with Caleb since the episodes I watch usually have a promo following them. I wonder if TK will suffer any consequences for being so blind to Pania's machinations. Either way, I love that a true schemer is out in full force. It'll be interesting to see how far they go with her.

Do you know when both actors are set to debut? If soon, I'm going to guess Margaret is going to appear in one of the fabulous one hour Monday episodes.

The actor playing Drew looks pretty hot, but that's nothing new with this show.

[Dion]

I wasn't sure if you got the version with the promo or the version with the actual end credits (I should have guessed that it was with the version with the promo as you usually up to date whereas the version with the end credits is the repeat the following day) so that's good to know.

I hope TK suffers lol - while he usually has a point, he does get carried away with his holier than thou attitude. I remember a storyline where TK and his then boss Callum McKay got sent off to a Maori cultural sensitivity course and TK called out Callum for constantly challenging the kaiako (teacher) but then the kaiako called out TK as IIRC she recognised that Callum was actually trying to understand the principles she was talking about whereas TK was merely blindly following them.

Its interesting how Pania has isolated TK from nearly all his friends in only six months.

The TV Guide edition is for July 11 - 17 so maybe that week? They are on the cover. The last Shortland Street TV Guide cover was Bella on the week she found out she was pregnant. Ben may look a bit tired for his few weeks on the show as hes' been doing both Dancing with the Stars and Shortland Street at the same time (and still hasn't been voted off). Luckily for him they're both done in the same studio despite screening on rival networks.

[Bright Eyes]

One thing I like about TK, however, is his and Boyd's animosity going strong, stemming from all that happened with Ava. I hope they don't ever become true friends. I find it to be a fascinating dynamic when two good characters dislike each other and neither is always in the wrong or always in the right.

On another note, it's great how seamless Harper is at hanging out with people in the big leagues (Chris, Rachel, Boyd) while also being able to be friends with Nicole or Kylie and have it not seem forced. If either if those three in brackets suddenly started hanging out with "the club kids" without it being some group get together, it would be awkward AF (as f*ck!). That she's achieved this with only being on the show a couple years without it ever feeling like she eats the show, is a testament to the writing and the actress.

I thought of you when the Hannahs moved into TK's house. How long has what is now Lucy's apartment set been around?

[Dion]

Yes and Boyd is another who is holier than thou as seen many times during his marriage to Brooke. Him and TK are not that dissimilar making their rivalry all the more interesting.

You're right about Harper and it's interesting to note the difference between her and Sarah's early years where Sarah did eat the show with triangle after triangle. Sarah's nadir came in 2006 at the conclusion of the Sarah-Craig-Huia triangle with Sarah's infamous line "You and your baby can go to hell!" mere moments before Huia (and her unborn child by Craig got blown up in the car bombing, leading to Sarah's hysterical rant at Huia's funeral (I forgive you!). It's a wonder TK and Aunty Kuini ever forgave her (Huia was TK's cousin and Kuini's daughter) but within weeks Sarah and TK were sleeping together leading to a special four-hander episode where Sarah told Toni (Harry's mum, Sarah's then best friend) about her dates with TK and Craig on the same night (shown in flashbacks) before making a final choice between the two men. After Sarah choose TK and married him the show fortunately dialled her back a bit at which point I started liking her - a good thing otherwise the storyline with Sarah's initial MS symptoms (which went on for more than 6 months) would have been unbearable.

It's funny to think about Chris' interactions with Sarah during the above period as it was clear that he (somewhat hypocritically) disliked her quite intensely because of all the triangles she kept landing herself in (Craig was his best friend). They became good friends later on though, particularly as Toni and Craig died within weeks of each other, their deaths being caused by the evil Pharmaceutical company Scott-Spear (Who also blew up Huia).

Chris and Rachel used to be able to hang out with the hoi-polloi but over the years have moved out of that social circle. Of course this is quite realistic as they have gotten older and moved into positions of power. It's also interesting to note that this break from the 'lower' social circles came after they left and came back (Chris in 2001, Rachel in 2009), all the regular characters they used to hang out with had gone and they both never fit in with the newer lower social circles that replaced them. I think this is in part why they stick to each other like glue. It's also interesting that they never really interacted with each other until they were paired up in 2001.

Lucy's apartment has been around since 2010. I remember that Rachel once owned it as an investment property but I'm not sure if she sold it or still owns it. I think she did sell it though.

[Bright Eyes]

I know exactly what Sarah moment you're talking about. There's a Shorty death montage video on YouTube that I've watched a billion times that includes it. It's at 3:28 if you want to relive the moment.

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For the few years I've been watching Sarah, more than most, had her moments unlikable moments. That's why one of my favourite scenes is during the Seth takeover/Rachel's pill popping s/l where Rachel yells at Sarah that she couldn't run a corner dairy let alone a hospital. I squealed. And still, as difficult as she could be, her shock death still hit me like a ton of bricks.

That's amusing about Chris and Rachel originally being somewhat estranged as characters before they're brought together during their returns. I had an inkling something like that occurred due to Rachel being one of the younger characters when she came on and Chris being very busy with others, elsewhere.

Also, is it wrong that I love the lyrical version of the Shorty theme?

Edited July 5, 2015 by Bright Eyes

[Dion]

Thanks for that. I watched the whole thing, I had forgotten how brutal Craig's death was @ 6:02. Also should point out that my friend's sister and another classmate of mine were extras in Sarah's infamous scene, appearing approx @ 3:38 and 3:45.

My mum and I were watching an old rerun of an approx 1995 episode of Shortland Street some time ago and a rare scene with Chris and Rachel (in a group) came on. My mum was like "When on earth did those two get together?" It was so weird. While Chris had plenty of scenes with Rachel's peer Nick (who saw Chris as a role-model), usually giving him (bad) love advice he never had any reason to interact with Rachel - she was merely the boss' daughter. When they both returned in 2001 that was when the character's started being together more, particularly as Chris' only ties were Nick, Waverley and Rachel (and Rangi and Minnie, but they soon left). Rachel had only been gone a year so she still had ties (unlike her 2009 return where she was in the position Chris was in 2001).

Chris and Rachel started appearing together more often as they supported Nick through the loss of his partner Ange and Rachel began working under Chris at Shortland Street during it's transition from Private clinic to public hospital.

The lyrical version of the theme is so bad it's good. I used to get a kick out of the mismatch of metaphors and faux biblical allusions all contorted to rhyme with 'Shortland Street'. I missed it when it was dropped from the end credits as the first change made during the 2001 revamp (well actually fourth change as Chris' return was first, though that happened in the last episode of 2000 - I keep saying 2001 but he did make a brief appearance in the 2000 finale, the other two changes being that the opening credits became more generic instead of having character shots and the show was also broadcast in 16:9 for the first time).

[Dion]

I've been reading the 'frontburner to footnote' thread (that is when a character who once nearly dominated the show or at least was consistently on the frontburner for most of their run ends up merely being a footnote in the show's history - whether in the world of the show itself or in the minds of fans) in the 'Discuss the soaps' section and it got me thinking about times this has happened on Shortland Street.

Of course, the show has had a high turnover over the years but I think many of the characters still remain fondly remembered by fans even if they were not mentioned all that much (Grace and Sam being the most recent obvious examples, and now that Grace is the mother of one of Chris' many children she'll be referenced more often).

So to begin in what may end up being a recurring topic, I'm going to discuss the character of Anne Kahu (nee Greenlaw).

Nurse Anne Greenlaw arrived in November 2001 along with her brother Geoff (who may have qualified for this topic himself had it not been for his memorable death) and within a few months half of the show seemed to centre around her (the other half centred around the much more interesting drama concerning Harry's paternity). For example, Anne's search for her biological mother resulted in (then) Director of Nursing Judy Brownlee finding out Anne was her daughter, Anne became besties with Waverley (a long-standing character and Rachel's cousin), Geoff and Anne's younger teenage sister Delphi entered the show and Anne had an (initially unrequited) crush on the much older Dr Victor Kahu which tied her into the Hudson-Kahu family - then the show's core family (Victor's sister Te Hana Hudson had also split with her husband and hooked up with Geoff at this time.

Predictably, once Victor and Anne had gotten engaged, a rival love interest for Anne's affections had arrived on the scene in the form of Nelson Copeland Victor's estranged son. Nelson was closer to Anne's age and was attracted to her, but for the time being Anne was busy dealing with the revelation that Judy was her mother and needed a kidney. Shortly after Anne donated her kidney and grew close to her biological mother, she and Victor married in a lavish ceremony, but Victor was arrested under suspicion of murder. After Victor was cleared, he and Anne began their married life. She later consoled Waverley during her breast cancer scare and was shown to be jealous whenever Nelson had a new love interest.

When Victor's teenage nephew Tama Hudson impregnated Shannon Te-Ngaru, Victor and Anne considered adopting the child. Sadly, the baby died shortly after birth and it was at this point that Anne began sleeping with Nelson. Upon, discovering the affair, Victor kicked Anne out, but later took her back to keep up appearances while he carried on an affair with Dr Li-Mei Chen. Anne, knowing full well that her marriage was now a sham, spent more and more time with Rex Traherne. The two were about to hook up when Judy and Victor put a stop to it - Judy explaining that Rex was her dad! (and to top it off, Rex was being played by the real life father of the actress who played Anne!). Anne mourned when her brother Geoff was murdered and was becoming increasingly isolated from her friends and family but became close with her new-found father. Anne attended the opening of one of Rex's new buildings but of course this was the season finale for 2003, so the building collapsed on top of her and half the cast.

Nelson (who was now in the ambulance service) tried to save her, admitting he still loved her but happily err....sadly Anne died in the first episode of 2004. While her death was mourned for a time (and Waverley named her daughter Tina-Anne partly after her) most of the characters she associated with left not too long after including Anne's sister Delphi. Even Nelson had found a new love interest and left the show within six months of Anne's death. Judy mourned for a time herself but ended up leaving in early 2006. Since then Anne has not been mentioned since and probably barely registers in the memories of fans.

[Bright Eyes]

I loved that write-up. The dad part gave me pause. It made me think of when OLTL at Eddie Alderson's Matthew crushing on Starr Manning, played by his real life sister, Kristen Alderson. It's also another family connection like we were talking about a few pages back.

Except for Waverly, I don't think about any of those other characters either. Except for Li-Mei Chen. Wasn't she much derided for being too stereotypical?

On another note, I will miss KJ Apa and except great things for him. He was very good looking and is talent for days. I hope he becomes one of those people I can say "I remember when" one day. However, his exit just adds to the irrelevancy of the Coopers.

[Dion]

Yeah that bit with Anne and her dad was a bit icky. They didn't have a full on love scene or even a kiss but having them play out a situation where their characters looked poised to hook up was really weird. I didn't realise you were familiar with OLTL - that's what I was referring to at the top of the page when I said "though I know of at least one show that has" referring of course to when Blair lost her baby by Patrick in the car accident back in 1997 when Kassie DePaiva was pregnant in real life.

Yes Li-Mei Chen was so stereotypical, she's actually disqualified from this series that I am doing as she is still infamous to this day!

Yes it seems the Coppers are becoming more and more irrelevant. I said earlier that I would expect major changes in the cast if more people were added and as we know more people are being added, maybe Murray and Wendy will go.

I think I shall do Frank Malone next.

[Bright Eyes]

Since it was mentioned again today, I have to ask. Is Consquences a real show and, if so, do you watch it? I want to know more.