Wow.. BrightShine ain’t messing around. Even though Maeve is annoying the hell out of me the last two weeks were big! The loss of her son was brutal. I’m really excited to see what this year’s final week will bring.

TK… I don’t find him that exciting anymore. I just appericiate him for being in this show since 2006. No one stuck to Shorty that long besides him without a break besides Chris (who left for 4 years in between)

Madonna seems to be the new Esther by now. When Esther will be gone again for maternity leave then we don’t have to wait that long for the next busy body

Waverly will return for the 2022 finale! I’m so excited. Waverly has always been a favorite of mine! She will be there with 3 children of hers and Nick.

I still hate Shorty for axing Nick and Waverly and saying they were no asset to the show anymore. Shame on them. They could’ve made them as bigger as the McKeenas or the Warners. 

7 hours ago, AMCOLTLLover said:

I still hate Shorty for axing Nick and Waverly and saying they were no asset to the show anymore. Shame on them.

Worst thing the show ever did IMO

17 hours ago, AMCOLTLLover said:

Waverly will return for the 2022 finale! I’m so excited. Waverly has always been a favorite of mine! She will be there with 3 children of hers and Nick.

I still hate Shorty for axing Nick and Waverly and saying they were no asset to the show anymore. Shame on them. They could’ve made them as bigger as the McKeenas or the Warners. 

Hopefully they won't be killed off. I haven't seen their run.

I'm a bit miffed they had Waverley being the one responsible for accidentally starting the fire but Claire Chitham knocked it out of the park as usual, particularly in her scene with Maeve.

With many of the major locations destroyed by fire we can expect a dramatic refresh of the sets in the new year

I knew the second they teased the fire and Waverly in the Forrest with the kids that this would happen. I mean didn’t Waverly was responsible for another fire in her old  restaurant by accident and people thought it was her cousin ? Typical Waverly 🤣

But it was really heavy…Maeve really grew on me again and the way she had a go with the murderer of her son.. wow. That actress nailed it so good! 
 

I heard rumors that this little revamp might have something to do with that merger of TVNz and that other thing. Would make sense. Can’t wait to see what they will come up with. 

Edited December 16, 20222 yr by AMCOLTLLover

9 hours ago, Dion said:

I'm a bit miffed they had Waverley being the one responsible for accidentally starting the fire but Claire Chitham knocked it out of the park as usual, particularly in her scene with Maeve.

With many of the major locations destroyed by fire we can expect a dramatic refresh of the sets in the new year

Someone said there were rumors she and Nick would be joining the show more regularly next year. Do you know if there's any truth to it?

Who was that man Esther was with when she was being wheeled out and Marty noticed? Is this her latest new love interest? 

2 hours ago, DRW50 said:

Someone said there were rumors she and Nick would be joining the show more regularly next year. Do you know if there's any truth to it?

I don't know, but they casted 5 out of 6 of their children for this appearance.

 

so that does bode well.

Just some history, Lucas was born at the end of 2000 (can't remember if it was the actual finale or the episode before, but it was around the time Chris returned) and is Nick's son with Ange (who was terminally ill and died in early 2001). Tina-Anne (not seen this time) was born in the 3000th episode in 2004, the next three (Celica, Silvia and Ranger if I have the order right) were first mentioned during Nick and Waverley's return for the volcanic eruption in 2017 (not by name, just that they had since had "three other children") and Camry is the child Waverley discovered she was pregnant with during that guest appearance.

 

2 hours ago, DRW50 said:

Who was that man Esther was with when she was being wheeled out and Marty noticed? Is this her latest new love interest?

I missed that

 

8 hours ago, AMCOLTLLover said:

I heard rumors that this little revamp might have something to do with that merger of TVNz and that other thing.

Radio New Zealand (RNZ). I'm not sure why it would specifically have an effect though since Shortland Street isn't like EastEnders where that show is directly made by the BBC studios.

Thanks @Dion . I'm still really out of the loop with this show's history, which I need to work on. The current episodes in of themselves tend to leave me drained (especially this year, with all the Esther melodrama and Maeve's year-long breakdown) so I don't go back a lot.

The season return was INSANE! Dare I say, best episode in years?

3 hours ago, Dion said:

The season return was INSANE! Dare I say, best episode in years?

I just watched this. Thanks for not giving any spoilers. There's not much storywise to spoil, anyway, but I was genuinely shocked by the "new look," as I hadn't seen any promo about this change. I wonder if it's just for the first week back, or a permanent shift. If it is permanent I wonder if Waverly's return last year was to say goodbye to the old Shortland Street for good. 

The 5 week jump was a smart choice, and the decision to put the characters in various hospitals, some very rich, others barely managing to get by, helped add a certain hint of reality and class divide that stories set in the regular hospital can't provide as well.

I agree it was a very good episode, and I'm glad they are recentering the show on Chris (along with a few surprise appearances). Michael Galvin is a very underrated actor and he proved that again here. Loved the shot of him back at the gates.

I'm relieved to know this new character in Esther's life is her cousin, so at least we are spared love of her life #5 for a bit longer. 

I read a "next on" which contained Desi's name and I winced. Fortunately that seemed to be for 2022...those types of horrors I want to leave behind me. 

The 5 weeks later Kinda ruined the mood tbh. But it was a solid season premiere 

OH MY GOD! The old faces: Sass, Kat and Brooke! 
 

That weird Bright Shine speech on television was too much. I’m so over that plot 

Edited January 23, 20232 yr by AMCOLTLLover

The old faces just keep on coming!

I find Shortland Street almost literally unwatchable since back from break, to the point where I have to pause multiple times to get through episodes. The show is 100% backbreakingly grim (aside from a weird quasi-comedy character who goes around harassing people about whether they are related to her - ship her off in a box and never mention her again) and is full of issue stories that I just don't know if I believe they are capable of handling. Even when the Brightshine story is finally over, there are so many clapped out caricatures like Dawn and miserable figures like Esther that I never need to see in storyline again.

Maeve and Rebekah is the most disgusting thing that happened to SS in the last decade and that weird Nicole/Drew-thing.

I’m really over BrightShine… I don’t even care if Maeve is just playing Rebekah and BrightShine at this point.