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Shortland Street
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Shortland Street is a New Zealand soap opera and drama television series that was first broadcast on Monday, 25 May 1992. The show is set in a modern metropolitan hospital in the fictional suburb of Ferndale in Auckland City, and is produced by South Pacific Pictures.
In New Zealand, the show screens on Television New Zealand's TV2 weeknights, with an omnibus edition on Sunday mornings and repeats on weekday afternoons.
There is a real Shortland Street in Auckland City, but the series is set in an outlying, imaginary suburb rather than the central business district where the real street is located.
Setting
Shortland Street is mainly set in and around Shortland Street Hospital, a fictitious Auckland City public hospital (which had been a private clinic until 2001 when it was sold to the government by Dr Warner).
Discussion
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Encyclopedia
Shortland Street is a New Zealand soap opera and drama television series that was first broadcast on Monday, 25 May 1992. The show is set in a modern metropolitan hospital in the fictional suburb of Ferndale in Auckland City, and is produced by South Pacific Pictures.
In New Zealand, the show screens on Television New Zealand's TV2 weeknights, with an omnibus edition on Sunday mornings and repeats on weekday afternoons.
There is a real Shortland Street in Auckland City, but the series is set in an outlying, imaginary suburb rather than the central business district where the real street is located.
Setting
Shortland Street is mainly set in and around Shortland Street Hospital, a fictitious Auckland City public hospital (which had been a private clinic until 2001 when it was sold to the government by Dr Warner). The hospital gets its name from its location on Shortland Street in the fictitious suburb of Ferndale. The hospital also houses the Shortland Street Primary Care Clinic, and its own cafe.
There are several other locations, including The IV, a bar and restaurant, located opposite the hospital; Sugar, a cafe located somewhere in Ferndale; and Ferndale High School, the local state secondary school.
The exterior views of the houses featured on the programme are located around the North Shore, West Auckland and Auckland City - the interiors are filmed on sets in the studio. Camera angles suggest that Ferndale is somewhere on the North Shore looking towards the Sky Tower and port of Auckland. Other camera shots are views of Henderson and other parts of Auckland.
which constitutes about 17.5% of the domestic population.
In popular culture, Shortland Street is sometimes referred to as Shorty Street or Shorty. The show's famous name has been hinted at by TVNZ to be associated with the former Shortland Street television studios in the Auckland City CBD, a mainstay for TVNZ in Auckland until the end of the 1980s.
History
The original core characters were:
- Dr Michael McKenna (Paul Gittins)
- Dr Chris Warner (Michael Galvin)
- Dr Meredith Fleming (Stephanie Wilkin)
- Dr Hone Ropata (Temuera Morrison)
- Nurse Carrie Burton (Lisa Crittenden)
- Nurse Jackie Manu (Nancy Brunning)
- Nurse Steve Mills (Andrew Binns)
- Nurse Alison Raynor (Danielle Cormack)
- Tom Neilson (Adrian Keeling)
- Stuart Neilson (Martin Henderson)
- Marjorie Neilson (Liz Mcrae)
- Kirsty Knight (Angela Dotchin)
- Jenny Harrison (Maggie Harper)
- Nick Harrison (Karl Burnett)
- Gina Rossi (Jo Davison)
- Sam Aleni (Rene Naufahu)
1990s
The concept and format of the show was developed largely by NZ writer Ken Catran working with Fremantle Pictures. His scripts established the characters, setting and tone of the series. His first episode became infamous for having a sex scene between Doctor Chris Warner and an aerobics instructor, Jill (Suzy Aiken). The first episode also included the line, "You're not in Guatemala now, Dr. Ropata" which has since become one of the most widely recognised lines in New Zealand television.
While the show was initially criticised for bad acting and poor storylines, it was praised for its sensitive portrayal of a teenage suicide storyline later on in its first year. Ratings were initially high, but within weeks they had fallen considerably. However, the show was saved from cancellation by the fact that TVNZ had pre-ordered a year's worth of episodes. By May 1993, the show was rating high enough that it was renewed, and later became the highest rating programme in the country for a brief period in August 1994. Since then, ratings have fallen somewhat, but the show remains in the overall top 20 highest rated New Zealand television shows, and still regularly rates number one in the 18-49 demographic, the key target audience for advertisers.
Over the life of the series there have been many cast changes, but Michael Galvin, who plays Chris Warner. still remains from the original cast.
2000s
In 2001, the show received much media attention in New Zealand when 14 cast members were either let go from their contracts or decided to leave. This was part of the revamp on the show which saw many new characters introduced, most notably the Hudson family, who were Maori. While Maori characters had always been featured on the show, the Hudsons were the first Maori family introduced into the show.
In 2003–04, the show introduced its first double-killer with the Dominic Thompson storyline. Dominic was the brother of nurse Toni Thompson and was believed to be the illegitimate half-brother of Dr. Chris Warner, but after this was revealed as a lie, the pair became bitter enemies. Dominic's love affair with 17-year-old Delphi Greenlaw also created controversy and eventually saw the teenager leave town to escape him. He also killed two characters, Delphi's brother, Dr. Geoff Greenlaw (froze to death in chiller) and PA Avril Lucich (drowned in a bathtub) who had threatened to get in his way, before being killed off himself in an explosion after trying to kill Chris in an attempted murder-suicide. The storyline created immense popularity that saw the show ranked once again in the top ten highest rated shows in New Zealand. Martin Delaney also joined the cast as Samuel Whittaker for a brief period. The Irish actor played the loveable Scottish chef for a period of six months and left Delphi in search of broader horizons.
2005 saw the departure of the show's longest-serving cast member, Karl Burnett, who played Nick Harrison, after almost 13 years. Burnett was the only cast member who had been with the show since its inception (although the character and the actor did take a sabbatical from the show in 2002). However, Burnett still has links with Shortland Street, behind the scenes as a sound operator. Michael Galvin also has been on the show since the beginning, with his character leaving for four years (1996 to 2000).
During June 2006, Shortland Street celebrated its 14th birthday and 3,500 episodes. In November 2005, Shortland Street was the winner of Woman's Day TV Choice Award for Favourite New Zealand show at the 2005 Qantas TV Awards. They won the same award again in the 2006 Qantas TV Awards.
On 22 November 2006 it was announced that actress Laurie Foell had decided to leave and that her character Justine Jones would be recast with Lucy Wigmore. This marked the first instance of multiple actors playing the same role in the programme, excluding child characters such as Lucas Harrison and Harry Warner. Another character that was recast was Dame Margot Warner who was first played by Glynis McNicoll during 1992-1997, then in 2003 Dinah Priestly assumed the role of Dame Margot for the character's death.
Shortland Street celebrated its 15th birthday in May 2007. As a result there were many changes that have occurred such as a refurbished hospital, new uniforms, and a new logo. A television special celebrating 15 years was screened on 13 May 2007, and on Shortland Street's actual 15th birthday (25 May 2007), the episode featured photos of previous characters and settings, which "were found in the renovations", and a reworded edition of the infamous line from the first Shortland Street episode: "You're not in Hyderabad now, Nurse Kumari." (referring to Nurse Shanti Kumari's Hindu origins and reluctance to drink alcohol).
Storylines
Storylines are planned five months before they are due to be screened.
Shortland Street has had a series of dramatic and scandalous storylines over the years
The most significant storylines over the past few years have included the corrupt pharmacitical company Scott-Spear and their invovlment in the murders of CEO Huia Samuels who was killed in a car bombing and long-serving character Dr. Craig Valentine who was beaten to death by thugs and placed in his car which was torched. The dodgy drug company was also responsible for the death of another long-standing character, Toni Warner who died as a result of renal failure, contributed to a drug distributed by Scott-Spear. The storyline eventually saw the departure of Dr. Justine Jones who used a bomb placed in her car to fake her death and flee to Australia where she is currently in witness protection.
A serial killer known as the Ferndale Strangler was introduced in 2007 became a well-known storyline as five women associated with the Shortland Street Hospital became his victims. The killer's identify was revealed in the season's finale as nurse Joey Henderson as he set about attacking Tania Jeffries. Other attacks on his female colleagues failed including a random attack on a woman walk in a park. Joey's final abduction involved nurse Alice Piper on whom he performed surgery and then tried to kill. The strangler's reign came to end at the start of 2008 when he committed suicide by plunging to death from a storage building he had used for his macabre operation. The storyline resulted in a viewership rating surge, which at one point in November reached 60%.[3]..
Episode 4000 saw the return of series original Dr. Hone Ropata for a six week stint.
Midway through 2008 Ethan Pierce joined Justine Jone's surgical team but soon replaced her when she was put under police protection. Pierce was appointed Head of Surgery by Callum McKay against the advice of Chris Warner. Ethan's hostile relationship with Brooke Freeman was not known as he set about to date Alice Piper. Ethan was overconfident as a surgeon which lead to him falling out with his theatre team. On several occasion Chris Warner was called in to continue an operation he wasn't able to complete. Ethan detested Maia which resulted in her attack on him and her being stood down from duty. The hospital were unaware that Ethan Pierce was harvesting bone tissue from cadavers in a funeral home, this was inadvertently discovered by Keiran Mitchell who like Callum McKay had bought shares in Pierce's company. Pierce forced Mitchell to drive an elderly woman to the funeral home on the premise that she was to view to her husband unware that Pierce had killed her. Several patients became ill due to faulty bone tissue among them a child and Yvonne Jeffries which lead to an investigation of Pierce's company. As the series finale drew to a close Pierce walked out of surgery, punched Callum McKay and headed to the funeral home where he killed his associate. Ethan went home packed his bags and was confronted by a then unseen assailant. The Who shot Ethan Pierce? storyline leads viewers into the new 2009 season, which premieres on January 19 2009. To keep viewers interested in the storyline during the summer hiatus, TVNZ created a imaginary website dedicated to finding Ethan Pierce's killer: . On this site, Webisodes featuring never before seen interviews are uploaded on certain days of possible suspects and the audience are again left to decide who Ethan's killer is. Photo evidence has also been uploaded of Ethan's Beach Road home where he was murdered, the gun and blood on the floor of his home where he fell to his death, and where Ethan's body ended up (Ethan's body was not found inside his home, After being shot, he stumbled out to the beach not far from his home). When the series recommenced seven people came under police observation. On 29 January Alice Piper discovered Maia Jeffries was the assailant after she had undergone hypnosis.
Tania Jefferies and Kingi Te Wake were kidnapped by The Whitetails gang leader, Kane Harvey and made their escape as the series recommenced with Kingi heading to Australia.
Current characters
Main characters
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Recurring characters
| Character | Actor | Relation | Duration |
|---|
| Carol Beckham | Robyn Worthington | Long-serving Senior Nurse | 2001 - present | | Harry Warner | Henry Williams | Son of Chris Warner and the late Toni Warner | 2004 - present | | Jay Jeffries | Liam Farmer | Son of Maia Jeffries | 2008 - present | | Fraser McKenzie | Peter Daube | Lawyer who befriends Yvonne | 2008 - present | | Tane Samuels | Dominic Ona-Ariki | Trainee nurse | 2008 - present | | Ingrid Campbell | Madeline Lynch | Acting H.O.D of Surgery. | 2008 - present | | Nigel Tippett | Roy Ward | Gerald's Dad. Manager of the IV | | Tai Scott | Xavier Horan | the delinquent brother of James Scott | 2008 - present |
Returning and new characters
| Character | Actor | Appointment |
|---|
| Gabrielle Jacobs | Virginie Le Brun | straight shooting surgeon |
Production
Shortland Street is produced by South Pacific Pictures, with assistance from FremantleMedia and Television New Zealand. In the first few years, the production was also assisted by New Zealand on Air.
Writing
The first scripts and show format were devised and developed by Ken Catran who wrote the pilot (and other) episodes.
Today the writing team includes at least one medical advisor, for help with medical terms and procedures.
Every few months, the writers map out the storylines for the coming months. These storylines form the basis of the action on-screen.
With the amount of paper required, Shortland Street was once New Zealand's biggest paper user after the government.
Filming
Today, most of the filming for Shortland Street occurs at South Pacific Pictures Waitakere City studios, with Ferndale High School scenes being filmed at the nearby Waitakere College. The exterior shots of the North Shore Hospital is Central Hospital which is the other hospital mentioned in the series as the place where patients are sent. Location scenes are usually filmed in Auckland, but other locations, including Fiji, have been used.
Originally, Shortland Street was filmed in North Shore City at South Pacific Pictures Browns Bay studios until their relocation to purpose built studios in Waitakere City in 2000. The original Ferndale High School was played by a North Shore college until the studio relocated.
Also behind the scenes
- Jason Daniel departed as producer at the end of 2008, he had overseen the 2007 Ferndale Strangler storyline which saw a surge in the ratings to over 60%.
- Katherine McRae (who played murdered nurse Brenda Holloway) has become a Shortland Street full-time director
- Renato Barlotomei who played Dr Craig Valentine retained his off-screen status of Director.
International screenings
- ITV scheduling of Shortland Street
Shortland Street has been shown in Ireland on RTE One since 1996. It is broadcast in a morning slot usually around 11:30am and repeated late-night at around 2:30am.
In the UK Shortland Street is no longer shown, but was screened in various areas for a lengthy period from 1993.
From 29 March 1993, Central Television were the first ITV region to screen the soap, beginning in an afternoon timeslot, 1520-1550. From 1994 to 2000, it was shown in an early evening timeslot, at either 1710-1740 and, later at 1730-1800.
Other ITV regions also screened Shortland Street at their own pace, usually during daytime although some (HTV and Granada) followed Central's early-evening example for a short time. Scottish Television have never shown Shortland Street. Central eventually moved the serial to a lunchtime slot, 1300-1330 from September 2000 and it remained here for over two years.
From January 2003, the Carlton-owned ITV regions including Central, Westcountry, HTV and Carlton-London networked Shortland Street in an afternoon slot, 1430-1500, Monday to Wednesday, with a Thursday episode added a few months later. A special programme was aired (presented by Michael Galvin and Angela Bloomfield) introducing new viewers to the show whilst viewers in other regions had to endure a massive jump in storylines to join up with Central who were considerably ahead (up to 5 years in some cases). Meanwhile, the Granada-owned regions, such as Yorkshire Television and Meridian dropped the series entirely, opting for local programming instead. However, Shortland Street failed to attract a significant audience in its new afternoon slot and it was axed completely by ITV and was last shown on 28 August 2003, finishing at episode 2367. Central had shown the serial consecutively for over 10 years, leaving many fans in the Midlands very disappointed. So far, no other UK broadcaster has picked up the rights to screen Shortland Street despite its small, but loyal audience across the country.
In previous years, South Pacific Pictures publicity has claimed the show was sold to Bophuthatswana, which journalists have used to demonstrate Shortland Street's interracial appeal.
Shortland Street and New Zealand's health system
The producers of Shortland Street have tried to make the show reflect the current trends in New Zealand health services. As a result, the hospital featured on the show was originally under private ownership, which reflected the increasing privatisation of the New Zealand health services in the early 1990s under the National Government. After the Labour government was elected into office in 1999, there was a renewed focus on public health services. As a result, in 2001 the producers of the show decided to have the hospital come under government ownership in order to reflect the renewed focus on public health. This change was part of the show's revamp in 2001, and coincided with the cull of 14 characters mentioned above.
External links
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- » Version 2 On Freewebs
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