Tom Neilson
Encyclopedia
Tom Leslie Neilson is a fictional character on the New Zealand
soap opera
Shortland Street
. Part of the original cast, Tom was portrayed by Adrian Keeling from the shows first episode
up until May the following year when the character starred in a high profile storyline where Tom went missing. He returned later in the year to finish the storyline off.
The character debuted as the patriarch of the original family unit on the show, the Neilsons. He was a paramedic alongside Sam Aleni
(Rene Naufahu
) and worked at Shortland Street clinic
, where his wife Marj (Elizabeth McRae
) fronted reception. Tom had three sons, Patrick, villainous Darryl
(Mark Ferguson
), Damien (Mark Ferguson) and original teenage heart throb Stuart
(Martin Henderson
). The characters year long run saw the character participate in numerous storylines, including teenage pregnancy, rape, drug abuse, illness and a storyline that saw Tom become a missing person.
The storyline that saw Tom go missing became hugely popular, so much so that Tom was eventually brought back to finish off the storyline. It is now remembered as one of the most iconic storylines in the early days of the soap opera.
(Martin Henderson
) claimed to be the father of a new born baby. However Tom soon learnt this was not the case and the true father was Tom and Marj
's (Elizabeth McRae
) manipulative other son, Darryl
(Mark Ferguson
). Tom started to suffer from a strange sleeping disorder and disaster struck when he was crushed in a building collapse. An ill Tom eventually recovered but he soon learnt Darryl had attempted to rape Kirsty (Angela Dotchin
) and kicked his son out of the house. Tom was distraught when Marj revealed she was allowing her daughter she adopted out at birth, Jane (Katherine McRae) to enter their lives. Tom could not cope with Marj's lies and the marriage deteriorated to a point in early 1993, when Tom told Marj he was going to the dairy to get some cream and did not return.
Marj was devastated expecting the worst, but she soon realized their savings had been cleared, meaning Tom was likely alive. In September 1993 Marj was contacted by a women who claimed to be in a cult with Tom and who asked Marj for money. Marj refused to pay the mystery women and Tom surprisingly returned to her life in October 1993 when he revealed he needed time off and had been living in a cult. Tom also revealed he needed a kidney transplant and an upset Darryl volunteered his. Shortly after the surgery, Tom had a massive heart attack and died, with Darryl by his side. His funeral was held a few days later with his friends and colleagues attending.
made a guest appearance on the show, featuring Tom's disappearance on his talk show. The storyline became hugely popular, with Keeling getting constantly hassled on the street by fans. Keeling's co star, Michael Galvin
who portrayed Dr. Chris Warner
enjoyed the storyline and liked how they left it mysteriously open. Fans continued to ask what happened to Tom which annoyed Keeling, resulting in him begging to be written back into the soap. Producers also decided it was best the audience got closure and so Tom was written back into the soap, with the explanation he had been living in a cult but returned needing a kidney transplant. The character stayed on the show for several weeks in a guest role before being killed off, suffering a heart attack while recovering from surgery. Galvin disapproved of Tom being written back in, describing it as a "cop out".
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Shortland Street
Shortland Street
Shortland Street is a New Zealand prime-time soap opera, first broadcast on Television New Zealand's TV2 on 25 May 1992. It is the country's longest-running drama and soap opera, being broadcast continuously for over 4500 episodes and 19 years, and is one of the most watched television programs in...
. Part of the original cast, Tom was portrayed by Adrian Keeling from the shows first episode
Shortland Street Episode One
Episode 1 of the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street, was first broadcast on 25 May 1992.-Storyline:The episode starts with paramedics Tom Neilson and Sam Aleni driving down a road with their siren on. Tom's wife Marjorie Neilson answers the phone and hears of a car crash involving a young...
up until May the following year when the character starred in a high profile storyline where Tom went missing. He returned later in the year to finish the storyline off.
The character debuted as the patriarch of the original family unit on the show, the Neilsons. He was a paramedic alongside Sam Aleni
Sam Aleni
Sam Aleni was a fictional character on the TVNZ soap opera Shortland Street. He was portrayed by Rene Naufahu and was part of the original cast.-1992-1993:...
(Rene Naufahu
Rene Naufahu
Rene Naufahu is a New Zealand-born actor, screen writer and director of Tongan and Samoan heritage. He is perhaps best known for being an original cast member of the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street, playing paramedic Sam Aleni for the show's first four years...
) and worked at Shortland Street clinic
Shortland Street Hospital
Shortland Street Hospital is a fictional hospital which is the main setting for the TVNZ soap opera Shortland Street...
, where his wife Marj (Elizabeth McRae
Elizabeth McRae
Elizabeth McRae is a New Zealand actress, best known for her portrayal of Marjorie Brasch on the soap opera Shortland Street from 1992 until 1996 with further appearances in 1998 and 2002.Elizabeth's daughter Katherine is also an actress...
) fronted reception. Tom had three sons, Patrick, villainous Darryl
Darryl Neilson
Darryl Neilson is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street. Darryl was portrayed by Mark Ferguson from 1992 to the characters death in 1995....
(Mark Ferguson
Mark Ferguson
Mark Ferguson is a New Zealand-based Australian actor and television presenter.-Biography:Ferguson was born in Sydney, Australia, in family of Scottish ancestry . He attended the National Institute of Dramatic Art and graduated in 1981...
), Damien (Mark Ferguson) and original teenage heart throb Stuart
Stuart Neilson
Stuart Neilson was a fictional character in the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street. He was portrayed by Martin Henderson and was part of the original cast, with a lot of the first episode focusing around him....
(Martin Henderson
Martin Henderson
Martin Henderson is a New Zealand actor, well known to American audiences for his starring role in the ABC TV series Off the Map, while remaining known in his home country for his teenage role as Stuart Neilson in the soap opera Shortland Street.-Life and career:Henderson was born in Auckland, New...
). The characters year long run saw the character participate in numerous storylines, including teenage pregnancy, rape, drug abuse, illness and a storyline that saw Tom become a missing person.
The storyline that saw Tom go missing became hugely popular, so much so that Tom was eventually brought back to finish off the storyline. It is now remembered as one of the most iconic storylines in the early days of the soap opera.
Creation and Casting
Adrian Keeling was cast as Tom, the patriarch of the Neilson family unit. Keeling resigned from the role after his initial 1 year contract expired and the character was written off as running away from his family. This was the writers original pitch to get rid of the character, but public interest was so high, the character returned in November only to be killed off once and for all.1992-1993
Tom was shocked in May 1992 when teenage son Stuart NeilsonStuart Neilson
Stuart Neilson was a fictional character in the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street. He was portrayed by Martin Henderson and was part of the original cast, with a lot of the first episode focusing around him....
(Martin Henderson
Martin Henderson
Martin Henderson is a New Zealand actor, well known to American audiences for his starring role in the ABC TV series Off the Map, while remaining known in his home country for his teenage role as Stuart Neilson in the soap opera Shortland Street.-Life and career:Henderson was born in Auckland, New...
) claimed to be the father of a new born baby. However Tom soon learnt this was not the case and the true father was Tom and Marj
Marj Brasch
Marjorie "Marj" Brasch is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street. Being part of the original cast, she was portrayed by Elizabeth McRae from the show's first season in 1992 up until 1996. She returned as a guest character in both 1998 and 2002...
's (Elizabeth McRae
Elizabeth McRae
Elizabeth McRae is a New Zealand actress, best known for her portrayal of Marjorie Brasch on the soap opera Shortland Street from 1992 until 1996 with further appearances in 1998 and 2002.Elizabeth's daughter Katherine is also an actress...
) manipulative other son, Darryl
Darryl Neilson
Darryl Neilson is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street. Darryl was portrayed by Mark Ferguson from 1992 to the characters death in 1995....
(Mark Ferguson
Mark Ferguson
Mark Ferguson is a New Zealand-based Australian actor and television presenter.-Biography:Ferguson was born in Sydney, Australia, in family of Scottish ancestry . He attended the National Institute of Dramatic Art and graduated in 1981...
). Tom started to suffer from a strange sleeping disorder and disaster struck when he was crushed in a building collapse. An ill Tom eventually recovered but he soon learnt Darryl had attempted to rape Kirsty (Angela Dotchin
Angela Dotchin
-External links:...
) and kicked his son out of the house. Tom was distraught when Marj revealed she was allowing her daughter she adopted out at birth, Jane (Katherine McRae) to enter their lives. Tom could not cope with Marj's lies and the marriage deteriorated to a point in early 1993, when Tom told Marj he was going to the dairy to get some cream and did not return.
Marj was devastated expecting the worst, but she soon realized their savings had been cleared, meaning Tom was likely alive. In September 1993 Marj was contacted by a women who claimed to be in a cult with Tom and who asked Marj for money. Marj refused to pay the mystery women and Tom surprisingly returned to her life in October 1993 when he revealed he needed time off and had been living in a cult. Tom also revealed he needed a kidney transplant and an upset Darryl volunteered his. Shortly after the surgery, Tom had a massive heart attack and died, with Darryl by his side. His funeral was held a few days later with his friends and colleagues attending.
Missing Person Storyline
When Keeling decided to leave the role, producers decided to make the character go through a missing person storyline, where he ditched his wife and children after the marriage dissolved as a result of Marj's illegitimate daughter. The storyline seemed an "economical" write out and helped develop the seemingly two dimensional character of Marj. It featured Tom going to the dairy and not returning, with Marj discovering he had emptied the savings. Broadcaster Paul HolmesPaul Holmes (broadcaster)
Paul Holmes CNZM is a radio and television broadcaster in New Zealand. he hosts Q+A on TV ONE, and the Saturday morning radio show on Newstalk ZB, where for 23 years until December 2008 he hosted the weekday breakfast show, the long-standing number one rating breakfast show...
made a guest appearance on the show, featuring Tom's disappearance on his talk show. The storyline became hugely popular, with Keeling getting constantly hassled on the street by fans. Keeling's co star, Michael Galvin
Michael Galvin
Michael Galvin is a New Zealand actor, singer and playwright, well known for his role as Dr. Chris Warner on the soap opera Shortland Street, a character he has played almost continuously since the shows debut in 1992.-Early life:...
who portrayed Dr. Chris Warner
Chris Warner
Dr. Christopher "Chris" Warner is a fictional character and current main protagonist on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street. He is portrayed by Michael Galvin. He is the only original character to still be on the show....
enjoyed the storyline and liked how they left it mysteriously open. Fans continued to ask what happened to Tom which annoyed Keeling, resulting in him begging to be written back into the soap. Producers also decided it was best the audience got closure and so Tom was written back into the soap, with the explanation he had been living in a cult but returned needing a kidney transplant. The character stayed on the show for several weeks in a guest role before being killed off, suffering a heart attack while recovering from surgery. Galvin disapproved of Tom being written back in, describing it as a "cop out".