Shortland Street - General Discussion

[dylan]

Exactly. Such rubbish. There are other things in there that are also wrong. Harper didn't get cancer in 2019 - she initially was misdiagnosed with Addison's disease, and then it turned out that she had a tapeworm in her brain which she caught from eating undercooked pork when she was visiting the US. Not only did she never marry Kawe, but that all happened in 2018, not 2019. Also, 2006 should refer to Huia (TK's cousin), not "Te Huia". Don't know where that came from.

[kevvoi]

New clip courtesy of Anthony:

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[kevvoi]

Two more clips courtesy of Anthony:

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Another new clip courtesy of Anthony:

[carld2]

Still a few weeks behind (not in a big rush to slog through yet more of Desi being horrible and vile with supporting moments of Dawn being stupid and loud), and I wanted to say how impressed I was by the few episodes with Louis and the dying patient. Similar to Jack's patient story, so much more compelling, and emotional, than their bigger stories have been of late.

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[carld2]

Finally watched the anniversary week, and considering I don't have the highest opinion of the current episodes, I was pleased with the first three shows of the week (the other two not so much, but I did appreciate that the episode with Jojo's return and incredibly irritating Logan's arrival was shot in a way where so much just focused on that story, with a day-in-the-life feel). The interview with Chris was an appropriate way to tie in his long history with the show as well as the current story about privilege in a more 'progressive' world. Much more worthwhile than the fatal attraction/we-hate-whiteys storyline TK is mired in.

On paper, the show blowing up various relationships (TK cheating on CeCe, Drew and Harper drifting apart as he and CeCe are tight, Nicole becoming tired of Maeve, whatever is always going on with Villiami and Madonna) at once is a questionable idea, but for the anniversary episodes, this added a genuine sense of melancholy alongside the celebrations. The documentary feel is old hat medical shows, as was the doomed couple brought in, but I much prefer seeing a focus on the hospital and the patients. I do think they could have had more returns, although the few worked into the documentary felt natural. I was surprised to see Tom again, but this hit a few quietly emotional beats, even if I'm not sure I believe he would care about popping in from Australia, or wherever he moved to, just for the interview.

Having the characters react to what was shown in the documentary, and having patients react, was a nice surprise.

Speaking of nice surprises, I was most happy to see Boyd again, and as this show gets so little press, it was an actual surprise for me. I don't know what the actor is doing now, but the longer hair looked gorgeous on him. It was nice to see him being more carefree as so much of his time on the show was perpetually tense. I wish he'd had actual scenes with Drew but I guess they couldn't do that because of Harper's depression.

Also happy to see Desi's wedding not take up a great deal of airtime, which meant I could be happy for her and Damo.

My eyes rolled back in my head at Esther being drawn to Desi's desperate cousin. I assume one big reason is her still being in love with Curtis. If they are going to end her relationship with Marty (which was fast-tracked out of nowhere, presumably for this exact purpose) so she can moon over this guy for a while, I hope they do it quickly as I do not care.

Had we ever seen Dawn's ex-boyfriend before? If so that was before my time. He looked so much like Tom's mate, the one who accidentally spiked her drink at the wedding, that I thought it WAS him until post-departure when someone said he was her ex. He seems nice - I imagine he will be roadkill when Dawn returns, but I would have rather he stayed around if we got less of the Dawn hysterics. I do think the exit seems very sudden (especially that weird shot of them from far away, packing up the car) - if she is returning, maybe they just sent her away to have a reason to bring Shereez back for a few weeks?

I like Monique more than I should, but my opinion that she only returns when the show has run out of story for a number of characters has not changed...

I know Jack just had a big story, but with what feels like literally everyone else doing something, his bit player status sticks out like a sore thumb.

[justinate]

Jun 5, 2022 5:07:58 GMT -5 carld2 said:

Finally watched the anniversary week, and considering I don't have the highest opinion of the current episodes, I was pleased with the first three shows of the week (the other two not so much, but I did appreciate that the episode with Jojo's return and incredibly irritating Logan's arrival was shot in a way where so much just focused on that story, with a day-in-the-life feel). The interview with Chris was an appropriate way to tie in his long history with the show as well as the current story about privilege in a more 'progressive' world. Much more worthwhile than the fatal attraction/we-hate-whiteys storyline TK is mired in.

On paper, the show blowing up various relationships (TK cheating on CeCe, Drew and Harper drifting apart as he and CeCe are tight, Nicole becoming tired of Maeve, whatever is always going on with Villiami and Madonna) at once is a questionable idea, but for the anniversary episodes, this added a genuine sense of melancholy alongside the celebrations. The documentary feel is old hat medical shows, as was the doomed couple brought in, but I much prefer seeing a focus on the hospital and the patients. I do think they could have had more returns, although the few worked into the documentary felt natural. I was surprised to see Tom again, but this hit a few quietly emotional beats, even if I'm not sure I believe he would care about popping in from Australia, or wherever he moved to, just for the interview.

Having the characters react to what was shown in the documentary, and having patients react, was a nice surprise.

Speaking of nice surprises, I was most happy to see Boyd again, and as this show gets so little press, it was an actual surprise for me. I don't know what the actor is doing now, but the longer hair looked gorgeous on him. It was nice to see him being more carefree as so much of his time on the show was perpetually tense. I wish he'd had actual scenes with Drew but I guess they couldn't do that because of Harper's depression.

Also happy to see Desi's wedding not take up a great deal of airtime, which meant I could be happy for her and Damo.

My eyes rolled back in my head at Esther being drawn to Desi's desperate cousin. I assume one big reason is her still being in love with Curtis. If they are going to end her relationship with Marty (which was fast-tracked out of nowhere, presumably for this exact purpose) so she can moon over this guy for a while, I hope they do it quickly as I do not care.

Had we ever seen Dawn's ex-boyfriend before? If so that was before my time. He looked so much like Tom's mate, the one who accidentally spiked her drink at the wedding, that I thought it WAS him until post-departure when someone said he was her ex. He seems nice - I imagine he will be roadkill when Dawn returns, but I would have rather he stayed around if we got less of the Dawn hysterics. I do think the exit seems very sudden (especially that weird shot of them from far away, packing up the car) - if she is returning, maybe they just sent her away to have a reason to bring Shereez back for a few weeks?

I like Monique more than I should, but my opinion that she only returns when the show has run out of story for a number of characters has not changed...

I know Jack just had a big story, but with what feels like literally everyone else doing something, his bit player status sticks out like a sore thumb.

I enjoyed the anniversary episodes too. I knew you are a fan of Boyd, so I didn't want to spoil his return. I miss him too. He always seemed like the nicest guy, except for when he got snowed by Eve. (I heard that it wasn't always that way, and he was a real snob and schemer when he first arrived on the show, but I wasn't watching back then.) I still wonder if the actor wanted to leave or they simply decided to write him off because his onscreen wife wanted out. If that's the case, it really sucks because Boyd is more than Mr Chakraborty (although I suppose, in retrospect, having him take her surname was a sign that the show didn't see him as more than that!) If the Zara actress didn't want to continue acting, they could've given her an exit, saying it was too painful for her to live in Ferndale after everything that happened, and sent her to live in India/England with one of her sons. (I wouldn't have minded the gay one coming down and giving Jack a once-over.)

I'm really not keen on the bent that TK's storyline has taken. TK was never my favourite character - he is the poster boy for toxic masculinity, IMO - but this has really been quite a nasty turn. I guess they are trying to even the playing field now by having Chris resort to underhanded tricks too, but IMO Chris isn't outright lying to TK the way TK did to him. Of course, there's going to be a bigger scandal when it comes out that Te Rongapai is pulling his strings and sexing him up. And it couldn't happen to a more deserving person. I'm particularly aggrieved by how Esther is behaving. There should be more conflict for her between her uncle and FIL, but it seems like she is more entitled than a Warner! When you see that the only characters in Chris's corner, besides his girlfriend, are Leanne and Nicole (with Monique, but you can't really trust her to stick with one stance), it makes you realize both the high cast turnover and the racially charged storytelling (all the Maoris, the Indian, the Filipina arrayed against him).

Yes Dawn and Dave were a thing when she first arrived, he was her fiance from the country, but she ultimately decided she couldn't marry him and dumped him. It was so long ago and made so little impression on me that I can't tell you for sure if it's still the same actor playing Dave or if he's been recast for this return. I may be wrong, but he was not very nice back when he was first on the show, so he's either matured or the victim of a retcon, LOL.

I am liking Monique a lot more this time around, though I'm going to need her to move past the Marty obsession before I can fully get behind her. The actress is really very beautiful.

Yeah, Jack's lack of story really does stick out like a sore thumb, everyone else has something going on that directly affects them. That said, I fear we may get our wish but not in the way we hope. If Jack must have a storyline about becoming a dad - and it really isn't my first, second or 900th choice for him - can they please at least make it with Nicole and Maeve instead? He was at one point ready to co-parent Nic's daughter with Lincoln, plus they're all gay so it makes sense for them to need a donor, and Nic and Jack already had that connection. It could be the cause of renewed conflict between N&M if Maeve doesn't want another kid, etc. Dawn would be the absolute worst, WORST choice. Jack would be better off having a kid with Madonna's judgmental ass, that's how bad she would be as a co-parent.

I don't get why no one in the hospital can recognize Harper's postnatal depression and prescribe that maternal mental health scheme to her. Nicole is her best friend; her husband and coworker Marty are both trained doctors (in Drew's case, he used to do psych evals for his plastic surgery patients).

I also found it depressing that the hospital, which had an operating theatre free and staff willing to work overtime, would not allow Jojo's granddad to have his surgery. He was 71, not 91. Is this really how hospitals function in NZ? My grandmother had a late-stage cancer detected when she was in her 80s; she was given the choice of surgery or doing nothing. It was her choice to opt for the former and she not only survived surgery, but lived for another decade without any cancer recurrence. I can't imagine how awful it is when you want the chance to live and someone like TK/Esther/Drew just write you off like that. Thank God my grandmother's doctors weren't like them!

[carld2]

After justinate had mentioned Dawn being in spoilers and not being in episodes, I was bored enough to check out yesterday's episode, which had this:

Dawn’s lies enrage Jack.

Sure enough, no Dawn...but we DID get a whole lotta Shereez lying to Louis, convinced he was only with her out of devotion rather than his own good, since he did not want a baby and she did.

Who was going on and on about babies before her departure?

Dawn.

Who had a sexual relationship with Louis earlier this year?

Dawn.

Jack did not seem "enraged" to me today, but I could see that being toned down as he is not as close to Shereez as he is to Dawn.

These scenes would have been very believable with Dawn, so desperate to have children, that she would have unprotected sex with Louis, then lying to him once she realized he did not want kids. I'm not sure if they would have had the romantic cliffhanger Louis and Shereez did or not, but given that Dawn is perpetually looking for "the one," I wouldn't be shocked. Or maybe she would have been faking a pregnancy to get a real pregnancy via another encounter with Louis, only for Jack to sort her out?

This makes me wonder just how much longer Dawn is going to be gone. Weeks? I can't see it stretching to months, but people leave this damn show out of nowhere all the time...

Speaking of which, sure enough Rosalyn is out, after not appearing for a year. Or back in, I should say. Poor Leanne. I did laugh when she said, "She's not a lesbian - she's a liar!"

Oh and if the show is looking to fill time, can they have some scenes where Shereez helps Louis brush his lovely hair? He looks like he has just gotten out of bed. And if we don't get to see that we don't need to see the hair either.

[carld2]

Yesterday's episode had a Jack keeps his distance spoiler. Was this also part of a cut Dawn story?

[justinate]

I feel that, for reasons completely beyond my comprehension, the person writing the spoilers has been confusing Shereez with Dawn. I cannot imagine how that happened because if they watch the episode, it should be obvious, and ditto if they read the scripts. Dawn's exit story was set up over more than one episode (Dave's reappearance) and it would have required a massive rewrite to reposition it as a Shereez plot. Louis does not share the same romantic history and emotional baggage with Dawn that he has with Shereez (Shereez aborted his child, didn't she?) plus I think the story would've developed quite differently. Shereez doesn't even want a kid right this moment; Dawn did. I can see Dawn returning (pure speculation) after her relationship with Dave falls apart again, but she's now pregnant and she wants Jack to be the baby's dad.

The scene at the IV where Louis, duped into believing Shereez had cheated with Logan, fell into Jack's arms crying did not have the intended effect. I was yelling: KISS! KISS! KISS! at the screen. Oh well. Hope springs eternal.

The Jack story in Friday's episode had nothing to do with Shereez or Louis. He was upset when Stanley (the older gay patient from before) returned with a heart problem but was left unattended due to Harper's ongoing postnatal depression and pissing match with Marty over the ED leadership.

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[carld2]

Jun 11, 2022 11:22:35 GMT -5 justinate said:

The Jack story in Friday's episode had nothing to do with Shereez or Louis. He was upset when Stanley (the older gay patient from before) returned with a heart problem but was left unattended due to Harper's ongoing postnatal depression and pissing match with Marty over the ED leadership.

I did notice the part when he was upset about their fighting, I suppose the wording for the spoiler felt different to me. Some of them (like the one about him being "enraged") seem hyperbolic compared to what is onscreen. I guess that's soaps for you.

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[justinate]

Are they chem testing Jack with Logan? What did our boy ever do to deserve this?

A double whammy of bad news today: Louis left Ferndale (with Shereez) just as Dawn returned (with Dave). So we have Dawn + Logan to look forward to. (That may be literal since Dawn always rolls out the welcome mat for every new guy in Ferndale.)

[carld2]

Jun 15, 2022 7:53:51 GMT -5 justinate said:

Are they chem testing Jack with Logan? What did our boy ever do to deserve this?

A double whammy of bad news today: Louis left Ferndale (with Shereez) just as Dawn returned (with Dave). So we have Dawn + Logan to look forward to. (That may be literal since Dawn always rolls out the welcome mat for every new guy in Ferndale.)

Is Louis gone for good or just on a break?

I was hoping she'd be gone longer. The thought of Dawn and Jack fighting over a man...

A part of me wishes they'd have tried Jack with an older man. He has more chemistry with Stanley than he has had with a number of his love interests. Obviously that is not a pairing, but it makes me curious.

[justinate]

Jun 15, 2022 16:18:45 GMT -5 carld2 said:

Is Louis gone for good or just on a break?

I was hoping she'd be gone longer. The thought of Dawn and Jack fighting over a man...

A part of me wishes they'd have tried Jack with an older man. He has more chemistry with Stanley than he has had with a number of his love interests. Obviously that is not a pairing, but it makes me curious.

I think Louis's gone for good, as Henry Rolleston posted this on his Insta.

http://instagram.com/p/Ce19ibxPNIW

I wouldn't mind Jack with an older man, but Stanley must be twice his age ... that's a bit too far apart IMO. He looks closer in age to Jack's grandfather than Mo. A 10-15 year gap (like Vili/Vivien) are about as far as I'd go. But there were a couple of moments where I did wonder if they were going there with Jack and Stan - it left me a bit uncomfortable. In an ideal world, both of them would get age-appropriate love interests, but knowing Jack's string of bad luck, it's more likely Stan dies on him and, because of their 'deal' which he thinks Stan didn't uphold, he will swear off love forever.

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[carld2]

Jun 16, 2022 10:23:42 GMT -5 justinate said:

I think Louis's gone for good, as Henry Rolleston posted this on his Insta.

I wouldn't mind Jack with an older man, but Stanley must be twice his age ... that's a bit too far apart IMO. He looks closer in age to Jack's grandfather than Mo. A 10-15 year gap (like Vili/Vivien) are about as far as I'd go. But there were a couple of moments where I did wonder if they were going there with Jack and Stan - it left me a bit uncomfortable. In an ideal world, both of them would get age-appropriate love interests, but knowing Jack's string of bad luck, it's more likely Stan dies on him and, because of their 'deal' which he thinks Stan didn't uphold, he will swear off love forever.

Thanks for posting that. As this show gets so little focus on cast departures if the actors don't tell us we won't know...

It has felt like Louis has been on the way out for a good while now, with several false exits. I wonder if he agreed to stay on for the anniversary and also for Shereez's return.

I'll miss him (and that means another character gone that I genuinely care about while a number I am tired of are going nowhere).

Wonder what this means for CeCe. I could see her heading out this year as well.

Oh I definitely didn't mean a Stanley/Jack pairing...sadly I don't think we will see much more of Stanley, one way or another. I think your theory about him dying is likely. I mostly meant I could see Jack making more sense with a daddy figure at this point, if they want to explore that side of him.

I see that man-eater Lovely is back. Does the show bring new actors in for guest stints and then just bring them back if they get a positive enough audience response?

I guess either she is going to end up stealing from or preying on Stanley (or accidentally causing his death) or Jack is going to have her move in and she seduces Marty, or Dawn's boyfriend.

(unless they are going to drop Vivienne/Villiami and go for Lovely/Villiami)