Shortland Street - General Discussion

[Marky]

I notice chemistry between Rahu and Jack but I still can't tell if Rahu's bi or if it's one sided. And either way, the writers can be kind of biphobic at times, so I'm worried that a Jack/Esther/Rahu triangle would be similar to the awful Lincoln/Nicole/Jack triangle. And Lincoln and Jack actually had excellent chemistry, but of course they had to make Lincoln the absolute worst UGH. So sick of them getting Jack into these short-lived relationships that never work out

[justinate]

Any idea whether the actor (used in the gender-neutral sense!) playing Gia is the same as the one who played Sid five years ago? I've been wondering for a while why that character is "uncredited" - could it be because they were known by their deadname?

I really hope they will give Jack a new and longer-lasting love interest.

Fun fact: back in the day, Gia was a love interest for Esther before they discovered they were half-cousins. (That was what prompted the reveal of Gia's paternity.)

Fun fact 2: Rahu must be headed towards the fastest trifecta in history if he manages to bed TK's half-sister, niece and daughter all in the span of a few months.

[Grace]

Nov 28, 2022 8:00:30 GMT -5 justinate said:

Any idea whether the actor (used in the gender-neutral sense!) playing Gia is the same as the one who played Sid five years ago? I've been wondering for a while why that character is "uncredited" - could it be because they were known by their deadname?

I really hope they will give Jack a new and longer-lasting love interest.

Fun fact: back in the day, Gia was a love interest for Esther before they discovered they were half-cousins. (That was what prompted the reveal of Gia's paternity.)

Fun fact 2: Rahu must be headed towards the fastest trifecta in history if he manages to bed TK's half-sister, niece and daughter all in the span of a few months.

It's not the same person because Awa, who plays Gia, transitioned before 2017. I am confused as to why the other person is uncredited though, I wonder if that was always the case. 

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Clip 406 from Anthony:

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Clip 407 (parts 1 and 2) courtesy of Anthony:

  

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Another clip from Anthony, this one is numbered 407 part 3:

[justinate]

I was pleasantly surprised to see Roz and Saskia at Wilder's funeral, especially the former - after she was MIA for her breakup with Leanne I thought the actress would never return.

TK's bright idea to sell shares in the hospital is surely going to lead to some nefarious party building up a controlling stake - Brightshine seems the obvious candidate but that suggests they're here for the longer term beyond the Christmas cliffhanger and I can't stomach much more of them, so I really hope not. It's bad enough we have two financial con storylines running at the same time (Marc's "scholarship" for Madonna's daughter Joy).

Has the actor playing Chris decided to semi-retire, because he is completely marginal now and doesn't even show up at key moments for the hospital? Did they say where he was - visiting some of his kids abroad?

[carld2]

Nov 30, 2022 9:22:04 GMT -5 justinate said:

I was pleasantly surprised to see Roz and Saskia at Wilder's funeral, especially the former - after she was MIA for her breakup with Leanne I thought the actress would never return.

TK's bright idea to sell shares in the hospital is surely going to lead to some nefarious party building up a controlling stake - Brightshine seems the obvious candidate but that suggests they're here for the longer term beyond the Christmas cliffhanger and I can't stomach much more of them, so I really hope not. It's bad enough we have two financial con storylines running at the same time (Marc's "scholarship" for Madonna's daughter Joy).

Has the actor playing Chris decided to semi-retire, because he is completely marginal now and doesn't even show up at key moments for the hospital? Did they say where he was - visiting some of his kids abroad?

I wonder if this is going to be tied through David Kearney (I still don't know him well enough to not type out his full name), potentially as a proxy for Brightshine or even above them. Then next year I could see TK and Chris teaming up to push him and his handlers out.

Chris does feel like he's being phased out somewhat, with all these stories thrown out of nowhere at TK to make up for it.

[Grace]

Nov 30, 2022 14:49:25 GMT -5 carld2 said:

Nov 30, 2022 9:22:04 GMT -5 justinate said:

I was pleasantly surprised to see Roz and Saskia at Wilder's funeral, especially the former - after she was MIA for her breakup with Leanne I thought the actress would never return.

TK's bright idea to sell shares in the hospital is surely going to lead to some nefarious party building up a controlling stake - Brightshine seems the obvious candidate but that suggests they're here for the longer term beyond the Christmas cliffhanger and I can't stomach much more of them, so I really hope not. It's bad enough we have two financial con storylines running at the same time (Marc's "scholarship" for Madonna's daughter Joy).

Has the actor playing Chris decided to semi-retire, because he is completely marginal now and doesn't even show up at key moments for the hospital? Did they say where he was - visiting some of his kids abroad?

I wonder if this is going to be tied through David Kearney (I still don't know him well enough to not type out his full name), potentially as a proxy for Brightshine or even above them. Then next year I could see TK and Chris teaming up to push him and his handlers out.

Chris does feel like he's being phased out somewhat, with all these stories thrown out of nowhere at TK to make up for it.

Yeah, it does seem like they’re phasing Chris out a little and giving some of the storylines he’d typically have to TK. TK becoming CEO made me think this; that seemed kind of forced to me and like it came out of nowhere. It’s not that I dislike him, but when were there ever hints that he would ever be CEO or that he was ever interested in a role like that; he’s always been written as someone who likes the practical element of being a doctor. If you told me 10 years ago he’d be CEO, I wouldn’t believe it. Not because I think he’s useless, but because it just doesn’t make sense for his character and how he's been written for like the last 16 years. 

[Lisaaa]

www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/tv-radio/130610927/shortland-street-producer-promises-big-stakes-christmas-cliffhanger 'I think I can say for sure that we’re doing something when we return that we’ve never done in the history of Shortland Street and we’re approaching it in a very different way.' This makes me both curious and worried. I feel like I've seen almost everything on this show, like what could it possibly be? If the return for next year is more intense than the 2018 return, I'll be shocked. It really seems like the writers are heading to a major cast shake-up; especially with how many characters have left already and the two recent deaths. I suspect that we should expect at least one character death in the finale.

[carld2]

Dec 1, 2022 16:09:45 GMT -5 Lisaaa said:

www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/tv-radio/130610927/shortland-street-producer-promises-big-stakes-christmas-cliffhanger 'I think I can say for sure that we’re doing something when we return that we’ve never done in the history of Shortland Street and we’re approaching it in a very different way.' This makes me both curious and worried. I feel like I've seen almost everything on this show, like what could it possibly be? If the return for next year is more intense than the 2018 return, I'll be shocked. It really seems like the writers are heading to a major cast shake-up; especially with how many characters have left already and the two recent deaths. I suspect that we should expect at least one character death in the finale.

There are a lot of cast members I could see leaving, particularly people who seem to be floating around now like Esther, Marty and Monique, and I don't think Maeve is going to be around much longer either, but I do wonder if they're just doing the usual overhype.

[Markkk]

Dec 1, 2022 19:11:06 GMT -5 carld2 said:

Dec 1, 2022 16:09:45 GMT -5 Lisaaa said:

www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/tv-radio/130610927/shortland-street-producer-promises-big-stakes-christmas-cliffhanger 'I think I can say for sure that we’re doing something when we return that we’ve never done in the history of Shortland Street and we’re approaching it in a very different way.' This makes me both curious and worried. I feel like I've seen almost everything on this show, like what could it possibly be? If the return for next year is more intense than the 2018 return, I'll be shocked. It really seems like the writers are heading to a major cast shake-up; especially with how many characters have left already and the two recent deaths. I suspect that we should expect at least one character death in the finale.

There are a lot of cast members I could see leaving, particularly people who seem to be floating around now like Esther, Marty and Monique, and I don't think Maeve is going to be around much longer either, but I do wonder if they're just doing the usual overhype.

I've been wondering about Esther leaving because she contributes basically nothing to the show now, but imo she seems to be one of those characters who'll just never leave lol. I've thought that since Curtis left, because I think the natural ending for Esther would've been to leave when he left. 

[carld2]

Dec 2, 2022 4:30:24 GMT -5 Markkk said:

I've been wondering about Esther leaving because she contributes basically nothing to the show now, but imo she seems to be one of those characters who'll just never leave lol. I've thought that since Curtis left, because I think the natural ending for Esther would've been to leave when he left. 

A part of me wonders if Esther may die in childbirth, although that would be very heavy for the actress given her real life pregnancy.

[justinate]

What stood out to me in that article was the implication that Vivienne's exit was permanent. So they're never going to reveal her paternity secret?

I don't think Esther is far along enough in her pregnancy to give birth to a viable child. And unless the actress wants to leave, they can't really fire her during pregnancy without violating labour laws.

The show could easily lose half a dozen characters without too much of an impact. It does feel like Maeve is on her way out; it's obvious Nicole no longer loves her at all.

I don't quite understand how Jack ended up as acting head of ED when Harper, Marty and even Rahu have more experience. And at this juncture, it looks like even Gia will pip him to it although she was a high school kid when Jack had already embarked on his medical career.

But I do agree that CEO seems a poor fit for TK. He definitely doesn't strike me as the kind of person who'd enjoy a desk job and schmoozing. Plus, in all the years he's been head of ED, was he ever called to be 2IC? I remember Harper, Drew and Zara all serving in that role but it seems to have gone away with Zara.

[dylan]

CEO is a terrible fit for TK. He's always hated those types of jobs and often expressed disdain for them in the past. I don't really understand what they are doing with TK at all. This whole storyline with Ngaio and the new family was completely inconsequential, so what was the point? He's a terrible CEO as far as I can tell, but no one questions him anymore. What happened to his feud with Chris at the beginning? That just ended abruptly.

It's such a shame to lose so many characters, but I agree that Esther should be the first to go. She is so insufferable and self-centred. And it's completely crazy to me for her to have this baby when her life is at risk - that would leave two children without a mother, one of which already has a dead father. I still cannot figure out why they didn't just write her out with Curtis so they could get their happy ending together. And why are they trying to force Esther and Marty on us? So tiresome.

It looks like Rahu is just going to be written out. He's done nothing of significance since coming to the show other than have an offscreen romance with Ngaio, so I don't know what the point of his character was. They haven't even developed the character at all.

The only storyline I'm really interested in right now is Brightshine. It'll be interesting to see what they find out about this dodgy organisation (which of course has ties to the US). I don't know why everyone insists that this was an accident. Shouldn't people in Ferndale be a bit more suspicious given all that has happened there? I guess Jack is so pumped full of caffeine that he isn't thinking clearly, but it's pretty clear that Wilder wasn't on ketamine at the party. I'm looking forward to see what happens in the cliffhanger.

[justinate]

Stanley working the florist booth at the hospital is a hoot. His running commentary on the love affairs of hospital staff will probably get old after a while but for now it's a nice bit of levity from all the doom and gloom. Hopefully his stint won't end in tears.

Maybe wishful thinking on my part, but I feel like they are still keeping Rahu's options open. Like he could still be a love interest for Jack. Yeah, probably just wishful thinking. Gia is probably as far as he goes.

[justinate]

I just cannot work out what's up with Marc. Why all the back and forth? And it's a pretty major plot but doesn't appear in the spoilers for today or tomorrow. Hmm.

So Shortland Street has a Rainbow Clinic - conveniently as TK gains a trans daughter. Of course Gia doesn't want to work there but with Jack flailing as Head of ED, might he end up there instead?

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Part 408 (parts 1 and 2) from Anthony:

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Still more from 408. Here's part 3:

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Part 409:

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New clips from Anthony:

[justinate]

I won't say much more until Anthony gets his clips up but WOW - that was a seriously epic finale.

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New clips from Anthony:

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Part 415 from Anthony:

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Part 416: