Shortland Street Episode One
Encyclopedia
Episode 1 of the New Zealand
soap opera
Shortland Street
, was first broadcast on 25 May 1992.
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 couple by a construction site. Tom and Sam arrive at the scene to find a teenager in labour having received head injuries. Tom is surprised to find his teenage son Stuart
at the scene. Against protocol, Tom and Sam decide to take the women to Shortland Street Clinic
as a result of her brain injury.
Meanwhile the new doctor Hone Ropata
arrives at the clinic. Director of nursing Carrie Burton
welcomes him and begins to give him a tour of the building. Nurse Alison Raynor
attends to a young aggressive teenage hoodlum who refuses help.
The paramedics arrive at the clinic and ask for a doctor. Carrie asks receptionist Kirsty Knight to call for Dr. Chris Warner
. Meanwhile Chris is seducing his aerobics instructor who has turned his bleeper off. Hone decides he has to deliver the baby and goes against protocol to do so. Carrie advises him not to and reminds him that he is not in Guatemala
anymore, which Hone ignores. Stuart is denied entrance to the room the girl is giving birth as he is not family, to which he proclaims he is the baby's father. Tom and Marj are shocked that their highly religious son has had sex before marriage.
The teenage hoodlum Alison is seeing apologises for her behaviour and Alison tells her it helps to be polite, while her back is turned, the girl goes into Alison's handbag and steals a wad of cash.
Kirsty finds Chris and tells him that he is needed. Carrie informs CEO Michael McKenna of Hone's unorthodox procedure to which Michael insists something will be done. Alison talks to Sam about her flat she is moving into but is shocked when she finds her money gone.
Hone checks out his exam room and is surprised to meet male nurse Steve Mills
who badmouths Chris Warner to Hone, leaving him with a bad impression. Steve is later shown to have a crush on Alison.
Chris arrives back to the hospital and meets Hone. The two are stopped by Michael McKenna who questions Hone's methods and why Chris was gone the whole day.
Before the show was launched, it was called The Shortland Street Project because the plan was to shoot the show in a studio TVNZ owned on Shortland St in central Auckland. However, after working out an initial floor plan, the production crew realised that the space in Shortland St was going to be far too small to accommodate the sets that they required and they moved to a warehouse space in Browns Bay. After running through several name options, including A&E, the network execs agreed that the original idea was the one to go for and Shortland Street was born.
and even came 31 in the top 100 Pop culture stories on Rocked The Nation 2.
Chris' raunchy sex scene with his aerobics instructor also became instantly famous as the show aired at such a early timeslot it was subjected to children viewing.
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...
, was first broadcast on 25 May 1992.
Storyline
The episode starts with paramedics Tom NeilsonTom Neilson
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...
and 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:...
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 couple by a construction site. Tom and Sam arrive at the scene to find a teenager in labour having received head injuries. Tom is surprised to find his teenage son 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....
at the scene. Against protocol, Tom and Sam decide to take the women to 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...
as a result of her brain injury.
Meanwhile the new doctor Hone Ropata
Hone Ropata
Hone Ropata was a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street and was part of the original cast. He was portrayed by Temuera Morrison who after the role went on to several Hollywood roles...
arrives at the clinic. Director of nursing Carrie Burton
Carrie Burton
Carrie Kennedy was a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street. She was portrayed by Lisa Crittenden and was part of the original cast.-1992:...
welcomes him and begins to give him a tour of the building. Nurse Alison Raynor
Alison Raynor
Alison Raynor was a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street. She was portrayed by Danielle Cormack and was part of the series original cast.-Creation and Casting:...
attends to a young aggressive teenage hoodlum who refuses help.
The paramedics arrive at the clinic and ask for a doctor. Carrie asks receptionist Kirsty Knight to call for 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....
. Meanwhile Chris is seducing his aerobics instructor who has turned his bleeper off. Hone decides he has to deliver the baby and goes against protocol to do so. Carrie advises him not to and reminds him that he is not in Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
anymore, which Hone ignores. Stuart is denied entrance to the room the girl is giving birth as he is not family, to which he proclaims he is the baby's father. Tom and Marj are shocked that their highly religious son has had sex before marriage.
The teenage hoodlum Alison is seeing apologises for her behaviour and Alison tells her it helps to be polite, while her back is turned, the girl goes into Alison's handbag and steals a wad of cash.
Kirsty finds Chris and tells him that he is needed. Carrie informs CEO Michael McKenna of Hone's unorthodox procedure to which Michael insists something will be done. Alison talks to Sam about her flat she is moving into but is shocked when she finds her money gone.
Hone checks out his exam room and is surprised to meet male nurse Steve Mills
Steve Mills (Character)
Steve Mills was a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street. He was portrayed by Andrew Binns and was part of the original core cast....
who badmouths Chris Warner to Hone, leaving him with a bad impression. Steve is later shown to have a crush on Alison.
Chris arrives back to the hospital and meets Hone. The two are stopped by Michael McKenna who questions Hone's methods and why Chris was gone the whole day.
Cast
- Dr. Michael McKenna - Paul GittinsPaul GittinsPaul Gittins is a New Zealand actor who is best known for playing Doctor Michael McKenna in Shortland Street from 1992 to 1995 and 1998 to 1999, and he has also appeared in The End of the Golden Weather, Xena: Warrior Princess, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, City Life, The Whole of the Moon and...
- Marjorie Neilson - Elizabeth McRaeElizabeth McRaeElizabeth 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...
- Paramedic Tom NeilsonTom NeilsonTom 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...
- Adrian Keeling - Paramedic Sam AleniSam AleniSam 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 NaufahuRene NaufahuRene 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... - Stuart NeilsonStuart NeilsonStuart 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 HendersonMartin HendersonMartin 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... - Nurse Carrie BurtonCarrie BurtonCarrie Kennedy was a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street. She was portrayed by Lisa Crittenden and was part of the original cast.-1992:...
- Lisa CrittendenLisa CrittendenLisa Crittenden is an Australian actress, noted for her roles in various television series, such as The Restless Years , The Sullivans , Prisoner , Sons and Daughters and the New Zealand produced Shortland Street .She also played a lead role in mini-series Whose Baby? and... - Nurse Alison RaynorAlison RaynorAlison Raynor was a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street. She was portrayed by Danielle Cormack and was part of the series original cast.-Creation and Casting:...
- Danielle CormackDanielle CormackDanielle Cormack is a stage and screen actress from New Zealand. She was one of the original core cast of the long-running soap opera Shortland Street, though she is also known for her role as the Amazon Ephiny in the television series Xena: Warrior Princess, Cynthia Ross in The Cult, and Shota in... - Dr. Hone RopataHone RopataHone Ropata was a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street and was part of the original cast. He was portrayed by Temuera Morrison who after the role went on to several Hollywood roles...
- Temuera MorrisonTemuera MorrisonTemuera Derek Morrison is a New Zealand-born actor. He has become one of the country's most famous stars for his roles as the abusive Jake "the Muss" Heke in 1994's Once Were Warriors and as bounty hunter Jango Fett and the Clone Troopers in the Star Wars series... - Kirsty Knight - Angela DotchinAngela Dotchin-External links:...
- Dr. Chris WarnerChris WarnerDr. 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....
- Michael GalvinMichael GalvinMichael 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:... - Nurse Steve MillsSteve Mills (Character)Steve Mills was a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street. He was portrayed by Andrew Binns and was part of the original core cast....
- Andrew Binns
Production
The word placenta was not allowed in the first episode of the show as it was considered to be too risque for a 7pm timeslot. Given that a major storyline of the first episode revolved around a woman giving birth, this was a tricky word to avoid. The line "You're not in Guatemala now Dr Ropata" was also originally cut from the first script because it was deemed "too silly", but then it was put back in at the last minute - and is now an iconic piece of New Zealand television history.Before the show was launched, it was called The Shortland Street Project because the plan was to shoot the show in a studio TVNZ owned on Shortland St in central Auckland. However, after working out an initial floor plan, the production crew realised that the space in Shortland St was going to be far too small to accommodate the sets that they required and they moved to a warehouse space in Browns Bay. After running through several name options, including A&E, the network execs agreed that the original idea was the one to go for and Shortland Street was born.
Reception
The episode was met with mixed reviews with reviewers stating “New soap has dead-end feel to it” and “Soap gets thumbs down”. Many also predicted the soap would not last long before cancellation. The Sunday news stated the soap was full of; "Over-acting, under-acting, cliched characters, corny scripts, sluggish editing, dated camera shots and tediously drawn-out scenes." However other reviews stated much to the contrary with headlines such as; "Just what the doctor ordered", "Fine pedigree behind new medical soap", and "Quick pace sets new soap apart".Pop Culture Significance
The original cheesiness of the episode and several ideas have become historically significant in New Zealand pop culture history. The phrase "You're not in Guatemala now Dr. Ropata" instantly became KiwianaKiwiana
Kiwiana are certain items and icons from New Zealand's heritage, especially from around the middle of the 20th century that are seen as representing iconic Kiwi elements...
and even came 31 in the top 100 Pop culture stories on Rocked The Nation 2.
Chris' raunchy sex scene with his aerobics instructor also became instantly famous as the show aired at such a early timeslot it was subjected to children viewing.