TEMUERA MORRISON & CAST OF SHORTLAND STREET, CELEBRATE TWENTY YEARS AS A SOAP

Shortland Street, the medical drama that is New Zealand’s longest running soapie, turned twenty years today.

An important series, it helped Kiwis overcome “cultural cringe,” (hearing ourselves on TV  in our own accent in the drama genre).

It recognized a turning point in New Zealand consciousness. As a people, we had arrived onscreen. In our mixed-model TV broadcasting quotas (40% Brit Programming, 40% USA or Australian programming, and 20% NZ programming), Shortland Street helped us talk about us, our community worldviews. It also created our own bonafide celebrity actors star template.

As a show, it was like a cross between Grey’s Anatomy (USA) and Coronation Street (UK) with a little bit of Home and Away (Australia) thrown in for the vibe of The Street’s South Pacific neighborhood.

There was no template really for Shortland Street though in its controversial early days that had to battle cries of “wasted investment” from Kiwi-drama shy locals.  The original cast was very brave in such a hostile climate of New Zealanders modest tendancies to self-doubt as an angsty art form of humor. The show’s writers and storyliners were very courageous. Trailblazing legends.

In the engine room of the soap, writers just wrote storylines for the characters that best reflected what Kiwis found interesting. Sex, drugs, rock n’ roll, cultural diversity were all discussed each night in the show’s storylines, as they still are. You know, it was always the show for grown ups and issues that people actually thought about in any culture with TV sets.

Shortland Street also mirrors the pace of life that New Zealanders know and appreciate here onscreen. It’s like a security blanket now for many of the culture and the show’s avid fans.

Well today, the show turns 20. Wow! Featured above is the legendary Temuera Morrison, who starred as Dr. Ropata. You’ve never seen a stauncher doctor in a soap opera, on screen. Tem had to sell the concept of a telenovella hunk equivalent onscreen but he was just mega-stauncher as the first Maori soap opera doctor – NZ ever saw on the telly. It was a miracle watching Mr Morrison always turn up the heat, where he tamed any clinical environment to be more real and distinctly Kiwi with his prescence. Furthermore, the tried and proven show biz family legacy Tem trucked into this show to make it more Kiwi-authentic, was a huge gift to New Zealand culture, made real again in this soap opera. For more about Tem’s castmates and some of New Zealand’s most well-known nightly stars, click on the Rotorua lad’s pic to discover what the show is about.

Happy Birthday New Zealand drama each week on screen - at the epic 20 year mark! :)   

My ‘favorite’ star of the pack was always Danielle Cormack… probably. Along with Angelina Dotchin (our version of the blonde Kiwi, Pakeha Auckland beach babe – Angie was mega-famous with Tem back then), yet Danielle was always just a little bit kicker. Slightly rock star even. To name one fav.

Actually, that’s not entirely true. Back then, I used to be half of the original cast’s waiter at the local gourmet pizza restaurant they’d all chill out in. My role as their real life waiter was to act like they weren’t famous at all and just act as normal as possible. This respected their dignity and they’d have a blast, get to lax out over good food, nice wine, witty banter and groovy conversation. They’d just be happy, aglow with contentment. Growing up in humble Northland, I remember it being so nerve-wracking underneath the surface, in their presence! (They were soooo famous!).

The gracious Liddy Holloway, Joel Tobeck and friends were some of the nicest actors you’d ever meet in your life. These were the days when local actors’ celebrity was strange for Kiwis back then to have to manage each week. You know, they were creating it as they went along week-by-week. It was new, but very real. Their fame grew with the work they did and gave to the arts and genre of local Kiwi drama. It was these guys and girls and Kevin Sorbo playing Hercules on the waterfront with the likes of Lucy Lawless rocking the Xena action-wahine gig, that had to handle the spotlight as our acting stars.

They hardly ever got arrested. They weren’t like Hollywood stars. They were open and just handled the jandal of the fame. Quite remarkable people really, I reckon. In fact, looking back, The Shortland Street cast has always rocked! They gave up their privacy, so we could have local drama as a norm onscreen, that reflected who Kiwis were, are and are becoming.

What backing the show did, was that it created careers for a plethora of talented Kiwis who work on some of the biggest films and quality shows in the world. A lucky few have even gone on to win international awards and Oscars too all because of this one local soap’s staying power to go the distance and reflect who Kiwis are and what Kiwis working on drama can do, committed to realizing a creative vision through. Some actors, like Angela Bloomfield have even gone on to direct on the show, giving back and still evolving a pivotal series that recognized that unless Kiwis do it, and believe in and back ourselves first, no one else will. Today at the twenty years summit, we celebrate the fact that these crazy kids did just that and still are moving ’our creative story’ along.

Raising a cup of strong [Zack] Bell Tea infused with the best milk in the world then, in this moment, like all Kiwis I acknowledge that with their staying power to commit to a vision of New Zealand storytelling in drama for the screen, with their mega sexy Kiwi accents to boot…They’re all a bit spesh. He reka tonu tatou! Thank you for the art.

Here’s to another fine twenty years then. Cheers & Mauri ‘Ola!

~Posted by Horiwoodblog.Com, Aotearoa New Zealand, Polynesia Asia-Pacific. 25.5.12~

May 25, 2012 | Categories: Action Stars, Activists, Actors, Angela Bloomfield, Angela Dotchin, Art, Auckland City, Community, Cultural Cringe - How We Got Over It, Culture, Danielle Cormack, Directors, Employment, Entertainment Celebrity News, Entertainment Distribution, Entertainment News, Grace, Hollywood Entertainment News, humility, Humor, Joel Tobeck, Kevin Sorbo, Kiwi Heroes, Kiwi Monarchy, Kiwi Sayings, Kiwi Sex Symbols, Kiwi Sexy Symbols - The Girls, Kiwi Sexy Symbols - The Guys, Kool Kiwis, Liddy Holloway, Maori, New Zealand, New Zealand Drama, North Shore, Northland, Pakehas, Polynesian, Pop Cultural Commentary, Producers, Rotorua, Sir Howard Morrison, Soap Operas, Star System - The Art of Aotearoa New Zealand Celebrity, Te Arawa, Temuera Morrison, Writers, Zack Bell | Leave A Comment »