Storylines of Shortland Street (2002)

This article details the storylines that took place on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street in the year 2002.

Storylines

Jack forced Rachel to marry him in a mock wedding ceremony. Chris finally rescued her, and Jack died after he threw himself in front of a car. Chris and Rachel finally admitted their love, though their relationship was about to face problems in the form of Toni.

Barb was blinded in the explosion, while everybody else managed to escape with only light injuries. Waverley decided that she could not leave Adam while his mother was injured. Nick and Lucas left Ferndale for London. Meanwhile, Toni was also injured in the explosion and as a result it became public knowledge that she was pregnant. Rachel and Waverley both stuck by their men as it was still up in the air as to whether Chris or Adam was the baby's father. Toni refused to get a paternity test, so it seemed that the burning question on everybody's mind would have to remain unsolved for the time being.

Anne's crush on Victor continued to grow and she was blind to all of his faults, including Victor's ruthlessness towards Patricia when he organised to have himself appointed permanent CEO of Shortland Street in Patricia's place. Chris and Rachel urged Patricia to fight the decision and get her job back, but Patricia decided it was what she deserved for attempting to cover up her Jack's illness rather than help him get the proper treatment.

Marshall went on the run after his drug making activities were uncovered following the explosion. Mihi, still reeling from seeing Te Hana kissing Geoff, went with him but was soon persuaded to return home. Eventually Marshall was caught and sentenced to a juvenile detention centre. Upon his release he suffered from terrible flashbacks of the fire, but Mihi's friendship helped him through it.

Mihi meanwhile directed her anger at her mother. Eventually Joe found out the truth and bitterly separated from Te Hana. The two attempted a reconciliation, but unfortunately it didn't work and Joe decided to leave Ferndale to work in the Middle East.

Tama would get a new playmate in the form of Anne and Geoff's sister Delphi. Delphi was a tomboy and was determined to get into the Ferndale High's boys Rugby team. Eventually she was allowed to join the team, much to everyone's amazement.

Rachel got the shock of her life when she discovered that her mother Alex was still alive. Alex returned home to a reunion with Rachel and her niece Waverley, but Chris was soon suspicious of her behaviour. In the end Chris's suspicions were correct and Rachel sent her mother packing.

Anne decided to search for her biological mother. It was quickly revealed that Judy was in fact Anne's mother! Judy didn't want Anne to know the truth, so she refused contact. Geoff soon learned the truth and convinced Anne to drop the matter and told Judy not to interfere in Anne's life. Eventually Mere and Victor broke up and Victor began dating Anne. When the virginal Anne refused to have sex with Victor before she was married, Victor proposed. Anne joyously accepted. However Victor's son Nelson Copeland arrived in town. Nelson, who was the same age as Anne, quickly developed an attraction towards Anne. It soon became clear that the feeling was mutual.

Toni decided to give her baby up for adoption, but Matt was against the idea and convinced Toni to change her mind. Toni gave birth to a boy Harry, and it was quickly determined that Adam was not the father. Chris immediately sought to claim Harry as his son, but Rachel had a paternity test on Harry carried out which said that Chris was not the father! However Chris had a more reliable test performed which showed that Harry was indeed Chris' child. Toni and Chris then embarked on a bitter custody battle, which came to a screeching halt when Harry was kidnapped! Everyone soon learned that it was Donna who had stolen the child and that she was in the middle of a nervous breakdown. Matt, Toni, Chris and Rachel all felt guilty for not noticing Donna's fragile mental state and resolved to help her get better. Chris and Donna became extremely close during this time and Chris began to realise that he had a lot in common with Donna, in particular their shared love of children and desire to have a family. Rachel on the other hand resolved never to have any children and secretly had her tubes tied!

Mihi began to realise that she was in loe with Marshall, but by this time Marshall was busy sleeping with Shannon! Eventually Marshall and Shannon broke up and Marshall and Mihi got together. However their love was threatened when gang members abducted Mihi. Victor got involved in the situation and rescued Mihi. However, during the drama, gang member James Kingi was murdered by fellow gang member Kurt Matakoare. This spectre of Kurt's crime would come to haunt both Victor and Adam later in the year.

Judy developed a kidney problem which necessitated a transplant. Geoff, having softened towards Judy, urged her to tell Anne the truth about their connection. Judy refused. Eventually though, Anne would discover the truth and agreed to donate her kidney. Judy and Anne's relationship would be strained for sometime, but they eventually grew close. On the other hand, Victor was not pleased that Judy was to become his new mother-in-law.

Barb and Te Hana began arguing as Te Hana continued to think that Marshall was no good for Mihi, particularly after Mihi lost her virginity to Marshall. Eventually, Mihi moved in with the Heywoods and Barb tiring of Te Hana's constant attitude, publicly exposed Te Hana and Geoff's affair. While Te Hana was preoccupied with Mihi, she failed to notice that Tama and Shannon were enjoying a fling of their own. Before long 15-year-old Tama had lost his virginity to his sister's 17-year-old best friend!

As Victor and Anne's wedding approached, Anne and Nelson continued to fight their attraction for one another. Meanwhile, Mere Johnson was plotting revenge. She convinced Adam to find out some useful information about Victor for her. Adam soon uncovered Victor's involvement in James Kingi's murder. From there Mere took over. Victor and Anne were married in a beautiful ceremony, but it was marred when the police came to arrest Victor for James Kingi's murder! Apparently, Kurt was claiming that Victor had carried out the crime. In order to protect Mihi, Te Hana sent her up north to relatives. eventually Kurt confessed to the deed and Victor was freed. Nelson was devastated when Victor and Anne finally consummated their marriage (meaning that Anne was no longer a virgin). Meanwhile, Mihi decided to end her relationship with Marshall, telling him that she wasn't going to return to Ferndale. At the same time, Shannon and Tama also broke up.

Waverley ended her relationship with Adam when she realised that it was not going anywhere. Waverley dreamed that Nick returned, but wasn't in love with her anymore and that he was with someone else. When Waverley awoke from her nightmare, she learned that her Nick had indeed returned! But unlike in her nightmare, Nick told Waverley that he wouldn't take no for an answer - she had to marry him! Waverley was overjoyed and accepted the proposal. However their first attempt to get married in a registry office was a bust, Fergus turned up and kidnapped the bride! Waverley convinced Fergus that she didn't love him anymore and Nick, Waverley, Chris and Donna helped Fergus escape from the police once again! Rachel eventually organised the wedding that her cousin had always dreamed of and Nick and Waverley were finally married. There was only one question remaining though, was the marriage legal? Nick had lost the marriage license and had made a fraudulent one so the marriage could still take place.

Jenny Harrison and Marj Brasch had returned for Nick and Waverley's wedding and Marj was furious when Jenny revealed that she had gotten another job offer, though the two friends quickly made up. Marj decided that Rachel would be perfect to take Jenny's place and offered her Jenny's old job. Chris was desperate to convince Rachel to stay, so he got Victor to offer Rachel a promotion. Rachel accepted the promotion and Victor (not knowing that Rachel was an alcoholic) unwittingly caused her to start drinking again when he suggested that they have a celebratory drink. Rachel's drinking intensified when she learned that her promotion was a sham.

Geoff and Te Hana decided to make a go of their relationship and Geoff decided to return to medicine, getting a job at Shortland Street when Victor decided that the hospital needed a new doctor. Toni and Adam had gotten back together, much to the dismay of Matt who was still in love with her. Matt's mother Connie (Tina Grenville) was soon admitted to the hospital and was diagnosed with a terminal illness. Connie decided that she would rather die than waste away. She begged Matt to fulfill her last wish, but Matt refused. However Geoff decided to assist her in fulfilling her last wish and Connie soon died peacefully. Geoff was careful to conceal Connie's true cause of death.

Several weeks later, Judy began to face problems from a stalker, Neil Kepple, who killed her dog. One night Judy attacked Neil and Neil was left comatose. As Neil's mother refused to let her son die with dignity, Geoff took matters into his hands once again and Neil died. Te Hana learned about Geoff's crimes and Geoff revealed that he had done the same thing in England, which is why he had originally given up medicine. Te Hana decided to take the blame for Neil's death and informed Judy that she had made a mistake that caused Neil's death. As a result, Te Hana was demoted.

Shannon returned to town and Te Hana soon figured out that she was pregnant. Te Hana asked Shannon who the father was. When Tama arrived home, Te Hana informed him that he was going to be a father.

Rachel's alcoholism continued to intensify and she began a flirtation with Zac, James Thornton's half-brother, who had recently returned to Ferndale. Chris had enough of her and turned to Donna for support. Rachel eventually dumped Zac, but continued drinking. At the end of the year she got into serious car accident while drink driving and despite the danger to herself rescued a child from another car before it exploded in a ball of fire.

Meanwhile, Waverley organised Dr Marvin Ho to come into the clinic and organise a series of mammograms for the clinic's staff. Waverley was devastated when she learned that she had what appeared to be a tumour in her breast.

Toni had fallen deeply in love with Adam, while Adam treated the relationship merely as a casual fling. Eventually Toni had enough and in a blazing row told Adam to "Sod off and die!" Meanwhile, Kurt Matakoare was admitted to the hospital following a prison riot. Kurt's presence quickly unnerved Victor, Anne and the rest of the Hudsons. Kurt was able to escape. Running into Adam, Kurt brutally stabbed him. As Adam lay on the floor it seemed that Toni's wish would come true!

Cast members

All-year cast members

Recurring cast members
  • Maureen Edwards (Dr. Patricia Hewitt)
  • Caroline McLaughlin (Nurse Mere Johnson)
  • Daniel Sing (Dr. Marvin Ho)
  • Robyn Worthington (Carol Beckham)

Arrivals
  • Anna Hutchison (Delphi Greenlaw)
  • Quinton Hita (Nelson Copeland)
  • Amber Cureen (Shannon TeNgaru, recurring until December main cast afterwards)

Departures

Guest stars
  • Manu Bennett (Jack Hewitt)
  • Antony Star (Stratford Wilson)
  • Elizabeth McRae (Marj Neilson)
  • Maggie Harper (Jenny Harrison)
  • Zac Smith (Mike Edward)
Preceded by:
2001		 Storylines of Shortland Street
2002		 Followed by:
2003
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