Shortland Street’s Christmas cliff-hangers have become a New Zealand television tradition. Designed to bring the audience back after the summer break, Christmas cliff-hanger weeks are carefully planned so several key storylines come to a climax in the last episode of the year. And the producers usually pull out a major, unexpected event – an explosion, a plane crash, a boat accident – for the big finale.
These days, Shortland Street is usually off-air for a small break over Christmas, but in the early years, it was often broadcast without a break.
1992
There was no break in Shortland Street’s first year, but the events at the end of 1992 were Chris discovering that Alison was pregnant and the nurses going on strike. Chris and Alison had been engaged briefly earlier in the year, but he had recently broken off the engagement. It would take the estranged couple five months to get back together and plan their wedding.
1995
This year had no Christmas cliffhangers, with the show once again screening throughout the holiday period. In the last week of 1995, a truck crashed into the hospital. Carmen was struck on the
