The annual Shortland Street cliffhanger is a storyline at the end of each year's season that leaves behind a question to be solved the following year. This technique is used to lure viewers back after the long summer break. Cliffhangers are usually carefully written so that storylines from throughout the year come to a head and interconnect. The following is a list by year of Shortland Street's cliffhangers.
1992 Though there was no break this year as Shortland Street screened throughout the holidays, Alison Raynor discovers she is pregnant with ex-fiancé Chris Warner's child, while Marj Neilson meets up with Jane, the daughter she gave up for adoption.
1993 Again there was no break as the show screened throughout the holidays but the hospital staff faced a difficult choice when Steve, Gina, Hone and Marj all held New Year's Eve parties - and competed for guests. They were all disappointed when Alex McKenna invited everyone to celebrate at the local bar, Kennedy's. Marj was pleasantly surprised to find lover Laurie at her door.
1994 Jenny Harrison discovers that she is pregnant. Hone Ropata accidentally punches someone to death to break up a fight in an examination room. Stuart Neilson objects at the wedding of Kirsty Knight and Lionel Skeggins.
1995 Once again Shortland Street screened throughout the holiday period, but on Christmas Day, a truck driver drove into the hospital, knocking down Carmen Roberts and Kirsty. Kirsty was put into a coma and Carmen received a small injury to the head. Guy proposed to her and she died from a brain aneurysm moments later. Kirsty regained consciousness but suffered extreme amnesia and she told Lionel she could not remember loving him. Their marriage was over.
1996 Shortland Street took a break from the end of November 1996 until late January 1997, the longest ever break for the show.
In an hour long special, David finally tracked down Ellen in Fiji where she revealed that she’s pregnant. Nick and Caroline discovered the truth behind the clinic’s dodgy waste management contractor, however Caroline found herself being threatened by Mark. Following Rangi and Rachel breaking up for good, a drunken Rachel attempted to storm off, however passed out in the driver’s seat and accidentally put her car in reverse leaving Rangi pinned in his wheelchair between the rear of the car and the garage wall, breathing in exhaust fumes. Kirsty visited her ex-husband Lionel and confessed her true feelings. The year ends with Kirsty and Lionel kissing.
1997 Shortland Street took a six-week break from early December 1997 to mid January 1998.
Jenny realised that her fugitive husband Ian Seymour was the mysterious good Samaritan who had rescued her from a mugger. Johnny finds Tiffany collapsed at home, rushed her to HDU, and admitted that he loves her. Rangi realised that Donna may be his half sister. Caroline is found guilty of murder. As Kirsty and Lionel rushed back from Wellington in a light plane to be there for Caroline’s verdict, Kirsty accepted that Lionel is in love Caroline and gives them her blessing as their plane’s engine failed and crashed in the countryside.
1998 Oscar's bad deeds began to catch up with him. Fergus attacked Oscar after learning he had raped Minnie and Rachel discovered Oscar had defrauded the hospital of a million dollars.
Lionel proposed to MacKenzie, unaware of her villainous activities. Oscar himself was nowhere to be found - until Minnie discovered him in Ellen and David's dining room, apparently dead.
Meanwhile, Minnie's mother Ellen (who'd just learned of her daughter's rape) and Mike were looking for Minnie, hoping to find her on the harbour cruise they'd planned. The boat hit a reef and began to sink and when Mike and Ellen tried to jump to safety Ellen hit her head. Mike frantically tried to find her underwater...
1999 Wave was shocked that her friend Minnie was using guys for their money.
Sofia Martinez arrived, announcing she was the new Director of Shortland Street.
2000 From the year 2000 onwards Shortland Street took a shorter break of four weeks every year.
2001
Rachel is kidnapped by a manic Jack and taken to his remote cabin, leaving Chris to think Rachel has abandoned him. Patricia receives an invite to Jack and Rachel’s “wedding”. As Nick prepares to move London, he and Waverley confess their love for each other. Mihi discovers her mother, Te Hana, kissing Geoff Greenlaw. Barb‘s Christmas Party ends in disaster as Marshall’s illegal drug lab explodes and leaves many of the hospital’s staff in jeopardy - including Toni, Judy, Adam, Barb, Waverley, and Nick.
2002 2002 saw Waverley be diagnosed with breast cancer and Shannon announce that she was pregnant - to Tama.
Rachel and Chris's relationship was on the rocks and as her alcoholism took control she moved into bartender Zac's place, and nearly drowned in his pool. Chris called it quits and decided to pursue his feelings for Donna. As they celebrated, Rachel was on her way over. Trying to talk to Chris on her mobile while driving drunk she had a serious car accident.
Back at the hospital prisoner Kurt Matakuare (Victor's nemesis) had been brought in for treatment. When everyone else was at the staff Christmas party he overpowered his guard and headed for Victor's office. When Adam tried to stop him, Kurt stabbed Adam with a scalpel leaving him bleeding in the deserted corridor too weak to cry out.
2003 As Geoff's sister Delphi prepared to leave Ferndale for Sydney in the company of Dominic Warner, she was horrified to uncover new evidence suggesting Dom was Geoff Greenlaw's murderer.
Chris Warner's world crumbled around him when his girlfriend Donna discovered he'd been unfaithful, and he was arrested on trumped up charges of sexual molestation, both thanks to Dominic.
The on-again, off-again romance between Toni Thompson and Logan King was all on when Logan announced he'd left his wife for Toni.
At the Christmas party, Vinnie kissed Jesse.
Called to the scene, ambo officer Nelson Copeland tried frantically to get Anne out before the building was completely destroyed.
2004 This year Shortland Street ran right up to Christmas and the year's final episode was a celebratory one-hour special that screened on Christmas Day.
The centerpiece was Tama and Shannon's romantic beach wedding, attended by old favourites Victor, Donna and Mihi. Across town, the hospital social club was performing A Christmas Carol charity and back at the Emergency Department, Sarah and Andrew were coping with the demands of the festive season.
The year ended with a combined wedding reception.
2005 The final episode of 2005 saw Craig, Sarah, Judy and Maia form a band to entertain their colleagues at the hospital Christmas party it was all to raise money for a good cause.
Meanwhile, Tania Jeffries discovered that her boyfriend Mark Weston was a sex addict. During the Christmas party, Tania punched Mark and ended their relationship.
2006 Sarah finally chooses TK Samuels over old flame Craig Valentine at the staff beach party.
Chris Warner begins his ill-fated affair with Justine Jones when they share a passionate kiss.
2007
Chris locates Guy, Toni, Tuesday and Harry but they run away in the car and get in a huge car crash.
After months of murdering the hospital staff, the Ferndale Strangler is revealed to be nice guy nurse Joey Henderson when he attempts to strangle nurse Tania Jeffries.
2008 Tania and boyfriend Kingi get kidnapped by the Whitetails Gang, meanwhile Ethan Pierce decides to ditch the country, stinging several people along the way. He arrives to his house, packs his gear and is then shot three times by an unseen assailant.
2009 Plot lines converge at the Christmas party. Tania Jeffries reveals her mother, Yvonne Jeffries, is now dating her ex-boyfriend Ben Goodall. Tania, now inebriated, wanders away from the party. Sarah Potts goes home with Maxwell Avia, a decision that will further damage her relationship with her estranged husband, TK Samuels. Meanwhile, Brooke Freeman had previously admitted to TK that she loves him. Morgan Braithwaite and an inebriated Rachel McKenna leave the party early. While fleeing in his car, Kieran Mitchell is responsible for a hit and run death. He finds a passed out Rachel and frames her for the crime by placing her in the front seat of the car and buckling her seat belt. The final shot of the season reveals that Morgan had died from the hit and run.
2010 Isaac learns that Luke Durville has been "taken care of" by the Russian gang that kidnapped him, Jennifer learns that Maia has a crush on her, Scotty brutally starts strangling fiancé Tracey Morrison on the dinner table and Evan accidentally starts a fire in Rachel & Callum's apartment block, trapping himself, Chris, Rachel and Callum inside.
The season ends with Callum jumping on top of passed out lovers, Chris and Rachel as another huge explosion rifts the building.
2011 Schoolgirl - Ula Levi, realizes she is pregnant, Chris and Gabrielle start an affair and Hunter breaks into a pharmacy, desperate for a drug fix. Daniel and Jill try to stop Hunter, only for Daniel to get bludgeoned with a crowbar by Bailey and Jill to get stabbed by a security guard.
2012 The wedding of Luke Durville and Bella Cooper goes ahead, after some last minute wedding jitters when Luke found out the day before that he has a brain tumor and most likely only has 3 months to live which he revealed to Bella and suggested they call off the wedding. On the day of the wedding, Chris Warner finds out that Gus Afeaki died and he later informs Vasa Levi. Before the wedding begins, Zac Smith who was previously revealed to the audience as the person targeting TK Samuels, spikes a drink and tricks Josh Gallagher in to giving it to TK. After the wedding Murray Cooper tells his estranged wife Wendy that he wishes to get back together and Wendy agrees to consider it. Under the influence of the spiked drink, TK starts behaving noticeably strangely and gets into his car to chase Josh when he sees him leaving. TK drives into the surrounding group of people with Murray and Wendy in TK's way.
The season ends with TK colliding with Murray as he pushes Wendy out of the way.
2013 The final episode for 2013 was screened midweek and was an hour-long episode.
After Vasa and Travis break up Vasa finds Travis has over $30,000 in cash despite having declared bankruptcy days earlier and leaving both Murray and Nate out of pocket. Vasa manages to get Travis to agree to half of the money and the Cooper's are paid back but not Nate. Ula is called to an Ambulance call out to Vasa's address, Ula rings Vasa in advance but receives no answer, the call out is due to a body found in the car park of Vasa'a apartment which happens to be Travis's body. Vasa and Vinnie are seen coming back into the house drunk but have no idea what has happened to Travis.
Brooke finally has a kidney transplant, a kidney becomes available after Dayna's mother is involved in a car accident. Dayna's mother initially arrived in hospital in a stable condition but Bree and Josh chose to drug her so that she was brain dead and her kidney could be used. Initially Dayna had refused to go ahead with allowing her mother's kidney to be used but agreed at the last minute. The Cooper family agree to take care of Dayna and her brother.
Josh is arrested at the end of the second to last episode of 2013 on a charge of intent to harm for tampering with vitamins given to Wendy.
Chris plans a Christmas party at the Warner family batch. In the lead up Chris and Rachel have run into problems, Chris is wanting to marry Rachel and have children Rachel initially doesn't want either. Grace Kwan has also indicated she wants a baby to which Chris offers to be the father to but stay in a relationship with Rachel. At the end of the episode Rachel accepts Chris's proposal and accepts that Chris and Grace may have a child together.