Michael McKenna (Shortland Street)

Michael McKenna
Michael in the first ever episode.
Shortland Street character
Portrayed by	Paul Gittins
Introduced by	Caterina De Nave (1992) Simon Bennett (1997, 1998)
Duration	1992–95, 1997, 1998–99
First appearance	25 May 1992 episode 1
Last appearance	21 January 1999 episode 1655
Classification	Past; regular
Profile
Date of death	21 January 1999
Occupation	Doctor Former CEO of Shortland Street Hospital
Family Wife Alex Wilson Mother May McKenna Stepfather George Bentley Sons Jonathon McKenna Daughters Rachel McKenna

Dr. Michael McKenna is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera, Shortland Street. He was portrayed by Paul Gittins^[1] and was part of the original cast.

Creation and Casting

Established actor Paul Gittins was cast but struggled to keep up with the fast schedule.^[2] However after crew realized Gittins performed better towards the end of the week, all his scenes were filmed late on Fridays.^[2] After settling into the role, Gittins highly enjoyed it and learnt a lot from his younger co stars.^[2]

Storylines

1992-1999

Michael is introduced as the hard working, efficient CEO. He has constant feuds with beginner doctor Chris Warner due to the fact his father Bruce was a business rival of Michael's. Michael started a power relationship with nursing manager Carrie however the two didn't last and Michael turned to drinking heavily as a substitute. His alcoholism stopped when he started dating the beautiful early 20's Julianne.

Michael's 16 year old daughter, Rachel McKenna arrives to the hospital in 1993 and breaks up Michael and Julianne. Michael's estranged wife Alex McKenna arrives and soon the two renew their vowels and get back together. Michael's son Jonathon arrives and Michael is shown to be very proud of him however Rachel spitefully reveals Jonathon is gay and Michael struggles to come to terms with his son's sexuality including banning him from seeing boyfriend, Jamie Forrest.

In 1994 Michael, still struggling to accept his son, saves Jonathon and Jamie from a group of homophobic drunks and learns just how important his son is to him. After failing to pay enough attention to Alex, she has a facelift and falls into a coma due to her medication. Many suspect Michael of attempting to murder his wife but he discovers she forged her own medication slip. Alex surfaces from the coma and the couple go on a cruise together.

In 1995 Michael suffered a heart attack and left the hospital for a short while. When he returned, he and Alex decided to move to a life style block far away from Ferndale. Michael sold his shares in the hospital to Chris' father and the two left.

In 1997, Nick Harrison, scared of Rachel's increasing addiction to alcohol, contacts Michael to sort Rachel out. Michael visits and it appears that Rachel stops her alcoholism for a short period.

Michael returns to Ferndale in late 1998 to visit his daughter and inform her of the apparent death of her mother, Alex. While still on a trip to see his daughter, Michael suffers a heart attack in 1999 and is taken to hospital. He guides Rachel on how to stop a takeover when his condition worsens and he dies.

References

1. ^ "Paul Gittins". NZonscreen. unspecified. http://www.nzonscreen.com/person/paul-gittins. Retrieved August 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} "Paul Gittins - from Doctor to Director". nzonscreen.co.nz. NZonscreen. October 2011. http://screentalk.nzonscreen.com/interviews/paul-gittins-from-doctor-to-director. Retrieved October 2011.