Shortland Street's producers need to get to a hospital fast - Top 10 changes I'd make

I've been watching Shortland Street since 1994. It's one of the first ever TV shows that I started watching and it is the whole reason I got into acting in the first place. Since 1994 there have been some good years during the show's production and some absolutely awful years. Despite that I haven't ever really stopped watching.

That was until last year. After a really bad 2024 the show was cut down to three episodes a week due to budget constraints and problems with viewing numbers due to the rise in the number of people streaming and not watching linear/analogue/live TV. Most people these days who have a television only have it for dedocation or just use the applications on it rather than actually watching live TV.

That is just one of the many problems with Shortland Street though there are many more and I will detail them in this blog post.  Before you ask why I still have a blog in 2026 when most people have vlogs, the answer is quite simple. I prefer the written word and would rather write content than read content. That's not to say I wouldn't start a YouTube channel, I do have one. I just don't feel like posting videos. The written word is way more authentic for me and there's less need to perform, which is weird given I'm an actor and ernjoy being on camera.

Anyway, moving on from that and into the purpose of the blog. Here are some changes I would make to the show to get it back to its glory days.

1 - Re-introduce non-hospital sets

While some drama absolutely takes place in the hospital, normally the ED department, the best place for drama is at someone's house/apartment, the local bar, the local cafe, the local school or exterior locations like a beach or the street. The show lacks a big financial budget so that's no issue. In 1992 Chris's apartment was first introduced. Two years later Grace's apartment was introduced but they were actually the same set refurnished based on whose apartment was being filmed in. It gets very boring watching a show with only one or two hospital sets.

Retire the Molly's set. It is one of the worst bar sets the show has ever had and is absoultely awful. There also hasn't been a cafe set since the 2022 season finale when there was the Ferndale fire.  A cafe set needs to be re-introduced rather than just filming the staff outside having lunch or coffee. Even having a caravan with a couple of seats would be oky if the budget doesn't allow for a completely new set to be built.

 2 - Reduce the number of medical storylines

If people wanted to watch Grey's Anatomy or some equivalent show they would. If they wanted to watch a medical documentary they would. Basically the excessive use of medical storylines becomes boring and there's no reason to tune in every episode. 

 3 - Re-introduce a family and personal relationships

People tune into the show for relationships and want drama. Without a family you don't have drama. Without teenagers you don't have drama. Without parents you don't have drama. Without interpersonal relationships whether that's romantic relationships, friendships or sworn enemies you do not have drama.  That also provides opportunities for weddings and funerals, neither or which the show has had in at least a couple of years. Introduce a proper group of teenagers so they can interact with eachother rather than casting a teenager and giving them adult storylines like they did with Cassie.

4 - Stop recycling storylines

It gets really boring seeing Esther pregnant basically every single year. Just because the actor is pregnant in real life does not mean that needs to be written into the show. Women can have storylines other than being pregnant. Ther'es opportunities for love triangles, career issues, attempted murder, mental health issues etc.

5 - Don't refuse to cast white women

The last couple of years the producers have been happy to cast white men, coloured men, but for some reason refuse to cast white women which is outright racism and reduces relatability. Look through previous cast photos and you'll see the cast was actually MORE diverse in the 90s than it is now. It's outright exclusionary at this point and the producers will aliente the few viewers they have left if they don't do something about this. Bringing back former cast members like Rachel and Libby does not count. There are no NEW white women being cast. That is an actual fact. Race doesn't need to be a character's sole identity either. Look back on episodes from the 90s and you'll see it was just a part of who they were but wasn't their entire personality. On that, don't pair characters just for diversity sake. The reality is Chris Warner would never ever look at someone like Selina, yet they've been paired and it just suspends belief based on the character's 33 year history.

 6 - Quit with the time jumps

TV is supposed to be escapism. It suspends reality if there is a time jump between the season finale and the season return. It just looks like sloppy writing and leaves so many unanswered questions. If budget is the issue then film the season return at the same time as the season finale and THEN take the end of year break. It's also really anti climactic if there's a time jump and reduces possible drama. Shortland Street is a serial not a movie and shouldn't be written as a movie.

7 - Bring back the fun storylines

In the 90s there were some crazy storylines like a wedding ring being caught in a fish and arguments over who would have the trolley round. The producers needs to introduce the fun back  into the show rather than just having depressing storylines.

 8 - Don't butcher characters

There are so many characters recently that have been absolutely butchered like HarryWarner (this can be fixed by doing a stolen identity storyline like with Samara in 2001), Nicole Miller, Maeve Mullens and Harper Whitley. If a character has exhausted their usefulness then write them out. Don't keep them on the show just because you're friends with them. Keep them behind the scenes if you want to keep them employed but don't butcher them.

9 - Introduce a bartender and/or cafe owner

These two positions can actually be combined with the person working between the two or if a couple was brought back like Nick and Waverley or Caroline and Greg they could work in both. It would also open up potential for more storylines and give viewers a break from all the hospital sets which became really repetitive and boring after a while. 

10 - Adopt a digital first approach. Rather than targeting traditional networks simply make the show available on the TVNZ website at a small price for a subscription regardless of geographical location. Nobody wants to wait six months for a whow to be shown at a specific time anymore. That's simply not what people's viewing habits are anymore. Change with the times.

 There are so many other changes I would make but these are the top ones. 

 

Thoughts after six weeks of being a cycling food courier

At the start of September I was unceremoniously sacked from my marketing job. It wasn't the first time it has happened but this time it annoyed me more than usual because I had done everything I possibly could to ensure that the job was a success - putting in extra hours and doing whatever was expected but it wasn't enough. Being sacked came after months of being undermined and bullied by several staff members and my boss. My boss was subtle about it though. She was really underhanded.

Anyway, I spent a few weeks furiously applying for new jobs and going on interviews but given it wasn't the first time it had happened and given there was workplace bullying it left a really sour taste in my mouth, especially given how much I enjoyed the role and how good the pay was.

The day I lost the job I interviewed with a call centre that had a rule that you were not only not allowed to use your cellphone, you weren't even allowed to have it out of your bag. Combined with the Google reviews that company had received it was a massive red flag for me so even though I got that role and could have started the following Monday I decided against.  For context, the previous call centres I'd worked in were relaxed about the internet and mobile phone usage provided you met your targets. I quit those because they were mindnumingly boring though.

After rejecting that job I interviewed with other comapnies. One company did a phone interview and two face to face interviews and then never actually got back to me. I later found out from them that there are some internal changes going on so they can't make a decision yet. The downside to that company, apart from their disorganisation is the fact that they wanted five days in the office, which in 2025 is just unrealistic. Hybrid is the best option for employment.  That company still hasn't made a decision so I could still get it and if I did I would probably accept an offer but like a lot of job advertisers I don't think they're actually serious about hiring. 

Four weeks into not having a job I was truly fed up with doing nothing even though I also study acting so I had an idea to buy a bike and start doing food deliveries to take the pressure off while I continued the job search. In the past I would have relied on market research call centres as my back up but the pay is not worth it for the awful conditions. 

I started doing food deliveries just over five weeks ago and despite the pay not being the greatest the best thing about it is the freedom. I literally get to work when I want. If I want to work at 2pm one day and 10pm another day I can do that. It's also really up to me how much money I make. The more I work the more money I make, so I am gradually increasing the amount I work. There are some days when I can't wrok as much because of the weather. If it's raining I decide to stay at home and if it's too hot I won't work, but when that happnes I try to catch up on the lost income the remaining days of the week because I get paid weekly.

There are so many good and bad things about doing food deliveries. The best parts are that I am in total control of when, and how much I work and although there are customers I am not answerable to anyone. I have total freedom. I also love that I'm getting paid to exercise and that I now don't have to rush during the job search.

The things I don't like are that some stores are really rude to the food couriers. I don't think they're actually aware that we are picking up for their customers and that there is still a customer behind the order. Sydney also does not have enough cycle lanes and there are some roads that are simply too dangerous to ride on. Neither pedestrians nor motor vehicle drivers respect cyclists. As I'm on a push bike I can't take all orders and some supermarket shops are extremely heavy and push the limits. Some customers can also be really obnoxious and don't realise that you can't go faster than the traffic conditions will allow.

While out delivering I have also had some random people comment that I must be fit to do it and are genuinely surprised I'm doing it on a push bike.

I don't plan to do this forever but it fits with acting, everyday is different and I'm getting paid to exercise. I also still don't want to work for anyone right now after those previous bad experiences.  I do know one other thing though, when I do eventually work for someone else again though I will only be taking part time work. There is no way I want to rely on just one source of income.

My final comment for this particular blog is that it's like any work, you can earn as much as you want to and when I build up more I will be able to earn a full time income doing it. That isn't an instant thing though because that is based on my fitness levels and cycling speed. Before I started I hadn't ridden a bike in several years, probaby since I was a kid and now I'm riding upwards of five to six hours a day. For further context, that's much more exercise than I've ever done in a day at the gym. My max at the gym is about four hours. 

It is also region dependent. Since I've started I've gotten into a rhythm where I'll reject orders that will take me away from shops or restaurants. By the time you get there and back it's just not worth it. I try to be 500 metres to one kilometre of those at all times so that I can get orders. If you're in a regional area it wouldn't be suitable but for those in a busy metro area it can absolutely be worth it and it's a really great job while you're job searching. 

I'm also only using one of the apps at the moment because there's one app that I just don't like. You can't have your phone on low power mode and the app isn't as user friendly as the one I use. The one I use also pays more on average per delivery. 

It's a damn sight better than sitting at home doing absolutely nothing other than dealing with rejection after rejection after rejection and not having an income. 

Album Review - Taylor Swift: The Life Of A Showgirl

I started a blog post a few weeks ago about Sabrina Carpenter's new album but I couldn't put into words what I thought of the album.

That is not at all the case with Taylor Swift's The Life Of A Showgirl, her 12th album. 

I will start by saying that I went into this album release with absolutely no expectations other than knowing it would be a happy album, with only 12 songs and that my favourite Taylor Swift albums are The Tortured Poets Department and Red (Taylor's Version).

I like 1989 but it is not my favourite album and there were comparisons to that before The Life Of A Showgirl was released just a few hours ago.

I'm going to do a track by track review.

The Fate Of Ophelia

It starts with a drum beat before going into a more mellow vibe. It's obviously about Travis Kelce. I think it's a great choice for the first single and the chorus is raw and vulnerable with her singing, "You dug me out of my grave/and from the fate of Ophelia". The beat in this song is generally speaking very catchy and I can't fault it.

Elizabeth Taylor

Apparently this was the first song written for the album and there is some anxiety about her relationship with Travis, but given it was the first song written that means it was written in the early stages of their relationship. I can't fault the beat or production in this song either. It's a little bit slower than The Fate Of Ophelia. She reflects on her past relationships in the song. 

Opalite

This has a drum beat but lyriucally it's not strong. It's very simple compared to her last few albums and almost feels like a dumbed down version of her music. I do like the pitch transitions. They are the best part of the song. It is of course another Travis song.

Father Figure

Father Figure is one of my favourite songs on the album. I would say it's a down tempo song compared to the rest of the album. I like the lyrics and again, Taylor's pitch transitions are strong. Her lyrics on this song are also quite weak with "my dick's bigger". That lyric just feels really cheap and tacky.

Eldest Daughter

I went into this song with no expecations but it's also one of my preferred songs on the album. I like the piano in it. It's a track 5 so of course it's a deeper song. She sings about how she struggles with fame and wanting to eet people's expectations. It could have easily been on Reputation or written while she was trying to re-record Reputation - before she bought back her masters. The lyrics, "You know, thе last time I laughed this hard was/On the trampoline in somebody's backyard/I must've been about eight or nine". Again, her singing is very strong on this track.

Ruin the Friendship

I wasn't expecting to like this song but it's also one of my faves and is about how Taylor learned of the death of a guy she went to high school with and that she wishes she'd kissed him. It's about making the most of the chances you have. It's one of the more relatable songs on the album. This could have easily been track 5 for that reason as it's a major plot twist in the song. 

Actually Romantic

It's a sarcastic diss track. I like the lyric, "Boring Barbie" and I like that it's sarcastic and basically her singing "fuck you" to someone she really hates. I think most people can relate to hating someone. I would say this is a more adult version of "Bad Blood", "Mad Woman" and "Who's Afraid Of Little Old Me?"  The production of the song is very strong.

Wi$h Li$t

This is my least favourite song on the album. She sings about how she doesn't want fame or money. She just wants Travis. I get that some people are annoyed about this song because it's tone deaf but she just has a different set of problems now. The production on the song is good but again, the lyrics are weak. The chorus also has weird production.

Wood

It's an uptempo song.  She sings about how she doesn't have to worry about her relationship with Travis because she knows it's foever. Remember, this was written BEFORE they got engaged. In this song it's almost like she's gloating about her relationship. Again, the lyrics are not her usual standard and in some areas are really cheap and tacky.

CANCELLED!

This could also have been on Reputation or inspired when she was trying to record the Reputation. It's as though this is the other side of Reputation and she doesn't care. I do like the reference to Charmed with "something wicked this one comes". The production on the song is brilliant and I like that she's using her higher register again.  The song seems to be about her friends.

Honey

Another love song to Travis. the note transitions and higher register suits her voice way more than when she used the lower register on her last few albums but it's yet another cringey song that doesn't have lyrics that are her usual standard.

The Life Of A Showgirl (Featuring Sabrina Carpenter)

I was edpecting this song to have a more country vibe based on the leaked lyrics I had seen. Lyrically I like it. It's written like a country song but doesn't have country production at all. It's yet another song that's unrelatable. Sasbrina has more of a feature than Lana Del Rey did on Snow On The Beach.

In short, the production on this album is flawless and every song is upbeat. Lyrically it is her weakest work ever. Given I LOVE The Tortured Poets Department I wasn't expecting to love this album but it feels like this album was just written for the industry and wasn't written for the long term fans. Anyone who cares about lyrics is going to be disappointed and it's missing that x factor that makes Taylor albums so good. It's just not relatable and that's a major issue with this release. It does get better with each listen though but she's lost her edge lyrically, at least on this album. I knew Travis would stunt her creatively and she said that in interviews years ago that she wasn't sure if she could write when she was happy. This album answers that question.

It will win Album of the Year at the Grammys in 2026 but it really shouldn't because it's too short, not relatable and just doesn't have any long term hook. All that said though, I've had it on repeat since it was released so on some level I must like it but it really feels like a dumbed down version of Taylor and it is also way too short. 12 songs is nowhere near enough. The album feels like it was written for the general public and the reviewers not the actual Swifties.

I can reluctantly only give it a 3/5 because it's lyrically weak and Travis has stunted her creativity. Joe and Matty were much better muses than Travis.  

I don't want her to be unhappy but I would love to know what a divorce album would sound like. I think it'd be brilliant and it would have way stronger lyrics. For more context, my favourite Taylor albums are Red (Taylor's Version) and The Tortured Poets Department so it's no wonder this isn't my favourite album. I am glad she worked with Max Martin and Shellback though and that she's finally using her higher register again but Travis has stunted her and she's dumbed herself down for him and the industry who didn't understand The Tortured Poets Department (yet that was the album that should have won Album of the Year).

Album ranking:

1 - The Tortured Poets Department

2 - Red (Taylor's Version)

3 - Taylor Swift

4 - Lover

5 - Reputation

6 - 1989

7 - Folklore

8 - Fearless

9 - Speak Now

10 - Midnights

11 - The Life Of A Showgirl

12 - Evermore 

 

Taylor and Travis's engagement announcement

You would have to have been living under a rock this week to not have heard the news that Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are engaged. The announcement was made in a low key Instagram post where she referred to herself as an English teacher and Travis is a gym teacher. 

 

A lot of Swifties have been rooting for this engagement since they first announced their relationship in 2023 after he famously wasn't able to give her a friendship bracelet at the Eras Tour. Afterwards they met and the rest is history.

For the record I found out at about 6am when I woke up to a message from one of my Swiftie friends so I immediately went to Taylor's Instagram page to see if it was real. I have this rule where I don't believe anything about her unless she herself announces it. This is why I am not fooling for the rumours about her doing a half time show at the Super Bowl or a Vegas residency and the fact she is simply way too big, but more about that in another blog. 

Waking up to the announcement came right after I'd had a dream about Taylor. She was in the Tortured Poets dress and then suddenly the song, But Daddy I Love Him came on in the dream. IYKYK so to wake up to this news was almost a premonition.

On the 13th of August, Taylor went on Travis and Jason Kelce's New Heights podcast, and while I've thought their relationship was a PR stunt in the beginning it became clear to me that simply because she chose to merge her career with her relationship that it was more than likely end game.  There's simply no way she would have announced her new album, The Life Of A Showgirl on the podcast if it wasn't going to be forever and always. 

There is speculation about the exact timing of the engagement. I personally believe that they were already engaged when they filmed the podcast and had been a short time but like other fans have said, they wanted to wait to announce it. 

I don't want to comment too much on her exes like Joe Alwyn and Matty Healy who inspired The Tortured Poets Department or Jake Gyllenhaal but I can imagine that Joe in particular has been having a rough day because he kept her locked in the basement for six years and didn't let her shine like Travis and his family does.  

So what music can we expect on The Life Of A Showgirl?

Well, on the podcast Taylor and Travis both said that the album was full of absolute bangers which isn't surprising since it was produced by Max Martin and Shellback who are the masterminds behind some of the 90s and 2000s biggesthits like Britney Spears' Baby One More Time, Backstreet Boys' I Want It That Away and Katy Perry's Hot 'n Cold, plus many others.

There are of course questions about her future music given we clearly won't get anymore heartbreak songs for a while, but that's not to say the music won't be relateable. Taylor's written about her grandparents, friendship, fame, success and sickness in the past so I'm sure she will still be inspired to write. We can expect a very different tone to previous albums though and I guess the last song on The Tortured Poets Department, The Manuscript really did say it all - to move forward she had to look backward.  

When it comes to their wedding, while I would love for it to be televised, and believe me, I would take the day off for it I don't think it will be. I can only say that I hope that fans don't try and crash the wedding. Taylor made it very clear in But Daddy I Love Him that we will not be invited, so like the engagement, I hope they get married privately and then they share the photos in their own time, much like Delta Goodrem did when she recently got married to Matthew Copley.

I've had many convos with friends today about this engagement and we're all pretty much set on them having children together. All of that said, I have had at least one friend say they should have kids immediately because having kids older is hard. I hate to break it to people but Taylor is a literal billionaire. She probably froze her eggs years ago and she and Travis and can afford all the help they need. It's not going to be hard for them. In saying that though, whether or not she and Travis have kids is none of our business but if they do I can imagine her naming a daugther Andrea and/or Marjorie after her mother and late grandmother respectively. It's like Taylor sung about in Lavender Haze, people really need to stop projecting their own beliefs onto her. If, and when they have kids (and let's not discount that they may have fertility issues like Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox) is up to them, and people saying they should do it immediately need their heads checked. This is the year 2025 and people are having kids later in life, even into their 40s, but with the money they have, they can wait as long as they want. I personally think though that she won't want to jeopardise her music career, which is what having kids could do. A lot of her fans are kids themselves and so if she were to write songs about motherhood it may not be as relatable and could harm her career. That said, I do not subscribe to theories that she will quite music. Music is way too important to her to do something like that. If anything she would likely have paid help and Travis would step in, but in 2025 women, especially billionaires like Taylor do not need to quit working just because they get married. I can't believe people are actually still staying rubbish like this.

Another logistical thing is that I really hope they both get a prenup. They have worked way too hard over the last couple of decades to not protect their intellectual property and after what she went through with her masters she would be foolish not to get a prenup. 

What can we learn from their love story? It's really quite simple. It is better to stay single than to be with the wrong guy and you should never settle for anything less than the best. The fact Taylor was in a relationship with Joe Alwyn for six years and he wasn't once proud or happy to be with her, and locked her in the basement and never proposed showed that he didn't see her as the one. If he'd wanted to marry her he would've. The reality is, nobody is going to find love on dating apps, if they can even be called that. Apps like Tinder are just hook up apps and they are devaluing relationships and dehumanising personal interactions. That may be a sign of the times. In the mid 2000s, dating culture was so much better than it currently is. I'm still not Travis's biggest fan but the majority of guys could take a leaf out of his book on how to get the girl. 

The other thing to add is that while Swifties are known for being a little parasocial (we label Taylor our emotional support popstar and our close personal friend, even though 99.99999999999999% have never met her). we are so excited about this because we've watched Taylor be heartbroken over the last 20 years and we've all had a Jake or a Joe in our lives. Her engagement announcement gives us all hope that if she can find love in her 30s then maybe the rest of us can too. Maybe there is no set timeframe and that it happens at the right time for YOU.  

And ladies, it is so much better to be single than to be with the wrong guy, so don't settle for less than what you deserve and that includes not sacrificing your hopes, dreams or career for any man, no matter how much you think he's the one. So to steal a quote from Sex and the City, the most important relationship you have is the one with yourself. Work on that first. I think it's very clear that's exactly what Taylor did when she was writing The Tortured Poets Department (which I still maintain, should have won a Grammy for Album of the Year).

5ive reunion tour coming downunder in 2026

The year was 1997, and record industry mogul Simon Cowell was on the hunt for the next big boyband. Auditions were held around the UK and out of 3,000 hopefuls, Jason "J" Brown, Abz Love, Ritchie Neville, Scott Robinson and Sean Conlon were picked to form the brand that was dubbed the male version of the Spice Girls. 

Things moved at lightening speed and they released their first album to critical aclaim. Their next album, Invincible followed with the major hit, Keep on Movin'.

The brand then embarked on a worldwide tour, which included Australia and New Zealand. At the time I was a teenager and was a major fan. They were the UK version of the Backstreet Boys  so when they announced their tour I had to go to it. I wound up going with my mum. 

Throughout high school I was a major radio station listener, to the point where I would skip out on school camps to listen to the radio. because I listened to the radio sco much and knew the announcers I was granted the opportunity to attend the interview on my trip to Auckland. The interview was held at the Sheraton Hotel on Symonds Street in the CBD. Only Sean, Abz and J were present and while I don't remember much about the interview I remember being incredibly starstruck and I remember only being allowed to get two items signed even though I'd taken all of my CDs. I still have those signed CDs today as you can see below.

 

 

About a year after the 2000 tour, the band released their third album, Kingsize but unfortunately due to the pressures of fame and internal conflicts the band split up. 

Over the years there have been some attempts to reunite but nothing solid ever happened, with J and Abz not particpating. Last year Scott, Ritchie and Sean toured Australia and New Zealand. I was going to go to the tour and did at one point have a ticket but it just wouldn't have been the same as a trio rather than a quintet.

Then fast forward to a few months ago and they announced that all five of them would be touring the UK and Ireland. 

Over the last few months I've been talking a lot about Five in acting, not even knowing that they'd reuinted and were planning a tour. Then a few weeks ago they teased an Australian and NZ tour and so I started thinking about getting my ticket. You may even say I manifested the Five tour like I manifested being front row at Taylor Swift during the Eras Tour as I'd talked about in an earlier blog that I posted in 2019 (for clarity, the Eras Tour wasn't conceived in 2019, but I said back then I'd be front row at her next tour, and then miraculously a front row ticket fell into my lap - A blog about The Eras Tour will come at some point. Just briefly though I went to all seven shows. I got extremely, extremely, extremely lucky. I'm getting sidetracked, but getting back to Five, maybe I'll be able to manifest meeting Five again...They have been on my mind a lot lately, even before the tour was announced.

Today the pre-sale commenced and of course I got my ticket. Five were the first ever international band I saw in concert and I was lucky enough to meet three of them when I was a teenager. I wish I'd had a photo taken but I was more concerned with getting an autograph as that was the big thing in the early 2000s.

I've been trawling through old and new interviews and there are no plans for new music but you never know what will happen in the future.

Anyway it got me thinking about One Direction, who are the most recent big boy band.  Of course on 16 October 2024, Liam Payne died so One Direction fans will never have the chance to attend a reunion tour like Five fans can and that's really sad for them.

My final comments in this blog are that if your favourite band is touring you should go because you never know if it will be the last opportunity to see them live. I am also so excited to be reliving the early 2000s and seeing Five live in concert again.

They are playing several shows in Australia and New Zealand. The one I'm attending is at the ICC Sydney Theatre on Saturday 16 May 2026. Tickets are available through Ticketek Australia for the Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth show and Ticketek New Zealand for the Auckland show.

The sexual assault and downfall of Britney Spears

Before Taylor Swift there was Britney Spears. Throughout the late 90s and early 2000s, she was the Princess of Pop and everyone loved her. She was on track to become the next Madonna. Unfortunately though, as the saying goes, what goes up, must come down and that was exactly the case with the girl from Kentwood Louisiana.

Her debut album, Baby One More Time came out in January 1999 and hit the top five in a number of countries. It was followed up with Oops!...I did it again, which went to number one in several countries. She was on top of the world and was on track to become the next Madonna.

Unfortunately, things started to go downhill in 2002 after she broke up with Justin Timberlake and culminated with her shaving her head in 2007 after her very public break up with Kevin Federline, who had clearlly been using her. There is an interview on The Ellen Show where you can clearly see that he did not truly care about her and that he was using her. 

That's not my issue though. My issue is the way the media treated her and I'm not just talking about the paparazzi absolutely hounding her when she was mentally ill. I'm talking about the way the media literally sexualised a teenager. 

An example of an inappropriate interview is from UK journalist, Frank Skinner who showed him pictures of himself in his underwear that she hadn't asked to see. It amounts to sexual harassment. There was also an interview with Diane Sawyer where she was asked if she was a virgin. Now I know the 90s were a very different time but in what world is it okay to ask a total stranger, let alone a teenager about their sexual activity? 

The really sad thing is that when Britney first burst onto the stage she was so happy and polite. She was generally thrilled to be doing what she was and then over the years that spark slowly begun to fade until teh light was completely gone.

The downfall of Britney Spears got me thinking about why current Queen of Pop Taylor Swift was able to rise above her being cancelled in 2016-2018 after Kanye West and Kim Kardashian exploited her. I can only put it down to one thing. The difference between Britney Spears and Taylor Swift is that Taylor Swift has always had a family that supports her, genuinely supports her and wants the best for her. Britney Spears never had that. If she had then things might have been very different.

Britney's memoir The Woman In Me which she released in 2023 reveals that Britney's father was an alcoholic and that she grew up in a poor household. One can only assume that Britney's family exploited her and used her talent to try and get out of poverty.

If Britney Spears had burst onto the pop scene today there is no way she would've been sexualised like she was. The paparazzi wouldn't have been able to harass her like they did back then and it would've been recognised that Britney was having a very normal reaction to a long time relationship breaking up and her favourite aunt dying.

The downfall of Britney Spears needs to be a lesson to all of us on how not to treat popstars and we need to remember that they are human just like us and go through ups and downs like we all do. 

And Just Like That season finale review

Okay, let's talk about what can only be described as the worst series finale that I have ever watched - the And Just Like That series finale, which was a spin off of Sex and the City.

I didn't watch Sex and the City during the original run between 1998 and 2004. I only began watching after a group of friends dragged me kicking and screaming to the Sex and the City movie, which was fantastic. I then got into the TV show and identify as a Samantha. When the second movie came out in 2010, despite negative reviews I liked it. I thought it stayed true to all the characters.

Now fast forward to 2022 and we have And Just Like That. Obviously the social climate is different than things were back in 2010. People now expect diverse casts even if the diversity is at the expense of the stories.

That's exactly what happened with And Just Like That. There was a lot of controversy around the character Che played by Sara Ramirez, who had a relationship with Miranda who had been married to Steve. Those who watched the original Sex and the City would also know that she was not lesbian as established very early on in season 1. That was one of the many issues. After season 2, Che was written out to the delight of fans.  I didn't mind Che personally. I thought the character was okay.

I liked the introduction of Seema. She was the closest thing to Samantha's replacement we got, however we never really got to see her interact with Miranda and Charlotte. It was always Carrie. We did see her have flings before getting involved with Adam the gardener at the end of seaason 3. 

I did however have an issue with killing Big off in the first episode of the reboot and I did have an issue with all the storylines that made it out like the characters were old and past their use by date.  I found that to be offensive.

I also had an issue with the way the series tried to have obese people, gay people, trans people etc. Basically they tried to tick every box they could. Now I don't have an issue with those communities, but I do have an issue with that type of stuff being rammed down our faces, especially in a non-realistic way, which is what it was. I also had a major issue with the way Aidan completely disrespected Carrie in season 3. Eventually they broke up towards the end of the series to everyone's pleasure. Some people have said that Aidan was ruined in the spin off and I would have to disagree. Aidan always had an issue with Carrie. Right from their first meeting he wanted her to change. When he found out she was a smoker he said he couldn't date a smoker. He never got over his trust issues when she cheated with Big.

That's not my issue though. My issue comes with the last three episodes of the series. 

In the 10th episode there were so many new storylines set up - Harry got diagnosed with Cancer, Miranda was possibly relapsing back into alcoholism, Charlotte was having vertigo issues, Seema got involved with Adam, Lisa Todd Wexley was going to have an affair with her editor, Marion and Brady ended up getting Mia pregnant, yet none of those stories gets any type of resolution. I also had an issue with what happened to Carrie's old apartment. While it's true you can never go back and the writers probably wanted us to say goodby to the apartment that was not the right way to say goodbye.

Those aren't my biggest issues though.

My biggest issue is the way the final episode was handled. 

Did we really need to have charactures at a Thanksgiving dinner with more airtime than the main girls? Did we really need to have scenes of men literally peeing and did we need to have a toilet mishap scene? It was just distasteful and showed the writers didn't care about the characters or have any knowledge of the original series and that they did not respect the audience - those scenes should have been cut immediately and not even made it past the original script writing process.

It also showed that Sarah Jessica Parker and Michael Patrick King did not intend to end the series at the end of season 3 and that there were plans to produce a season 4. Season 3 had been the best season out of all of them in the reboot. 

I didn't mind the final scene where Carrie was dancing and content with being alone but not lonely.

If it had been up to me to write the episode I would have done the Thanksgiving episode with EVERYONE there, including Anthony and Guiseppe, Miranda and Joy, Charlotte, Harry and their kids, Brady, Steve and Miranda (not the awful crew that had more airtime than the main characters), Lisa Todd Wexley and her family; and of course Seema and Adam.

Then I would have cut to a final scene the next day of Charlotte, Miranda, Carrie and Seema having coffee at their usual coffee shop and a text from Samantha saying she was sorry she couldn't make Thanksgiving and that she's flying out tomorrow.

The finale of And Just Like That forgot what the original premise of the series was which is: Men may come and go but your friends are always there, no matter what happens.

All of this said, I hope that by some miracle another network picks it up for season 4 so that isn't the actual finale of a show that was once great.