Although there have been many moments of gold across Shortland Street's 6000 plus episodes, this scene shines worryingly bright and loud. The clip comes from a 2001 episode where the hospital staff put on a live musical. Shortland longtimer Chris Warner (Michael Galvin) dons a sparkly suit, so he can trade raps and swords with a dreadlocked figure in black (aka Doctor Victor Kahu, played by Calvin Tuteao). But when the villain refuses to die, Warner is not amused. Galvin has expressed relief that the episode screened so soon after the events of September 11, and few people saw it.  

This self-funded feature follows the travails of Lexi (Request Ahomana), a young Pacific Island Kiwi cleaning for a bitter elderly woman, and struggling to find her identity in the town of Oamaru. A meeting with a young man (Dean Hanns) provides her with a prospective ride out of town — but obstacles on that road include the young man's past, the gambling addict sister she shares a flat with, and finding the courage to chase her dreams. Lexi marks the first feature film written, directed and produced by Wayne Turner. In the excerpt, Lexis argues with her sister. 

This 1988 film details a mission by 100 men to paddle a huge waka taua (war canoe) from Waitangi to Whangaroa, chronicling their spiritual and physical journey en route. The camera takes in training, the gruelling 10 hour, 70 kilometre passage, and the vessel's arrival in Whangaroa Harbour to mark Whangaroa County’s centennial. The waka, Ngātokimatawhaorua, was named after Kupe’s original ocean-voyaging canoe. Beached at Waitangi Treaty Grounds, it is the largest waka in existence. This was veteran filmmaker Tainui Stephens' first documentary as a director. 

Renowned ornithologist and Dominion Museum head Robert Falla goes into the field to present this first edition of National Film Unit’s Land of Birds. His subject is the kōtuku or white heron, nesting in swamp forest by Ōkārito Lagoon, Westland — the only New Zealand breeding colony. In Māori lore the heron is the sacred 'He kotuku rerenga tahi' or 'bird of single flight', owing to its rare sightings. Grant Foster’s beautifully shot survey of the kōtuku’s Ōkārito summer housing screened on TV in 1972, and won a 1973 Feltex Award for Best Natural History Programme.

Directed by Tainui Stephens, this 1990 TVNZ series surveyed Māori contemporary music. This second episode looks at the showband era (1950s - 70s), when musicians mixed genres (electric guitar, rock’n’roll) with Māori culture, to make a unique contribution to Kiwi show business. Acts like The Howard Morrison Quartet, The Māori Volcanics, The Quin Tikis and The Māori Hi-Fives took songs from marae to international cabarets. Music historian Chris Bourke praised the series for marking the role of showbands in the whakapapa of entertainers from Billy T James to Rim D Paul.

This Wild South documentary opens with the haunting call of the kōkako ringing out over the forest canopy at dawn. The film tells the story of Aotearoa’s "avian squirrel" and its struggle for survival — living with introduced cats and rats, while the remnants of its North Island rainforest home face logging. The songbird is framed as an icon of both conservation loss and hope. The script is by poet Brian Turner. The use of composer Hirini Melbourne’s score (with lyrics in te reo) was praised by award judges at British nature film festival Wildscreen.

Open Door is series where community projects team up with Morningside Productions and TV3 to tell their stories. This episode looks at Rotorua's Wingspan, where the art of falconry is being used to train, breed and rehabilitate kārearea and other birds of prey. The $20 note icon can fly at speeds over 100kph, as spectacularly demonstrated in a public show when a falcon hunts down a finch. But habitat loss, vulnerable nests and being shot at, means there are less than 8,000 falcons left — a threatened status that the Wingspan project is working at changing.

The Patea Māori Club whare was in desperate need of repair when the Marae DIY team stopped by to give it a revamp. The catch — there’s only four days to do it. The renovations are given a personal note as the show’s regular builder Hare Annef is a Patea local. Also lending a hand are soldiers from the nearby School of Military Engineering. The pressure builds as mid-construction changes are made to the plans, while elsewhere local kuia reflect on the storied history of the club. As the clock ticks down, the race is on to finish, lest the iconic club go without a whare. 

Kōtuku Rerenga Rua (the second flight of the heron) explores the impact of a near-death experience on Kōtuku Tibble. The teacher and media personality (from te teo Rugby World Cup commentator, to running language lessons on TV show Pūkana) talks about being reborn as the husband, father and leader he believes he is destined to be. Co-directed by Tim Worrall and Aaron Smart (The Road to Whakarae),  the short documentary was made in te reo Māori for web series Loading Docs. Sadly Kõtuku Tibble died in his sleep, a few months after Kōtuku Rerenga Rua was completed.

Inspired by Māori oceanic prowess, Tawhiti follows five Māori astronauts who have returned to Earth after living on Mars for five years. The te reo short film follows the crew of NUKU as they visit their marae. NUKU captain Ruanui (Patara Berryman of Mai Time fame) wants to head back to Mars with his family, but his wife Rongo (Maraea Te Wara) is hōhā (annoyed) — "What kind of Māori are you? This is your home!". Director Tamati Ihaka made the sci-fi short film so Māori could "imagine themselves in a different way", and "reconnect with our explorer heritage."