Love it or loathe it, you just can't ignore it. Shortland Street has become a national institution. It still rates through the roof. It still wins gongs at New Zealand media awards. People write theses about it. Art galleries hold exhibitions on it. School kids and university students study it. Websites are devoted to it. Family dinners are interrupted by it. As Kiwis, we've grown out of our cultural cringe and embraced the Ferndale families as our own. Seven o'clock means Shorty time.