Conan O’Brien made an iconic two-minute appearance on Thursday night’s episode of Shortland Street, adding his name to the growing list of celebrities who have graced the iconic Kiwi soap.
Unlike Ed Sheeran, who played himself within the world of Ferndale, the comedian and former American late-night talk show host took on a character role, becoming the best "frenemy" opposite our main star, Dr Chris Warner.
From the jump, he made himself known on screen, barking at a cleaner to 'watch it' as he entered the clinic's doors. His towering 1.93cm frame (thanks Google) saw this episode's special guest star quickly dominate the screen.
'If it isn't Dr Aiden Archer.' - Dr Chris Warner.
Dr. Archer (played by Conan O’Brien) made quite the debut, greeting none other than Chris Warner, who appeared to be an old colleague of his. Wasting no time, Conan made an impression by cheekily referring to Chris as “Chrissy Warner.” Not once, but twice, Conan referred to himself as “Doctor Love,” a nod to the nickname Chris earned back in his heyday. Conan claimed he was in Ferndale to see a woman and mentioned taking over Boyd’s duties while he was there.
In his brief but memorable two minutes on screen, his peculiar personality and quirky hobbies added plenty of comedic flair to the episode.
'So uh, are you still jumping out of airplanes in your spare time?' - Dr Chris Warner
Yeah. I've also gotten into bears lately... Literally gotten into bears. It's a lot of effort, sometimes they don't want to die, but there's something about the feeling of a bear's skin on my flesh that's just ... it's a rush." - Dr Aiden Archer
Despite his oddities, Conan’s character quickly established himself as a skilled surgeon, even appearing to out-diagnose the legendary Chris Warner himself.
Medical terminology like 'pseudohypoparathyroidism' or the more complicated 'pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism' (which are real diseases, in case you questioned the medical experts at Shorty) were of no problem to say for Conan. But as he rattled off complicated jargon, he kept on his face a deep sense of ponder like a true Shorty Street doctor could... that was until he asked the patient's name.
"Tracey... I had a girlfriend named Tracey once." - Dr Aiden Archer
The whole scene played out as any great Conan O'Brien scene should - weird, wonderful and a lingering sense of confusion for what you just witnessed.
Good luck to Dr Archer - hope he makes it through the annual Shorty Street cliffhanger!
