# Mercy Peak

Mercy Peak was a New Zealand television series that ran for three seasons on local network TV One, between 2001 and 2004. The series rated well in New Zealand (especially in its second series) and won multiple awards for its cast. Though an ensemble show, Mercy Peak centres on a doctor (played by Sara Wiseman) who leaves the city to work at a hospital in the small town of Bassett. She works alongside stuffy but caring doctor William Kingsley (Jeffrey Thomas from Shark in the Park). The series was produced by Auckland company South Pacific Pictures; a number of those who worked on the show would have a big hand in South Pacific Pictures hit Outrageous Fortune, including co-creator Rachel Lang, directors Mark Beesley and Simon Bennett, and producer John Laing.

## Cast

* Sara Wiseman as Nicky Somerville
* Jeffrey Thomas as William Kingsley
* Craig Parker as Alistair Kingsley
* Alison Bruce as Louise Duval
* Tim Balme as Ken Wilder
* Tamati Te Nohotu as Cliff Tairoa
* Renato Bartolomei as Kieran Masefield
* Miriama Smith as Dana McNichol
* Dwayne Cameron as Gus Van der Velter
* Angela Vint as Helen Blakemore

## Episodes
### Series 1 (2001–02)

| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
| 1 | 1 | "What She Least Expected" | Geoffrey Cawthorn | Rachel Lang | 25 July 2001 (2001-07-25) |
| 2 | 2 | "Her Secret Passion" | Geoffrey Cawthorn | Rachel Lang | 1 August 2001 (2001-08-01) |
| 3 | 3 | "Some Kind of Madness" | Geoffrey Cawthorn | Gavin Strawhan | 8 August 2001 (2001-08-08) |
| 4 | 4 | "For the Greater Good" | Geoffrey Cawthorn | Gavin Strawhan | 15 August 2001 (2001-08-15) |
| 5 | 5 | "Paternal Feeling" | Mark Piper | Alberta Knight | 22 August 2001 (2001-08-22) |
| 6 | 6 | "More Things in Heaven and Earth" | Mark Piper | Rachel Lang and Niki Caro | 29 August 2001 (2001-08-29) |
| 7 | 7 | "Crime, Punishment and Everything in Between" | Andrew Merrifield | James Griffin | 5 September 2001 (2001-09-05) |
| 8 | 8 | "Bassett Confidential" | Andrew Merrifield | Gavin Strawhan | 19 September 2001 (2001-09-19) |
| 9 | 9 | "All's Fair" | Mark Piper | Rachel Lang | 26 September 2001 (2001-09-26) |
| 10 | 10 | "Lazy Sunday Afternoon" | Mark Piper | Gavin Strawhan | 3 October 2001 (2001-10-03) |
| 11 | 11 | "The Most Deserving" | Ian Mune | James Griffin | 6 March 2002 (2002-03-06) |
| 12 | 12 | "Lost and Found" | Ian Mune | Gavin Strawhan | 13 March 2002 (2002-03-13) |
| 13 | 13 | "Undue Influence" | Mark Beesley | Niki Caro | 20 March 2002 (2002-03-20) |
| 14 | 14 | "Patience" | Mark Beesley | Alberta Knight | 27 March 2002 (2002-03-27) |
| 15 | 15 | "Do the Right Thing" | Richard Sarell | James Griffin | 3 April 2002 (2002-04-03) |
| 16 | 16 | "The Best Laid Plans" | Richard Sarell | James Griffin | 10 April 2002 (2002-04-10) |
| 17 | 17 | "Revelations" | Peter Sharp | Jan Prettejohns | 17 April 2002 (2002-04-17) |
| 18 | 18 | "Chickens, Roosting" | Peter Sharp | Rachel Lang | 24 April 2002 (2002-04-24) |
| 19 | 19 | "Live and Let Live" | Andrew Merrifield | Judith van Trigt | 2 May 2002 (2002-05-02) |
| 20 | 20 | "Blame" | Andrew Merrifield | James Griffin | 8 May 2002 (2002-05-08) |

### Series 2 (2002–03)

| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
| 21 | 1 | "Faint Heart Ne'er Won Fair Maiden" | Ian Mune | Rachel Lang | 25 September 2002 (2002-09-25) |
| 22 | 2 | "Stand by Your Man" | Geoffrey Cawthorn | Rachel Lang | 2 October 2002 (2002-10-02) |
| 23 | 3 | "The Making of Him" | Simon Bennett | Rachel Lang, Jan Prettejohns and Judith van Trigt | 9 October 2002 (2002-10-09) |
| 24 | 4 | "Put Away Childish Things" | Simon Bennett | Alberta Knight | 16 October 2002 (2002-10-16) |
| 25 | 5 | "Death and Taxes" | Geoffrey Cawthorn | Rachel Lang | 23 October 2002 (2002-10-23) |
| 26 | 6 | "Fear and Loathing" | Richard Sarell | Rachel Lang | 30 October 2002 (2002-10-30) |
| 27 | 7 | "Festival of Romance" | Geoffrey Cawthorn | Alberta Knight | 6 November 2002 (2002-11-06) |
| 28 | 8 | "Desire and Its Undoing" | Geoffrey Cawthorn | David Geary | 13 November 2002 (2002-11-13) |
| 29 | 9 | "Cruel to be Kind" | Norma Bailey | Kirsty McKenzie | 20 November 2002 (2002-11-20) |
| 30 | 10 | "To Kill a Minah Bird" | Norma Bailey | James Griffin | 20 November 2002 (2002-11-20) |
| 31 | 11 | "The Day That the Rain Came Down" | Simon Bennett | Jan Prettejohns | 14 February 2003 (2003-02-14) |
| 32 | 12 | "Reality Bites" | Simon Bennett | James Griffin | 21 February 2003 (2003-02-21) |
| 33 | 13 | "Pride and Prejudice" | Peter Sharp | Peter Allison | 28 February 2003 (2003-02-28) |
| 34 | 14 | "Light My Fire" | Peter Sharp | Rebecca Hobbs | 7 March 2003 (2003-03-07) |
| 35 | 15 | "One Wedding and a Funeral" | Randy Bradshaw | Rachel Lang | 14 March 2003 (2003-03-14) |
| 36 | 16 | "An Angel at My Wash House" | Randy Bradshaw | Kate McDermott | 21 March 2003 (2003-03-21) |
| 37 | 17 | "Fork in the Road" | Eleanore Lindo | Judith van Trigt | 28 March 2003 (2003-03-28) |
| 38 | 18 | "Saturday Night Fever" | Eleanore Lindo | James Griffin | 4 April 2003 (2003-04-04) |
| 39 | 19 | "Great Escape" | Simon Bennett | Jan Prettejohns | 11 April 2003 (2003-04-11) |
| 40 | 20 | "Do It for Love" | Simon Bennett | David Geary and Rachel Lang | 18 April 2003 (2003-04-18) |

### Series 3 (2003–04)

| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
| 41 | 1 | "Oversexed, Overpaid and Over Here" | Geoffrey Cawthorn | James Griffin | 1 August 2003 (2003-08-01) |
| 42 | 2 | "Survival of the Fittest" | Geoffrey Cawthorn | Maxine Fleming | 8 August 2003 (2003-08-08) |
| 43 | 3 | "For Better, For Worse" | Niki Caro | Alberta Knight | 15 August 2003 (2003-08-15) |
| 44 | 4 | "Rules of the Game" | Niki Caro | Kate McDermott and Rachel Lang | 22 August 2003 (2003-08-22) |
| 45 | 5 | "Destiny in Motion" | Geoffrey Cawthorn | Judith van Trigt | 29 August 2003 (2003-08-29) |
| 46 | 6 | "Something in the Water" | Geoffrey Cawthorn | Rachel Lang | 5 September 2003 (2003-09-05) |
| 47 | 7 | "When Ken Met Wendy" | Simon Bennett | Rachel Lang | 12 September 2003 (2003-09-12) |
| 48 | 8 | "Good, Bad, Ugly" | Simon Bennett | Rebecca Hobbs and Rachel Lang | 19 September 2003 (2003-09-19) |
| 49 | 9 | "The Uses of Pork" | Vanessa Alexander | Alberta Knight | 26 September 2003 (2003-09-26) |
| 50 | 10 | "Suspicious Minds" | Vanessa Alexander | Maxine Fleming and Rachel Lang | 3 October 2003 (2003-10-03) |
| 51 | 11 | "Instinct" | Michael Bennett | Michaela Rooney | 16 January 2004 (2004-01-16) |
| 52 | 12 | "The Woodpile" | Michael Bennett | Judith van Trigt | 23 January 2004 (2004-01-23) |
| 53 | 13 | "Like the Nuns love Jesus" | Mark Beesley | Margot McCrae and Rachel Lang | 30 January 2004 (2004-01-30) |
| 54 | 14 | "The Company of Pigs" | Mark Beesley | Alberta Knight | 13 February 2004 (2004-02-13) |
| 55 | 15 | "The Book I Read" | Simon Bennett | James Griffin | 20 February 2004 (2004-02-20) |
| 56 | 16 | "History Lessons" | Simon Bennett | Lois Booton and Rachel Lang | 27 February 2004 (2004-02-27) |
| 57 | 17 | "The Fruit of Good Works" | Geoffrey Cawthorn | James Griffin | 5 March 2004 (2004-03-05) |
| 58 | 18 | "Honour Thy Father" | Geoffrey Cawthorn | Judith van Trigt and Rachel Lang | 12 March 2004 (2004-03-12) |
| 59 | 19 | "May the Force Be with You" | Simon Bennett | James Griffin | 19 March 2004 (2004-03-19) |
| 60 | 20 | "Love from Bassett" | Simon Bennett | Rachel Long | 19 March 2004 (2004-03-19) |

## Reception

The show won three awards at the 2002 New Zealand Television Awards: Best Supporting Actor (Tim Balme), Best Supporting Actress (Alison Bruce), and Best Script. It won a further two awards at the following year's ceremony: Best Actor (Jeffrey Thomas) and Best Supporting Actress (Alison Bruce).