Reception
The character has been highly praised, winning best female character in the Throng Shortland Street Fan Awards 2006. However in the same awards she also won "Character you'd most like to kill off" and "Most boring storyline". Billing received a nomination for "Best Actress" at the 2007 Air New Zealand Screen awards. In the 2011 fan awards, TK and Sarah not getting together was voted the biggest letdown of the year. The love triangle between Sarah, TK and Roimata was voted the best storyline of the year while fans biggest wish was that Sarah and TK reconcile in 2012. The arrival of Sarah's daughter, Tillie also won runner up for "Best Thing to happen in 2011." Billing received a nomination in the New Zealand TV Guide Best on the Box awards 2011 for "Best Actress", losing out to Robyn Malcolm for her role in Outrageous Fortune. She received the same nomination the following year for her acting throughout 2011, for which she won. Billing was pleased with the win saying; "I was up against some amazingly talented ladies so I am incredibly surprised that I won! But it's lovely to know that people have been watching and that the character resonates with them." In 2012, the character was named as one of the standout characters of the show's first 20 years. Billing also received a nomination for "Best Actress" in the 2012 New Zealand Television Awards.
The character has also received a lot of dislike with Billing stating the role takes a toll and; "one doesn’t like to play a character that people don’t have a lot of sympathy for. Shes a good doctor but she's a but useless in her private life." In November 2006, Fiona Rae of The Listener magazine, criticised the storyliners of the show, suggesting they had turned Sarah: "into a self-absorbed witch with a “b”. Fortunately for us, she does a mean drunk and gets to embarrass herself heaps." She was called "popular" by producer Jason Daniel in 2008. Billing herself reflected on the strong nature of her character, referring to her as "stroppy". One fan enjoyed the character to such an extent they made a false profile on social networking site, Myspace. They chose to create the page about Sarah as they liked the character and; "It's easy to create a page about a character with so many issues." During a speech at the show's 15th anniversary, the Prime Minister Helen Clark satirically suggested that the question of whether Sarah would marry TK was a major issue.
The character's diagnosis with Multiple Sclerosis has also helped educate New Zealanders about the illness. Sufferers of multiple sclerosis praised the show, pleasing producer Jason Daniel who said; "The story has already examined the impact her diagnosis has on her personally and professionally. And in the future it will explore how she learns to live with her MS. I’m very pleased that the MS Society approves of our efforts so far, and I hope that audiences will continue to find Sarah's story inspiring and uplifting."
Sarah and Andrew's (Paolo Rotondo) wedding was viewed by 676,400 people, landing more viewers than ratings juggernaut – Desperate Housewives. In 2006 an episode focused solely on the character of Sarah and was told through flashback. Daniel ensured viewers that fans of the TK/Sarah/Craig love triangle would thoroughly enjoy the episode. The July 2011 90-minute episode which concluded with Sarah giving birth, received incredibly high ratings with an audience of 834,200. Billing offered an opinion on the reason as to why Sarah's storyline concerning her daughter was so well received, saying; "When theres children involved, and love and illness, it gets really hard and I think the audience loves that." Producer, Steven Zanoski suggested part of the reason for the episodes success was the song Billing released as part of the marketing towards the Winter Season. The song, a cover of Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've) by Pete Shelley, peaked at number 24 in the New Zealand chart. The birth scene was also named by Television New Zealand as one of the top moments of 2011, and was voted by fans as one of the show's most iconic moments.
Read more about this topic: Sarah Potts (Shortland Street)
Famous quotes containing the word reception:
“Satire is a sort of glass, wherein beholders do generally discover everybody’s face but their own; which is the chief reason for that kind of reception it meets in the world, and that so very few are offended with it.”
—Jonathan Swift (1667–1745)
“But in the reception of metaphysical formula, all depends, as regards their actual and ulterior result, on the pre-existent qualities of that soil of human nature into which they fall—the company they find already present there, on their admission into the house of thought.”
—Walter Pater (1839–1894)
“Aesthetic emotion puts man in a state favorable to the reception of erotic emotion.... Art is the accomplice of love. Take love away and there is no longer art.”
—Rémy De Gourmont (1858–1915)