All Episodes Talk: What's Up Doc?

[Bastet]

Thankfully, even though I just saw this news, when I went around the dial to see if I get POP, I not only found the channel, but found a re-airing of the pilot just about to start.

I watched it in real time because of Sherry Stringfield; I’d liked her as Blake on Guiding Light, and then followed her to NYPD Blue, and then here.  (I don’t remember how long I watched; dropping a helicopter on Romano was probably the beginning of the end.)  I forgot Miguel Ferrer was in the pilot.  (I’ve forgotten most of this series, though, other than scattered moments.)   I like when Susan finally backs down from her guarded talk to tell him he probably has 6 months to a year.

I’d thankfully blocked from my mind how annoying Mark’s kid was.

Noah Wyle is so perfect as Carter; he truly looks wet behind the ears.  I love Mark telling him, “I was in med school with Benton, and he used to get sick all the time; don’t let him give you any crap.”  And Peter asking him if he’s okay, telling him not to worry about what happened out there, just not to make a habit of it.  Him not being able to start an IV serves the story, but I’ve never had a doctor – whatever their seniority – do it, whether in the ER or pre-op; it has always been a nurse. 

Benton’s little boo-yeah move that made it into the credits.  Love.

Doug’s student immediately shutting down his Casanova routine was wonderful.  One of the few things I remember, that came back to me as soon as Doug started talking to the babysitter, was his confrontation with the mother of the abused child.  “How dare you?!  He’s a little kid!”

Talking about the charges for various services dates the show; I kept hearing a quote and thinking, "That's it?!"

I know the producers saw something so compelling in Julianna Marguiles/Carol Hathaway they opted to have her survive the suicide she was scripted to succumb to, but I’m missing it.  She’s fine, but that’s it.

[Bastet]

I really like in the second episode, when the helicopter crew is off-loading the patient and giving Doug his vitals, George Clooney keeps turning his head and leaning in when the Life Flight paramedic speaks – Clooney doesn’t need to hear what the actor is saying, as he has no lines to deliver in response, but he still does what Doug would do.

Carter dragging the crash cart behind him is hilarious.  I also love him being (seemingly) proven right when he wants to run basic tests and discharge for follow-up with the personal physician if they come back normal and Benton wants to check for a thrombosis.  Even though Benton was an ass (surprise) by insulting him in front of the patient, and while Carter gets a kick out of being validated by the other doctor, he tells Benton he was right to want to do an angiogram.  Their dynamic is one of my favorite parts of the show.

This episode brings home how important it is to both discuss with your family and write down what you do and do not want done (re. organ donation, going on a respirator, etc.), so that emotionally-overwrought family members don’t make the wrong decision because they can’t face reality in the heat of the moment.

The third episode, with Rosemary Clooney, is good, and I think it’s when they start finding their rhythm putting the show together.  But the thing with Doug and Carol is odd, with him talking to her like she’s single, because in the pilot she has a fiancé, but then later in this episode it’s said that she and Tag have been dating for a couple of years, so I guess they backed off the fiancé storyline once they decided to keep the character; just one of those things that changes from pilot to series.

I like Susan’s M&M, where Greene joins the chorus (of “slicers and dicers” as Susan puts it) and says he’d have done angioplasty.

[AndySmith]

I have to say, I really love the first 4 or 5 seasons of this show.

[Clemgo3165]

Me too and I'm so happy to find it on TV again. Can't imagine why it ever left. I'd forgotten the kind of hinting at a potential Mark/Susan flirtation. Seems odd now. 

I thought Carol was a pretty compelling character from day one - the take of her walking down the hall and everyone asking her for various things, questions, where things are, rings so true for me. It happens to me too all the time at work and it can be a real burden sometimes. I also felt for her when she positively lit up around Doug. Add in their chemistry and I'm grateful they decided to keep her.

Can't get over how young Noah Wyle was when the show started. He did "newbie" so well.

[desertflower]

I'm so glad they are showing this again! I remember a lot of it but of course there are lots of moments I've forgotten. A poster above mentioned immediately remembering  Doug's "He's a little kid!" scene. Me too, and I think it's because, if I remember correctly, that scene was in the ads when they were first promoting the show. Burned in my brain! 

I'm a huge Doug and Carol fan and I swoon just hearing their brief piano theme music. I remember when they came back in the final season they played that music and it made my day.

I had forgotten how much I hated Dr. Cason. Such a jerk.

I always liked Sherry Stringfield; I wish she was in more stuff. 

[BigBeagle]

On 3/28/2017 at 2:03 AM, Bastet said:

I know the producers saw something so compelling in Julianna Marguiles/Carol Hathaway they opted to have her survive the suicide she was scripted to succumb to, but I’m missing it.  She’s fine, but that’s it.

The DVD extras state that Carol was supposed to die from the suicide attempt, but Steven Spielberg, who was executive producer in the first season, championed Margulies' character ... that's why Carol survived.

[Ceindreadh]

On 31/3/2017 at 2:21 AM, BigBeagle said:

The DVD extras state that Carol was supposed to die from the suicide attempt, but Steven Spielberg, who was executive producer in the first season, championed Margulies' character ... that's why Carol survived.

Hmm. I wouldn't have kept her based just on the pilot but I think it's a good thing they did, if for no other reason than the show needed a nurse as one of the leads. 

[voiceover]

Wow, this is a serious trip down memory lane!  I never missed an ep during the first few years; adored Carter and the Doug & Carol dynamic.  I'd been a very infrequent viewer by the time Julianna left the show, but I tuned in that last ep, hoping against hope.

And that was a lovely satisfying send-off to all the looooong-suffering fans of the couple -- who existed, if memory serves, in the days before the relentless portmanteau-ing of names. Clooney & Margulies were buddies IRL, and that only served to enhance the chemistry.

Hard to believe now that it was considered such a groundbreaker.  

Just like Grey's, it went on way too long.  Would have loved an ending that saw Carter made Chief of Staff.  Noah Wyle was the heart of this show; the audience grew up with him.  

[BooksRule]

I agree that this is a real trip (and treat) down memory lane.  I had forgotten about Patrick (the disabled kid with the helmet) and clerk Bob (who had been a surgeon in Poland) whose character led to the phrase being 'Bobbed'.  I had also forgotten about the character that the wonderful Vondie Curtis-Hall played in one of the first episodes.  He was the suicidal transgender patient that Carter stitched up.  He wanted to talk, but Carter was basically very cool toward him.  I was surprised, but then I remember that Carter was very young and probably didn't know what to say or how he felt about this person.  That character has stayed in my memory for all of those years.  I think that was the first time I had seen a man who dressed in women's clothing and wanted to be a woman.  I looked it up and he got an Emmy nomination for that role (and he later had a recurring role as another character). 

Edited April 2, 2017 by BooksRule

[Bastet]

21 minutes ago, BooksRule said:

I had also forgotten about the character that the wonderful Vondie Curtis-Hall played in one of the first episodes.  He was the suicidal transgender patient that Carter stitched up.  He wanted to talk, but Carter was basically very cool toward him.  I was surprised, but then I remember that Carter was very young and probably didn't know what to say or how he felt about this person.

Carter had probably never knowingly encountered a transgender person before, and I think given his age, sheltered status, and the fact Peter didn't set any different example, his discomfort rang true.  At least he consistently referred to her with the right pronouns as the day went on (better than the nurse who called her a she-male and laughed), and he was devastated when she jumped.  I loved the story the patient told about her father's visit; perhaps if he hadn't died, and she had at least one person in her life who loved her as she was, things would have gone differently. 

Carol and the gang rape victim in the previous episode was moving, too.

[AndySmith]

Quote

in the days before the relentless portmanteau-ing of names

Dorol? Coug?

[chitowngirl]

Rossaway? Hathaross?

Edited April 2, 2017 by chitowngirl

[Mama No Life]

This show used to be one of my favorites....glad to see it back on tv. Watched a few working on a paper yesterday. 

Carter was my favorite, without question.  I stopped watching when he left the first time (Africa? I forget) and never really watched again until the finale.  Noah Wylie really grew as an actor over the years.

It's fascinating how we hold Doug/Carol in such high esteem now when he was such an ass for so long.  Being hot covers a lot of sins.

[Bastet]

I loved when Tag told Carol off after she confessed to cheating on him with Doug (in the past, and also kissing Doug recently), especially when he asked what she wants him to do, treat her like crap like Doug does?  I know they wound up almost getting married, because I remember everyone partying after the wedding that didn't happen, but he should have known then and there that it wasn't going to work if she'd cheat on him, period, but especially with someone who was as much of a jerk as Doug was at that point. 

I think I wound up liking Doug and Carol together, since he treated her so much better than he had in the past, but I don't really remember.  I definitely wasn't invested in it; I don't remember caring much about any romantic pairing on this show.  I loved the crush Romano had on Corday, though. 

Edited April 3, 2017 by Bastet

[desertflower]

In the episode where the kid confessed to Carol he was driving his friend's car that killed a girl and his friend, I had to look the kid up because he looked so familiar. It was Tom Hanks' friend Billy from Big. (And also the neighbor kid in Honey I Shrunk the Kids.) But what's funny about that is when the Scotty Anspagh storyline comes up later I thought THAT kid looked so much like Billy from Big, but I knew the math didn't add up since he would've been a bit older by then. But turns out he was on the show, just in a different role. I wonder if he is related to the kid who played Scotty. 

I like picking out the random guest stars who show up in the ER. 

[Bastet]

8 minutes ago, desertflower said:

In the episode where the kid confessed to Carol he was driving his friend's car that killed a girl and his friend, I had to look the kid up because he looked so familiar. It was Tom Hanks' friend Billy from Big. (And also the neighbor kid in Honey I Shrunk the Kids.)

Jared Rushton.  He was also Becky's boyfriend Chip on season one of Roseanne.

[Bastet]

Wait, Doug has an eight-year-old son he's never seen?  Add that to long list of things I had forgotten.

I love every time Benton's brother-in-law appears to give him a reality check.

Benton teaching Carter how to scrub in was fun; I just knew Carter was going to do something to contaminate himself once he finally got into an OR.

Susan's lack of confidence is another storyline I'd forgotten; I guess I just have later-seasons Susan (didn't she leave and come back?) in my mind.  Dr. Casen is a sexist asshole, but Morganstern, Mark, and Dr. Hicks all comment on it, too (Hicks is my favorite: "When I was a resident, I worried about everyone's approval - the attendings, the patients.  Maybe because I'm a woman, a black woman.  Life got a whole lot easier when I stopped worrying about it").  It's painful to watch Susan need to have Mark take over, in front of Casen, on the little girl who's bleeding out.  I like the difficulty that comes about because Mark and Susan are friends, but he's also the chief attending.

Edited April 4, 2017 by Bastet

[voiceover]

On 4/2/2017 at 7:21 AM, chitowngirl said:

Rossaway? Hathaross?

We have a winner!!?

[RedbirdNelly]

I had totally forgotten that Doug has a son and I am avidly watching to see if that gets explained. Because I was certain he didn't.

[LuciaMia]

Quote

Wait, Doug has an eight-year-old son he's never seen? 

No,  Doug is childless. I think he just says that when a patient or parent asks "Do you have children?"  so they will open up further.

Edited April 5, 2017 by LuciaMia

[Bastet]

43 minutes ago, LuciaMia said:

No,  Doug is childless. I think he just says that when a patient or parent asks "Do you have children?"  so they will open up further.

Well, he also talked about the son later with one of the nurses; she, having overheard him, later says she didn't know he had a son and asks his name, and that's when he said he's never met him.  I think if he was just lying about having a child in order to relate to the parent of one of his patients (which didn't seem to be the dynamic between him and the father who asked him), he'd have told the nurse - and, thus, the audience - that when she asked.  I don't think the writers intended for Doug to be lying.  This is early in the series, when they're fleshing out the characters, and Doug's storyline is about how he's changing from the commitment-phobic playboy he used to be.  I by having him say he has an 8-year-old son he's never met they, in fact, intended to say that he'd fathered a child 8 years ago but is not part of his life.  (And then I think as the series went on, they dropped the idea altogether.)

Edited April 5, 2017 by Bastet

[RedbirdNelly]

twice in the shows that ran this weekend, Doug says he has a son. I think a patient asks him if he has children, and he says, yes a son. A few episodes later, it comes up again (I think a fellow ER employee asks if he has a child and something about what he looks like ) and Doug says "I don't know, I've never seen him." (Im paraphrasing)

[Bastet]

30 minutes ago, RedbirdNelly said:

twice in the shows that ran this weekend, Doug says he has a son. I think a patient asks him if he has children, and he says, yes a son. A few episodes later, it comes up again (I think a fellow ER employee asks if he has a child and something about what he looks like ) and Doug says "I don't know, I've never seen him." (Im paraphrasing)

Yeah, I didn't see the first one (although I just read that elsewhere, that someone asked if he has kids and he responded yes, he has a son), but in the second, a patient's father asks if he has children and he says he has an 8-year-old son.  Then later, while waiting for an elevator together, the nurse who overheard that exchange between Doug and the patient's father says, "I didn't know you have a son.  What's his name?"  He replies, "I don't know; I've never met him."

[desertflower]

I suspect it was a storyline they originally planned to follow up on later, but then for some reason decided to drop it. I guess it was a one night stand. Him talking about it was probably to show us his regrets about not settling down. In the same episode (or close to it) he envied the marriage of the older carbon monoxide patients, and also expresses some dissatisfaction with the set up he's got going with Linda the drug rep lady. And of course Carol gets engaged so he is feeling all kinds of regrets at that point. 

On another note, I forgot how young Ming-Na looked when she first came on as Deb. Just a baby! 

[Bastet]

Yes, I think the reference to a child he fathered but has never seen was one of the many ways they're showing in this early episodes that Doug is changing a lot from the man he used to be; that's his story arc in this introductory phase (like Susan finding her confidence, Mark dealing with the competing demands of his career and his family, etc.).  He used to run screaming into the night from the very thought of commitment, he used to go through women like Kleenex, etc. and now he's got Carol marrying someone else and Linda (I think that's her name; the sales rep who's been keeping him) telling him he's not the kind of guy women marry, and it's bothering him.  He used to have Mark cover his shifts so he could goof off, and now he's keeping his nose to the grindstone.  He's finally getting serious and responsible about his life, and dealing with how his past actions color people's perceptions of him. 

There were some sad cases in today's episodes -- the cancer patient brought in from hospice begging Mark to let her die, and the guy with CF who went from already only having about five years left to having mere hours, because he saved a little girl from a fire and the toxic fumes he breathed in destroyed his weakened lungs. 

Dr. Casen winding up a patient of Susan's after she'd turned the tables on him before the review panel may be kind of a hokey plot twist on paper, but I really liked it in execution. 

[Bastet]

I've been on Jen's side in the Greene marital dispute up until now, but refusing to even try commuting from Kenosha, claiming those two hours per day spent commuting would take too much more time from Rachel, was a cheap tactic -- clearly, she's done, so just say that.  I in no way advocate "staying together for the kids," as I think kids are a lot better off in two happy homes than one miserable one, but I do think when you have kids you owe it to them to make sure that one home can't be anything other than miserable before you walk away.  But they haven't tried working on their problems.  She shouldn't have to beat Mark over the head with the fact the family has worked around his desires this entire time and it's her turn, but the fact he proposed the "live halfway" compromise shows he is finally waking up.  Maybe try having a very frank, "we need to spend one year seeing if we can make this marriage work, and if not, that's it; we let go before it's downright ugly" conversation.  Jumping instead to, "I'm leaving you" seems like the writers setting her up as the bad guy, and I don't think that's fair considering their history.

Speaking of doomed relationships, what is it going to take for Carol to realize she has no business marrying Tag?

Love's Labor Lost.  I hadn't seen it since it originally aired, but it's one of the few episodes of which I had any significant memory; I was very curious to see how I liked it this time around.

I like the continuity, given recent history, of Susan being put off when Mark says he wants to stay on and see the patient through.  Once he explains what happened earlier, she understands, but of course it initially sounds to her like he doesn't think she can handle it.

They make it sound plausible (for TV purposes) that she's initially fine to wait for Coburn to get there; Coburn is an hour out, the eclampsia-induced seizure is controlled by meds, the baby's vitals are all perfect, etc.  But inducing her seems like too much of a stretch, and then once things start going pear-shaped, the whole "they're swamped upstairs in OB" line of reasoning gets really far-fetched.

But I can set that aside, because it's still a gripping hour of television.  Great casting in Bradley Whitford and Colleen Flynn; they both exude the "everyperson" quality in these roles that make the audience care about them in short order, and they keep the characters from seeming unnaturally perfect.  It is just brutal to watch everything that can go wrong happen.  When she gets the episiotomy from hell and Mark still can't get the second shoulder out, and then they shove the baby back in for an emergency C-section?!  The entire sequence that follows is perfectly paced, and I love the dissolve to the shot of all the empty bags of blood they've pumped into her and the long trail of heart monitor readout, and Susan calmly telling a frantic, hyperventilating Mark, "She's gone.  It's 30 minutes past too late."

It is one of the oldest tricks in the TV book to handle a death, or other horrible news, notification through a door or window, where we see but don't hear, but I love it every time so long as it's done with good actors, and Edwards and Whitford nailed it.

I don't remember how they handle this going forward (because I assume there was a lawsuit), but so far I like the acknowledgement that Coburn may be an asshole, but she's also right that Mark missed some things.  Not just that things went unanticipatedly wrong and it was a perfect storm of bad circumstances, which are both also true, but that there were indications present that he missed (e.g. the placental abruption).

[RedbirdNelly]

 I just watched Love's Labor Lost. Such a famous episode. I didn't start watching ER until season 2 so I missed it's first airing but watched as  a rerun. When they change rooms to do the C section, even though I know this is TV and how it ends, I still got teary. I loved how the episode doesn't start immediately with the couple. You don't just know from the get-go "oh, pregnant couple, bet this will follow their story for the entire episode." The fact that other things are going on in the episode makes the outcome more surprising. I too liked the continuity with Susan's initial reaction. This show is just so well done. I watch Chicago Med because I wanted a med show that reminded me of ER, but original ER is just so much better.

[callie lee 29]

I completely forgot about so much of this show. Dr. Swift is pretty great. Since I don't remember him at all I keep waiting for the "he's really evil" trope that is so prevalent now to happen. 

I always liked Tag - I felt bad for him.  I also tended to like Doug's short-term girlfriends. The HR lady, the rich chick who "kept" him, I guess this was before the time when all the people who got in between the meant-to-be couple had to be bitches/assholes. 

I still vividly remember the stabbing scene and when Carter looks at Lucy and then having to wait a week for the next episode.  

Am I the only one who starts reading up on characters, actors while watching? I always wish they had done an episode about the background characters: Haleh, Lydia, Jerry, Malik, Bob... I want a write up of what happened to them. Did Malik ever get a raise so he didn't have to do drug-trial testing? Did Bob ever sit for boards? These are things I want to know. 

Edited April 9, 2017 by callie lee 29
Names... they are not for me.

[WendyCR72]

7 minutes ago, callie lee 29 said:

Am I the only one who starts reading up on characters, actors while watching? I always wish they had done an episode about the background characters: Haley, Lydia, Jerry, Malik, Bob... I want a write up of what happened to them. Did Malik ever get a raise so he didn't have to do drug-trial testing? Did Bob ever sit for boards? These are things I want to know. 

I was wracking my brain as to who "Haley" was, then I realized you meant Haleh. Hee. I remember she sang during some special occasion or two back in the day. Liked Lydia, too. Still remember Lydia all wet-eyed as they tried to treat Carter post stabbing.

Bob just doing a fade was one of the few missteps of the early years. I would have loved seeing her return during later ER as a surgeon again and thanking Carter for helping her or something.

But since that wouldn't have involved Abby, it was a no go.

[callie lee 29]

31 minutes ago, WendyCR72 said:

I was wracking my brain as to who "Haley" was, then I realized you meant Haleh. Hee. I remember she sang during some special occasion or two back in the day. Liked Lydia, too. Still remember Lydia all wet-eyed as they tried to treat Carter post stabbing.

 

Whoops! Fixed that. In my head I typed it right, not so much in reality. 

[WendyCR72]

3 minutes ago, callie lee 29 said:

Whoops! Fixed that. In my head I typed it right, not so much in reality. 

Oh, I hope you didn't take my post as criticizing you. I truly was wondering! And let's face it, Haleh is an unusual name. (And I had to look up how it was spelled, too.)

[callie lee 29]

No, not at all - I deliberately looked it up to get it right and then didn't!! Argh!

[RedbirdNelly]

I was thinking the same thing on Bob--the character I think just disappears at some point. In some ways annoying but on the other hand, it is kind of consistent with the show being this hectic place where people come and go and we don't always know what happens to them. I always like Michael Ironside but had forgotten he was ever on this show as Dr. Swift.

[AndySmith]

Quote

it is kind of consistent with the show being this hectic place where people come and go and we don't always know what happens to them.

Intentional or not, it dis make the show somewhat more realistic.

[Bastet]

On 4/8/2017 at 8:17 PM, RedbirdNelly said:

I always like Michael Ironside but had forgotten he was ever on this show as Dr. Swift.

I, too, had forgotten that "Jester" joined ER's Top Gun reunion.

I missed most of his first episode; I saw the beginning when they kept mistaking him for someone else, and the end when he was surprised to learn Susan is only a second-year resident (after asking if she was applying for Chief Resident).  That's a nice boost for her after a rough bout of gaining her confidence.

That happening at the same time Mark is dealing with the fallout of the Love's Labor Lost case makes an interesting flip of the dynamic they'd been dealing with lately.  I like their friendship.

Relevant to the discussion in the Unpopular Opinions thread about what area of medicine Carter is most suited to, we learn in one of today's episodes that he first wanted to be a doctor as a kid, when his brother was very sick; the way the doctors treated the two boys made him want to be a doctor when he grew up.  Like Chen said, he really likes taking care of people.  But I don't think that necessarily means (going back to the UO discussion) he's not cut out for emergency medicine or even surgery.  His type of doctoring would be a good fit for a primary care physician, who gets to know his patients and sees their care through, yes, but I also think it's a great temperament for the ER because it's such a nice bonus to have that little bit of connection in the midst of treat 'em and street 'em.  And if he had the skills, he'd be popular as a surgeon; more of them are like Benton than Carter, in terms of personality, so when you luck into one who has both the skills and the bedside manner, it's wonderful.

[callie lee 29]

4 hours ago, Bastet said:

I. too, had forgotten that "Jester" joined ER's Top Gun reunion.

OMG, I never caught that. I think part of my brain just exploded!

[RedbirdNelly]

somehow I had not thought about the Jester/Goose angle to this!

[Bastet]

Yep, we have Goose and Slider, and now Jester.  I checked Tom Skerritt's IMDb page - since he's in everything - to see if Viper ever made an ER appearance, but no.

Edited April 11, 2017 by Bastet

[Bastet]

Carter's face when he realizes Benton gave him a glowing review (as opposed to the 16/40 he gave Benton) is fantastic.

As is Walt doing his Barry White impression while giving Benton shit about his crush on Jeannie.

With the terminal AIDS patient, when they said his mother, not his partner, had medical power of attorney, I figured it was going to be one of those stories where she's a homophobic asshole who tries to keep the partner away and he's screwed by his lack of legal standing.  It turned out the patient had chosen her because he knew she'd do what he wanted, while the partner wouldn't have the strength to let him go.

Tag was a jackass to wait until the last second have that conversation with Carol, but I don't feel overly sorry for either of them; those two both knew they had no business getting married and just kept lying to themselves.  I have no patience for that sort of thing, so I'm glad to have this storyline over with.  He went from one episode rightly telling her off to the next being engaged to her; he was an idiot for proposing, because he knew all along she didn't love him the way he loves her, and thus it was never going to work.  And she was an idiot for saying yes, and then continuing to say yes even when he asked her if she's sure as time went on and she was very obviously not committed. 

"Wait until you get the bar bill."
"No, that's going to Tag."

That did make me laugh, though, and I liked Carol's speech, and then everyone having fun at the reception despite the lack of a wedding.  Nice end to the season.

POP appears to be airing three episodes a day now.

[AndySmith]

Quote

With the terminal AIDS patient, when they said his mother, not his partner, had medical power of attorney, I figured it was going to be one of those stories where she's a homophobic asshole who tries to keep the partner away and he's screwed by his lack of legal standing.  It turned out the patient had chosen her because he knew she'd do what he wanted, while the partner wouldn't have the strength to let him go.

I liked that they avoided the cliche.

[desertflower]

I always liked the peripheral characters too, and it's funny how attached I would get to them, even though they never delved into their stories much. I remember Malik wasn't on the show for a long time in the later years, but then in one episode he popped up and I think I actually yelled "MALIK!!" at the tv. Lol. Testament to a good show, that you care about even minor characters. 

[RedbirdNelly]

I'm watching 1 to 2 episodes a day. Just watched the one where Chloe has her baby. First, Chloe is so annoying to me--partly its the actress. Second, Susan's family is really a mess. It's a real wonder she turned out so normal with those parents and Chloe as a sister. Third, watching these all back to back makes some story lines seem really fast. I forget that when it aired, you only get one a week so it seemed like a longer development. Fourth, I wish CCH Pounder's character had been around more and longer. She's so cool.

[AndySmith]

Quote

Fourth, I wish CCH Pounder's character had been around more and longer. She's so cool.

CCH Pounder can make any character cool.

Edited April 13, 2017 by AndySmith

[Driad]

CCH Pounder now plays the medical examiner on NCIS: New Orleans, in case anyone doesn't know.

[desertflower]

Yeah, CCH Pounder has the coolest voice. 

Man, I'm gonna have trouble keeping up with three episodes a day. My kids are on spring break and I haven't watched any this week. The DVR is piling up!

Re: Chloe. I remember when the actress appeared on Gilmore Girls later a lot of people thought she was annoying but compared to Chloe her character on that was positively sedate. Lol. I guess it meant she was doing her job well since Chloe was supposed to be pretty grating, I guess. Made me empathize with what Susan had to deal with. 

[WendyCR72]

And, see, this is why I always compared Susan and Abby and found the latter just unpleasant and a self-pitying PITA. Susan's home life seemed to be just as dysfunctional. And Cookie strongly implied Dad was a drunk. Yet Susan didn't become all sour and bring attitude into everything. I theorized before that Susan 2.0 seemed like such a party gal and so different because Abby had Susan 1.0's life. But I much preferred Susan, even 2.0, over Abby.

For me, Sherry Stringfield made Susan likeable even with all the crap that befell her, and she seemed to have a sense of humor and a warmth that Abby lacked.

[desertflower]

Yeah, the warmest Abby ever was was when she first appeared as Carol's OB nurse. I would've liked to see more of that Abby.  I think MT is a great actress but the character was just so miserable most of the time. I am glad they allowed her and Luka to have a happy ending. I'm surprised they didn't kill him off so another big tragedy could befall her!

[BooksRule]

I just watched 'Hell or high water' (the one where Doug rescues the kid in the flooded drain and becomes a big hero) and even though the episode is pretty intense and serious, I loved the funny exchange at the very beginning.  Doug is sitting the waiting room of the pediatrician's office for an interview.  He's sitting between two little girls, and they begin to quiz him about why he is there and why he is looking for a job.  When one asks what he does:

Doug:  'I give big shots to little girls'. (Both girls start to cry) 'Big shots.'  (One girl continues to cry, the other runs off crying and screaming).  Doug (with a satisfied look on his face):  'There you go.'

[Bastet]

I usually only have time to properly focus on one episode each day, and the other two are background noise, so I miss some things -- What made Susan decide to keep "Little Susie" rather than adopting her to that couple?

[BooksRule]

I don't think they said outright, but they made it clear that she was really reluctant to give her up.  At the very end of the episode, Mark saw her swinging on the swings in the park and she told him that she had decided to keep Little Susie.  Susan never really explained it to Mark, but just said that she was going to raise Little Susie herself.