All Episodes Talk: What's Up Doc?

[jjj]

34 minutes ago, walnutqueen said:

I am Greene with envy!  ;-)

Oh, I don't have a house like Doug, not right on the water and definitely no dock!  But now I know where to look!  

Watching this during the summer has been like revisiting old friends I had not seen in 20 years.  I think that's why I have no interest in the later seasons -- no memories of them or the new characters.  

[walnutqueen]

43 minutes ago, jjj said:

Oh, I don't have a house like Doug, not right on the water and definitely no dock!  But now I know where to look!  

Watching this during the summer has been like revisiting old friends I had not seen in 20 years.  I think that's why I have no interest in the later seasons -- no memories of them or the new characters.  

Yes, but you are in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, and I am not.  ;-(

I'm with you walking down memory lane.  I watched religiously for many years; then I started getting sleepy and missing most of the later stuff.  Thankfully, I've managed to forget most of THAT.  ;-)

(Which doesn't mean I'm not going to watch until the bitter end, this time around.  Pop owns me a few hours a day, 5 days a week!).  

[doodlebug]

On ‎10‎/‎1‎/‎2017 at 0:12 PM, walnutqueen said:

Yes, but you are in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, and I am not.  ;-(

I'm with you walking down memory lane.  I watched religiously for many years; then I started getting sleepy and missing most of the later stuff.  Thankfully, I've managed to forget most of THAT.  ;-)

(Which doesn't mean I'm not going to watch until the bitter end, this time around.  Pop owns me a few hours a day, 5 days a week!).  

Every time I see that episode, I am wondering where Doug, a pediatrician whose prior work experience was in the ER of a county hospital, who doesn't come from money, who never showed signs of wanting/needing a huge home; came up with the down payment on a multimillion dollar luxury home complete with boat and dock barely a year after leaving Chicago.  Does not compute. 

I will, however, concede that the beautiful home in that gorgeous setting does enhance the last couple minutes of that episode. 

Edited October 2, 2017 by doodlebug
fix timeline, he was gone a little more than a year by Such Sweet Sorrow

[walnutqueen]

1 minute ago, doodlebug said:

Every time I see that episode, I am wondering where Doug, a pediatrician whose prior work experience was in the ER of a county hospital, who doesn't come from money, who never showed signs of wanting/needing a huge home; came up with the down payment on a multimillion dollar luxury home complete with boat and dock less than a year after leaving Chicago.  Does not compute. 

Apparently, you do not watch Beachfront Bargain Hunt.  ;-D

[doodlebug]

Just now, walnutqueen said:

Apparently, you do not watch Beachfront Bargain Hunt.  ;-D

That is no Beachfront Bargain; such things do not exist in the greater Seattle area.  Even a shack would cost a millions there (and that was no shack).

[walnutqueen]

6 minutes ago, doodlebug said:

That is no Beachfront Bargain; such things do not exist in the greater Seattle area.  Even a shack would cost a millions there (and that was no shack).

I have TWO saved episodes on my DVR that beg to differ.  

[jjj]

Yes, Season 7 begins on October 12 and this Saturday, October 7.  And although the POP schedule originally had on-the-hour programming scheduled for next week, now they are showing the 67-minute episode times again for next week!  So, ignore this earlier statement:  Also, as of next Monday, the 9th, Pop TV is going back to on-the-hour programming for ER, so 3:00, 4:00, 5:00, instead of these 67-minute episodes in the afternoons on weekdays. 

Edited October 6, 2017 by jjj

[ESS]

I'm just happy they'll finally be airing season 7! it's about time.  

[voiceover]

Yeah, I just ran in here to make sure everyone knew?.

I forgot that Peter's nephew had been shot!  Ugh.  But any excuse to get Khandi Alexander on my screen.  Although, eta, I hated this death plotline with the fire of 10,000 suns.  Just too cliche, too audience-manipulative, too...desperate.  

Hey guys: this means "All Abby All the Time" is up & running.  Shall we pool the Valium, or set up a cocktail recipe thread?

Edited October 7, 2017 by voiceover

[WendyCR72]

1 hour ago, voiceover said:

Hey guys: this means "All Abby All the Time" is up & running.  Shall we pool the Valium, or set up a cocktail recipe thread?

Hence why I never gave a crap that POP stopped after S6.

[voiceover]

21 minutes ago, WendyCR72 said:

Hence why I never gave a crap that POP stopped after S6.

Cocktail thread it is!

[justduckey]

Watching season7 episode 1 and the first thing I notice is that the whole show looks, feels and sounds different than seasons 1-6. I honestly have zero recollection of anything in this episode. Looking forward to seeing the other 6 that aired today for the second time (which will feel like the first time, I’m guessing).

 

Just got to the football riot in the er and it was quite a bit campier than other er catastrophes. Something definitely changed at the onset of season 7.

It’s kinda making me nostalgic for seasons 1-5 even though I thought I’d maxed out on them. Hmmm.

Edited October 8, 2017 by justduckey

[voiceover]

Here's a little bit of joy: watching Reece communicate with his dad.  What a dollbaby that little boy was!!  Another reason I hated that Carla-retcon.

Hey -- anyone know what was up  Cleo's ass, re: Carter?

I'm on board with @justduckey (IIRC, that change in the show you mention was discussed some pages back, too).  Definitely a mood swing post-5.

[jjj]

Yes, Doug leaving was one seismic change (others had left, like Susan, but without leaving such a character gap), but once Carol left also, the show  just started trying things to create the sense of anticipation we used to have for the characters.  Killing off main characters, taking on soap opera formulas, etc., never came close to making up for the chemistry of seasons 1-5 (and bits of 6).  See you in small talk, or some other forum! 

[WendyCR72]

The other seasons had down bits, but there was also joy to offset them. S7 was just...joyless. I also believe this is the season that a new show runner/producer started, Jack Orman. (I THINK he was new then. Could be wrong there!) But yeah, I recalled even in first run that S7 was dark both literally (seriously, the lighting was different) and figuratively and never truly lightened up again for a long, long time.

[rcc]

I don't mind all the Abby scenes. With Carol gone they had to compensate somehow. What I do mind is Cleo. Can't stand her harping at Peter and her attitude in general in the ER. WTF is up with her attitude toward Carter anyway! The guy made a mistake, went to rehab, came back to do his job again, and gets attitude from the newbie. Bad casting and bad character IMO.

[walnutqueen]

I don't remember being annoyed by Abby when the show first aired; guess I'll see if that changes when I watch it all unfold again on weekday Pop episodes.

I DO remember disliking Cleobot immensely.  Which kinda made her a perfect partner for brooding Benton.  ;-)

[doodlebug]

3 hours ago, walnutqueen said:

I don't remember being annoyed by Abby when the show first aired; guess I'll see if that changes when I watch it all unfold again on weekday Pop episodes.

I DO remember disliking Cleobot immensely.  Which kinda made her a perfect partner for brooding Benton.  ;-)

At first, I found Abby pretty tolerable, too.  However, once it became established that she was always to have a front burner storyline, unlike an other character in this ensemble show; I quickly grew tired of her.  When Sally Field first appeared, I liked the storyline, I've got a bipolar family member who has had multiple episodes of mania and I could relate.  I could not relate, however, to Abby's insistence that her mother be locked up forever and force fed her meds so that Abby wouldn't have to deal with her.  And a little bit of Sally Field went a very long way; the repeated episodes of Abby and her mother were overkill.  With time, Abby was just so humorless and sour and put-upon that I had enough of her; especially since the show kept propping her up in unbelievable fashion (Abby is the most amazing doctor we're ever seen  even if she flunked her board exams, all the patients and staff think she's just the most wonderful, beautiful, amazing person ever and want to date her and be her best friend).  Instead of letting us see her warts and all without the commentary, as we had with other character; TPTB stacked the deck in her favor every time which made it hard to tolerate.

[walnutqueen]

Like I said, I really didn't notice this or share that opinion the first time around.  Mileage does vary, and I doubt anyone else's complaints will color my perception.  I often enjoy shows others do not.

Why yes, I AM a contrarian.  Why do you ask?  ;-D

 

ETA - I didn't like the Saint Carter/Africa/dead baby mama stuff.

Edited October 8, 2017 by walnutqueen

[voiceover]

6 hours ago, rcc said:

WTF is up with her attitude toward Carter anyway! The guy made a mistake, went to rehab, came back to do his job again, and gets attitude from the newbie.

Ack.  So you're mystified by this too! Anyone out there catch on to Cleo's reasoning? Jealous that he was important to Benton?

Just spitballin'.

[RedbirdNelly]

I've watched episodes 1-3 of season 7 so far and have not seen an explanation of Cleo's behavior to Carter. If anyone would have reason to have an issue with him, it would be Abby since I believe she caught him and he could blame her. And even with his apology I suppose she could feel wary of him.

I am surprised by how much I remember. Like I knew the guy with the tuba would be standing there in episode 1. That er fight was over the top.

I had forgotten about the cute boy who Carter helps out. He just seemed very sweet to me. I don't recall if he shows up again. The retirement home is lucky to have him. 

Mark trying to get Elizabeth to look in the freezer was kind of cute. And I liked him sneaking supplies out of surgery. He did that in earlier seasons and kind of fun he'd do it even to Elizabeth.

[doodlebug]

12 minutes ago, RedbirdNelly said:

I've watched episodes 1-3 of season 7 so far and have not seen an explanation of Cleo's behavior to Carter. If anyone would have reason to have an issue with him, it would be Abby since I believe she caught him and he could blame her. And even with his apology I suppose she could feel wary of him.

I've got the episodes on the DVR but haven't got the urge to watch them; Season 7 was such a downturn for me when it comes to this show.  Cleo was always kind of a sourpuss.  Even back in Season 6, she got pissed at Carter for altering the diabetic kid's records while not even trying to understand the father's dilemma when Carter brought the case to her.  She just insisted that the Dad should somehow come up with the money to pay for the kid's meds and doctors, even if it meant that the pre existing condition clause in the insurance would prevent him from ever being covered. Then, when the kid came back, she's all over Carter for altering the records as if that was the reason that the kid's diabetes hadn't been treated (that father was not taking him to a specialist without insurance, he made it clear, and all her threats and trying to force him into it made no difference).  Not an ounce of empathy from her, ever.  She always seemed vaguely annoyed by everyone else in the ER, both patients and staff.  The character was poorly written and the actress who played her had only two emotions: bored and annoyed.

[Gigi43]

I agree Cleo's always seemed annoyed, period. I just watched "Be Patient " because  I'm  a Carter/Benton fangirl after all these years and that's  a good one for it  ("We all know what happens after the jazz club") and Cleo was just so flat when listening to Peters Carter stories then telling Peter they should go somewhere where they can talk.

 

As I'm typing this Benton and Cleo are playing pool on my TV screen in the next episode and is just so chemistry-less. Benton and Carla were okay at times in the beginning  and Benton and Corday really sparked. It's her. There wasn't a friendship  or relationship  of any kind of Cleo's I can say worked. 

Edited October 9, 2017 by Gigi43

[absnow54]

Then, when the kid came back, she's all over Carter for altering the records as if that was the reason that the kid's diabetes hadn't been treated (that father was not taking him to a specialist without insurance, he made it clear, and all her threats and trying to force him into it made no difference).

I thought that case put them both in an impossible situation. Carter wanted to protect the kid from having a pre-existing condition with blind faith that the father would change his kid's diet and exercise regiment to manage the diabetes, which Cleo (rightly) pointed out was unlikely to achieve. And Cleo had blind faith that by recording the diagnosis, the father would pay for an expensive prescription and counseling out of pocket. What Carter did was unethical, but I think no matter what that kid would have been back in the ER because either way he wouldn't be getting treatment without the insurance.

[doodlebug]

1 hour ago, absnow54 said:

I thought that case put them both in an impossible situation. Carter wanted to protect the kid from having a pre-existing condition with blind faith that the father would change his kid's diet and exercise regiment to manage the diabetes, which Cleo (rightly) pointed out was unlikely to achieve. And Cleo had blind faith that by recording the diagnosis, the father would pay for an expensive prescription and counseling out of pocket. What Carter did was unethical, but I think no matter what that kid would have been back in the ER because either way he wouldn't be getting treatment without the insurance.

Absolutely, except Carter's way meant the kid wouldn't have diabetes as a pre existing condition while Cleo's plan meant the kid would never be insured for diabetes, at least until the Affordable Care Act came along.

[cpcathy]

I really felt for that storyline, not having insurance keeps people from treating their illnesses, my mother had breast cancer and didn't do anything about it because we weren't insured at the time. I know it's foggy, but I think Carter did the right thing.

[doodlebug]

2 minutes ago, cpcathy said:

I really felt for that storyline, not having insurance keeps people from treating their illnesses, my mother had breast cancer and didn't do anything about it because we weren't insured at the time. I know it's foggy, but I think Carter did the right thing.

He may not have done the right thing, but he did the better thing.  Of course, in real life, an ER doc wouldn't be diagnosing diabetes from a single blood sugar reading.  He'd advise the dad that the kids blood sugar was very high and refer him to a peds endocrinologist.  And the ER diagnosis was elevated blood glucose, not diabetes which wouldn't have interfered with future insurance coverage.

ER frequently pretends that it's docs are there to diagnose and treat chronic conditions for the sake of drama.

The episode that drives me craziest as a gynecologist is the one where Kerry performs an 'emergency' Pap on a teen and then tells her she has cancer and needs admitted for immediate surgery.  There are so many medical and technical errors in this storyline that it is a huge disservice to the casual viewer who would've gotten tremendously inaccurate information from it.

[RedbirdNelly]

watched episode 4 last night which closes with Benton having to go grovel to Romano, which I just hate.

Carter had some intense moments in this episode.

As a fan of Clue (hardcore--I have my board game I got in 3rd grade, watch the movie at least once a year. . .), I kind of chuckled at the robber who attacks Kovach with a lead pipe. A real lead pipe. Just like in Clue.

[bythelake]

On 10/9/2017 at 6:24 PM, Gigi43 said:

I agree Cleo's always seemed annoyed, period. I just watched "Be Patient " because  I'm  a Carter/Benton fangirl after all these years and that's  a good one for it  ("We all know what happens after the jazz club") and Cleo was just so flat when listening to Peters Carter stories then telling Peter they should go somewhere where they can talk.

 

As I'm typing this Benton and Cleo are playing pool on my TV screen in the next episode and is just so chemistry-less. Benton and Carla were okay at times in the beginning  and Benton and Corday really sparked. It's her. There wasn't a friendship  or relationship  of any kind of Cleo's I can say worked. 

I love Alex Kingston (Corday) She just acts like she has a lot of fun. Playing darts with Benton, throwing snowballs at Mark, she acts goofy like someone really in love. She makes the romance with Mark more believable.  I think she would be great to pal around with.  Agree that Cleo is a bore.

[RedbirdNelly]

watched season 7 episodes 6 and 7 (I think) last night--ending with Mark finding out he has a brain tumor. These include Maggie's first appearance--and I like it because it's the episode where Sally Field sold (to me) the idea of being a sick mom who truly wanted to be well but couldn't will herself to be. I felt for her.

In episode 6, Mark mentions the headache which you assume is just a normal headache--but watching this time I realized what was going on. I remember when the Mark/tumor episode first aired. They actually showed it on Thanksgiving and in the days of VCR (not DVR)/plus holiday travel it took some work to make sure I didn't miss the episode.

I always liked Jackie/Benton as brother/sister. They are believable to me as siblings. Her reaction when she realizes her son is dead was moving and felt real.

and Cleo is still annoying in episodes 5-7. I get it that Peter is not a warm and fuzzy guy and can be very self-centered, but when he's dealing with a lot of stuff (and in fairness, he was), now is not the time to ask him to complain about him not being there for you--for your normal stuff.

[cpcathy]

Last night was Hathaway's final episode, was there one after that where Mark has the headache? I missed it!!

[RedbirdNelly]

8 minutes ago, cpcathy said:

Last night was Hathaway's final episode, was there one after that where Mark has the headache? I missed it!!

sorry--I''ve been finishing off season 7 episodes 1-7 that aired on Saturday. So not the same episode that you watched. I will now be returning to my normal "record the week-day episodes" viewing schedule.

[doodlebug]

24 minutes ago, cpcathy said:

Last night was Hathaway's final episode, was there one after that where Mark has the headache? I missed it!!

The weekday episodes have now finished season 6, so we should be getting season 7 starting today and Mark should be diagnosed tomorrow if they stay on track.

[jjj]

30 minutes ago, cpcathy said:

Last night was Hathaway's final episode, was there one after that where Mark has the headache? I missed it!!

That was in "Rescue Me" (7.7), which re-ran last Saturday and will be on Monday again.  This Saturday is the surgery arc. and again on Tuesday.  Today are the first three episodes of Season 7. 

7 minutes ago, doodlebug said:

The weekday episodes have now finished season 6, so we should be getting season 7 starting today and Mark should be diagnosed tomorrow if they stay on track.

[Gigi43]

I wished Carol had been around only because of Mark's diagnosis.  He was there for her with the pregnancy and such and I always liked their friendship a lot. Its a nice ending for Doug and Carol. But I'm  remembering  through these reruns just how much  Mark has been through  and when he's  diagnosed it seems like Corday had more of a support system. Bringing  Susan back didn't  work for me to fix that years ago, I don't  think it will now.

 

Man Luka was annoying in "May Day" on his high horse. Once in a while  it's fine, I understood  Malik's trouble  with treating the rapist after treating all the victims, and Laura Innes nailed Kerry's inability  to work on Paul post-stabbings (actually  she was great the whole episode.) But Luka repeatedly just came off as judemental and you can't  when you're an ER doctor.

Edited October 12, 2017 by Gigi43

[Bastet]

@Gigi43, there's no way for you to delete your post, but you can ask a mod to do it; just report the post and ask that it be removed.

Thanks to all who reported season seven would finally be starting today; I forgot until 20 minutes into the first episode, but I'd have forgotten altogether if not for this forum.

When I saw that Kay Lenz was playing the football player's mom, I figured for sure he was a goner; nothing good ever happens to her characters.

The guy who played Van on Reba was one of the players.

Edited October 12, 2017 by Bastet

[Bastet]

The juxtaposition of the premature baby being allowed to die and the stroke patient being put on a ventilator against her wishes was pretty heavy handed (complete with musical montage), but it worked on me regardless; for a fictional character we never heard or saw, I sure worked up a good hatred for the brother.

[rcc]

4 minutes ago, Bastet said:

The juxtaposition of the premature baby being allowed to die and the stroke patient being put on a ventilator against her wishes was pretty heavy handed (complete with musical montage), but it worked on me regardless; for a fictional character we never heard or saw, I sure worked up a good hatred for the brother.

I loved that song at the end.

[Bastet]

6 minutes ago, rcc said:

I loved that song at the end.

That's Beth Nielsen Chapman's Sand and Water; she wrote it after her husband's death.

Edited October 12, 2017 by Bastet

[doodlebug]

6 minutes ago, rcc said:

I loved that song at the end.

Sand and Water by Beth Neilsen Chapman.  She wrote it after her husband died of cancer, leaving her with a young son.  Sad, sad song.

ETA: Jinx! Simultaneous posts.

Edited October 12, 2017 by doodlebug

[Bastet]

Aw, that's the late Christine Cavanaugh ("Amanda Nelligan" to X-Files fans, and the voice of Babe) as the patient Kerry helps evade the police.

The introduction of Dr. Legaspi (Elizabeth Mitchell) -- that's who Kerry starts dating, right?

[ESS]

1 hour ago, Bastet said:

The introduction of Dr. Legaspi (Elizabeth Mitchell) -- that's who Kerry starts dating, right?

Yep it is.

[jjj]

Do they do many musical montages starting in season 7, or was that unusual?    Unless it's "Nashville," musical montages seem overly dramatic.  The song was good, though.

3 hours ago, Bastet said:

That's Beth Nielsen Chapman's Sand and Water; she wrote it after her husband's death.

 

3 hours ago, doodlebug said:

Sand and Water by Beth Neilsen Chapman.  She wrote it after her husband died of cancer, leaving her with a young son.  Sad, sad song.

ETA: Jinx! Simultaneous posts.

[doodlebug]

28 minutes ago, jjj said:

Do they do many musical montages starting in season 7, or was that unusual?    Unless it's "Nashville," musical montages seem overly dramatic.  The song was good, though.

 

No, they don't; there's some music in the Christmas episode and such; but the musical montages are not a regular feature.

[jjj]

Oh, holiday music is very different -- it is actually part of the storyline!  Thanks!

13 minutes ago, doodlebug said:

No, they don't; there's some music in the Christmas episode and such; but the musical montages are not a regular feature.

[Zoe]

7 hours ago, Bastet said:

When I saw that Kay Lenz was playing the football player's mom, I figured for sure he was a goner; nothing good ever happens to her characters.

The guy who played Van on Reba was one of the players.

And the son was Wentworth Miller! I kept waiting for a shot of his face (which never came), but his voice was unmistakable.

[RedbirdNelly]

14 hours ago, Bastet said:

Aw, that's the late Christine Cavanaugh ("Amanda Nelligan" to X-Files fans, and the voice of Babe) as the patient Kerry helps evade the police.

 

special BINGO square for that one. I am a huge fan of Babe.

[Bastet]

I can't stand Frank.  Do we ever see Jerry or Randy at the front desk again?

Watching Peter have to humiliate himself and go to Romano's office was so uncomfortable, I am ready for the helicopter to drop!

The Luka/Abby thing doesn't work for me - I like them both individually (at least, I liked him until he killed that guy), but they don't click together for me - but I do like that she's the one to ask him out.  I like the chemistry between Kerry and Dr. Legaspi, though.

Corday continues to be my favorite; I like the way she initially does the whole, "I meant to you call you, I've just been incredibly busy" thing when Peter asks if she got his messages, but then - even though he wouldn't have called her on the lie - she immediately confesses that's not true, she's been avoiding him because she doesn't know what to say.  (I love his big grin and hug when she gets him the job in Philadelphia.)  I also like the way she rolls with finding out Mark signed up to play hockey when they'd already had plans for the night.

Wasn't there an earlier episode that did the same storyline about a young gang banger coming into the trauma room to finish off their victim?

[rcc]

Susan was always my favorite but since she left my favorite has been Corday. 

[voiceover]

Reverse Bingo: Randi had a cameo on this week's This is Us!

She looks *exactly the same*.  Only, you know, older.