All Episodes Talk: What's Up Doc?

[slasherboy]

On 12/12/2017 at 3:10 PM, doodlebug said:

I've also had a knee replacement, while the outcome was very good, the surgery itself and the recovery sucked.  I don't recommend it while I think everybody should get a new hip for Christmas.

I had both knees done.  At the same time.  The pain was horrible and the recovery long, but I did extremely well with my recovery and would recommend the surgery to anyone who needs it.  Just do one knee at a time, though.

I agree Kerry was ridiculous to not have had the surgery sooner.  But that was her storyline so there's that.

 

On 12/13/2017 at 11:54 AM, desertflower said:

Guest star bingo: C. Thomas Howell, aka Ponyboy as the guy who abducted the girl then used her as a shield. Rough episode.

Do you know the name or Season/Episode Number of the one with Ponyboy?  Thanks.

[Zoe]

Garret Dillahunt is a great actor, but I simply can't reconcile his version of Steve with the previous guy.  It's just completely different.

[doodlebug]

2 hours ago, Bastet said:

What did John Leguizamo (I can never remember his character's name -- Clemente?) do that got him fired and has Anspaugh crawling all over Kerry about liability?

I saw the shootout with Sam's ex, but nothing leading up to it; WTF was that?  I think that was worse than the tank.  I hate when long-running shows feel like they have to top themselves with the dramatic events every season, because inevitably you get unrealistic stuff like this. 

I hope they don't kill Jerry off; I can't deal with Frank any more than we already see him.

Clemente came to County after getting into some unspecified trouble in New Jersey involving an affair with a married woman, Jodie.  He was always really wired/hyper  at work and had frequent nosebleeds although we never saw him use coke.  Eventually, Jodie ran away from her hubby and came to  Chicago to be with Clemente.  They were frequently seen getting drunk, she was using drugs.  During a boozy, drugged out night at his apartment, her ex turned up and shot them bth before leaving.  She nearly died, Clemente had a minor wound and the cops found drugs in the apartment.  Initially, she was comatose and the cops thought Clemente had shot her and gave himself a flesh wound to cover.   He was suspended and forced to do drug testing, counseling, etc.  Finally, she woke up and told the cops what happened, but her ex wasn’t caught and he kept calling Clemente with threats which drove him to a breakdown and he left his job.

Apparently, the state medical board supended Clemente’s license in the aftermath and, since this is public information, Anspaugh felt there were going to be multiple suits brought by disgruntled patients who could claim that a County was negligent in hiring a guy with a past history of problems and didn’t get rid of him soon enough.  Kerry hired him, so, as usual, she is looking to point a finger at Luka to save her own hide.

44 minutes ago, slasherboy said:

IDo you know the name or Season/Episode Number of the one with Ponyboy?  Thanks.

Season 12 Episode 7, Human Shield

Edited December 15, 2017 by doodlebug

[CarolMK]

For once, I managed to watch all 3 episodes tonight (thank goodness for DVR) and I have to say that all of the storylines were about the most depressing I've ever since on television. Originally I stopped watching about the end of season 6 when Lucy was shot. But between Vic's nervous breakdown, Michael's death and Neela's grief, then Steve showing up again and nearly getting Luka killed and then kidnapping Sam and her son, I almost couldn't wait for it all to end. Pretty intense stuff. 

[RedbirdNelly]

On ‎11‎/‎13‎/‎2017 at 8:51 PM, doodlebug said:

  

We never hear what Carter wrote to Abby, presumably he told her he didn't want to keep torturing himself or her and agreed with the message she sent him when she tossed him out of her apartment in the middle of the night, asked for her key back and put a bag of his stuff outside his locker at work.  I recall a lot of people being angry at Carter for breaking up with her via letter but, since he wasn't coming back anytime soon, I don't think a phone call was going to be any better.  And, considering he tried to talk to her in the ER before he left and she shut him down with a bunch of passive-aggressive bullshit; I don't think he was wrong to presume she didn't want to continue the misery, either.  The letter just finalized the end of a relationship that she clearly didn't value anyway.  Not to worry, Abby latches onto her next victim toute de suite.

Well, I hope your client didn't stumble around peeing loudly on a nearby gravestone to get everyone's attention before he got stuck in the grave.  Eric did, of course.

just now watched Dear Abby/season 10, epi. 3. I agree so much with this. What was Carter supposed to do? and how was anything he may have said in the letter a surprise unless he just wrote really mean things in the letter, which didn't appear to be the case.

This episode was silly when they are short nurses and some lady that looks to be 80 and is wearing a nursing outfit from the 1960s shows up to help from geriatrics. Really?

[doodlebug]

1 hour ago, RedbirdNelly said:

just now watched Dear Abby/season 10, epi. 3. I agree so much with this. What was Carter supposed to do? and how was anything he may have said in the letter a surprise unless he just wrote really mean things in the letter, which didn't appear to be the case.

This episode was silly when they are short nurses and some lady that looks to be 80 and is wearing a nursing outfit from the 1960s shows up to help from geriatrics. Really?

Exactly, and since Carter ended up paying the remainder of Abby’s med school tuition when he came back; I think it’s pretty clear he held no ill will over how things went down.  And Abby accepted the gift with little resistance, unlike her reaction when Luka offered to help.  

The show constantly acts like ER nursing and doctoring is so amazingly difficult and unique that no one else could possibly do it.  Believe me, there are no frail elderly nurses on a geriatric floor.  Lifting patients, helping them walk, handling senile patients is not work for the lazy or the weak.  And, believe it or not, nurses who work on the floor are also often too busy to get regular breaks or meals, it’s not just an ER thing.

[desertflower]

16 hours ago, Zoe said:

Garret Dillahunt is a great actor, but I simply can't reconcile his version of Steve with the previous guy.  It's just completely different.

Yeah, definitely. I love Garret in Raising Hope but as Steve he's super creepy. When Cole Hauser played him initially you could tell he might be trouble, but you could also see the charm that Sam fell for when she was a teen. He was more of a slacker than anything, although they did sneak in a quick scene where he gets a little menacing with Sam. I guess they were trying to plant the seed that he goes off the rails later. Or, they just made it up as they went along once they saw Garret played creepy/crazy well. 

[Bastet]

I loved Luka teasing Abby with "Mongo."  They're cute together.

Something similar happened to a friend of mine after her c-section, and she did the same thing to her husband - yelled at him to go with the babies (she had twins), while he was all freaked out that she was about to bleed to death.

I'm glad Jerry lived.  I was afraid the music montage as we switched back and forth between surgeries was going to be one of those "one life ends as another one begins" things.

[slasherboy]

Martin Crane!!  Oh yeah, he also goes by John Mahoney.  How do we know who wins the Bingo game?

Edited December 15, 2017 by slasherboy
 He looks horrible!!  This was just 2 years after "Frasier" ended and he really went downhill in that time.  Was he sick?

[RedbirdNelly]

1 hour ago, Bastet said:

 

Something similar happened to a friend of mine after her c-section, and she did the same thing to her husband - yelled at him to go with the babies (she had twins), while he was all freaked out that she was about to bleed to death.

 

I think its pretty common. When I had my first, he was white as a sheet due to the chord being tight around his neck; they took him away for observation for about 4 hours; I kept trying to get my husband to stay with the baby. He didn't think that was necessary--baby was sleeping/not much to do (I have a very practical husband)---but as a mom my instinct was one of us needs to go be with him. I didn't have a C-section but I wasn't exactly mobile right then.

8 minutes ago, slasherboy said:

Martin Crane!!  Oh yeah, he also goes by John Mahoney.  How do we know who wins the Bingo game?

the game never ends. . . or at least you have to wait until season 15 and someone counts up who posted the most. . .

1 hour ago, doodlebug said:

The show constantly acts like ER nursing and doctoring is so amazingly difficult and unique that no one else could possibly do it.  Believe me, there are no frail elderly nurses on a geriatric floor.  Lifting patients, helping them walk, handling senile patients is not work for the lazy or the weak.  And, believe it or not, nurses who work on the floor are also often too busy to get regular breaks or meals, it’s not just an ER thing.

I'm not a nurse but have no trouble agreeing with you. It was bizarre to toss in the frail nurse who is operating in 1960s world I guess just for laughs. It was incongruent with the rest of the episode and I didn't find it charming. Are we supposed to go "Oh, ha, ha, things just went from bad to worse for poor, Abby.

[movingtargetgal]

I know Sam could have gotten away but I think she was more than justified in killing her ex.  After everything she and Alex had been through, being kidnapped by 3 psychopaths, watching her ex kill his fellow psychopaths, and Sam being raped by her ex, I think she felt that if she did not "end it" now that he would be a danger to both her and her son for the rest of their lives.  Sam was not in her right mind at the time and felt she was defending herself and Alex.  I say good for her, she showed a lot of courage throughout the ordeal. 

[Zoe]

Are we just supposed to assume Sam quit her privately gig?

[doodlebug]

4 hours ago, Zoe said:

Are we just supposed to assume Sam quit her privately gig?

I’m pretty sure we’ve seen the last of Armand Assante.  

[walnutqueen]

4 hours ago, doodlebug said:

I’m pretty sure we’ve seen the last of Armand Assante.  

Too bad - I really liked that character.

[slasherboy]

Watching "The Greater Good" in the Saturday line-up.  Is the kid who plays Zack the same kid who played Elliott, Just Jack's son on "Will & Grace"?  I'm thinking the original W&G ... don't know if Elliott makes an appearance on the new version.

I couldn't take the almost constant criticism and arguing if this was my workplace.  People get reamed up the ass on a regular basis and don't bat an eye.  At the first cross word, I'd be a crying puddle.  Is this realistic in a a real-life ER?

[doodlebug]

5 hours ago, slasherboy said:

 

I couldn't take the almost constant criticism and arguing if this was my workplace.  People get reamed up the ass on a regular basis and don't bat an eye.  At the first cross word, I'd be a crying puddle.  Is this realistic in a a real-life ER?

No, not at all. Most of the bad behavior, especially in the later seasons, is not at all representative of a real life hospital.

Edited December 17, 2017 by doodlebug

[justduckey]

Boo to the new theme music and lack of credits.

 

I can’t remember if I saw the season 12 finale and 13 opener before but it was intense and was curious to see it unfold.

I cringed when Sally Field reappeared. Ugh.

We’re quickly approaching the end. Does anyone know if they’re going to play them from the beginning again?

[RedbirdNelly]

Watching Season 10, episode 7 (Death and Taxes) and believe I have an unclaimed BINGO square--Travis Wester as Eric--boyfriend of one patient with kids injured in a wreck. I had to IMDB is name but recognized him as Steve Sander's annoying brother on 90210 (not the one played by a Spelling) but the one who almost died of alcohol poisoning--apparently, named Austin. I just knew him as Steve's stupid brother.

[doodlebug]

On ‎12‎/‎17‎/‎2017 at 8:47 AM, justduckey said:

Boo to the new theme music and lack of credits.

 

I can’t remember if I saw the season 12 finale and 13 opener before but it was intense and was curious to see it unfold.

I cringed when Sally Field reappeared. Ugh.

We’re quickly approaching the end. Does anyone know if they’re going to play them from the beginning again?

I didn't mind Sally Field's appearance at the time the baby was born. It made sense, it was organic to the storyline and Maggie was on her meds, and, while quirky, not atypical for any concerned mother/grandmother in a crisis.  It was also high time for Abby to start to treat her mother with some respect and affection, especially now that she is a mother herself and I was glad to see Abby ultimately grateful for her presence and looking forward to spending more time together.  I also liked that Luka called Maggie without consulting Abby, who would've reflexively shut her out.  He was right to do it and his actions benefited all concerned.

[desertflower]

3 hours ago, RedbirdNelly said:

Watching Season 10, episode 7 (Death and Taxes) and believe I have an unclaimed BINGO square--Travis Wester as Eric--boyfriend of one patient with kids injured in a wreck. I had to IMDB is name but recognized him as Steve Sander's annoying brother on 90210 (not the one played by a Spelling) but the one who almost died of alcohol poisoning--apparently, named Austin. I just knew him as Steve's stupid brother.

Haha, yeah, I spotted him too. (Forgot to call bingo though!) We used to call him NotRandySpelling on the 90210 forum.

I'm still hopelessly behind but will comment on where I'm at. I thought the James Woods episode was well done, how they showed through flashbacks how he used to be and how his disease progressed. 

I'm kinda mad at Gallant for choosing to reenlist. He just married Neela and they are starting a life. Seems like he could find some other way to help. 

Morris showing Pratt his extra nipples was gross but they were all funny in the scene. Ray bursting in, Morris yelling "Whoa, we don't knock?" And Ray responding "On a curtain?" Made me chuckle. 

I like seeing Luka and Abby having fun baby shopping and actually be happy fur a little while. 

While it's nice to see Carter, I had to fast forward through the Darfur scenes. 

[Bastet]

I didn't think it was Luka's place to call Maggie, but I didn't think it was a big deal that he did.  I loved at the end when Abby was reluctant for her to leave, and asked when she was coming back.  The usual, "Ack - you're leaving me with the baby when I don't know what I'm doing?" thing, and also that being able to spend some time with her medicated mom helped.  Nothing is ever going to undo the damage from all those years before, but they can move forward.

[TigersWin]

Abby was so awful in the episode "Body & Soul" with the ALS victim.  The episode was awesome but she was so annoying!  Especially when he woke up and said "no trake".  Luca was frustrating too when he sided with Abby over everyone else.

Also surprised Gallant reinlisted a day it seemed after marrying Neela?!

Enjoying the later seasons watching them for the first time.  Morris has grown on me as well!

Edited December 18, 2017 by TigersWin

[doodlebug]

58 minutes ago, TigersWin said:

Abby was so awful in the episode "Body & Soul" with the ALS victim.  The episode was awesome but she was so annoying!  Especially when he woke up and said "no trake".  Luca was frustrating too when he sided with Abby over everyone else.

Also surprised Gallant reinlisted a day it seemed after marrying Neela?!

Enjoying the later seasons watching them for the first time.  Morris has grown on me as well!

I agree, that episode was Abby at her self-righteous and controlling worst.  In real life, Luka would've probably been fired and Abby would've been asked to leave the residency pending her prosecution for assault and the resolution of the malpractice suit that would've resulted from ignoring the patient's own very specific and well stated wishes.  I also wanted to see Abby going to his house to visit daily, providing respite care for his caregiver and generally caring for this man whose life she prolonged against his wishes.  Considering she hadn't bothered to keep in contact over the years, her arrogant insistence that he do things her way was absolutely disgraceful.

 

2 hours ago, Bastet said:

I didn't think it was Luka's place to call Maggie, but I didn't think it was a big deal that he did.  I loved at the end when Abby was reluctant for her to leave, and asked when she was coming back.  The usual, "Ack - you're leaving me with the baby when I don't know what I'm doing?" thing, and also that being able to spend some time with her medicated mom helped.  Nothing is ever going to undo the damage from all those years before, but they can move forward.

I think, in the end, Luka knew that Abby needed Maggie to know what had happened with the baby and with her own health and would never call her herself.  He didn't tell her to come, he just made her aware of what was happening. As the episode played out, it looked to me like Luka was right, it was the right call.  I think we were supposed to understand that Luka knew Abby well enough by this point that he knew what to do to help her without asking.  Unlike Abby who really didn't know her old prof at all, asked what he wanted and then forced her will on him anyway.

Edited December 18, 2017 by doodlebug

[desertflower]

Re: Abby and the ALS patient. Not trying to argue with those of who saw her as arrogant, but I read it differently. It seemed more that she was desperate to help him because she had a soft spot for him personally. (Which we didn't know at first; it unfolded in one of the flashback scenes.) Her pleading with him to try everything and gain more time seemed like it was coming from a place of "I'm not ready to let go yet, even if you are." Maybe that would've been more evident if we knew of their relationship before. And I'm not necessarily saying it was the correct way for her to act as a doctor. But it seemed to be more from concern than from arrogance. But mileage varies; just my take on it. 

[doodlebug]

1 hour ago, desertflower said:

Re: Abby and the ALS patient. Not trying to argue with those of who saw her as arrogant, but I read it differently. It seemed more that she was desperate to help him because she had a soft spot for him personally. (Which we didn't know at first; it unfolded in one of the flashback scenes.) Her pleading with him to try everything and gain more time seemed like it was coming from a place of "I'm not ready to let go yet, even if you are." Maybe that would've been more evident if we knew of their relationship before. And I'm not necessarily saying it was the correct way for her to act as a doctor. But it seemed to be more from concern than from arrogance. But mileage varies; just my take on it. 

Since Abby seemed unaware of his diagnosis before he came into the ER; I think it was pretty obvious that they'd had no ongoing relationship since she was his student.  The guy was in a wheelchair, unable to speak; there is no way there weren't a lot of interim steps to that and he was apparently no longer able to teach.  Surely she would've known about this if she'd had a real relationship. I have no problem with Abby encouraging him to consider his options, and I would absolutely applaud her for telling him what a great teacher he was and how much he inspired and encouraged her. However, from what he and his caregiver said; he had carefully considered his choices all along the way and his decisions were made; whether Abby was 'ready' to lose a guy she hadn't seen in years was irrelevant.  It is the height of arrogance for Abby, a former student who hasn't seen him in years, to ignore what he had told her and force a tracheostomy on him the moment he was unable to refuse and despite the fact that he had made it clear to her that he did not want it.  That is the definition of assault and she had no right to do it and the fact that she ignored his wishes indicates she ultimately didn't respect him as a person.  How dare she?  Abby, as a physician, should know that ALS patients, while losing control of their body, remain sentient and perfectly capable of making decisions right until the end; that is the tragedy of it.  What if he had come in, wanted the trach and Abby, since she knew him years ago, felt it was wrong to prolong his last days and refused to call a surgeon to do it?  What she did was worse than that, she forced a painful, risky procedure on him that would not only potentially lengthen his life while adding no quality; but would also require ongoing care as long as he lived.

If she was a real life doctor (thank God she's not), I wouldn't let her touch anyone I cared about which is probably the main reason the way TPTB keep having other characters tell us what an amazing doctor she is gets me so worked up.

Edited December 19, 2017 by doodlebug

[doodlebug]

Since the show is 20+ years old and we don't have/need a media thread:

John Stamos recently hosted several of his former co-stars at his home.  Cute picture.

https://www.today.com/popculture/john-stamos-had-very-happy-reunion-his-old-er-co-t120237

[desertflower]

Abby didn't force the trach on him, though. When she took over from Ray she cleared the mucus plug out of his throat. Then they asked him about the trach and he said ok on his machine. But then he said "I'm ok" which made it unclear whether he wanted it or not. They deferred to Luka, who said if there was a chance he was consenting they should do it. So yes, Abby pushed for it, but didn't just put it in by herself without anyone's permission. 

1 hour ago, doodlebug said:

Since the show is 20+ years old and we don't have/need a media thread:

John Stamos recently hosted several of his former co-stars at his home.  Cute picture.

https://www.today.com/popculture/john-stamos-had-very-happy-reunion-his-old-er-co-t120237

That's great! Thanks for sharing. They look good. 

[desertflower]

I forgot to say, when he came in in the wheelchair unable to speak, I think Abby was aware of his condition. She references at one point that he had mentioned to her (at a previous meeting) that he wanted to hang on until new treatments might be discovered. His assistant also hugged her and greeted her by name. So while they might not have had a constant relationship it seems as though they talked a few times, or she treated him a few times. 

[doodlebug]

32 minutes ago, desertflower said:

asAbby didn't force the trach on him, though. When she took over from Ray she cleared the mucus plug out of his throat. Then they asked him about the trach and he said ok on his machine. But then he said "I'm ok" which made it unclear whether he wanted it or not. They deferred to Luka, who said if there was a chance he was consenting they should do it. So yes, Abby pushed for it, but didn't just put it in by herself without anyone's permission. 

That's great! Thanks for sharing. They look good. 

As I recall, Abby put a little spin on the situation when she spoke to Luka and it was not quite as ambiguous as she made it seem.  I recall feeling that she let her own opinions color what she said to Luka, who, alas, was in the midst of a rather long period on the show during which he repeatedly let Abby tell him what to do when it came to patients.  I seem to recall Abby forcing Ray off the case with Luka's support simply because it was what she wanted. 

I seem to also recall the personal assistant being told to go away, more or less, by Abby when she objected to the interventions Abby wanted.  She surely would've been more familiar with his feelings on a trach as well as understanding any communication difficulties that his voice machine might present but Abby ignored her and all but shoved her aside.  You'd think that, if Abby knew her fairly well and knew how much he relied on her help; she might've allowed her to speak.

I don't recall the details but I thought his caregiver was also someone who had studied under him and figured she had been a teaching assistant when Abby took his class; but there wasn't any mention of any recent contact with him nor, for that matter, was he ever mentioned again.  If Abby was a close friend and saw him regularly and understood who he was and what his life was like, surely she knew his feelings about how he wanted to manage his illness and she had ample opportunity to convince him otherwise in all the many times they had contact over the years.  Also, no mention of Abby visiting him or sending him a note or attending his funeral in future episodes. 

[Bastet]

I missed today's episodes to take today off to finally get my Christmas shopping done, but I'm so bummed about the addition of John Stamos to the cast at this point in the series; he's such a fucking slimeball in real life, I can't watch him as any TV character.

Edited December 19, 2017 by Bastet

[walnutqueen]

Well, so far I'm unable to see any Morris redemption retcon, nor do I see the nubs of Abby's devil horns.  I must be watching a different show than @doodlebug.  ;~)

[absnow54]

I missed today's episodes to take today off to finally get my Christmas shopping done, but I'm so bummed about the addition to John Stamos to the cast at this point in the series; he's such a fucking slimeball in real life, I can't watch him as any TV character.

Ugh, and his character is such a man child too. Like I know that Ray was hooking up with a 15 year old last season, and that storyline was really gross, but Neela, you have a cute BFF who's totally into you. Go with Ray.

[doodlebug]

6 hours ago, walnutqueen said:

Well, so far I'm unable to see any Morris redemption retcon, nor do I see the nubs of Abby's devil horns.  I must be watching a different show than @doodlebug.  ;~)

Nah, we're watching the same show.  There wouldn't be any point in having a discussion if we all agreed on everything. 

Morris 'redemption' was more of a 'transition'  from totally incompetent idiot to mostly competent doctor with lots of disgusting personal behavior.

I must say, I am finding Abby more tolerable this time around, though still not the heroine I think the show wants to sell to the audience.  She and Luka even have some cute moments.  Last night, however, it was decidedly NOT a cute moment when we caught sight of her sitting on her skinny butt on the sofa while listening to her baby cry over the monitor.  When Luka came home, she claimed the baby was just 'fussing' and he'd ONLY been doing so for 10 minutes.  I am not sure what parenting books she's reading, but her baby was born 10 weeks early with multiple medical issues and, in show time, they are just now arriving at what would have been his due date; so he is essentially a newborn.  Who in their right mind would think it was ok to let a newborn howl for 10 minutes without trying to comfort him?  We also got to see what sort of stressful day Luka had on the job, but, it looks like he gets the night shift at home, too, since Abby seems to have the maternal instincts of a pet rock.  Nice, too, that she thinks they shouldn't hire a nanny because she doesn't trust her babydaddy not to hop into bed with her.  She's right in that one of them in the relationship cannot be trusted not to cheat, but it ain't Luka.

Edited December 19, 2017 by doodlebug

[Zoe]

I think the baby would be quite a bit older than "newborn" (relative to due date) if she's already taking him out to parks and classes.

[doodlebug]

30 minutes ago, Zoe said:

I think the baby would be quite a bit older than "newborn" (relative to due date) if she's already taking him out to parks and classes.

Presuming Abby took 12 weeks family leave, as is the norm, and he was born 10 weeks early, the baby is no more than two weeks old based on his due date; hence, he's a newborn.  Hell, 10 minutes is too long to let a 3 month old 'cry it out' too.  She wasn't doing anything, just lounging on the couch; making him wait a minute while she took a shower or used the bathroom or answered the door is one thing; she was doing NOTHING and sat there listening to him scream.  Not many mothers are that cold.

And, yes, most pediatricians would recommend not taking a preemie out to classes or other public places for several months; but that's what Abby was doing. I presume she has decided that she knows more than the experts and doesn't care what the pediatrician thinks.  What the heck was a baby that size going to do at a playground?  She obviously went there for herself, not because Joe would enjoy any of it.  More stellar parenting and she only gets worse. The real baby used in the episode looked to be around 3 months at best, too.

Edited December 19, 2017 by doodlebug

[desertflower]

8 hours ago, walnutqueen said:

Well, so far I'm unable to see any Morris redemption retcon, nor do I see the nubs of Abby's devil horns.  I must be watching a different show than @doodlebug.  ;~)

I seem to remember Morris didn't make his full turnaround until the last season. 

I mostly like Abby in these later seasons too. She annoyed me more early on, when she acted like a black cloud was always over her and she thought she was too damaged for anyone to love. 

[Bastet]

9 hours ago, walnutqueen said:

Well, so far I'm unable to see any Morris redemption retcon, nor do I see the nubs of Abby's devil horns.  I must be watching a different show than @doodlebug.  ;~)

I'm watching the one you're watching. 

[walnutqueen]

Back in the day, we also let my baby brother scream for a lot longer than 10 minutes. Dickwad.  His little cries sounded so much like my Siamese cat,  accidentally locked in the basement ...

[doodlebug]

1 hour ago, walnutqueen said:

Back in the day, we also let my baby brother scream for a lot longer than 10 minutes. Dickwad.  His little cries sounded so much like my Siamese cat,  accidentally locked in the basement ...

Back in the mid 80's, a pediatrician taught sleep training according to the 'cry it out' method.  His name was Ferber and many called the technique 'Ferberizing'.  However, he only recommended using the method on kids old enough to sleep through the night, which is 4-6 months at the earliest.  It also only applies to bedtime and even he recommended no longer than 3 minutes of crying at a time before comforting the baby.  Abby let a  child much younger than 4-6 months cry for at least 10 minutes in the middle of the day.  I have no idea where the writers came up with the idea to have Abby treat her baby this way; but it sure has no basis in any reasonable approach to sleep training an infant and made her look like an uncaring mother.  It's not the last of the bad parenting we'll be seeing from her.

I know not everyone agrees with my assessment of Abby.  That's ok, we all see the show filtered through our own lives.  I liked her as a character at first, especially because she was an OB nurse and I have a soft place in my heart for them.  Alas, they then gave her a bipolar mother and brother and, as someone who has a bipolar close relative and who has been responsible for helping that family member over many years; I was so completely turned off by her condescending, selfish and controlling attitudes towards them that my feelings about her changed entirely.  If any of my family behaved towards our bipolar kin the way Abby treats hers, I'd quite frankly kick their a**.  As hard as it might be to be Abby, it is far tougher to be Maggie or Eric.

[MooseandSquirrel]

First time commenting on anything. I have to say while Morris can be quite annoying at times. Watching the episode with him and the guy with DID it made me really really like Morris. 

[MooseandSquirrel]

I do have a question for you doodlebug that I have been wondering since the episode of Joe's birth. I am what is known as a bleeder, meaning when I had my girls I bled a bit. With my 2nd they thought I might have to have a hysterectomy because my uterus wouldn't clamp down? I don't know proper medical terms, but my bleeding started with #2, I didn't have placenta issues that Abby had, but my daughter was born I remember feeling really dizzy and voices sounded distorted and them asking my mother who was in the room if I was a bleeder. Then I passed out, I'm assuming from blood loss? Shouldn't Abby have been more loopy or at least tired and not so she just to me seemed so with it which I was not. Also any medical person with knowledge can answer this. But after reading through the whole thread and seeing you were a OB doodlebug you would know better than me. I just kept saying wait how is she awake?? And this was clearly after I had stopped watching, cause I would have probably asked that back then too.  

[absnow54]

I'm not a medical professional, but Carol had a similar delivery in season 6 where her uterus wouldn't clamp and she was losing a lot of blood and they wanted to do a hysterectomy. She was very woozy and disoriented, and she looked down at the pump that was collecting her blood and noted she was bleeding out before she passed out. I was thinking about that scene during Abby's delivery for the exact same reason you mentioned, because she seemed so alert and like she was undergoing a mild inconvenience. I'm not really sure what Maura Tierney or the director were aiming for in that scene.

[doodlebug]

8 hours ago, MooseandSquirrel said:

I do have a question for you doodlebug that I have been wondering since the episode of Joe's birth. I am what is known as a bleeder, meaning when I had my girls I bled a bit. With my 2nd they thought I might have to have a hysterectomy because my uterus wouldn't clamp down? I don't know proper medical terms, but my bleeding started with #2, I didn't have placenta issues that Abby had, but my daughter was born I remember feeling really dizzy and voices sounded distorted and them asking my mother who was in the room if I was a bleeder. Then I passed out, I'm assuming from blood loss? Shouldn't Abby have been more loopy or at least tired and not so she just to me seemed so with it which I was not. Also any medical person with knowledge can answer this. But after reading through the whole thread and seeing you were a OB doodlebug you would know better than me. I just kept saying wait how is she awake?? And this was clearly after I had stopped watching, cause I would have probably asked that back then too.  

In real life, Abby would have had a general anesthetic for the delivery because she was hemorrhaging and spinals can drop the blood pressure which is obviously dangerous in someone going into shock. Also, obstetric hemorrhages can lead to DIC, a condition where the clotting factors get used up and the patient is at risk for further bleeding, including around the spinal cord at the site of the spinal leading to permanent paralysis.

Abby's beyotching at Luka that she had to be awake for the birth would never have happened from someone who was an experienced OB nurse; she would know that it wasn't safe and couldn't be done.  Obviously, it happened for story reasons so she could backseat drive on her cesarean.  Even without the emergency, hemorrhagic shock and blood loss; most women are fairly overwhelmed by the process and most are not at all aware of the details of what is happening; I've operated on plenty of docs and nurses who were OB specialists and none of them tried to manage their care like Abby did. There are also things like surgical drapes and the woman's boobs and belly that pretty much prevent her from seeing much without a mirror.  And what was up with Abby's hair done up in a fancy surgical towel?  Why would anyone take the time do that in an emergency?  She would've had a paper 'shower cap' like all the nurses wear.  I presume MT didn't like the look of it so she got the fancy covering but it was stupid.  Prior to that, her idiocy over getting mag sulfate and steroids also made me shake my head; most OB nurses would be begging for any intervention that could help their baby at that point.  It really is all about Abby all the time.

In real life, with her BP so low, Abby would not have been thinking clearly and would've been, at the very least, extremely drowsy.  Also, with all her screaming and yelling at Luka, anesthesia would've been pretty quick to slip something in her IV to shut her the he** up so they could work.  Contrary to what you see on ER, screaming, yelling and alarms blaring in an emergency is not conducive to good care.  In real life, we turn off the alarms (we're standing right there and can see what is happening, no need to nag) and try not to shout or speak on top of one another.

All the baloney about the low lying placenta at the earlier ultrasound was just that, baloney.  The placenta moves away from the cervix (doesn't really move, more a uterine stretching thing) as the pregnancy progresses and so, if she didn't have a placenta previa in the first place, she never did.  What she did have was an abruption from the blow to the abdomen, and all of her actions running around the ER helping with the trauma until she suddenly collapses in a pool of blood were also BS.  Amongst other things, she was wearing blue jeans (that ER needs a dress code, they all look like bums much of the time), can you imagine how hard and how fast she would have to be bleeding for enough blood to completely saturate her jeans and leak out all over the floor?  More dramatic license.  The problem you had where the uterus doesn't contract well after delivery is called atony and is the most common cause of obstetric hemorrhage.

The recovery room scene was also absolutely ridiculous.  Nobody who has had a cesarean and been in hemorrhagic shock and needed multiple units of blood (nobody who gets a cesarean hysterectomy in an emergency is going to get away with fewer than 4 units as a rule; usually more) is going to be sitting bolt upright, wide awake and chit chatting about her hysterectomy with her babydaddy,  She'd have been lying down, drowsy and sleeping off and on; no matter how worried she was about her kid.  I guess Abby really is superhuman. And, once again, for the one millionth time, Abby is written so differently from every other character on the show and is constantly shown to be so far superior to everyone else at all times; that it makes her a cartoon, a cardboard cutout.  Nobody can overcome their physiology.  We saw Carter, Lucy, Carol, Gates and multiple other main characters on the show experience extreme blood loss and respond appropriately,  For some reason, Abby doesn't.  Bad writing/acting turning her into a MarySue the likes of which would be over the top even in fanfic.

Edited December 20, 2017 by doodlebug

[RedbirdNelly]

watched Romano get crushed by the helicopter last night. Sigh. I would have preferred them keeping him in a more limited role than what they did to that character. Enjoying Sam though her kid is so weird. Morris is so awful. It would have been better if they'd sent him back to school or something to explain how he goes from being so awful to chief resident.

[walnutqueen]

I read, in a totally random "other forum"

Spoiler

that Pratt died

Already wasting too many hours of my day on these reruns...and that's with my FF button cocked & loaded.

[doodlebug]

7 hours ago, walnutqueen said:

I read, in a totally random "other forum"

  Hide contents

that Pratt died

Already wasting too many hours of my day on these reruns...and that's with my FF button cocked & loaded.

You don’t have to spoiler tag anything on this show.  The last couple seasons of this show are filled with depressing, awful storylines.  Virtually nothing good happens for anyone and any good things that do happen are fleetingly seen as the show moves on to the next tragedy.

[desertflower]

There is a lot of depressing crap but there are a few happy wrap ups for some of them. And you have to watch the last season (or last half of last season at least) so you can see some of the old characters come back. 

[doodlebug]

52 minutes ago, desertflower said:

There is a lot of depressing crap but there are a few happy wrap ups for some of them. And you have to watch the last season (or last half of last season at least) so you can see some of the old characters come back. 

This is very true, but its a long, tough slog 'til we get there.  The show was really gasping for air by season13 and it showed.

[Bastet]

I didn't even turn on the TV yesterday; I was so depressed about my favorite character on my favorite show being killed off the night before, I couldn't imagine taking interest in a TV show while in that mood.  Today, I've had the episodes on in the background, but not once have I heard something that made me turn around and tune in.  I have no idea why Luka is being held hostage or whatever is happening to him, and I don't care.  Part is my mood, but I think a lot of it is the show.

[slasherboy]

I'm so confused.  Who are all these people?  I've missed several days and it's like a whole different show.  

Like, the woman and little girl with Gates?  The guy sleeping with Sam?  When did her Mother show up?  

I never thought I'd say this, but now I want to see the whole thing from beginning to end again since I've missed so much of the new stuff.  And now I know what to FF through.  Although I can't do that because I don't have the capability to DVR these shows and must watch them live.