All Episodes Talk: What's Up Doc?

[justduckey]

So I guess this is off Pop TV completely now? I had some of my favorite episodes saved on my DVR but I have to turn the box in to the cable company and I’m sad to lose my episodes. Was hoping to re-record them but I don’t see ER airing on Pop at any time.

[izabella]

I haven't seen ER on POP for a while now.  I don't think they ever ran the last few seasons, either.  Maybe I missed them?

[MVFrostsMyPie]

They did, cause I currently have seasons 12-15 saved on my DVR (76 episodes.... eek!) since I don't own those seasons on DVD.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I think they only ran the last couple of seasons once, a few months ago.   When they had the two showing schedules of Monday through Friday, and the Saturday marathons were a different season.     I actually saw the one with William H. Macy being the power of attorney for the doctor who created the concept of emergency medicine being for trauma, not just routing patients to the appropriate section, and the final episode with Carter finally choosing Chicago over Kem.    

[RedbirdNelly]

this makes me glad I recorded all the episodes the first time Pop showed the full series. It was a fun rewatch. I wish Pop was still showing because I wouldn't mind revisiting episodes here and there.

[PepSinger]

Yeah, I don’t know what the hell is going on with Pop. They used to show a marathon every Tuesday, and then around the holidays, Ghost Whisperer took over the channel.

[Heathen]

Did Corday euthanize Dean Rollins, the serial rapist and killer with whom she had strange interactions? 

[MVFrostsMyPie]

No, he lived (last we saw him, he was getting wheeled away while screaming at her). She fooled him into thinking she was euthanizing him.

Also, how morbid is it that yesterday on Valentine's day, I was thinking, "oh hey, it's the anniversary of Lucy's death and Carter's stabbing!" 🤦🏻‍♀️

[Heathen]

2 hours ago, MVFrostsMyPie said:

No, he lived (last we saw him, he was getting wheeled away while screaming at her). She fooled him into thinking she was euthanizing him.

Also, how morbid is it that yesterday on Valentine's day, I was thinking, "oh hey, it's the anniversary of Lucy's death and Carter's stabbing!" 🤦🏻‍♀️

No, the last we saw was at the end of an episode, right before the credits rolled. Corday was giving him what looked like a massive dose of morphine, and he looked out of it. Or so I thought? That came after he was being wheeled away, screamed at her, and developed a DVT just as Corday thought she was rid of him. 

I'm rewatching "All in the Family" right now. I didn't even make the connection between that and yesterday being Valentine's Day. 

[MVFrostsMyPie]

Yeah, I recently finished that last Dean Rollins episode, so that's why I remember. Episode 6x10 "Family Matters", at the end of the episode she tricks Dean into thinking she's giving him mercy by putting him out of his misery if he confesses to where he buried/dumped one of his victims, and him "dying" is the last shot. The next episode 6x11 "The Domino Heart", we learn what she actually did after he wakes up, and he's angry about it. He calls her a coward and she says actually, she enjoyed having control over his life, but then she saw what a sad pathetic man he was and she realized she didn't want having power over him at all. Her job was to put him back together which she did, and now he's no longer her patient, so she gets to walk away now that her job is done. He gets wheeled away to prison. They never say if he'll get the death penalty or life in prison.

He did develop a DVT after surgery, but that was in 6x7 ("Humpty Dumpty").

[justduckey]

On 2/12/2019 at 12:58 PM, RedbirdNelly said:

this makes me glad I recorded all the episodes the first time Pop showed the full series. It was a fun rewatch. I wish Pop was still showing because I wouldn't mind revisiting episodes here and there.

Me either which is why I’m so bummed I had to turn in my DVR and that Pop isn’t running the episodes any longer. 

[Manda317]

On 10/16/2018 at 9:18 PM, Growsonwalls said:

I really hated how they brought Jing-Mei/Deb back and then barely used her. They did similar to Susan. And actually, I also wonder why they never tried Jing-Mei/Carter. I always could see Carter with someone like Jing-Mei, whereas i never bought Carter and Abby at all.

I'm really glad you mentioned this! I thought I was the only person who thought Carter and Jing-Mei were a lost opportunity. I really liked their scenes when she was giving up her son, and after she got fired. They fit really well, unlike Carter and Abby who felt forced, yet were the focus of the show lol.

[RedbirdNelly]

4 hours ago, Manda317 said:

I'm really glad you mentioned this! I thought I was the only person who thought Carter and Jing-Mei were a lost opportunity. I really liked their scenes when she was giving up her son, and after she got fired. They fit really well, unlike Carter and Abby who felt forced, yet were the focus of the show lol.

I agree with the above. Carter/Jing-Mei were great together. They could have made a good couple, though I also like when there are long term friendships that stay as friendships. It did seem like they never figured out what to do with her character and there was untapped potential.

[izabella]

I agree, too!  Carter and Jing-Mei would have been a fantastic couple, and perfect to take over as a main pairing.  Damn, so much wasted potential.  How much better would the show have been without the Carter/Abby bullshit!

[Bastet]

I really enjoyed them as friends, and would have been quite annoyed to see them start dating.  TV shows pair up way too many people, so it's nice when they acknowledge that two people can work together and become close without exchanging bodily fluids.

[WendyCR72]

I never saw romantic chemistry between Carter and Jing Mei. (Carter seemed to have a chemistry problem overall, but he was far from alone there.) I think it was nice to see his friendship with Jing Mei remain a friendship.

[Heathen]

8 hours ago, izabella said:

I agree, too!  Carter and Jing-Mei would have been a fantastic couple, and perfect to take over as a main pairing.  Damn, so much wasted potential.  How much better would the show have been without the Carter/Abby bullshit!

Or if the show had left Abby as a nurse (she seemed like a natural fit as a nurse, never as a doctor). The interplay with her ex-husband was amusing, but all her other romantic relationships sucked. 

[ch1]

I think it would have been better if Carter and Abby stayed friends and they tried a relationship between Deb and Carter.  The triangle between Carter/Abby/Luka sucked the life out of the show.  A possible Carter/Deb relationship wouldn’t have had that problem.  

[RedbirdNelly]

I would have been ok with them trying them as a couple, but I did enjoy the Carter/Deb friendship--such as when she had her baby and he was there to support her. I do wish they'd done a better job coming up with solid storylines for her. She could have been more of a main player--she was strong and stuck up for herself.

[readster]

10 hours ago, Heathen said:

Or if the show had left Abby as a nurse (she seemed like a natural fit as a nurse, never as a doctor). The interplay with her ex-husband was amusing, but all her other romantic relationships sucked. 

True and while the ex-husband story line was very interesting, even why he decided to leave her hanging and not pay the rest for medical school (even my mother said get a loan). Which she did, just never got why Abby had to go to him to get the sign off. At that point, she had plenty of people who would have signed off on things. Hell, I'm sure Abby knew plenty of his colleges or other people that would have signed off on a loan for her. 

  Also, it was cliche when Abby learns her ex got a nurse he was dating pregnant and was going to step up. She had this idea that he NEVER wanted kids. Yet, he was like: "I never said that, you thought that because you were worried about having them." Him not knowing about her pregnancy just before they got divorce, I think was Abby being a coward. Instead of a: "My kid might end up bi-polar and my soon to be ex-husband never wanted kids." Sorry, that big of a thing you have to face. Of course, I still never got why her ex-husband's baby's mama gave her such a dirty look and felt like kicking her out when she came over to get the loan sign. She acted like Abby was always coming to the house, we hadn't seen her ex or the talk about the baby at that point in many, many months. Even to the fact, Abby didn't even mention her former marriage. 

Edited February 21, 2019 by readster
got not bot.

[Growsonwalls]

The question I have was why the producers decided to go so all in on Abby's character. Was she testing that well with focus groups? But it's like it became The Abby Show. 

George Clooney was a much bigger star by Season 2 or 3 of ER and it didn't become The Doug Show. It baffles me to this day.

[readster]

On 2/23/2019 at 6:21 PM, Growsonwalls said:

The question I have was why the producers decided to go so all in on Abby's character. Was she testing that well with focus groups? But it's like it became The Abby Show. 

George Clooney was a much bigger star by Season 2 or 3 of ER and it didn't become The Doug Show. It baffles me to this day.

I also agree and at times, I felt like they had to constantly have Abby go down the same dark path every season. I mean we had alcoholic Abby. Moody/Depressed Abby. Abby is almost killed how many times? She did become a large focus on the show for a very long time. Of course, they spent so much time trying to make Scott Grimes a better character since many fans did not like the fact he was such a "My dad and friends got me through Medical School" after Band of Brother was such a hit. Morris became a character I think 3 years later. However, at times it got to the point where it seemed like it went from the Abby Show to the Morris Show. Then to the Pratt Show. It was like the producers were: "We love these characters and we will ram them down your throat and you will LIKE it!"

[Dr.OO7]

2 hours ago, readster said:

was like the producers were: "We love these characters and we will ram them down your throat and you will LIKE it!"

They made the same mistake with Lucy and it backfired with her too.

[doodlebug]

On ‎2‎/‎23‎/‎2019 at 7:21 PM, Growsonwalls said:

The question I have was why the producers decided to go so all in on Abby's character. Was she testing that well with focus groups? But it's like it became The Abby Show. 

George Clooney was a much bigger star by Season 2 or 3 of ER and it didn't become The Doug Show. It baffles me to this day.

George Clooney actually made it clear to TPTB that he didn't want to be the focus of the show, and, from the very start, told them he would not renew his contract when it expired after the 5th season.  He also asked permission to film 'Batman and Robin' and 'No Way Out' while still doing ER and TPTB allowed it, realizing he could walk away from the show at any time and never look back; which meant he really wasn't available to be in every scene. And the show was better for it.

Meanwhile, MT was brought in to replace Carol and, since Susan hadn't really been replaced when she left; I think TPTB figured she could fill both gaps.  Also, while hardly a big star, MT had been in a couple of successful shows and has some talent. I believe she negotiated to get a bigger role than any of the other women on the show and to be the female lead against NW and AE.  The TPTB needed a strong female character to balance the show and so they pushed her front and center and the entire ER world revolved around her from then on.  No storyline, no other character, nothing happened on the show that we didn't see filtered through Abby.  Even other storylines that really had nothing to do with her (Kerry's baby and hip surgery; Carter's addiction, etc, etc) were used as vehicles to give her scene after scene.  Nothing on the show was meaningful unless Abby gave her opinion.

You would've thought that after the debacle with Kellie Martin, who was given far less emphasis than Abby, that TPTB would've backed off on forcing a new character down our throats; but I guess they though that, since MT was a more mature and better actress (not that Abby was more mature than anyone except maybe Ella); that the audience would accept her better.  I have to presume that, at least in part, MT and her agent negotiated the size of her role and that one of the biggest factors in Abby's screentime was that MT wanted it that way.

[Dr.OO7]

2 hours ago, doodlebug said:

I have to presume that, at least in part, MT and her agent negotiated the size of her role and that one of the biggest factors in Abby's screentime was that MT wanted it that way.

Wouldn't Abby have been an actual Mary Sue ( "I'm wonderful and perfect and everyone loves me!") rather than a Jerk Sue ("I'm horrible but everyone acts like I'm wonderful and perfect and loves me!")?

I know if I were an actress and had that kind of pull, I'd make sure my character was actually deserving of all that adoration. 

[doodlebug]

3 minutes ago, Camille said:

Wouldn't Abby have been an actual Mary Sue ( "I'm wonderful and perfect and everyone loves me!") rather than a Jerk Sue ("I'm horrible but everyone acts like I'm wonderful and perfect and loves me!")?

I know if I were an actress and had that kind of pull, I'd make sure my character was actually deserving of all that adoration. 

Most actors enjoy playing flawed characters rather than perfect ones.  Also, if you've seen MT in other things; she seems to play cynical, glum, sarcastic, and bitter as her default for almost everything.  I think Abby's basic persona came from MT and perhaps she didn't realize that a percentage of fans of the show would find Abby off-putting.  Some cranky people think they're cute or that they're 'being real'. For me, the second she began mistreating her mother, my feelings for her took a turn and I started to dislike her.  I've got a bipolar brother who is in far worse shape than Maggie and has done far worse things than she ever did and I could never imagine speaking to him or treating him like Abby did her mother.

[ch1]

The only time I liked Abby and MT as Abby was season 6.  After that it went downhill in season 7 and she eventually became unbearable.  On rewatch there was a scene after she became a doctor where MT literally had Abby’s nose in the air.    So even on rewatching I haven’t warmed up to her and still won’t watch seasons 12-15 all the way through.

I really like MT in The Affair but she was a reason I checked out of ER once NW left.

[Dr.OO7]

18 hours ago, ch1 said:

The only time I liked Abby and MT as Abby was season 6.  After that it went downhill in season 7 and she eventually became unbearable

Same here. Though I technically still liked her in Season 7. The problem for me was that the show became all about her miserable life. By Season 8 she was awful and even though I think she got a little better afterwards, I was indifferent to her from then on.

[MVFrostsMyPie]

The ER cast weigh in on Grey’s Anatomy (ew) passing them with number of episodes (332): https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/amp/live-feed/greys-anatomy-beats-er-george-clooney-noah-wyle-julianna-marguiles-weigh-1189213

Edited March 1, 2019 by MVFrostsMyPie

[RedbirdNelly]

On ‎2‎/‎28‎/‎2019 at 9:24 PM, MVFrostsMyPie said:

The ER cast weigh in on Grey’s Anatomy (ew) passing them with number of episodes (332): https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/amp/live-feed/greys-anatomy-beats-er-george-clooney-noah-wyle-julianna-marguiles-weigh-1189213

thanks for posting that; it was a fun read. They all still sound like fun people. I watch Grey's but it's more of a "I enjoy it while making fun of it" type show. ER was much better as a less soapy drama.

[Dr.OO7]

I can't believe Tuesday will mark 10 years since the finale.

[LizDC]

ER Boss Talks Doug Ross' MIA Son and Why the Show Won't Get a Reboot

[MVFrostsMyPie]

The article got it wrong- the mention of a son was brought up twice. 😜 I don’t buy Wells’ explanation- I think they just dropped the ball on that one. 

Anyway, wow to the 10 year anniversary of the last episode of the show today! 2009 feels like it was only 3 years ago to me sometimes. Probably because I’m also in denial it’s been 10 years since I graduated college! 🤦🏻‍♀️

[Bastet]

39 minutes ago, MVFrostsMyPie said:

The article got it wrong- the mention of a son was brought up twice. 😜 I don’t buy Wells’ explanation- I think they just dropped the ball on that one. 

I'm glad I wasn't the only one muttering "twice" at the monitor. 

Where do you think they dropped the ball -- with him not mentioning that child again when Carol was pregnant?  Or do you think it should have come up again earlier, as part of his arc over the first few seasons being that he was growing up from the irresponsible guy he'd been for so long (and dealing with the fact people still saw him as who he had been)?

[doodlebug]

3 hours ago, Bastet said:

I'm glad I wasn't the only one muttering "twice" at the monitor. 

Where do you think they dropped the ball -- with him not mentioning that child again when Carol was pregnant?  Or do you think it should have come up again earlier, as part of his arc over the first few seasons being that he was growing up from the irresponsible guy he'd been for so long (and dealing with the fact people still saw him as who he had been)?

If nothing else, we could have seen him mention talking about it to his shrink or even a mention in one of the scenes with his mother.  Even a brief word or two from Carol letting us know that he'd told her about it would've been enough.  We didn't need a huge explanation; just to know that Doug thought about what had happened with his child and had told those he was closest to about it.

[RedbirdNelly]

18 hours ago, doodlebug said:

If nothing else, we could have seen him mention talking about it to his shrink or even a mention in one of the scenes with his mother.  Even a brief word or two from Carol letting us know that he'd told her about it would've been enough.  We didn't need a huge explanation; just to know that Doug thought about what had happened with his child and had told those he was closest to about it.

agreed. It definitely felt like the idea got mentioned and the writers forgot it was part of his backstory. It was one of the details I was surprised by when I started with the first episode and watching on Pop.

[RedbirdNelly]

now that I think of it, had Clooney stayed long term on the show, when we started running out of storylines, I assume we would have dealt with the "Doug searches for his son" or "son shows up in the ER looking for Doug" storyline. Which could have been really bad. Annoying Rachel levels of bad. But a conversation with Carol would have helped.

[RedbirdNelly]

I also agree that not rebooting is the better call. Odds are it would be done poorly. But, I still maintain this show is a better candidate that pretty much any other. If they actually got really good writers and good actors  and did it up to the old standards, you could do a reboot that was believable. It would be entirely new people--which makes sense after so many years and in a teaching hospital--with a handful of older characters popping up but not dominating the scene, as would also be reasonable. Like Cheers, it's a show that easily changes out characters in an organic way. For example, maybe now Benton has returned as head of surgery--and shows up about the amount of screen time that Anspaugh did.

[Bastet]

4 hours ago, RedbirdNelly said:

But a conversation with Carol would have helped.

For me, that's where the absence of a mention is glaring, when they started talking about having a child together.  And I take it as a glaring example of the fact they'd, by that point, forgotten all about that tidbit of information from season one.  If they instead deliberately wrote him as not disclosing it, it's a very bad look for Doug -- the woman who is discussing the possibility of becoming the mother of your child deserves to know you previously created one but never met him or even learned his name.

[doodlebug]

37 minutes ago, Bastet said:

For me, that's where the absence of a mention is glaring, when they started talking about having a child together.  And I take it as a glaring example of the fact they'd, by that point, forgotten all about that tidbit of information from season one.  If they instead deliberately wrote him as not disclosing it, it's a very bad look for Doug -- the woman who is discussing the possibility of becoming the mother of your child deserves to know you previously created one but never met him or even learned his name.

One would also imagine that, when Doug decided to move cross-country and stayed there, even after discovering that Carol was expecting twins; she might've been left to wonder how it is he could've done it, presuming he had expressed regret over not having a relationship with his son.

[Dr.OO7]

5 hours ago, Bastet said:

For me, that's where the absence of a mention is glaring, when they started talking about having a child together.  And I take it as a glaring example of the fact they'd, by that point, forgotten all about that tidbit of information from season one.  If they instead deliberately wrote him as not disclosing it, it's a very bad look for Doug -- the woman who is discussing the possibility of becoming the mother of your child deserves to know you previously created one but never met him or even learned his name.

It's also quite glaring in the episodes where his father resurfaces and later when he dies.

A quick "he was put up for adoption" would have been nice.

[RedbirdNelly]

17 hours ago, Bastet said:

For me, that's where the absence of a mention is glaring, when they started talking about having a child together.  And I take it as a glaring example of the fact they'd, by that point, forgotten all about that tidbit of information from season one.  If they instead deliberately wrote him as not disclosing it, it's a very bad look for Doug -- the woman who is discussing the possibility of becoming the mother of your child deserves to know you previously created one but never met him or even learned his name.

it's also especially bad that it doesn't come up since Doug makes those 2 throw-away mentions to being a dad in the ER---he's not broadcast the information but also is not super reserved about it, so you'd expect a mention/some expressed angst about doing it right this time.

[Growsonwalls]

It's weird period that Carol didn't know about the son. We saw that Carol and Doug had a long tempestuous relationship before the show started, it ended badly, but that afterwards they remained very good friends. They were always close. I didn't sense that there were many secrets between them. 

[Olis93]

On 2/23/2019 at 7:21 PM, Growsonwalls said:

The question I have was why the producers decided to go so all in on Abby's character. Was she testing that well with focus groups? But it's like it became The Abby Show. 

George Clooney was a much bigger star by Season 2 or 3 of ER and it didn't become The Doug Show. It baffles me to this day.

I've always been surprised about this as well. Starting from season 7 right up until she leaves in 15, Abby essentially dominates the show in a way no other character had before. She got the most screentime, is somehow involved in every storyline and everyone is pushed out of the way for her unless they have something to do with her.

None of this really bothered me since I like Abby and think Maura Tierney was one of the best actors on the show but it's just so shocking when you watch through again to see how fast she completely dominates and swallows up the whole show.

[MVFrostsMyPie]

I’m surprised MT didn’t develop deeper frown lines from all the pouting Abby did. 

[Dr.OO7]

Pop will be running a marathon of episodes on April 28. 

I don't know if this means it's back on the schedule. The way Pop is, this might be the only time it's aired for the rest of the year.

[VCRTracking]

Noah Wyle on Quitting 'ER' and Falling in Love With Acting (Again) on CBS' 'Red Line'

Edited April 23, 2019 by VCRTracking

[MVFrostsMyPie]

The interviewer binge watched all 15 seasons, but still can't spell Luka's name correctly. "Luca"? 😆

[doodlebug]

18 hours ago, VCRTracking said:

Noah Wyle on Quitting 'ER' and Falling in Love With Acting (Again) on CBS' 'Red Line'

Interesting interview, I'm glad he's coming back to TV.  Very interesting how he admits he wasn't the nicest guy to work with on ER and apologizes for the way he treated some of the newbies, especially Kelly and Goran.  I think a lot of actors wouldn't admit that sort of thing publicly.

[ch1]

It sounds like fame went to his head.  It would be easy to say he was a dick but it seems he had some growing up to do and it says a lot about him that he would admit something that doesn’t put him in a positive light.  Shows that it’s something he really regrets.