All Episodes Talk: What's Up Doc?

[RedbirdNelly]

14 hours ago, MVFrostsMyPie said:

I'm rewatching season 10 because I'm a glutton for punishment, and I'm reminded yet again how insufferable I found Neela. She was always feeling sorry for herself and was both insecure and overly self-righteous. She never really redeemed herself either. 

she did at least get a happy send off when she leaves and meets up with Ray. So there is that. But otherwise, I agree.

[readster]

14 hours ago, MVFrostsMyPie said:

I'm rewatching season 10 because I'm a glutton for punishment, and I'm reminded yet again how insufferable I found Neela. She was always feeling sorry for herself and was both insecure and overly self-righteous. She never really redeemed herself either. 

Neela was one of those characters, that the writers never seem to really know what to do with the character. Is she feeling sorry for herself all the time? Is she the grieving widow. Are men really falling over her like that? Something I will never get was when she was trying to figure out where to go in the next step in her career and when she calls Maggie. Maggie tells her: "Maybe you need a drink." What the hell was up with that?

[doodlebug]

14 hours ago, MVFrostsMyPie said:

I'm rewatching season 10 because I'm a glutton for punishment, and I'm reminded yet again how insufferable I found Neela. She was always feeling sorry for herself and was both insecure and overly self-righteous. She never really redeemed herself either. 

I think you could substitute virtually any of the characters for Neela and that description would fit.  By Season 10, the entire ER was full of unhappy, self-righteous, whiners.  Even the lighting of the show was darker.  Every week, it was another litany of complaints and misery from one main cast member or another. 

One of the things I loved about the early days was how the characters had their problems but mostly liked their jobs and their coworkers and enjoyed what they were doing.  By the 10th Season, even the viewers needed Prozac.

[LakeLover]

On 1/12/2020 at 10:27 PM, doodlebug said:

And then, despite the fact that ‘Day for Knight’ did not make to audience fall in love with Lucy; TPTB did the same thing a couple years later when they shoved Abby down our throats with a virtually identical episode, ‘Abby Road’.  

The only differences were that MT was a better actress who had every intention of staying for the duration and that many of the priginal cast members were already gone or on their way out.

I remember way back when, after a sizzling season 4 finale where there was so much tension, potential, and excitement to see what would happen in the season 5 premiere, and then we got...Lucy. It was deflating, and for some fans, a big mistake.

[Danny Franks]

2 hours ago, LakeLover said:

I remember way back when, after a sizzling season 4 finale where there was so much tension, potential, and excitement to see what would happen in the season 5 premiere, and then we got...Lucy. It was deflating, and for some fans, a big mistake.

I was kind of excited to see a new med student, when the season 5 opener started. She wasn't really likeable, but let's give her a chance. Then we got beardy Carter moping that Anna left because " there was this ex..." and Lucy looking sort of pityingly at him. She was an early example of the ER writers trying way too hard to force a character. I guess she foreshadowed the way the likes of Abby and Sam would be imposed on the viewers, whether we liked it or not.

Then she was almost immediately incompetent and unwilling to learn, hiding the fact she couldn't do procedures, but still found a way to blame Carter for being a bad teacher.

[Dr.OO7]

On 1/21/2020 at 10:41 PM, LakeLover said:

remember way back when, after a sizzling season 4 finale where there was so much tension, potential, and excitement to see what would happen in the season 5 premiere, and then we got...Lucy. It was deflating, and for some fans, a big mistake.

I was incredibly disappointed in the Season 5 premiere. It seemed to foreshadow how dreadful that season would be. 

 

[Hiyo]

ER...in Japanese!

Two things...first, Carter's dub voice is much better than Peter's. Second, I love how Carter is still addressing him as Benton-Sensei, even till the end...meanwhile, Benton doesn't address him with any honorifics, he just calls him Carter. Not even Carter-San, just Carter.

 

Edited January 25, 2020 by Hiyo

[littlebennysmom]

On 1/19/2020 at 1:21 PM, Danny Franks said:

He (Luka) and Abby were perfectly matched, as orbiting black holes of navel-gazing misery.

If that isn't a perfect, succinct summary of these characters, I don't know what is.

[txhorns79]

On 1/22/2020 at 1:16 AM, Danny Franks said:

Then she was almost immediately incompetent and unwilling to learn, hiding the fact she couldn't do procedures, but still found a way to blame Carter for being a bad teacher.

I mean, wasn't Carter a bad teacher?  I vaguely recall him trying to be like Benton, but he just came off as bumbling and angry.

[ch1]

Carter was shown to be awful teaching Lucy while shown being pretty good at teaching Abby.  
 

I think the Carter we saw at the end of the series would have been a good teacher to Rachel.

[MVFrostsMyPie]

I'm watching the season 12 episode (I watch seasons 12-15.15 very sparingly) with the ALS patient and yet again here comes Dr. Abby, Medicine Woman, who of course knows best how to treat the patient, obviously. Better than the other doctors, better than the patient themselves. Maybe the showrunners didn't have her making as many mistakes as the other R2s because age is "supposed" to equal wisdom, but I always felt it was an insult to the viewers to think we'd fall for this bullshit. 

[Hiyo]

I think Carter sometimes liked to impress people. Here is a deleted scene of him and Cleo...

 

[desertflower]

I haven’t checked in here in a while but just had to pop in and say I heard “Battleflag” on the radio yesterday, aka the song they played when Carter got stabbed. Gosh, it still brings up weird scary feelings when I hear it! 

[Danny Franks]

15 hours ago, Hiyo said:

I think Carter sometimes liked to impress people. Here is a deleted scene of him and Cleo...

 

He definitely did. Carter always had the air of a boy who was ignored by his parents... which we later learned to be entirely true and painful.

But he was always looking for validation - From Mark, Susan, Kerry and, of course, Benton (though he was never that interested in Doug's approval, that I recall). He seemed to gauge his own worth entirely through how other people saw him. And that extended to wanting to show off and impress people with his knowledge, whether they were other doctors, nurses or med students. Sadly, he often ended up looking foolish when he did that. But that's something else he seemed schooled for, because no one in his family seemed to take him seriously. Not even his beloved grandmother, who took an age to realise he was actually passionately committed to being a doctor.

He was also very bad at establishing boundaries for subordinates, and gaining their respect. We repeatedly saw him being almost dismissed by med students because he gave them too much leniency by trying to cajole and laugh off things he should have cracked down on. I'm thinking of Greg Pratt's first day, which should have ended with him being suspended.

He also had a thing for older women, which cropped up repeatedly in the show and factored in to the neglected, unloved son character. When we finally met his father and, more relevantly, his mother it became entirely obvious why he had such hangups.  Carter had an interesting psychology, which I think the show arrived at almost completely by accident.

Edited January 29, 2020 by Danny Franks

[doodlebug]

16 hours ago, MVFrostsMyPie said:

I'm watching the season 12 episode (I watch seasons 12-15.15 very sparingly) with the ALS patient and yet again here comes Dr. Abby, Medicine Woman, who of course knows best how to treat the patient, obviously. Better than the other doctors, better than the patient themselves. Maybe the showrunners didn't have her making as many mistakes as the other R2s because age is "supposed" to equal wisdom, but I always felt it was an insult to the viewers to think we'd fall for this bullshit. 

Is that the James Woods eppy?  I refuse to watch it again, she is absolutely unbearable there.  First, she is not the resident assigned to that particular patient.  She just barges in and takes over because he was her professor many years ago and bats her eyes at Luka, her attending and F***buddy at the time, to get her way when her fellow resident protests.  Then, despite the fact that she hasn't seen the guy in years; she ignores him and his caregiver when he says he doesn't want extreme measures and prefers not to have a tracheostomy.  He has a Living Will with specific mention of this.

But, because Abby respects and admires him so much, she tries to bully him into having a tracheostomy because it is what she wants.  She isn't 'ready' for him to die.  The fact that she apparently hadn't kept in touch and showed no intention of continuing the relationship once he got the trach was not enough to keep her from forcing her will on him.  She finally waits until he is on the verge of coding, decides that some gesture he makes is a sign that he wants to toss out his previous well considered instructions and she barrels on ahead does the trach herself while he's unconscious.

This episode was Abby at her worst, forcing her will on people, just like she did with her mother and brother.  She should've been charged with assault and hauled off to jail, IMO.  Interesting, too, that we never heard another word about her beloved mentor; I guess she was too busy banging Luka and running the ER to visit him or go to his funeral.

Edited January 29, 2020 by doodlebug

[MVFrostsMyPie]

6 hours ago, doodlebug said:

Is that the James Woods eppy? 

Yep, that's the one! 

[RedbirdNelly]

9 hours ago, MVFrostsMyPie said:

Yep, that's the one! 

I remember it, too, and it was really bad. I can't stand medical shows when they have the patient clearly express wishes and the doctors steamroll right over them, because as long as your heart is beating, you are alive and that's all that matters. 

[PepSinger]

A few weeks ago, Pop aired the season 9 ep where Abby’s brother falls into Gamma’s grave. I hadn’t seen that episode in years, and I screamed with laughter. I don’t know if that was what the writers were intending, but it was so ridiculous. I don’t know if that or the moment when the chopper gets its revenge on Romano is when the show jumped the shark, but it’s definitely between those two moments.

[readster]

On 1/30/2020 at 1:52 PM, PepSinger said:

A few weeks ago, Pop aired the season 9 ep where Abby’s brother falls into Gamma’s grave. I hadn’t seen that episode in years, and I screamed with laughter. I don’t know if that was what the writers were intending, but it was so ridiculous. I don’t know if that or the moment when the chopper gets its revenge on Romano is when the show jumped the shark, but it’s definitely between those two moments.

The falling into the grave is not only so stupid, but how Abby's brother got himself in that kind of position to do that, made NO SENSE! Not to mention the aftermath. Then let's add in the helicopter moment and everything around Grimes character. First of all, basically he got his ass saved when the helicopter killed Ramano. Yet, he didn't smell like pot? He was apparently more focused? Seriously? And NO ONE with all their: "Where is Dr. Ramano" Didn't think for a second, wait? He was just outside, what if he got killed or injured as a result of the helicopter exploding. Plus, the way the wind shifted the way it did for the helicopter to just spin out of control like that. Was the pilot fresh out of school? Never made ANY sense.

[Gigi43]

On 1/30/2020 at 2:52 PM, PepSinger said:

A few weeks ago, Pop aired the season 9 ep where Abby’s brother falls into Gamma’s grave. I hadn’t seen that episode in years, and I screamed with laughter. I don’t know if that was what the writers were intending, but it was so ridiculous. I don’t know if that or the moment when the chopper gets its revenge on Romano is when the show jumped the shark, but it’s definitely between those two moments.

 

The grave was really when the show was dead to me (though I did watch out if hate at that point on and off.) I was invested in Carter and Gamma for years. I saw Carters parents be shitty. Gamma, though flawed, loved her John and to see her grave get disrespected for Lockhart hijinx... Nope. Then they went on to give Carter a dead baby and a cold wife offering scraps at the end. I don't need characters to have happy endings, but I don't like the repeated dump on. He couldn't even have Gamma's funeral respectfully. 

[doodlebug]

3 hours ago, Gigi43 said:

 

The grave was really when the show was dead to me (though I did watch out if hate at that point on and off.) I was invested in Carter and Gamma for years. I saw Carters parents be shitty. Gamma, though flawed, loved her John and to see her grave get disrespected for Lockhart hijinx... Nope. Then they went on to give Carter a dead baby and a cold wife offering scraps at the end. I don't need characters to have happy endings, but I don't like the repeated dump on. He couldn't even have Gamma's funeral respectfully. 

That was the era when everything on the show was All About Abby and we couldn't even say goodbye to Gamma without turning it into The Abby Show.  No wonder Carter dumped her and went to Africa.

[Danny Franks]

The show handled his grandfather's death better.  Although we only saw him a couple of times, he was also clearly an important figure in Carter's life.

While they still managed to shoehorn Abby into it, at least it began with her making an ass of herself when she saw Carter in a black suit and asked, "hey, who died?" Her expression when he calmly said, "my grandfather" was a picture. Of course, she then decided to crash the reception after the funeral because she couldn't wait until Carter was back at work to apologise, but I think the episode still ended with Carter spending time with his grandmother.

Edited February 3, 2020 by Danny Franks

[Dr.OO7]

10 hours ago, doodlebug said:

That was the era when everything on the show was All About Abby and we couldn't even say goodbye to Gamma without turning it into The Abby Show. 

It always annoyed me that the rest of the ER staff was absent from the funeral. 

Huh?

He's worked with these people for almost a DECADE and none of them show up at his grandmother's funeral? Not even a mention of them sending flowers or something?

How. . . tacky.  This is the same show that had Doug offering Peter his condolences when the latter's mother died even though the two of them barely knew each other, but somehow, no one says anything to Carter. Did anyone even know that his grandFATHER died? Because no one mentioned that either.

My sister abruptly died a week into my second year of medical school and when I returned, I received a sympathy card signed by EVERYONE, even people I'd probably never even spoken to. 

[Danny Franks]

8 hours ago, Camille said:

It always annoyed me that the rest of the ER staff was absent from the funeral. 

Huh?

He's worked with these people for almost a DECADE and none of them show up at his grandmother's funeral? Not even a mention of them sending flowers or something?

How. . . tacky.  This is the same show that had Doug offering Peter his condolences when the latter's mother died even though the two of them barely knew each other, but somehow, no one says anything to Carter. Did anyone even know that his grandFATHER died? Because no one mentioned that either.

My sister abruptly died a week into my second year of medical school and when I returned, I received a sympathy card signed by EVERYONE, even people I'd probably never even spoken to. 

Maybe the ER staff were just completely desensitised to the misery of co-workers by this stage in the series. Like when your colleagues all seem to be doing charity drives in the same month, and suddenly you're expected to fork out a serious amount of cash to cover them all.

But honestly, the show just had a lack of joined up writing, by the time it got to season 8. People weren't really connected like they had been in the first few seasons. Carter had a storyline that involved Abby, but no one else was part of it, so there were no scenes of them acknowledging it.

Again, with his grandfather it was slightly better, because Abby does say something about feeling bad that he didn't tell anyone (though I think it's in character for Carter to keep quiet about family stuff, including bereavements).

[doodlebug]

2 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

Maybe the ER staff were just completely desensitised to the misery of co-workers by this stage in the series. Like when your colleagues all seem to be doing charity drives in the same month, and suddenly you're expected to fork out a serious amount of cash to cover them all.

But honestly, the show just had a lack of joined up writing, by the time it got to season 8. People weren't really connected like they had been in the first few seasons. Carter had a storyline that involved Abby, but no one else was part of it, so there were no scenes of them acknowledging it.

Again, with his grandfather it was slightly better, because Abby does say something about feeling bad that he didn't tell anyone (though I think it's in character for Carter to keep quiet about family stuff, including bereavements).

In the case of Gamma, though, she had been a patient in the ER not too long before she died.  Several staffers took care of her.  She also gave a lot of money to Carol's clinic in Season 4 which was only 5-6 years earlier; so there was even more reason to expect something from the ER staff.  Susan and Kerry, in particular, were pretty close to Carter and had met Gamma at least a couple of times.  At the very least, we should've heard about a card, a fruit basket, some flowers from the ER.

As for the ER staff having become desensitized; that doesn't happen in real life, it shouldn't happen on the show.  People who have demanding jobs requiring a lot of interaction and teamwork tend to bond pretty closely and are generally supportive of one another in times like that.  I've worked in medicine for 35 years and have always received support from my coworkers and have tried to be supportive in return.

Back when I had just started a new practice in a new hospital many years ago, my 5 year old nephew was killed in an accident about 3 weeks after I started.  Not only did my new coworkers send flowers, about half a dozen of them drove an hour each way to attend the wake and the department also made a contribution to a charity in his name. 

[Dr.OO7]

1 hour ago, doodlebug said:

People who have demanding jobs requiring a lot of interaction and teamwork tend to bond pretty closely and are generally supportive of one another in times like that.  I've worked in medicine for 35 years and have always received support from my coworkers and have tried to be supportive in return.

Exactly. That's why it was so glaring. I got condolence cards from my classmates and co-workers after the respective deaths of my sister and grandfather when I barely knew a good chunk of them.

If you can have Doug telling Peter "Hey, I heard about your mom. I'm sorry." when the two of them weren't really friends, there's no way the entire ER staff shouldn't have somehow reached out to Carter about his grandparents. Especially considering their semi-celebrity status in ER's version of Chicago--a money-grubber like Romano would surely have been angling for some kind of bequest from the Carter Foundation.

 

Edited February 4, 2020 by Camille

[Dr.OO7]

4 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

But honestly, the show just had a lack of joined up writing, by the time it got to season 8. People weren't really connected like they had been in the first few seasons. Carter had a storyline that involved Abby, but no one else was part of it, so there were no scenes of them acknowledging it.

I mentioned this on the TWOP page shortly after I joined. The first few seasons had a lot of realistic overlap between the characters even if their stories weren't necessarily connected--Peter asking about Carol after her suicide attempt, Doug offering Peter his condolences, etc. By season 8, Mark only seemed to interact with Elizabeth, Carter only with Abby, Peter only with Cleo, etc.

[Danny Franks]

3 hours ago, doodlebug said:

As for the ER staff having become desensitized; that doesn't happen in real life, it shouldn't happen on the show.

It was a tongue in cheek reference to the increasing number of absurdly bad things that happened to the staff of County General.

1 hour ago, Camille said:

I mentioned this on the TWOP page shortly after I joined. The first few seasons had a lot of realistic overlap between the characters even if their stories weren't necessarily connected--Peter asking about Carol after her suicide attempt, Doug offering Peter his condolences, etc. By season 8, Mark only seemed to interact with Elizabeth, Carter only with Abby, Peter only with Cleo, etc.

It's not uncommon, unfortunately, for TV shows that last more than a couple of seasons. The care that's taken to link up storylines and characters, with little moments that aren't important but add depth and a sense that real life goes on with these people, even when we're not watching. That tends to be abandoned as writers hone in on character pairings and storylines.

[Hiyo]

It helped that in the first few seasons, the cast was much smaller. By season 8 the number of main cast members had almost doubled...

[Growsonwalls]

The whole Gamma Carter thing annoyed me because Gamma Carter wasn't just Carter's grandmother. She was a big deal donor to the hospital. So sending condolences about Gamma Carter wasn't just a social obligation, it was a professional obligation for people who worked in the ER. 

 

[Dr.OO7]

On 2/7/2020 at 10:49 PM, Growsonwalls said:

The whole Gamma Carter thing annoyed me because Gamma Carter wasn't just Carter's grandmother. She was a big deal donor to the hospital. So sending condolences about Gamma Carter wasn't just a social obligation, it was a professional obligation for people who worked in the ER. 

 

Exactly. Like I said, there's no way Romano wouldn't have assigned someone to go, or gone himself, or ensured that there was a nice big wreath from the hospital in the hopes of wrangling a donation.

I rewatched the episode where Gallant was killed. It's so haunting seeing Frank's reaction when the military guys show up looking for Neela--he knows exactly what they're going to tell her.

Edited February 10, 2020 by Camille

[RedbirdNelly]

15 hours ago, Camille said:

Exactly. Like I said, there's no way Romano wouldn't have assigned someone to go, or gone himself, or ensured that there was a nice big wreath from the hospital in the hopes of wrangling a donation.

I rewatched the episode where Gallant was killed. It's so haunting seeing Frank's reaction when the military guys show up looking for Neela--he knows exactly what they're going to tell her.

Frank is an interesting character. He starts off as such a jerk--but he improves with age and then he does have these big moments. His reaction when Pratt dies when they wheel Pratt out just gutted me. Kudos to the actor. 

[WendyCR72]

The actor that played Frank played a cop in the pilot, the patient Carter struggled putting an IV into. Can't recall if that character had a name. I recall some wondering if Frank was that same cop and became a clerk after retiring or whatnot.

Chances are, though, he played a completely different character.

[RedbirdNelly]

18 hours ago, WendyCR72 said:

The actor that played Frank played a cop in the pilot, the patient Carter struggled putting an IV into. Can't recall if that character had a name. I recall some wondering if Frank was that same cop and became a clerk after retiring or whatnot.

Chances are, though, he played a completely different character.

I remember seeing the pilot and thinking "hey it's Frank." Wasn't Frank's character a former cop? but I think they never make pilot Frank and later Frank the same character. Seems like they could have. 

I also liked it when Frank had (I think) a heart attack and his wife comes by and talks about how much he loves the ER staff and talks about them all the time. . and everyone was surprised. I know that crusty old guy who turns out to have a warm heart is a trope but sometimes it's still nice.

[doodlebug]

On 2/10/2020 at 5:07 PM, WendyCR72 said:

The actor that played Frank played a cop in the pilot, the patient Carter struggled putting an IV into. Can't recall if that character had a name. I recall some wondering if Frank was that same cop and became a clerk after retiring or whatnot.

Chances are, though, he played a completely different character.

I think he had to be an entirely different character because the guy in the pilot got shot while fighting with his wife and he said that he had physically assaulted her more than once prior to that.  From what we saw of Frank, he was gruff in the ER and a softie with his wife and daughter. 

Edited February 12, 2020 by doodlebug

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, doodlebug said:

I think he had to be an entirely different character because the guy in the pilot got shot while fighting with his wife and he said that he had physically assaulted her more than once prior to that.  From what we saw of Frank, he was gruff in the ER and a softie with his wife and daughter.

Yeah, Frank's particular brand of asshole fits perfectly with an ex-cop, but the show forced that ridiculous episode where hey, look, he's nice to his wife and special-needs child - never mind that he'd be his usual asshole self to any random two similar people - and, although he treats those he works with - especially those who aren't white straight males - like shit, he speaks well of them at home, so he's not so bad bullshit.  So, I agree, he's meant to be just one of the many TV examples of the same actor playing two (or more!) different characters on the same show; even though it wasn't as prevalent as in years past by the time this show aired, it still wasn't rare.

[readster]

On 2/11/2020 at 11:55 PM, Bastet said:

Yeah, Frank's particular brand of asshole fits perfectly with an ex-cop, but the show forced that ridiculous episode where hey, look, he's nice to his wife and special-needs child - never mind that he'd be his usual asshole self to any random two similar people - and, although he treats those he works with - especially those who aren't white straight males - like shit, he speaks well of them at home, so he's not so bad bullshit.  So, I agree, he's meant to be just one of the many TV examples of the same actor playing two (or more!) different characters on the same show; even though it wasn't as prevalent as in years past by the time this show aired, it still wasn't rare.

Even when Frank was making his confession to Pratt about his unit in Nam. You just wanted him to go: "So, he plans on just being a asshole who is fine at home, but puts up this gruff and other stuff, just because he should? Never made any sense. 

[Dr.OO7]

As of this morning, Pop has changed the schedule yet again, to weekdays from 7--10AM.

[littlebennysmom]

On 2/24/2020 at 7:49 AM, Camille said:

As of this morning, Pop has changed the schedule yet again, to weekdays from 7--10AM.

It's actually an add to their ER schedule.  Wednesday and Thursday marathons are still airing.

[littlebennysmom]

The Tony Gates character is so unappealing to me.  He's an arrogant horn dog who screws anything/anyone.  And what a collision of self satisfied childishness is his relationship with the ever charming Sam, whose idea of flirting is to disagree and be combative with whomever she's attracted to?  Blech, they're horrible individually, stomach turning as a couple. 

[Hiyo]

I dunno, I kind of liked them together. Not the best couple this show has had, but not the worst either.

Individually I thought they were ok too.

[littlebennysmom]

On 3/7/2020 at 1:22 AM, Hiyo said:

I dunno, I kind of liked them together. Not the best couple this show has had, but not the worst either.

Individually I thought they were ok too.

I just watched the finale and now I agree with you.  Tony and Sam were not the worst, Carter and Kem were the worst.  His character deserved a lot better.

[MVFrostsMyPie]

I'm watching some of the early episodes again because #socialdistancing, and I LOL'd at a serious moment when Shep was punching some dude repeatedly while Carol yells at him to stop and how the same thing happened with Abby and Luka, pummeling some random dude beyond what was necessary. Oh and there was that fight too between Al Boulet & his coworker, and Jeanie crying "stahhhhp!". I know there's more instances of people having no control over their emotions and getting violent (I remember Doug punching patients at least a couple times), but seeing these people punch other people repeatedly and not stop.... ugh. 

I know it's a TV show, so *dramaaaaa*, and this is a show where helicopters had a personal vendetta against one particular doctor and Abby's butt smelled like roses, but geez, even one dude losing his cool and continuously punching the lights out of another guy is way over the top. 

If I was dating any guy who resorted to being that aggressive (even in the case of Luka killing the mugger), that'd be suuuuuch a red flag, I'd nope the hell out of there.

[WendyCR72]

56 minutes ago, littlebennysmom said:

I just watched the finale and now I agree with you.  Tony and Sam were not the worst, Carter and Kem were the worst.  His character deserved a lot better.

I think Carter chose County over Kem; I think that was his happy ending, more or less.

[Bastet]

18 hours ago, MVFrostsMyPie said:

If I was dating any guy who resorted to being that aggressive (even in the case of Luka killing the mugger), that'd be suuuuuch a red flag, I'd nope the hell out of there.

I barely remember the episode, but I do remember my "What the actual hell?" reaction to Abby continuing to see Luka after he beat a man to death on their first date.

I knew better in high school, when I said "I'll be getting a cab home now; nice knowin' ya" to a guy who, on our third date, turned out to have a gun under his passenger seat, which he pulled out to brandish at some fellow motorist who'd committed a traffic offense.

If that's how someone responds to disputes, run away, don't enter into a relationship in which you will inevitably have many disputes with him!

[Hiyo]

Quote

and I LOL'd at a serious moment when Shep was punching some dude repeatedly while Carol yells at him to stop and how the same thing happened with Abby and Luka, pummeling some random dude beyond what was necessary. Oh and there was that fight too between Al Boulet & his coworker, and Jeanie crying "stahhhhp!".

Kind of weird that it happened 3 times, but then again, TV shows recycling things isn't that unheard of...though I do wonder what fascination the writers had with seeing a male character pummel another male character while a female character repeatedly tells them to stop was...

[readster]

7 hours ago, Hiyo said:

Kind of weird that it happened 3 times, but then again, TV shows recycling things isn't that unheard of...though I do wonder what fascination the writers had with seeing a male character pummel another male character while a female character repeatedly tells them to stop was...

Oh I agree, and then they had it where someone who got punched like Abby's neighbor Ryan who was beating his wife and broke the door and punched her. To you have the guy from Numbers who killed Lucy and stabbed Carter just getting a slap on the wrist for what they did and they were BOTH LAW STUDENTS! The writers really didn't like lawyers apparently, even when Luka was sued by the one patient, the lawyer against him was really, really angry at blaming Luka. Of course it was Janice from Friends, so probably why no one could take them serious. 

[MVFrostsMyPie]

The other eye-rolling repetitive things:

Harper and Ross sleeping together because they were upset about a dead/dying patient, and George Eads/Hathaway kissing because they were both sad over a dead patient. 

I don't think I've ever felt compelled to kiss or fuck a colleague because we were both mutually really sad about something. 🤔 Especially if either one of us was dating someone else.

[ch1]

On 1/23/2020 at 2:48 AM, Camille said:

I was incredibly disappointed in the Season 5 premiere. It seemed to foreshadow how dreadful that season would be. 

 

Sort of like the season 7 premiere.  That season is up there with 5.

[Growsonwalls]

On 3/24/2020 at 1:36 AM, MVFrostsMyPie said:

The other eye-rolling repetitive things:

Harper and Ross sleeping together because they were upset about a dead/dying patient, and George Eads/Hathaway kissing because they were both sad over a dead patient. 

I don't think I've ever felt compelled to kiss or fuck a colleague because we were both mutually really sad about something. 🤔 Especially if either one of us was dating someone else.

The Carol kissing some other dude pissed me off because it was inconsistent with what we knew about Carol. We saw that in times of stress Carol always went to Doug to vent. Even when they weren't together. I know these work relationships -- once you find that one person to vent when things are stressful, that person rarely changes. And I liked that about ER -- they showed that work spouses are as valid as regular spouses. For instance long after their relationship was over Peter and Lizzy continued to go to the other to vent about work stress. Mark and Doug were each others' work spouses in a way -- they went to each other to let off steam. It was out of character for Carol to kiss some random dude she didn't know when she was stressed.