All Episodes Talk: What's Up Doc?

[Hiyo]

Quote

It kind of pisses me off that St. Abby got in the way of what might have been a great Susan/Carter relationship later on.

Nah, Susan and Carter worked for me in the early years as a big sister/younger brother dynamic, despite his occasional crush on her. As for them as a couple when she returned...again, I liked them better as friends/co-workers than as a couple.

I like Abby. I must be one of the few on here who does.

Quote

I’m always amazed at how much ground ER broke on storylines like addiction and LGBT

And of the few shows to have a lead character who had HIV.

[debraran]

1 hour ago, Heathen said:

I liked Abby at first, when she was a nurse and before she became St. Abby. By the end, I couldn't stand her. I remember my sister asking me who I thought got blown up in the ambulance, and I said I hoped it was Abby. 

i know she's a  good actress but I hated her too and tried to like her second time around. In the VERY beginning I did and then as time went on it got worse. It all always 'All about me".

When I watched her in The Affair, again I know she was good, but to me I saw Abby without the hair wringing. As I joked on here another time, she still was "St Helen" instead of Abby, wronged wife but perfect and wanted by so many men, it was silly. She even tooted her own horn a few times. It made watching it weird at times.

[WendyCR72]

8 hours ago, Heathen said:

And Carter's OBVIOUS crush on Susan. He practically had a cartoon heart bursting out of his chest every time he talked to her. 

It kind of pisses me off that St. Abby got in the way of what might have been a great Susan/Carter relationship later on.

I thought I was the only one that liked Carter/Susan. Or the potential of it before the writing sabotaged it for Abby...

[Bastet]

4 hours ago, Hiyo said:

Nah, Susan and Carter worked for me in the early years as a big sister/younger brother dynamic, despite his occasional crush on her. As for them as a couple when she returned...again, I liked them better as friends/co-workers than as a couple.

Same here; I find them utterly devoid of couple chemistry, but Carter's crush the first time around was both understandable and harmless, and she was a good teacher to him.  It was interesting to see them after she came back, the similarities and differences in how they worked together as equals.  But dating?  That's a big nope for me.

[Cloud9Shopper]

Just finished the series finale, and it was kind of sentimental to me. 

I did like Dr. Rory Gilmore (I don’t put the Gilmore Girls in one of my favorite shows but I liked Alexis Biedel here) and wish we had seen her sooner. It still seems odd to me that she wasn’t brought in until the last episode.

It was nice to see Kerry, Susan and Elizabeth all getting along and happy to see each other. Plus Elizabeth and Rachel seemingly reconciling from those hurtful years earlier. And I think I’m going to pretend Peter and Elizabeth got back together in a post-series universe. They definitely seemed like they didn’t want to be apart. 

It was also nice to see an older Reese but I would’ve loved if Elizabeth had gone to the opening and brought Ella by too. 

I hope Carter and Kem got divorced. They just seemed so hollow towards each other. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of love there.

Lydia! I love all the background nurses but it was nice to see her after so long of not. 

I can’t believe just how many babies were delivered by ER doctors in the ER now that I know that’s not a thing that normally happens in real life. Too bad we didn’t get Coburn though. I really like her character now. Anyway, wish the mother of the twins hadn’t died, but the bloody footprint trail in the hall was chilling. 

There’s other characters I wish had popped up for a mini cameo besides Neela talking to Brenner. I just never liked him, like I never fully warmed to Banfield. 

And I will always love the OG credits and the orange and green title card at the beginning. I know it’s such a minor thing to care about, but little details like that really made the show for me. 

Do you guys think the Carter Center stayed open? Would love some theories on that! I’m not sure how great Carter is or isn’t on fundraising. 

One thing I forgot to mention: I’m glad that ER is not currently in talks to be or has never been rebooted in the days where we are rebooting/remaking everything. I think of course for nostalgia’s sake it would be exciting on the surface and I’d watch if this happened. But ultimately, the series really dropped in quality the last 3-4 seasons it was on, and with that in mind, I think it’s best that it’s left alone. I’m not attached to any of the later cast that much to want to see them again, and who knows if anyone from the earlier years would come back.  Feel free to disagree with me on that, though. 

Well, I wanted to watch the whole series one time, and it took me quite a while (started in 2018!!) but I’m glad I saw it all. My next time through I will definitely skip some things. But I definitely will keep following this forum because I’ll be rewatching some things for fanfic ideas, I’m sure. And I’ll drop my links occasionally too and contribute to discussion on the episodes you all are on, characters, etc. This is definitely one of the nicer fan spaces I’ve been in as far as civil discussion and diverse opinions.

It’s been fun, y’all! I want to check out some other shows before I return to ER, so hopefully it stays on Hulu a while or goes to Peacock or something. :) 

 

[CrazyInAlabama]

I always thought that Carter divorced Kem, or the other way around, when he stayed at County, and didn't join her at the airport.     That marriage should never have happened, and the divorce should have happened after Carter's trip to Paris.   It was obvious that Kem had zero intention of having a marriage with him.     I always imagined that Carter divorced, and found some nice woman to have a family with.   

I bet the Carter Center lasted, and was doing great work in a community that really needed it.     

[Hiyo]

Quote

and she was a good teacher to him.

Yeah, as much as Benton and Mark might get credit for mentoring Carter, in those early years Susan was helping him out quite a bit as well.

[ESS]

11 hours ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

Just finished the series finale, and it was kind of sentimental to me. 

It was nice to see Kerry, Susan and Elizabeth all getting along and happy to see each other. Plus Elizabeth and Rachel seemingly reconciling from those hurtful years earlier. And I think I’m going to pretend Peter and Elizabeth got back together in a post-series universe. They definitely seemed like they didn’t want to be apart. 

It was also nice to see an older Reese but I would’ve loved if Elizabeth had gone to the opening and brought Ella by too. 

One thing I forgot to mention: I’m glad that ER is not currently in talks to be or has never been rebooted in the days where we are rebooting/remaking everything. I think of course for nostalgia’s sake it would be exciting on the surface and I’d watch if this happened. But ultimately, the series really dropped in quality the last 3-4 seasons it was on, and with that in mind, I think it’s best that it’s left alone. I’m not attached to any of the later cast that much to want to see them again, and who knows if anyone from the earlier years would come back.  Feel free to disagree with me on that, though. 

So glad you've watched the series finale now! I agree with you with all of this of your post. Will you be doing any Peter & Elizabeth fanfics? Just curious as that's another couple that doesn't get too much love that I love (as you know) 

[Cloud9Shopper]

3 hours ago, ESS said:

So glad you've watched the series finale now! I agree with you with all of this of your post. Will you be doing any Peter & Elizabeth fanfics? Just curious as that's another couple that doesn't get too much love that I love (as you know) 

No promises on that one! I’d like to but I have a few other ideas I need to work on too and only a month off of school. :) I’m glad you‘re looking forward to my stuff; it means a lot and helps me ensure I’m writing for someone besides my cat! 

 

Edited August 15, 2021 by Cloud9Shopper

[Kel Varnsen]

On 8/14/2021 at 4:24 PM, Cloud9Shopper said:

S15 even mostly felt average until the originals started returning and the series wound down. 

What I liked about S15 was they finally gave Morris some decent storylines. And Scott Grimes made them good. Which frustrates me since looking back at all those Abby seasons they really could have mixed it up and given him some of the heavy lifting story arcs and Maura Tierney some of the comic relief 1 episode stories and it might have made those seasons not drag so much. Also if Angela Bassett showed up sooner things would have been better.

16 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I bet the Carter Center lasted, and was doing great work in a community that really needed it.     

The Carter Center is a big it depends for me. When they first started talking about it with Anspaugh, there was some suggestion of outside funding, like some food service places to help bring in money. Carter didn't want any outside influences and said he would pay for the whole thing himself. Now would that just means he wouldn't want a coffee place in the center to be a Dunkin' donuts or would he also have a problem with something like the Bill and Melinda Gates pre-natal wing? Because I bet the Carter foundation has a lot of rich people on their donor list, and I bet a bunch of them don't really care where they give money to as long as they get a tax receipt and they look like philanthropists. But if he turns them down too, he could have problems.

[Cloud9Shopper]

20 minutes ago, Kel Varnsen said:

What I liked about S15 was they finally gave Morris some decent storylines. And Scott Grimes made them good. Which frustrates me since looking back at all those Abby seasons they really could have mixed it up and given him some of the heavy lifting story arcs and Maura Tierney some of the comic relief 1 episode stories and it might have made those seasons not drag so much. Also if Angela Bassett showed up sooner things would have been better.

I never did warm up to Banfield. I felt bad for her personal struggles outside of work and liked her relationship with her husband, but who knows? Maybe I would’ve liked her more had she been around a season or two prior. Lord knows that ER needed someone no-nonsense to keep them in line. I just thought in general she was maybe a little too harsh even to Susan in the finale. (Although to be fair I guess if I were Banfield and saw someone sitting behind the desk who didn’t even work there I’d be a little “who the hell are you?” myself.) 

[Hiyo]

She had her moments. Good ones too.

 

[Cloud9Shopper]

18 minutes ago, Hiyo said:

She had her moments. Good ones too.

 

I loved that scene! Although as much as I enjoy Morris I would’ve been happy someone grabbed the microphone from him. That forced team building/ice breaking stuff is my worst nightmare. 

[Lady Whistleup]

I will never not believe that Peter and Elizabeth got back together after the show was over. Their chemistry in the finale was so hot even Reese noticed. And since Cleo is a robot, she wouldn't take a breakup hard. Just needs to update software and reboot.

[Cloud9Shopper]

21 minutes ago, Lady Whistleup said:

I will never not believe that Peter and Elizabeth got back together after the show was over. Their chemistry in the finale was so hot even Reese noticed. And since Cleo is a robot, she wouldn't take a breakup hard. Just needs to update software and reboot.

I loved the way Peter and Elizabeth looked at each other in the finale. I was like Peter just go home and dump Cleo, Elizabeth is your woman. Admit it. 

[Lady Whistleup]

1 minute ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

I loved the way Peter and Elizabeth looked at each other in the finale. I was like Peter just go home and dump Cleo, Elizabeth is your woman. Admit it. 

And the reasons for them not being together was BTS stuff with Eriq LaSalle. But they have like no reason by the finale not to be together. They have great sexual chemistry, have been professional colleagues for years AND close friends. 

Benton and Carter in their talk earlier that season didn't really mention Cleo much at all. I like to think that their relationship was already faltering and Peter getting back together with Liz is just the natural order of things.

[debraran]

2 hours ago, Lady Whistleup said:

And the reasons for them not being together was BTS stuff with Eriq LaSalle. But they have like no reason by the finale not to be together. They have great sexual chemistry, have been professional colleagues for years AND close friends. 

Benton and Carter in their talk earlier that season didn't really mention Cleo much at all. I like to think that their relationship was already faltering and Peter getting back together with Liz is just the natural order of things.

I thought that too. I didn't wish for him to have a failed marriage but if they gave him someone with a personality she would have seemed more "real". I put him with Lizzie too. Also Carter was single and later found a soul mate/friend to be with and had another child. ; )

I do understand LaSalle. At that time what he said rang true many times on TV. The did stereotype on the show at times and if Jeanne had been single and she was with Benton and they adopted a kid, it would have been great too. Black men were paired with white women way more than the other way around and I'm glad they showed a little more diversity later. I doubt they ever would have given Doug a black or Latina girlfriend.

From an article:

LaSalle said he pushed the show’s writers and executive producer Lydia Woodward to end Benton’s relationship with Corday because he thought it was sending the wrong message to its black audience, which last season was bigger than “Friends” and “Seinfeld” combined. “As an African American man, it becomes a bit offensive if the negative things are all you’re showing,” he said. “Because in real life, we romance and get on each other’s nerves and laugh and do all the things that any other race of people do.

“So if the only time you show a balanced relationship is in an interracial relationship, whether it’s conscious or sub-conscious, it sends a message I’m not comfortable with.

“[The writers] were sending a message that I didn’t want to be a part of, which was the only time that this man becomes human and tender and vulnerable and open is when he falls in love with a white woman.”

LaSalle also noted that Benton’s previous two relationships – with Jeanie Boulet (Gloria Reuben) and Carla (“Ally McBeal’s” Lisa Nicole Carson) – were very dysfunctional. One was all sex and the other adulterous.

Edited August 19, 2021 by debraran

[Cloud9Shopper]

I was watching Chicago Med the other night (only the pilot since I want to try to watch from the beginning, but I do know some of how the series plays out regardless), and I missed a little throwaway reference to the ER-verse. For those of you who have never seen Med, there was a train derailment in the pilot and at one point they were looking for a patient, and one of the characters said maybe the patient got sent to County. 

It was very fast so if you were distracted you’d miss it, but I found myself suddenly wondering if Morris still worked at County, were any of the background nurses still around, who runs the place. Too bad ER still isn’t on. A Med-ER crossover would be pretty fun.

@Rootbeer I watched The Resident too and that appendectomy cover-up was ridiculous to watch for myself. Show pretty much lost me.  

[debraran]

6 hours ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

I was watching Chicago Med the other night (only the pilot since I want to try to watch from the beginning, but I do know some of how the series plays out regardless), and I missed a little throwaway reference to the ER-verse. For those of you who have never seen Med, there was a train derailment in the pilot and at one point they were looking for a patient, and one of the characters said maybe the patient got sent to County. 

It was very fast so if you were distracted you’d miss it, but I found myself suddenly wondering if Morris still worked at County, were any of the background nurses still around, who runs the place. Too bad ER still isn’t on. A Med-ER crossover would be pretty fun.

@Rootbeer I watched The Resident too and that appendectomy cover-up was ridiculous to watch for myself. Show pretty much lost me.  

I remember that before Med lost me. It did have a few good episodes but many were just too "General Hospital" like. If they had a scene with Jerry answering the phone or Morris, it might have kept me longer. ; )

[Hiyo]

Benton had great chemistry with both Jeannie and Lizzie. I would have been happy if he ended up with either of them.

[Cloud9Shopper]

Hope no one minds if I share my ER fanfic here? I didn’t get any negative feedback when I tried a page ago, so here’s my new chapter that I just posted yesterday. Comments and feedback welcome; never required. :) 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/30910673/chapters/82829992

[Lady Whistleup]

12 hours ago, Hiyo said:

Benton had great chemistry with both Jeannie and Lizzie. I would have been happy if he ended up with either of them.

For such a cold fish Benton actually had great chemistry with quite a few people. Carter of course, but Lizzie, Jeannie, Romano, the woman who played his mom. 

I think it's because Eriq LaSalle is a good actor and was always able to convey the goodness beneath Benton's frosty exterior. 

It was a bit like Jeanne Trippelhorn (Barb) in Big Love. Barb had amazing chemistry with everyone on the show because Jeanne was so good at convincing us that Barb genuinely cared about everyone in her family.

[Cloud9Shopper]

Random thought I had yesterday now that I’m done with the series: Do any of you think the show went on too long? Once I looked back, I formed the opinion that as much as I’ll always love ER, it went about 3-4 seasons beyond its expiration date. 

S12 was when things really went downhill for me with Clemente’s arrival and the chimp storyline, although the helicopter of doom in S10 didn’t help anything either. By S13 the show was dark and miserable and had shifted into all about Abby (and Abby and Luka and their baby and their ill-advised wedding) and the writing and stories seemed to get worse. 

Honestly now I think it would’ve been fine had Carter’s departure at the end of S11 been the series finale. “The Show Must Go On” is a great title for a finale. The slideshow of photos of the OGs would have been great to end on as we looked back. There were plenty of new characters in place by that point (Morris, Pratt, Neela) to set the show up going forward, and maybe if the locker tag wall had been introduced earlier, it would’ve been a great moment to see Carter put his name up there with Greene and Benton’s tags. (I still can’t believe Neela and Abby got that scene instead.) I guess the only thing that could’ve been done better was Carter’s “you set the tone” speech to Morris, who was still immature and completely oblivious to what Carter said. 

Then, Abby (and by extension Abby and Luka), if she was really that popular with the fans and everyone was just dying to see her pregnancy, her attempts at motherhood and her relapse, could’ve had her own spin-off (like Private Practice) that was all about her and Luka instead of taking away from ER as a whole. It still is such a bummer that so many other interesting characters and potential storylines got shoved aside while she got every big plot and dramatic moment. Yes, Maura is fawned over and I have no problem with her personally, but there were so many other talented actors/actresses on the show who could also handle significant storylines or characters who had possibly complex lives that wouldn’t make the show such a drag. 

S12-S15 makes up what I’ll be skipping most of when I come back to the series. I realize if it had ended in S11 we may not have seen the OGs make actual cameos, but in a way, I do think Carter leaving could have been a great end to the series as well.

Agree, disagree? 

Edited August 21, 2021 by Cloud9Shopper

[ESS]

1 hour ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

Random thought I had yesterday now that I’m done with the series: Do any of you think the show went on too long? Once I looked back, I formed the opinion that as much as I’ll always love ER, it went about 3-4 seasons beyond its expiration date. 

S12 was when things really went downhill for me with Clemente’s arrival and the chimp storyline, although the helicopter of doom in S10 didn’t help anything either. By S13 the show was dark and miserable and had shifted into all about Abby (and Abby and Luka and their baby and their ill-advised wedding) and the writing and stories seemed to get worse. 

Honestly now I think it would’ve been fine had Carter’s departure at the end of S11 been the series finale. “The Show Must Go On” is a great title for a finale. The slideshow of photos of the OGs would have been great to end on as we looked back. There were plenty of new characters in place by that point (Morris, Pratt, Neela) to set the show up going forward, and maybe if the locker tag wall had been introduced earlier, it would’ve been a great moment to see Carter put his name up there with Greene and Benton’s tags. (I still can’t believe Neela and Abby got that scene instead.) I guess the only thing that could’ve been done better was Carter’s “you set the tone” speech to Morris, who was still immature and completely oblivious to what Carter said. 

Then, Abby (and by extension Abby and Luka), if she was really that popular with the fans and everyone was just dying to see her pregnancy, her attempts at motherhood and her relapse, could’ve had her own spin-off (like Private Practice) that was all about her and Luka instead of taking away from ER as a whole. It still is such a bummer that so many other interesting characters and potential storylines got shoved aside while she got every big plot and dramatic moment. Yes, Maura is fawned over and I have no problem with her personally, but there were so many other talented actors/actresses on the show who could also handle significant storylines or characters who had possibly complex lives that wouldn’t make the show such a drag. 

S12-S15 makes up what I’ll be skipping most of when I come back to the series. I realize if it had ended in S11 we may not have seen the OGs make actual cameos, but in a way, I do think Carter leaving could have been a great end to the series as well.

Agree, disagree? 

I agree I think it did go on a bit too long, but on the other hand we wouldn't have gotten Archie & Claudia or Banfield (don't hate me I loved her by the end) yes seasons 1-8 were the best with great episodes every once and a while in seasons 9-13, 14 was the worst for me and 15 was definitely the rebound.,, it felt like the old ER for me. 

[Cloud9Shopper]

1 hour ago, ESS said:

I agree I think it did go on a bit too long, but on the other hand we wouldn't have gotten Archie & Claudia or Banfield (don't hate me I loved her by the end) yes seasons 1-8 were the best with great episodes every once and a while in seasons 9-13, 14 was the worst for me and 15 was definitely the rebound.,, it felt like the old ER for me. 

I do see what you’re saying. But I think ultimately every show has storylines fans wish they could’ve seen, couples who should’ve gotten together and never do (although I see what you mean; I wish Claudia and Banfield had come earlier), or relationships that seemed to just happen mostly offscreen and by the time they were married everyone was like “Huh?” (For example, Glee’s series finale was a five-year time jump where Rachel had gotten married and we never even saw her relationship with her husband develop that much.)  

Two shows I liked (Glee and Superstore) ended after six seasons and that was perfect. 

I think if us fans got everything they wanted in canon, fanfiction wouldn’t exist LOL. I have seen some opinions that Mark’s death should’ve been the series finale. But then people could say “But then we would’ve never seen Abby go back to med school!” or “We would have never seen Carter become the face of the show.” There will always be something or someone that will be missing; otherwise shows would never end haha. 

[ESS]

53 minutes ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

I do see what you’re saying. But I think ultimately every show has storylines fans wish they could’ve seen, couples who should’ve gotten together and never do (although I see what you mean; I wish Claudia and Banfield had come earlier), or relationships that seemed to just happen mostly offscreen and by the time they were married everyone was like “Huh?” (For example, Glee’s series finale was a five-year time jump where Rachel had gotten married and we never even saw her relationship with her husband develop that much.)  

Two shows I liked (Glee and Superstore) ended after six seasons and that was perfect. 

I think if us fans got everything they wanted in canon, fanfiction wouldn’t exist LOL. I have seen some opinions that Mark’s death should’ve been the series finale. But then people could say “But then we would’ve never seen Abby go back to med school!” or “We would have never seen Carter become the face of the show.” There will always be something or someone that will be missing; otherwise shows would never end haha. 

Yes I see your points as well and I agree with them. Yes I'm so glad fanfiction exists for that exact reason!! It's why I write to get what I want because I didn't get it in canon. 

[Hiyo]

Quote

Agree, disagree? 

You hate Abbey. We get it.

I do think season 15 was a nice rebound for the show.

I didn't mind the name tag wall scene, I just wish the writers had remembered to have Jeannie's name there as well.

Edited August 21, 2021 by Hiyo

[CrazyInAlabama]

My favorite episode ran this morning, Blizzard.   Where it's snowing, and they put a cast on Carter's leg, and the biker cuts the cast off for him.   I love when Bob, the former vascular surgeon clamps the man's aorta right in the ER.     

[Hiyo]

Ah, Bob...now there was an interesting character the writers could have explored more but just dropped.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I think someone said the actress was only agreeing to the few episodes she was on, because she had other commitments.   I would have loved to have her come back in a year or two as a vascular surgeon. 

[Cloud9Shopper]

Since we’re back to discussing S1, has anyone else listened to the Setting the Tone podcast? I just started it yesterday in between my morning meetings and really like it so far. The hosts recap each episode of ER and give their opinions/analysis, and it includes audio clips from whatever episode. They have some interviews with supporting cast members too that are their own episodes of the podcast. (They have an interview with Abraham Benrubi—Jerry—that they’re going to post soon! They’ve also talked to the actors/actresses who played Frank and Randi and some of the EMTs and nurses.)

I have an afternoon of meetings tomorrow so I’ll probably pick it back up with episode 1x3 in between. They usually post every Thursday and are up to S5 at the present.

https://open.spotify.com/show/1TPm3oIbVJ6MTqnCd0BUbr?si=XMym5OHQTQSg5c_houdJOg&dl_branch=1

(I’m not sure if they’re on iTunes or anywhere else too but that’s where they are on Spotify.) 

 

[debraran]

I learned today Motherhood episode was directed by Quentin Tarantino and it was done in one take (from Julianne) so NBC wouldn't edit his work. According to an interview with Julianna Margulies (Carol) he was did so to ensure NBC would have no choice to edit before airing and that it would "be his cut no matter what"

2 pics of her and Susan up on the roof  with him. Some fun pics from this Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/p/CTBVmPWHabJ/

[Cloud9Shopper]

I’m listening to the Setting the Tone podcast that I mentioned last week and I’m still in the S1 episodes. I left off at 9 1/2 Hours, but when they’re discussing Another Perfect Day (1x7), I’m honestly amazed at how Susan stays sane. She was dating Div at this point, she has Chloe being sneaky with her (stealing the credit card and breaking into the apartment) and then when she comes back later in the series she has that weird drunken marriage and the kid named Cosmo. And even with that she somehow never seemed to lose her mind.

It really made me like her that much more. I liked the moment she and Carter had sharing the champagne too, although not sure if I ship those two. 

[Heathen]

S8, E2 -- why the hell would a veteran ER nurse like Haleh need help with a Foley from a newer emergency nurse like Abby? Especially when the patient was a teddy bear like Pablo?

Rhetorical question here, peeps. The St. Abby BS was revving up at that point. 

[Cloud9Shopper]

1 hour ago, Heathen said:

S8, E2 -- why the hell would a veteran ER nurse like Haleh need help with a Foley from a newer emergency nurse like Abby? Especially when the patient was a teddy bear like Pablo?

Rhetorical question here, peeps. The St. Abby BS was revving up at that point. 

I can’t answer that question (I’ll leave it to someone who works in medicine and I don’t remember that scene) but I just looked up the episode and realized this is the Marfan’s episode and the one where Luka tells Abby “you’re not that pretty and not that special.” Holy crap, a lot to unpack in that one. It’s hard to believe they end up marrying and having a baby later in the series.

However, I’m reliving S1 via the podcast I linked upthread and I also have to remember that Doug and Carol get a better ending despite the fact that Doug showed up to Carol’s engagement party to profess his feelings and gets punched by Tag. Not to mention how much he hounds her at the hospital and goes to her house late one night. 

[Heathen]

3 hours ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

I can’t answer that question (I’ll leave it to someone who works in medicine and I don’t remember that scene) but I just looked up the episode and realized this is the Marfan’s episode and the one where Luka tells Abby “you’re not that pretty and not that special.” Holy crap, a lot to unpack in that one. It’s hard to believe they end up marrying and having a baby later in the series.

However, I’m reliving S1 via the podcast I linked upthread and I also have to remember that Doug and Carol get a better ending despite the fact that Doug showed up to Carol’s engagement party to profess his feelings and gets punched by Tag. Not to mention how much he hounds her at the hospital and goes to her house late one night. 

There wasn't any reason why Haleh would need St. Abby to help. It was just the crappy writers' way of showing how superior Abby was in every way to the plebeians in the ER. The writers went from "the veteran ER nurses are the backbone of the ER" to "the veteran ER nurses are doofuses who need newbie Abby to help them with mundane tasks." 

I thought it was kind of snotty for Luka to tell Abby she was "not that pretty and not that special," but at the same time, it was refreshing for someone to put her in her place. 

[Rootbeer]

35 minutes ago, Heathen said:

There wasn't any reason why Haleh would need St. Abby to help. It was just the crappy writers' way of showing how superior Abby was in every way to the plebeians in the ER. The writers went from "the veteran ER nurses are the backbone of the ER" to "the veteran ER nurses are doofuses who need newbie Abby to help them with mundane tasks." 

I thought it was kind of snotty for Luka to tell Abby she was "not that pretty and not that special," but at the same time, it was refreshing for someone to put her in her place. 

Yeah, remember Abby's background in nursing prior to this time was working in OB; there is no way she had even a fraction of the experience that Haleh did in placing catheters in male patients.  It was just the beginning of the deification of St Abby.

It was kind of lousy that Luka said what he did to Abby; I recall that GV objected to the line, that he didn't feel that Luka would ever speak to her that way and I think he had a good point.  However, her spoiled, bratty attitude was at the heart of his outburst.  She wasn't happy and felt he was taking her for granted; so use your big girl words, Abby, you're pushing 40, you've been dating for  more than 20 years.  The passive aggressive pouting routine is better suited to a 16 year old in her first relationship  than a middle aged divorcee.  It is also sort of ironic that Abby would get so snotty because she felt her boyfriend was neglecting her when she spent virtually her entire relationship with Carter and then Luka doing exactly the same thing.  If there ever was a character who put her own needs before anyone else, it was Abby.

[ch1]

I’m not sure why GV objected to that line. No. 1 - no one is that pretty or special to treat someone else like shit and No. 2 Abby was having her cake and eating it too with her physical relationship with Luka and her emotional one with Carter. Anyone in Luka’s place would have snapped.

 

[Cloud9Shopper]

22 minutes ago, ch1 said:

I’m not sure why GV objected to that line. No. 1 - no one is that pretty or special to treat someone else like shit and No. 2 Abby was having her cake and eating it too with her physical relationship with Luka and her emotional one with Carter. Anyone in Luka’s place would have snapped.

 

I believe it was because he said Luka would never say something like that, and apparently Maura agreed. But this was like 20 years ago (God I feel old) so this board is the only place I’ve heard that. 

[debraran]

13 hours ago, Heathen said:

There wasn't any reason why Haleh would need St. Abby to help. It was just the crappy writers' way of showing how superior Abby was in every way to the plebeians in the ER. The writers went from "the veteran ER nurses are the backbone of the ER" to "the veteran ER nurses are doofuses who need newbie Abby to help them with mundane tasks." 

I thought it was kind of snotty for Luka to tell Abby she was "not that pretty and not that special," but at the same time, it was refreshing for someone to put her in her place. 

I felt the same way, maybe out of character but she was so draining and whiny, part of you just felt, "good". Even if he dropped the pretty and just said "not anymore special than anyone else" It reminded me of GWTW when Rhett told Scarlett, she might think so but she still wasn't the " the cutest little trick in shoe leather.”

The ER nurses were always on the same level and Abby and Carol always were given slightly more kudos in that department but all of them could do procedures they helped with if they had too and listened much more to the patients than the doctors did. I wish they highlighted them a little more sometimes.

Maura had the same "I'm great" complex in The Affair and she has a new Showtime show coming out in Sept ".American Rust" https://www.sho.com/american-rust"". I don't have Showtime but I saw The Affair later on Amazon Prime for free. She is the wife of a police chief.

Edited September 3, 2021 by debraran

[Cloud9Shopper]

13 hours ago, Rootbeer said:

It was kind of lousy that Luka said what he did to Abby; I recall that GV objected to the line, that he didn't feel that Luka would ever speak to her that way and I think he had a good point.  However, her spoiled, bratty attitude was at the heart of his outburst.  She wasn't happy and felt he was taking her for granted; so use your big girl words, Abby, you're pushing 40, you've been dating for  more than 20 years.  The passive aggressive pouting routine is better suited to a 16 year old in her first relationship  than a middle aged divorcee.  It is also sort of ironic that Abby would get so snotty because she felt her boyfriend was neglecting her when she spent virtually her entire relationship with Carter and then Luka doing exactly the same thing.  If there ever was a character who put her own needs before anyone else, it was Abby.

Abby couldn’t even put her own child first when the time came. I can’t believe she ever thought it was a good idea for her to have a baby when the rest of her life was such a mess and she didn’t even seem to want kids to begin with. Wonder what 15-year-old Joe would be like these days if Abby and Luka were real people. 

I was hoping when I came back to the show in my 30s that I would understand the Abby love and it would make sense, but I’m about the same age the character was (36) these days, and I still don’t see the love. Just an overgrown spoiled brat. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

I'm still amazed that a show that stopped airing in 2009, and is in reruns 12 years later is still so popular. 

One of the reruns today on POP was the one with the toxic spill.   Carter was great organizing the ER evacuation, Doug and Carol were great, Benton and everyone else was so believable.    I think it's my second favorite episode to the Blizzard one. 

Edited September 7, 2021 by CrazyInAlabama

[Cloud9Shopper]

45 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I'm still amazed that a show that stopped airing in 2009, and is in reruns 12 years later is still so popular. 

Me too! I don’t have any exact stats on this but I know the podcast I’m listening to and another Instagram page for the show have solid followings. The hosts/page admins are great people too. Plus people still share ER GIFs on Tumblr and now I belong to a Discord. 

I remember when I got my fanfic idea back in April I actually googled ER fanfiction because I wasn’t in any kind of fandom activity (for any show, not specific to ER) and I was wondering if it was even still a thing. Then I learned about Archive of our Own and the rest is history. I’m hooked now! 
 

When I first dusted off the show on Hulu in 2018, I felt like I was seeing my friends again. Plus after being in high school and early college when I loved the show, I enjoyed experiencing it as an adult. 

Edited September 3, 2021 by Cloud9Shopper

[ch1]

4 hours ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

Abby couldn’t even put her own child first when the time came. I can’t believe she ever thought it was a good idea for her to have a baby when the rest of her life was such a mess and she didn’t even seem to want kids to begin with. Wonder what 15-year-old Joe would be like these days if Abby and Luka were real people. 

I was hoping when I came back to the show in my 30s that I would understand the Abby love and it would make sense, but I’m about the same age the character was (36) these days, and I still don’t see the love. Just an overgrown spoiled brat. 

Joe would be an attractive alcoholic with BPD who watched his teenage love of his life die tragically.  

I’m joking but with the poor me she must be a victim writing that Abby got I can totally see it going that way.

 

 

[Cloud9Shopper]

I was just watching Chicago Med, and the one pregnant doc (Natalie) actually went up to OB when her water broke instead of having a last-minute crisis delivery in the ER. It was refreshing. Even before I get to Love’s Labor Lost in the podcast, it’s unbelievable how many deliveries the ER doctors did over the years. (Although I know from reading here that that does not happen in real life.) 

However, like ER, Natalie and Maggie were trying to argue with the OB and refuse interventions/a C-section when the OB was trying to tell them what was necessary, so I guess they copied one thing. 

[RedbirdNelly]

ER definitely got worse as it went along but (a) for my own selfish reasons, I'm glad they didn't stop at Season 8 or whatever. I always enjoyed the show and am glad I had all the Thursday nights with it that I did; and (b) it is still better in reruns than any other medical show I've tried to watch. I started watching ChicagoMed to bring back the med show fun but it is so awful. I just hate watch it now. I watch Grey's but that is in its own soap opera bucket (and great hate watching as well). 

[Cloud9Shopper]

I never thought I’d say this, but as I’m listening to Setting the Tone, I can’t believe how much I sympathize with Jen (Mark’s ex) as they play the audio clips of the disagreements they have over each others’ careers. Maybe it’s just that I’m well into my working life now (although I’m not married), but I totally sense Jen’s frustration about how she feels she should have her chance at advancing her career too and Mark doesn’t really seem to understand that or cheer her on. I don’t know much about the legal or the medical job markets, but throughout the series even the most incompetent docs on ER don’t seem to have a problem getting work, whereas Jen’s opportunity seems to be more coveted. If I were her, I’d take the chance to continue clerking for that judge too.

I like Mark but I don’t understand why he’s so eager to accept jobs without talking to Jen first and why he won’t compromise and understand that her career is also a lot of work and long hours. Law school isn’t cheap either; keep that in mind. I used to be a legal assistant and one of the lawyers I worked with said he’d probably be paying his loans for the rest of his life. I mean is staying at County really that big of a deal that Mark (and others throughout the series) can’t seriously see themselves working anywhere else? I get that it’s a known teaching hospital but it can’t be that prestigious in the scheme of things, right?

[Bastet]

Jen shouldn't have cheated instead of ending the marriage first, of course, but otherwise I have always been 100% Team Jen in the dissolution of the Greene relationship.  Hers is the story of so many women - her career takes a backseat to his time and again, and then when it's finally going to be her turn because she has the opportunity for a federal clerkship (which is a game changer in a legal career), he gets pissy and doesn't want to compromise.  Like she's been doing throughout the marriage.  Like both partners must do in a marriage.

[Rootbeer]

16 minutes ago, Bastet said:

Jen shouldn't have cheated instead of ending the marriage first, of course, but otherwise I have always been 100% Team Jen in the dissolution of the Greene relationship.  Hers is the story of so many women - her career takes a backseat to his time and again, and then when it's finally going to be her turn because she has the opportunity for a federal clerkship (which is a game changer in a legal career), he gets pissy and doesn't want to compromise.  Like she's been doing throughout the marriage.  Like both partners must do in a marriage.

I agree, from what we saw, they had essentially agreed to live in Chicago so he could get his ER training at which point, they would put her career first when making the next move.  A clerkship with a federal judge is HUGE; far more difficult to obtain than a residency at County, let alone an attending job.  It also is a limited gig; a year or two and out.  Considering Jen had spent 4 years raising their child while attending law school so he could do his residency; Mark's reaction to her proposed move to Milwaukee for an amazing career opportunity for a limited period before they could move anywhere was really out of line.  She deserved her chance, too.  And, in the long run, Jen doing that clerkship was going to set her apart from the rest of the law school grads and allow her to earn more than the average lawyer just starting out.  It's a life changing sort of once in a lifetime opportunity.

One of the things that used to bug me was the show's insistence that County was the only place where a good doctor could work; that every other hospital in the world was staffed with slackers and money grubbers who didn't care about the patients.  If Mark was so bent on working at a county facility; well, there are publicly funded hospitals in Milwaukee where he could've looked.  For that matter, since it was likely a temporary gig, he could've just taken a job anyplace in Milwaukee and toughed it out until she was finished. He probably could've gotten the promise of a job at County  if/when they returned to Chicago too. As it was, Jen later moved to St. Louis for her law career, so we know Milwaukee was just a temporary stop anyway.

Edited September 8, 2021 by Rootbeer

[limecoke]

In season one, Carter is introduced as a 3rd year medical student. My understanding is that at the end of 4-year medical school (post-bachelors degree), the med student earns the title of “Doctor of Medicine.” Yet as a 3rd year student Carter is referred to in the ER as “doctor” and even as a “resident” at times. He also seems to be in the ER every day, thus never attending classes at whatever University he’s associated with.  I just watched an episode where this 3rd year student is allowed to intubate a patient. Am I confused on this or is the show the thing that’s confusing me? I’m re-watching season one and this seriously bugs me.