All Episodes Talk: What's Up Doc?

[debraran]

17 hours ago, Kel Varnsen said:

She was a weird character. She had a multi episode arc and they even cast her kids. In I think her last episode she asks Mark if he will be the guardian of her kids when she dies. He says he can't and then you never hear what happens to her.

She had cervical cancer if I remember correctly and Mark said it was "early". Survival for that is high but I did get a weird vibe there when he was talking to her and I wish they updated.

[Birdie]

I never thought Mark and Lizzie were terrible together until they threw Rebellious Rachel in the mix. Could’ve done without that mess. Though the spiciness in her personality was lost when she got with him; it was just a very stark contrast to the flirtatious and gregariousness with which she came into the show.

[Bastet]

2 hours ago, Birdie said:

Though the spiciness in her personality was lost when she got with him; it was just a very stark contrast to the flirtatious and gregariousness with which she came into the show.

Yeah, he sucked all the interesting right out of her.

9 hours ago, debraran said:

She had cervical cancer if I remember correctly and Mark said it was "early". Survival for that is high but I did get a weird vibe there when he was talking to her and I wish they updated.

I love the scene when he's trying to encourage her by talking about the five-year survival rate, and she just gazes out towards her kids and softly says something like, "Five years.  They'll barely be teenagers."

[Hiyo]

The main problem with Mark and Lizzie was that I never saw any chemistry between the actors playing them. 

[Cloud9Shopper]

4 hours ago, Birdie said:

I never thought Mark and Lizzie were terrible together until they threw Rebellious Rachel in the mix. Could’ve done without that mess. Though the spiciness in her personality was lost when she got with him; it was just a very stark contrast to the flirtatious and gregariousness with which she came into the show.

And Mark’s tumor didn’t help. I feel like any of us would have been that miserable under that combo of circumstances. Although I’d still rather watch a stressed out and depressed Elizabeth than Abby. 

[debraran]

15 hours ago, Bastet said:

Yeah, he sucked all the interesting right out of her.

I love the scene when he's trying to encourage her by talking about the five-year survival rate, and she just gazes out towards her kids and softly says something like, "Five years.  They'll barely be teenagers."

Isn't is over 90% early?

13 hours ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

And Mark’s tumor didn’t help. I feel like any of us would have been that miserable under that combo of circumstances. Although I’d still rather watch a stressed out and depressed Elizabeth than Abby. 

Amen to that!! Never warmed up to her, a few episodes weren't bad to me but so many made me FF later until we were somewhere else.

Re Mark's death, it was a big ratings booster (if needed then) and many still talk about it, but when Anthony said during the reunion that he would not be in any ER special, I realized how many wouldn't be. They could show scenes of him if they were reminiscing at Doug and Carol's kids wedding or graduation or whatever but it would be bittersweet. I admit though a 2 hour special with George, Julianne, Gloria, Laura Innes, would be great. I would miss Paul McCrane too and seeing how he changed but the joy of seeing the crew again would be like the reunion. 2 hours would be just enough and they all look great.

Edited May 22, 2021 by debraran

[Dr.OO7]

https://people.com/tv/why-julianna-margulies-george-clooney-never-dated-during-er-days/?amp=true

[Rootbeer]

32 minutes ago, Dr.OO7 said:

https://people.com/tv/why-julianna-margulies-george-clooney-never-dated-during-er-days/?amp=true

Did anyone ever think they had actually dated?   It never even occurred to me.

[Dr.OO7]

14 minutes ago, Rootbeer said:

Did anyone ever think they had actually dated?   It never even occurred to me.

Years ago, before the fifth season, the cast was on "Larry King Live". A viewer asked if they were dating in real life and they burst out laughing. At the time, I thought it was because they found the idea ludicrous, but now I wonder if it's because they were unnerved that someone had picked up on the vibe between them.

I never thought they'd outright dated--the tabloids would have been all over it, but I did wonder if they'd ever hooked up or if the thought had ever crossed either of their minds.

Edited May 26, 2021 by Dr.OO7

[Danny Franks]

On 5/21/2021 at 6:20 PM, Birdie said:

I never thought Mark and Lizzie were terrible together until they threw Rebellious Rachel in the mix. Could’ve done without that mess. Though the spiciness in her personality was lost when she got with him; it was just a very stark contrast to the flirtatious and gregariousness with which she came into the show.

It was when they decided that new mother Elizabeth should be a shrieking harridan who simply can't stand Mark's milquetoast peace-making. I think that was a little before Rachel showed up, but they clearly decided Rachel should be a match to the leaking gas line of Elizabeth's temper.

It didn't help that the actress playing Rachel was singularly charmless and unsympathetic (I guess that means she did her job well, but she was tough to watch) so you wanted to side with Elizabeth but she was almost literally spitting with fury at times. I guess it was all intended to make Mark the sympathetic one, surrounded by these 'problem women'.

[Rootbeer]

4 minutes ago, Danny Franks said:

It was when they decided that new mother Elizabeth should be a shrieking harridan who simply can't stand Mark's milquetoast peace-making. I think that was a little before Rachel showed up, but they clearly decided Rachel should be a match to the leaking gas line of Elizabeth's temper.

It didn't help that the actress playing Rachel was singularly charmless and unsympathetic (I guess that means she did her job well, but she was tough to watch) so you wanted to side with Elizabeth but she was almost literally spitting with fury at times. I guess it was all intended to make Mark the sympathetic one, surrounded by these 'problem women'.

It made Mark look like a lousy husband and father to me.  He agrees to allow his teenaged, troubled daughter to move in with him, his wife and new baby without even telling his wife what was happening or doing any sort of advanced planning and preparation. Then, when his daughter, inevitably walks all over him, he does nothing about it; culminating in her bringing drugs into their home and leaving them in reach of her baby sister.  He's lucky all Elizabeth did was scream at him.  However, I do agree that the writing made Elizabeth a cardboard cutout, unidimensional compared to the vibrant, lively woman she was when first on the show.  That was a big mistake, IMO.  She should've been used to add some color to colorless Mark.  Instead, they drained all the color out of her to match her oatmeal husband.

[Cloud9Shopper]

2 hours ago, Rootbeer said:

It made Mark look like a lousy husband and father to me.  He agrees to allow his teenaged, troubled daughter to move in with him, his wife and new baby without even telling his wife what was happening or doing any sort of advanced planning and preparation. Then, when his daughter, inevitably walks all over him, he does nothing about it; culminating in her bringing drugs into their home and leaving them in reach of her baby sister.  He's lucky all Elizabeth did was scream at him.  

I was firmly on Elizabeth’s side when she wanted Rachel kicked out after Ella’s OD. I know Mark was just realizing his tumor came back around this same time but Rachel got off easy, as seems to be a theme on this show when a character does something that could have killed someone. I’m glad Rachel grows up a bit after Mark dies and she and Elizabeth reconcile but holy crap I would’ve wanted Rachel gone at the time too. Mark yells at Rachel about how Ella could’ve been brain damaged or something (it’s been a while so I don’t remember the exact exchange) but when it came time to put his foot down in front of Elizabeth he was way too soft. 

[Danny Franks]

3 hours ago, Rootbeer said:

It made Mark look like a lousy husband and father to me.  He agrees to allow his teenaged, troubled daughter to move in with him, his wife and new baby without even telling his wife what was happening or doing any sort of advanced planning and preparation. Then, when his daughter, inevitably walks all over him, he does nothing about it; culminating in her bringing drugs into their home and leaving them in reach of her baby sister.  He's lucky all Elizabeth did was scream at him.  However, I do agree that the writing made Elizabeth a cardboard cutout, unidimensional compared to the vibrant, lively woman she was when first on the show.  That was a big mistake, IMO.  She should've been used to add some color to colorless Mark.  Instead, they drained all the color out of her to match her oatmeal husband.

I mean, Mark was a lousy husband and father, based on most of what we saw. His first love was the hospital, and he always put it ahead of his personal life, even when he claimed he wouldn't. His inability to parent teen Rachel properly was rooted in his inability to be a husband and father when she was young. And we know Mark never liked conflict, always looked for the third way, to keep everyone happy, which is not a great parenting technique.

The show usually presented that view as the right one - work comes first. At least, it does when you're doing something important and noble. We saw all the characters sacrifice their personal lives for the ER, and most of the time it seemed like we were being told they'd made the right choice. It was only that final choice - Carol leaving to be with Doug, Benton leaving so he could raise Reese properly, Mark leaving to spend his last few weeks with his family - where we were asked to see finally hanging up the scrubs as the right decision.

[Dr.OO7]

47 minutes ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

was firmly on Elizabeth’s side when she wanted Rachel kicked out after Ella’s OD

As was I. I couldn't believe how many people on another board were acting like she was overreacting and practically shaming her for not embracing and instantly forgiving Rachel. If this were Rachel's first infraction, if it was something legitimate that Ella ingested (perfume, medicine, Windex, etc), or if Mark had actually punished her then yes, but that wasn't the case. The girl had been a bratty, bitchy, pain in the ass from day one and both the drugs and Mark still refusing to do anything were the final straws.

The fact that Rachel was still drinking and using drugs in Mark's final days just proves how pathetic and ineffective his parenting was. Even if he didn't kick her out, he certainly should have sent her to rehab or counseling.

[Rootbeer]

3 minutes ago, Dr.OO7 said:

As was I. I couldn't believe how many people on another board were acting like she was overreacting and practically shaming her for not embracing and instantly forgiving Rachel. If this were Rachel's first infraction, if it was something legitimate that Ella ingested (perfume, medicine, Windex, etc), or if Mark had actually punished her then yes, but that wasn't the case. The girl had been a bratty, bitchy, pain in the ass from day one and both the drugs and Mark still refusing to do anything were the final straws.

The fact that Rachel was still drinking and using drugs in Mark's final days just proves how pathetic and ineffective his parenting was. Even if he didn't kick her out, he certainly should have sent her to rehab or counseling.

Mark's inability to see Elizabeth's POV re: Rachel's role in poisoning Ella was particularly galling.  Mark, as an ER doc, was a mandated reported, meaning that he was legally obligated to report things like infants OD'ing on illegal drugs to the authorities, so his shock that Elizabeth would even ask about calling the police was ridiculous.  While I don't think Mark, as the parent, needed to be the one to alert the authorities, Kerry was the ER attending and she surely should've.  Just because it was Mark's family doesn't mean that Kerry should ignore her responsibility to protect children at risk, both Ella and Rachel.  It also would've helped Mark in that he would be forced to go along with whatever CPS decided and, chances are, Rachel, if not removed from the home, would've been ordered into counseling and drug testing, etc.

[CrazyInAlabama]

In his personal life, Mark always avoided confrontation, and taking a stand on any issue.    He never disciplined Rachel, he never confronted his first wife about her affair until he couldn't avoid it.   When Doug's father died, he didn't tell him why he didn't want to see his parents.   Mark just went along with whatever happened, and did anything to avoid taking a stand about anything.    

Look at how he let Rachel railroad herself into his life with Elizabeth and the new baby.   He didn't even try to do anything when Rachel's drugs almost killed Ella, and could have left her with permanent damage.    He actually wanted Elizabeth to let Rachel in to see the baby when she was so critically sick, because of Rachel.    (In Elizabeth's place, I would have told Mark to clear out, and take his daughter with him, and then would have called the police and reported Rachel.   Even when he was dying, Mark was letting Rachel do whatever she wanted to, and ignoring it.      I still find it ridiculous that the ending of the show was Rachel getting into medical school, no way she had the grades or the work ethic to even attempt to go to medical school.  

 

Edited May 26, 2021 by CrazyInAlabama

[Dr.OO7]

1 hour ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I still find it ridiculous that the ending of the show was Rachel getting into medical school, no way she had the grades or the work ethic to even attempt to go to medical school.  

The second to last time that we saw Rachel, she appeared to have genuinely gotten her act together, so I don't find too unrealistic.

1 hour ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

In his personal life, Mark always avoided confrontation, and taking a stand on any issue

I hated that about him and it's a trait he displayed from the very beginning.

[Cloud9Shopper]

We could almost write a book called “How Not to Parent, with Examples from ER.” Between Mark, Sam, and Abby we should have a good start! 

[Kel Varnsen]

24 minutes ago, Dr.OO7 said:

The second to last time that we saw Rachel, she appeared to have genuinely gotten her act together, so I don't find too unrealistic.

It doesn't seem like that much of a stretch for me. It's like 7 years between Mark's death and the finale. Doesn't seem like an unreasonable amount of time for a teenager to turn their life around. Plus there was never any indication that Rachel was dumb (at least academically). Plus she came from a well off family so she would have a ton of advantages. She would never have to miss out on extra curricular stuff or studying time because she had to work a part time job to pay bills and if she needed a tutor in something her mom probably wouldn't have to worry about picking up some extra shifts at the law office to afford it.

Plus this is a world where Morris not only made it into medical school but actually graduated.

[Gigi43]

Elizabeth would have had every right to call the police. I was firmly team Elizabeth. Especially in the moments when Ella was in the ER. She wasn't the wicked step mother. She was justified. I was fine with Mark asking Rachel if she was stupid in the heat of the moment after her "it was just one pill" comment, but ultimately Mark was more of an idiot because he did nothing leading up to it or nothing after. Even in Over The Rainbow, Mark knew Rachel was taking his pills and drinking... and there was no implication he let Jen know in some type of way. Death can make someone spiral more and he just took a chance letting her figure that shit out on her own. 

 

However, seven years is enough time that maybe she could figure her shit out. Mark's passing could have impacted her for the better, she could have gone into therapy, but that was a huge gamble on Mark's part. He saw Carter get addicted after trauma, he's treated tons of patients and he thought a trip to Hawaii would fix everything. 

[Cloud9Shopper]

Just finished up another Saturday night watch! Episodes 15-2 to 15-4:

15-2: What’s with the intern who looks like she just rolled out of bed for her first day of work? Washing her hair in a gas station sink? Yikes. The beauty queen intern reminded me of Helen on New Amsterdam strolling around the hospital in high heels. The women on this show sure have interesting shoe choices over the years. I remember Chen wearing sandals to work and wondering how that was allowed in an ER! 
 

I’m not sure what I think of Banfield here. Not in love with her yet but don’t hate her. The staff always seems to be annoyed every time a new chief tries to shape them up. Wonder why that is. They didn’t want to hear Weaver’s and Moretti’s ideas and insights when they showed up either. 
 

15-3: Good riddance, Abby. Let us know how acting like a spoiled brat to your coworkers and avoiding personal responsibility for anything works out in Boston. Why wouldn’t she just be courteous and tell people she was leaving? Why did she fight for the attending job so much only to bail after one day? And did anyone really mean it when they told Abby to come visit and they’d miss her? If I had a coworker like that I’d mean that in bullshit corporate speak. “Oh I hope to see you soon; come visit!” (But I actually don’t give a shit if I never see you again and I’m just saying that to be nice. She even made Neela’s operation all about her instead of just letting Neela work. And LOL at Abby reading the Bible. 

15-4: Not that memorable IMO. The psycho sister was something out of SVU. I liked Banfield’s flashback in Trauma 1 at the end and hearing Mark’s voice. I know what happens in Heal Thyself so no need to worry about spoiling me, as I’ve watched clips and read summaries of episodes I haven’t gotten to. I can’t wait to see Mark again by flashback! 
 

Only 18 episodes left for me! I can’t wait to get to some of the nostalgic stuff, but I have to admit I’ve been repeatedly watching YouTube clips of the peak days so I can get back to yet another rewatch of when things were good. 
 

I’ve also went down the rabbit hole when an online friend told me about an Instagram page called erfanpagetribute. So many good pictures from the show and behind the scenes stuff! 
 

[readster]

On 5/26/2021 at 2:24 PM, Kel Varnsen said:

 

Plus this is a world where Morris not only made it into medical school but actually graduated.

Plus, donated enough sperm to have several dozen children who sought him out and their parents HAD NO IDEA WHO HE WAS. Even though he was trying to be in their lives. 

[Driad]

On 5/26/2021 at 3:24 PM, Kel Varnsen said:

Plus this is a world where Morris not only made it into medical school but actually graduated.

Old joke:

Q: What do you call the person who graduated last in a medical school class?

A: Doctor.

[readster]

9 hours ago, Driad said:

Old joke:

Q: What do you call the person who graduated last in a medical school class?

A: Doctor.

It's funny too how they changed the character around because both Grimes and his manager threaten to walk if they didn't start making Morris more of a "real doctor". I wish I could find the original article from years ago, but to paraphrase Grimes: "Not understanding how the real medical world worked outside the classroom, I can do, but to the point he doesn't know basics and gets high at work. Yeah, I don't even buy that and I'm the actor." 

[Dr.OO7]

34 minutes ago, readster said:

It's funny too how they changed the character around because both Grimes and his manager threaten to walk if they didn't start making Morris more of a "real doctor". I wish I could find the original article from years ago, but to paraphrase Grimes: "Not understanding how the real medical world worked outside the classroom, I can do, but to the point he doesn't know basics and gets high at work. Yeah, I don't even buy that and I'm the actor." 

One of the few times an actor making demands actually worked for the better. Morris had one of the best character arcs in the show's--hell, TV's--history.

On 5/30/2021 at 12:05 AM, Cloud9Shopper said:

The staff always seems to be annoyed every time a new chief tries to shape them up. Wonder why that is. They didn’t want to hear Weaver’s and Moretti’s ideas and insights when they showed up either. 

Because they always introduced new bosses in an abrasive manner that put people off. Kerry hovered over people, talked to them like they were idiots--particularly Susan--and nagged them about every little thing, so whatever legitimate points she may have had got lost under that.

[readster]

5 hours ago, Dr.OO7 said:

 

Because they always introduced new bosses in an abrasive manner that put people off. Kerry hovered over people, talked to them like they were idiots--particularly Susan--and nagged them about every little thing, so whatever legitimate points she may have had got lost under that.

Yep, or Stanley Tucci's character who comes in yelling at them saying how NO ONE was following protocol or took a regular test for patients. How there should be NO inter office relationships and then proceeds to focus on his son and sleeps with Abby who he KNEW was in a downward spiral. 

[wknt3]

2 hours ago, readster said:

Yep, or Stanley Tucci's character who comes in yelling at them saying how NO ONE was following protocol or took a regular test for patients. How there should be NO inter office relationships and then proceeds to focus on his son and sleeps with Abby who he KNEW was in a downward spiral. 

To be fair, he wouldn't be a good boss if he skipped his turn in the rotation duties now would he?

[Rootbeer]

1 hour ago, wknt3 said:

To be fair, he wouldn't be a good boss if he skipped his turn in the rotation duties now would he?

It wasn't the first time Abby banged her boss.  Maybe he thought it was one of the perks of the ER Chief.

[Cloud9Shopper]

1 hour ago, Rootbeer said:

It wasn't the first time Abby banged her boss.  Maybe he thought it was one of the perks of the ER Chief.

Man I wish Stanley Tucci could have stayed on the show longer. “Get used to taking orders from a chief you’re not sleeping with.” I know I shouldn’t laugh at that knowing what happens but I can’t help it. 

Edited June 1, 2021 by Cloud9Shopper

[debraran]

7 hours ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

Man I wish Stanley Tucci could have stayed on the show longer. “Get used to taking orders from a chief you’re not sleeping with.” I know I shouldn’t laugh at that knowing what happens but I can’t help it. 

I loved him and felt he was underused. Even the troubles with his son were kind of there but cast aside. For such a wonderful actor they could have given him better scripts. I feel if he came in earlier before the Abby/Luka debacle, it would have been better. They didn't go to deep knowing the limits .

[Kel Varnsen]

On season 13 now and saw Pratt just get arrested last night. Him giving back to the community is kind of an interesting storyline. But it is also kind of dumb, because it seems like if Pratt just asked someone it could have probably been done as an official hospital thing which would have been a lot more legal. I mean County General even had that mobile clinic.

[Birdie]

Ugh, the Kem eps have begun to repeat on Pop. (It doesn’t help that I just don’t like the character either). How come almost every woman they tried to pair Wyle with on this show, he had zero chemistry with? IMHO, the only romantic interest he clicked with was Christine Elise as Harper. Rebecca De Mornay? No. Julie Bowen? Nope. Maura Tierney? Ha, no. Mädchen Amick? Meh, ok, there was maybe a little something there.

This isn’t really a commentary on Wyle’s acting (though I’ve seen him in things other than ER, I haven’t been “blown away” by anything; he’s good 🤷‍♀️ ), but more so on the casting directors, I suppose.

Because he had chemistry with Jorja Fox as friends with Doyle and Maria Bello (wish she’d stuck around, but then I wonder what TPTB would’ve done to destroy that relationship if Anna and Carter did eventually get together). And I think he and Ming-Na connected well, but I’m glad Carter and Chen never got together because I think it’s important to depict healthy, platonic-hetero relationships.

I’m sure there are those that disagree with me though. Again, just my little opinions. 

[Kel Varnsen]

Really ER of a the Newsradio people who could show up and have a scene with Maura Tierney you give me an episode with a stupid Andy Dick is a psychic b-plot. What the hell? And he even used the phrase "real deal".

[Cloud9Shopper]

1 hour ago, Birdie said:

Ugh, the Kem eps have begun to repeat on Pop. (It doesn’t help that I just don’t like the character either). How come almost every woman they tried to pair Wyle with on this show, he had zero chemistry with? IMHO, the only romantic interest he clicked with was Christine Elise as Harper. Rebecca De Mornay? No. Julie Bowen? Nope. Maura Tierney? Ha, no. Mädchen Amick? Meh, ok, there was maybe a little something there.

This isn’t really a commentary on Wyle’s acting (though I’ve seen him in things other than ER, I haven’t been “blown away” by anything; he’s good 🤷‍♀️ ), but more so on the casting directors, I suppose.

Because he had chemistry with Jorja Fox as friends with Doyle and Maria Bello (wish she’d stuck around, but then I wonder what TPTB would’ve done to destroy that relationship if Anna and Carter did eventually get together). And I think he and Ming-Na connected well, but I’m glad Carter and Chen never got together because I think it’s important to depict healthy, platonic-hetero relationships.

I’m sure there are those that disagree with me though. Again, just my little opinions. 

I wish Anna had stuck around too. She was so non-needy and fun and I think she and Carter could have been a good couple. I never liked Kem either. She just seemed really dull and didn’t have that much chemistry with Carter. (I plan on skipping the Africa plot altogether on my next rewatch anyway.) I never shipped Abby  L. and Carter, and after her brother’s infamous stunt at Gamma’s funeral, she deserved to be dumped. 

I was a teenager when I was watching reruns on TNT back in the 2000s and I remember the episode where Carter and Harper had such intense sex the picture frames were rattling. That was fun for younger me, and me in my 30s still found it amusing. 
 

Unpopular opinion incoming: I knew he and Abby Keaton weren’t going to be long-term but I enjoyed watching their fling for what it was. Glenne Headley doesn’t bother me much either.

I’m with you otherwise for the most part. I can’t think of one Carter pairing that I shipped. 

Edited June 7, 2021 by Cloud9Shopper

[Rootbeer]

3 minutes ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

 

Unpopular opinion incoming: I knew he and Abby Keaton weren’t going to be long-term but I enjoyed watching their fling for what it was. Glenne Headley doesn’t bother me much either.

I’m with you otherwise for the most part. I can’t think of one Carter pairing that I shipped. 

I thought Carter and Abby K had chemistry and I liked her character, although she was a little too crunchy granola, Kumbaya for a surgeon. Ethical issues aside, of course.

I think NW in general, is better at buddy/friendship chemistry with his co-stars.  I don't recall ever seeing him in anything where he smoldered with a love interest.

I notice no one mentions Lucy.  Whoever saw those two actors together and thought they'd make a good romantic couple is apparently legally blind.  No chemistry at all, not as actors, not as student/teacher, not as friends, and certainly not as love interests.

Benton was the great love of Carter's life on the show.  Now, THERE was chemistry!

[Cloud9Shopper]

54 minutes ago, Rootbeer said:

I thought Carter and Abby K had chemistry and I liked her character, although she was a little too crunchy granola, Kumbaya for a surgeon. Ethical issues aside, of course.

I think NW in general, is better at buddy/friendship chemistry with his co-stars.  I don't recall ever seeing him in anything where he smoldered with a love interest.

I notice no one mentions Lucy.  Whoever saw those two actors together and thought they'd make a good romantic couple is apparently legally blind.  No chemistry at all, not as actors, not as student/teacher, not as friends, and certainly not as love interests.

Benton was the great love of Carter's life on the show.  Now, THERE was chemistry!

I’m glad the Lucy fling was a one-time deal. I didn’t think it was anything special either and it kind of weirded me out. 
 

I watched 15-5 and 15-6 on Saturday, and maybe it’s because I was too tired to keep watching, but I still do not care about any of these clueless interns or Banfield. I wonder if Banfield gets better or more watchable. I did get a nice laugh out of the ditzy blonde intern who showed up in the mermaid outfit on Halloween, though. I didn’t even care about Ray coming back. He wasn’t that memorable of a character for me that I was all happy to see him. 
 

16 episodes left for me. I can’t wait to see Heal Thyself next. At least it will be nice to watch Mark via flashback. At this point, though, I’m ready to be done and get back to the heyday. 

[Rootbeer]

1 hour ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

I’m glad the Lucy fling was a one-time deal. I didn’t think it was anything special either and it kind of weirded me out. 
 

I watched 15-5 and 15-6 on Saturday, and maybe it’s because I was too tired to keep watching, but I still do not care about any of these clueless interns or Banfield. I wonder if Banfield gets better or more watchable. I did get a nice laugh out of the ditzy blonde intern who showed up in the mermaid outfit on Halloween, though. I didn’t even care about Ray coming back. He wasn’t that memorable of a character for me that I was all happy to see him. 
 

16 episodes left for me. I can’t wait to see Heal Thyself next. At least it will be nice to watch Mark via flashback. At this point, though, I’m ready to be done and get back to the heyday. 

Banfield gets better only because Angela Bassett is a superb actor who can spin straw into gold.  Her story is not too bad, but kind of shoehorned into what should've been a season to celebrate the cast already there instead of introducing new characters.

Look for the one where Banfield and Morris go to a conference and get snowed in and can't get a flight home.  Both actors did a terrific job in that one.

[Birdie]

Oh, I totally forgot Keaton! *slaps forehead* You’re right; I didn’t think they were bad together. I saw some chemistry there too.

And, yeah, I didn’t count Lucy in there, but I, too, am glad that went nowhere. I liked her when I first watched the show (as a character, not any love interest), but she doesn’t grow on me after rewatches.

Re: the Morris and Banfield ep mentioned above - that is a good ep. Won’t say anything more because don’t want to spoil it for the watcher above.

[Bastet]

I liked Carter a lot better with his female friends/colleagues than his love interests (and, of course, loved most his relationship with Benton).  Hell, Carter and Kerry as tenant and landlord are exponentially more interesting to watch than Carter and any one of his girlfriends.

The only "romantic" relationship of his I liked is the one that hadn't actually turned that way yet (and then the actor left) - Carter and Anna Del Amico.  The actors had good chemistry, and the fractured friendship being rebuilt laid a good storyline foundation for having them date.

He was okay with Julie Bowen's character, but she was so clearly written as just a temporary roadblock to Carter/Lucy thing; I think the only reason it wasn't as bad as his other relationships is that they never wrote it with the idea it might go somewhere.  The others all felt like insisting on something that wasn't working (exhibit A: Carter and Susan.  WTF?!).

[Danny Franks]

On 6/7/2021 at 1:20 PM, Birdie said:

Ugh, the Kem eps have begun to repeat on Pop. (It doesn’t help that I just don’t like the character either). How come almost every woman they tried to pair Wyle with on this show, he had zero chemistry with? IMHO, the only romantic interest he clicked with was Christine Elise as Harper. Rebecca De Mornay? No. Julie Bowen? Nope. Maura Tierney? Ha, no. Mädchen Amick? Meh, ok, there was maybe a little something there.

That one little scene in season one, where Carter and Susan almost kissed, had more chemistry than Carter's entire relationship with Kem. And the scene where Lucy and Carter did kiss had more chemistry than most of the other relationships he had.

On 6/7/2021 at 1:20 PM, Birdie said:

Because he had chemistry with Jorja Fox as friends with Doyle and Maria Bello (wish she’d stuck around, but then I wonder what TPTB would’ve done to destroy that relationship if Anna and Carter did eventually get together). And I think he and Ming-Na connected well, but I’m glad Carter and Chen never got together because I think it’s important to depict healthy, platonic-hetero relationships.

I think Noah Wyle had good chemistry with Maria Bello, but that obviously never came to anything, and every other love interest they gave him was a dud.

One of the 'what if' relationships I'd have liked to see was Carter/Chen, but I do agree that their friendship was really nice as well

15 hours ago, Bastet said:

The only "romantic" relationship of his I liked is the one that hadn't actually turned that way yet (and then the actor left) - Carter and Anna Del Amico.  The actors had good chemistry, and the fractured friendship being rebuilt laid a good storyline foundation for having them date.

The writers did put a lot of effort into Carter/Anna, and used it to give us a lot more of Carter's background - Anna visiting his grandparents' house with Carol was what introduced us to Gamma for the first time, and to the awkward family dynamics that formed so many of Carter's later storylines. 

They spent time establishing Anna's working class identity and her disdain for the idle rich, Carter lying because he wanted her to like him. Then they get over that initial bump just in time for Carter to withhold treatment from that serial rapist and Anna to be pissed as hell over it. Then they go through Chase's addiction, cold turkey and overdose together. Then Maria Bello decides she wants to leave, so the end for her character is getting back together with her recovering drug addict ex who she moved to a different city to get away from. 

 I still find it kind of funny that the writers stumbled into the idea that Carter has a thing for older women - Susan in season one, Dr. Keaton, Rebecca De Mornay, Susan again, even Abby and Anna felt like they were written to be a few years older, and with more than a few years more life experience. Then they introduce his own, cold, detached and patrician mother and suddenly it all clicks.

[ch1]

Maybe that older women thing is why the writers thought it would be entertaining to write about Carter first time being with a maid that worked for his family when he barely hit puberty.

I still want to know the thought process on that one.
 

 

[Rootbeer]

3 hours ago, ch1 said:

Maybe that older women thing is why the writers thought it would be entertaining to write about Carter first time being with a maid that worked for his family when he barely hit puberty.

I still want to know the thought process on that one.
 

 

Carter's 'first time' wasn't sex, it was child abuse.  I think we were supposed to gather from it that he was desperately starved for parental love and attention.  Big misstep on the part of TPTB, IMO.

Abby was older than Carter.  The show established that Carter had the same birthday as NW, but was a year older, so June 4, 1970.  Abby  tells Luka she's pregnant in the Christmas episode of Season 12 which aired December 2005.  She also says she is 37 years old, Maura Tierney was 40 at the time.  In December 2005, Carter would've been 34.  So, Abby is definitely older than Carter by 3 years and MT is 6 years older than NW.

And, yes, I do know too much about this show.

 

Edited June 8, 2021 by Rootbeer

[Hiyo]

Hell Carter and Cleo had more chemistry with each other in this deleted scene than she ever had with Benton and he ever had with anyone post-Anna.

Hell they both had more chemistry with the rapid infuser.

 

Edited June 8, 2021 by Hiyo

[Kel Varnsen]

7 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

still find it kind of funny that the writers stumbled into the idea that Carter has a thing for older women - Susan in season one, Dr. Keaton, Rebecca De Mornay, Susan again, even Abby and Anna felt like they were written to be a few years older, and with more than a few years more life experience. Then they introduce his own, cold, detached and patrician mother and suddenly it all clicks.

Carter also dated that 19 year old social work student who was working at the hospital. Did that guy ever date anyone who wasn't hospital connected? The rumours and gossip about that guy that circulated around the hospital must have been brutal.

[Cloud9Shopper]

30 minutes ago, Kel Varnsen said:

Carter also dated that 19 year old social work student who was working at the hospital. Did that guy ever date anyone who wasn't hospital connected? The rumours and gossip about that guy that circulated around the hospital must have been brutal.

To be fair, did anyone at that hospital? 🤣 I mean you had Abby and Luka, Carol and Doug, Mark and Elizabeth (and before that she was with Peter), Peter and Cleo...OK well Kerry had Sandy and Morris had that police officer so I guess that counts.

@Hiyo It’s not entirely on topic to our current discussion but I used to think nothing could be worse than Peter and Cleo until Dubenko and Wexler in S14. And that season was bad enough without a soulless relationship that no one cared about eating up screen time. 

[Driad]

When Peter started dating Carla, I liked her and liked that she did not work at the hospital.  (She ran a restaurant.)  She seemed like a good choice for a  little while.

[Cloud9Shopper]

23 minutes ago, Driad said:

When Peter started dating Carla, I liked her and liked that she did not work at the hospital.  (She ran a restaurant.)  She seemed like a good choice for a  little while.

Oh yeah how could I forget Carla? It’s been forever since I was on the early seasons, so my memory isn’t holding up well.

I was so mad at her when she wanted to not only take Reese to “Germany Hamburg” (my sister and I laughed about that for AGES) but then dropped the bomb on him about how Reese might not even be his. She really strung Peter along there for a while.

Something else I found funny: Mrs. Doubtfire was on Freeform last night and Sally Field is in it. Every time I see her character in the restaurant scene saying “I have to go! We have to go!” I keep thinking what perfect practice it was many years later when we were all blessed/cursed with “Abbbyyyyyyyy!!!!!” as she screamed in the ER. 

[Hiyo]

Don’t forget Jeanie and Reggie, though she did meet him via the ER, even if they had them separated when she returned in season 14.

Edited June 8, 2021 by Hiyo

[Driad]

26 minutes ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

It’s been forever since I was on the early seasons, so my memory isn’t holding up well.

I have not seen any ER episode since they first aired, so my remembering Carla is probably displacing something that would be more important to remember. :-)

[Cloud9Shopper]

55 minutes ago, Hiyo said:

Don’t forget Jeanie and Reggie, though she did meet him via the ER, even if they had them separated when she returned in season 14.

Jeanie and Reggie getting married at the courthouse with the UPS guy holding the flowers at the witness is one of those little happy moments I loved in this show. Lydia and Al’s wedding in chairs is a good one too.