All Episodes Talk: What's Up Doc?

[ch1]

Luka and Abby had chemistry when they were only friends.  As a couple they were depressing - in both go rounds.  I mean after Luka killed the mugger didn’t they have sex?  Nothing says turn on like a guy’s brains on the sidewalk. When they got back together the second time it started with sex over a dead kid.   I will never get the hype about these two.  

 

[Cloud9Shopper]

50 minutes ago, ch1 said:

Luka and Abby had chemistry when they were only friends.  As a couple they were depressing - in both go rounds.  I mean after Luka killed the mugger didn’t they have sex?  Nothing says turn on like a guy’s brains on the sidewalk. When they got back together the second time it started with sex over a dead kid.   I will never get the hype about these two.  

 

Don’t forget there was a scene in S7 where they’re in bed together and Luka told her he was just thinking about the bishop. And how he made a joke to Abby, a recovering alcoholic, that he wanted her to serve him martinis in a bikini on their honeymoon. (Nobody needs to see Abby in a bikini regardless but that’s a whole other discussion.) 

I am actually liking Luka less on this watch so far. He’s fine in S6 mostly but he goes downhill pretty quick. 

[GiandujaPie]

Luka and Abby were co-dependent and so were  Carter and Abby. She seems to thrive in those relationships and the men not so much. 

I am on episode 6 of Season 10 and so a lot of the Carter/Abby drama is fresh in my mind. I do think Abby was in a tough spot when her brother showed up again just as Carter's grandmother died. I don't think she was wrong in going to get Eric but she definitely should not have brought him to the funeral. It would have been better for her not to go at all. Yes, Carter would have been upset (as he had every right to be) but she also needed to take care of her brother. Unfortunately they had competing priorities and tough choices to make. Real life families make these types of choices all the time. 

 

[Notabug]

On 8/31/2023 at 8:02 PM, Bastet said:

I think it makes all the sense in the world for Abby to leave; if she waited, her brother could have disappeared again.  As I've said before -- her family vs. his, time-sensitive vs. not.  I'd have gone too, no question.  But I also think it makes all the sense in the world for Carter to be upset.  She didn't do anything wrong, but he's not required to sit back and think rationally in such an emotionally charged time.  So I don't think his reaction was wrong any more than I think her choice was wrong.

Bringing Eric to the funeral, though, good lords.  That was so wrong.

To me, it made no sense at all that SHE was the only one who could go to him.  She was at work, hundreds of miles away and he was sitting in a diner in another state.  Best case scenario; Eric sits there patiently waiting until Abby arrives and quietly goes with her and does what she asks.

As someone with a bipolar brother, I thought her actions were ridiculous.  In real life, people like Eric and Maggie, when in full blown mania or depression; are terrible at linear thought.  The flit from idea to idea, plan to plan.  In real life, Eric would've changed his mind about waiting for her less than a minute after the phone call ended and he would've had a 6 or 8 hour head start on his idiot sister.  Abby's insistence that she was the only one who could handle her family was proven wrong time and time again as her 'plans' blew up in her face.  She liked to pretend she understood their illness and what they needed and then did the exact opposite.

In real life, Abby's best bet would've been to call the nearest mental health crisis line to where he was and had one of their workers go out and find Eric and stay with him and/or get him to a facility.  

It was also incredibly presumptuous of Abby to decide that the diner wouldn't mind a guy who was probably pacing and talking to himself and had no money; just hanging out for half the day until she turned up to get him.  Calling the diner after hanging up and speaking to someone there and letting them know what was happening and, you know, maybe giving them her credit card number to pay for a cup of coffee and a meal for her brother while he waited would not have been a bad idea.  I once had to go out in the middle of the night to a donut shop to pick up my brother.  I lived about a 30 minute drive away.  You better believe I called and spoke to someone and assured her he was harmless and I was on my way and to feed him whatever he wanted in the interim.  Then I showed up, paid his tab, thanked her profusely while tipping her generously.

Then again, it seemed obvious to me that one of the main reasons Abby like to have Carter along on her wild goose chases was because he paid the freight for her dumb ideas.  As I recall, she ordered him to give her multiple prescriptions for psych meds for Eric and undoubtedly figured he'd foot the bill for the rest of it.  As I recall, she stood there in the ER with her greedy hand out, impatiently waiting for Carter to finish talking about his grandmother, so she could go chasing after Eric.

On 9/1/2023 at 1:11 PM, ch1 said:

Luka and Abby had chemistry when they were only friends.  As a couple they were depressing - in both go rounds.  I mean after Luka killed the mugger didn’t they have sex?  Nothing says turn on like a guy’s brains on the sidewalk. When they got back together the second time it started with sex over a dead kid.   I will never get the hype about these two.  

 

They didn't have sex immediately after he killed the mugger.  Abby, apparently turned on by the violence or something, went to Luka's hotel room after the guy died and essentially threw herself at him.  The whole thing was strange and pretty creepy, IMO.

[Notabug]

On 8/31/2023 at 10:35 PM, Cloud9Shopper said:

Not sure how these kinds of things work if this were real life, but can social services still step in if there is another parent who can take care of the child? I know Luka was in Croatia but could they get him to come back or what would happen? It is kind of shocking that Luka didn’t even have the balls to file for temporary full custody while Abby got her life together and went to rehab. I do agree, though, that Joe should have been removed from Abby’s care somehow while she was drinking so heavily, ignoring him, et

 

 

In real life, social services would indeed step in and, since Luka was out of the country, try to find another family member who might be able to care for Joe until Luka could return.  I think, based on the severity of the situation, it is unlikely that they would've let Abby be the sole adult caring for him unless or until she proved she was getting help for her alcoholism.  I am sure Maggie, who was very stable at that point, would've been happy to come to Chicago to take care of them both; but Abby would probably have never agreed to it.  I think it is also possible that social services would allow a family friend who Joe knew and liked to be in charge of his care.  Abby would have to agree to not be alone with him as sole caregiver I would expect.

As far as temporary custody, Luka and Abby were still married.  He didn't need to go to court to have custody of his son anymore than she did when he went to Croatia.  If he'd filed for divorce, he would've then had to file for custody and it would've routinely been granted in that situation.  But I agree, filing for divorce and getting custody would've been the smartest move.

[Cloud9Shopper]

I honestly don’t think Abby and Luka would have gotten married had she not gotten pregnant, or even if she had the abortion. It seemed like they had the wedding out of obligation to Joe rather than because they truly loved and knew each other well. And I don’t buy that Luka would have stayed with Abby and loved her faithfully had she had that abortion. He would have been gone as soon as found another woman he could have a family with, and Abby never seemed that excited about finding out she was pregnant anyway. All she did was whine and cry and stress about how scared she was and how hard it was going to be. And why would she, with her history of instability (she can’t even take her own recovery seriously; why would you bring a child into that?) and her genetics, even want to be a mother?

I could have seen it working had it been more like Carol and Doug, where Abby told Luka or even Carter how she was anxious to settle down and have her own family. But all of a sudden to have her get pregnant, freak out and be in tears over the whole thing, then by the end of an episode she all of a sudden wants to play happy family with Luka? It made no sense, and at the end of the day, it’s Joe I feel sorry for, and it’s sad that when Abby relapsed no one really thought about or cared about his own safety. And everyone around them is delusional enough to believe that they can provide Joe a loving and stable home and supports that sham marriage. Maybe Luka woke up in Boston and finally left when he realized what dead weight he was carrying around. 

Edited September 3, 2023 by Cloud9Shopper

[Heathen]

7 hours ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

I honestly don’t think Abby and Luka would have gotten married had she not gotten pregnant, or even if she had the abortion. It seemed like they had the wedding out of obligation to Joe rather than because they truly loved and knew each other well. And I don’t buy that Luka would have stayed with Abby and loved her faithfully had she had that abortion. He would have been gone as soon as found another woman he could have a family with, and Abby never seemed that excited about finding out she was pregnant anyway. All she did was whine and cry and stress about how scared she was and how hard it was going to be. And why would she, with her history of instability (she can’t even take her own recovery seriously; why would you bring a child into that?) and her genetics, even want to be a mother?

I could have seen it working had it been more like Carol and Doug, where Abby told Luka or even Carter how she was anxious to settle down and have her own family. But all of a sudden to have her get pregnant, freak out and be in tears over the whole thing, then by the end of an episode she all of a sudden wants to play happy family with Luka? It made no sense, and at the end of the day, it’s Joe I feel sorry for, and it’s sad that when Abby relapsed no one really thought about or cared about his own safety. And everyone around them is delusional enough to believe that they can provide Joe a loving and stable home and supports that sham marriage. Maybe Luka woke up in Boston and finally left when he realized what dead weight he was carrying around. 

And hopefully he took Joe with him. 

I thought even at the time that Luka was just trying to recreate his dead family. I don't blame him. But he went about it the wrong way -- first Carol, then the French girl, then Abby, with assorted flings in between -- and it was never about love or a real relationship. And how is it that two doctors didn't manage to use effective birth control? 

Edited September 3, 2023 by Heathen

[Cloud9Shopper]

Well I guess Abby and Luka weren’t the only ones who couldn’t considering all the unplanned pregnancies. I guess the only one that seemed somewhat planned was Carol’s, and even she was super mopey and complaining how she didn’t want to do it alone. (Although at least she didn’t cope by going on drinking binges, ignoring the twins and waking up with someone she worked with after she got blackout drunk.) 

I mean at least in the case of most of the other pregnancies they were real life ones being written in. Maura Tierney wasn’t pregnant when Abby was (and Julianna Margulies didn’t have a kid in real life until like 2009, years after Carol’s pregnancy story); it felt like it was more shoehorned in as the TV trope that every female lead needs to have a baby.  

 

[Bastet]

24 minutes ago, Heathen said:

And how is it that two doctors didn't manage to use effective birth control? 

See, also, Elizabeth and Mark and Carter and Kem.

25 minutes ago, Heathen said:

I thought even at the time that Luka was just trying to recreate his dead family. I don't blame him. But he went about it the wrong way -- first Carol, then the French girl, then Abby, with assorted flings in between -- and it was never about love or a real relationship.

It was creepy as all get out.  I generally liked him inside the ER, but outside, not at all.  From jump -- they introduced him with that obsession with Carol's fetuses, and it never got any better with his desperate quest to recreate his dead family. 

7 hours ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

But all of a sudden to have her get pregnant, freak out and be in tears over the whole thing, then by the end of an episode she all of a sudden wants to play happy family with Luka? It made no sense,

What would have made sense is for her to opt for abortion, and it would have been nice to see.  Just an abortion, period, since American TV still treats that as the third rail of storytelling, especially for main characters, but also to show that older, financially secure women in relationships have them, too (on TV, if they do let a character have one, it's usually some poor, dumb teenage girl with nasty parents and whose boyfriend took off once he heard the news, so she couldn't raise a baby even if she wanted to).

[Heathen]

28 minutes ago, Bastet said:

See, also, Elizabeth and Mark and Carter and Kem.

And Chen and her boyfriend, the ICU nurse. I would have liked to see that storyline continue, although as the child of an adopted person, I also appreciate that ER had a good adoption storyline that wasn't just the older, selfless heroine adopting a baby some "loser" gave birth to. (See: SVU.)  

 

[Heathen]

41 minutes ago, Bastet said:

What would have made sense is for her to opt for abortion, and it would have been nice to see.  Just an abortion, period, since American TV still treats that as the third rail of storytelling, especially for main characters, but also to show that older, financially secure women in relationships have them, too (on TV, if they do let a character have one, it's usually some poor, dumb teenage girl with nasty parents and whose boyfriend took off once he heard the news, so she couldn't raise a baby even if she wanted to).

Didn't she actually show up at the abortion clinic and then change her mind? 

[Bastet]

5 hours ago, Heathen said:

And Chen and her boyfriend, the ICU nurse.

Wow, I somehow managed to forget all about her pregnancy, even though it was a whole storyline (not just the adoption decision, but the time off causing her to lose out on the Chief Resident position, appealing, being appointed, and then struggling).  Yeah, add that one to the list of medical profession duos who can't use birth control consistently and effectively. 

I like the actor and generally like the character, but they never seemed to figure out what to do with Jing-Mei.  She just keeps quitting and returning, lather, rinse, repeat.  It would have made sense for her to stay gone after the first departure; someone at that age and stage of their career, who had gone into medicine partially because it was simply assumed she'd do so because both her parents were doctors, realizing she loved the science of medicine but not so much dealing with patients, so wanted to work in research, made a lot of sense and was relatable.

5 hours ago, Heathen said:

Didn't she actually show up at the abortion clinic and then change her mind? 

If she did, I've repressed the memory of it (those scenes fill me with such rage for how often they happen on TV vs reality, that's possible).  I just remember a nice conversation with Coburn, who tells Abby whatever choice she makes, Coburn will be her doctor, but that included a line from Abby that gave off a whiff of well, because she's capable of taking care of a child, she should go ahead and continue this unintended pregnancy attitude from the writers (who, like I said, have collectively created a world in which characters largely do not have abortions and, when they do, it's because their circumstances mean parenting isn't a realistic option -- which, of course, is completely divorced from reality, in which a wide variety of women opt to abort, including married women who already have children).

Edited September 4, 2023 by Bastet

[ch1]

I seem to recall that Abby was planning on the abortion but changed her mind.

Besides that didn’t Abby have an abortion when she was previously married?  I recall her having a conversation with Maggie where she yelled she was pregnant in season 7.

[Cloud9Shopper]

Yes she did have an abortion because she didn’t want her kid to grow up and be bipolar. And she didn’t tell her ex about it which I think she said helped cause the downfall of the marriage. 

I don’t really know why she kept the baby in S12 though. She didn’t seem excited at all to find out she was pregnant and seemed to mope about it and agonize endlessly. I remember her making a quip about how she might leave the kid behind while shopping. (Which…come on Abby you’re a few years from 40; don’t be so pathetic. She acted like she was about to be a teenage mother with no clue about babies.) Maybe she felt an obligation to give Luka another kid? And the whole worry about the kid being bipolar was never mentioned again, and she didn’t at all seem concerned that the baby could also become an alcoholic someday.

I almost wish we knew how Joe turned out being raised in that household since if the show were still on, he’d be nearly 18. Did Abby grow the hell up and actually commit to recovery? Did she realize the world isn’t all about her all the time? Or did she continue falling on and off the wagon while Luka acted as if he couldn’t have cared less, or maybe he just continued pulling all the weight in their marriage because he (supposedly) loved Abby so much to bend over backwards for her multiple times while she did absolutely nothing for him. 

 

Edited September 3, 2023 by Cloud9Shopper

[Dr.OO7]

5 hours ago, Bastet said:

What would have made sense is for her to opt for abortion, and it would have been nice to see.  Just an abortion, period, since American TV still treats that as the third rail of storytelling, especially for main characters, but also to show that older, financially secure women in relationships have them, too (on TV, if they do let a character have one, it's usually some poor, dumb teenage girl with nasty parents and whose boyfriend took off once he heard the news, so she couldn't raise a baby even if she wanted to).

The dreaded Good Girls Avoid Abortion trope. No matter how unfavorable the woman's circumstances are or how unhappy she is about the pregnancy, she will always inexplicably decide to keep the baby. 

[Notabug]

8 hours ago, Heathen said:

And Chen and her boyfriend, the ICU nurse. I would have liked to see that storyline continue, although as the child of an adopted person, I also appreciate that ER had a good adoption storyline that wasn't just the older, selfless heroine adopting a baby some "loser" gave birth to. (See: SVU.)  

 

Benton and Carla also had an unplanned pregnancy.

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, Notabug said:

Benton and Carla also had an unplanned pregnancy.

As do most age-appropriate couples on TV (it's, of course, quite common in real life, but nothing like the rate seen on TV); the subset of those unplanned pregnancies being discussed was of couples where both characters were doctors or nurses so the typical birth control failure storyline was over and over again a problem beyond reality.

[Notabug]

10 hours ago, Bastet said:

As do most age-appropriate couples on TV (it's, of course, quite common in real life, but nothing like the rate seen on TV); the subset of those unplanned pregnancies being discussed was of couples where both characters were doctors or nurses so the typical birth control failure storyline was over and over again a problem beyond reality.

That may be, but Carla, as first seen on the show, was a successful businesswoman, handling a successful restaurant with ease.  She was strong and assertive and knew her own mind.  Even if she wasn't a health professional, original recipe Carla was not the kind of woman to leave contraception to chance.

[Cloud9Shopper]

Watched 7x5 and 7x6 tonight.

Can confirm that Luka and Abby made out at the end of 7x5 when she went to see him after he blew off work. “Oh you killed someone? Here, let’s make out!” So weird. (Although Luka initiated it.) Also, how does Luka even keep a job at that hospital? Does he not know how to call in sick or ask for personal time? He disappears in S9 too after he causes the car accident that nearly killed Harkins (the med student, for those who may have forgotten). And then when he does come back he completely accuses the father of that teenage girl of abuse with virtually no evidence. I hate Luka this watch. 

I forgot about that 10-minute long plotline where Peter gets offered a job in Philly but then doesn’t take it. I still don’t get the point of him and Cleo together either, as they seem to be on two different planets regarding their relationship. 

When Abby got on Carter’s case about doing the crossword at AA, I observed that one of the people sitting behind him in the meeting was sleeping. Maybe just a boring speaker? 😂 (I mean yeah maybe Carter should be paying attention but I don’t see what he did as the eighth deadly sin or something.) 

As soon as Abby says Maggie isn’t her mother and gets all snooty, that’s the exact point where I start disliking her and she only gets worse from here. 

I was amused by Elizabeth’s reaction to Maggie. “What’s that about?” and then she just keeps walking like “Whatever.” I’m going to headcanon that Elizabeth is just used to the crazy and lets it slide right off her back. Maybe everyone should have acted like that when it came to Abby’s crazy family and, later down the road, Abby’s drama in general. 

 

[renatae]

Regarding Luka, in my last go 'round ending last week, I marveled at how awful Luka's temper was. I hadn't noticed it so much before, but he is practically a rage-a-holic and I don't think he would actually manage to be employed for very long. He was always either seething inwardly over something (the nurses refusing to comply in one episode) or actually exploding and having to be held back. I also noticed this last time how often one or another doctor goes off on a family member and has to be restrained, especially in the later episodes.  Happens almost as often as pouring rain on this show.

ETA: Once again, I was the rage filled one when Kem showed up during Carter's grand opening just to twist the knife again and jet off somewhere else. Grr.

Edited September 8, 2023 by renatae

[ch1]

I’ll never get the deal with Kem and Carter because if what we we saw in the final episode is what their relationship was for the 5 years we didn’t see -what a miserable existence.  What exactly was Carter holding on to and why the hell didn’t Kem just end it and not string Carter along? Honestly if it was too hard being with him then tell him that and move on. The wishy washiness of Kem was annoying - especially when you consider that had to have been going on during most of their relationship off screen.

[Cloud9Shopper]

1 hour ago, renatae said:

Regarding Luka, in my last go 'round ending last week, I marveled at how awful Luka's temper was. I hadn't noticed it so much before, but he is practically a rage-a-holic and I don't think he would actually manage to be employed for very long. He was always either seething inwardly over something (the nurses refusing to comply in one episode) or actually exploding and having to be held back. I also noticed this last time how often one or another doctor goes off on a family member and has to be restrained, especially in the later episodes.  Happens almost as often as pouring rain on this show.

ETA: Once again, I was the rage filled one when Kem showed up during Carter's grand opening just to twist the knife again and jet off somewhere else. Grr.

It’s always interesting to me how Luka’s temper is seen as OK because of the times he hurt guys because of something they did to Abby (the mugger, plus he went off on Moretti and Abby’s neighbor even though Abby made her own trouble with Moretti and she got way too involved in that DV case like she was a cop or a social worker). Goes to show that when you’re hot you can get away with anything.

I never liked Kem with Carter and don’t get why they put him with someone so dull and uninteresting, who was kind of a flake. The stillbirth plot felt so unnecessary too, like hadn’t Carter dealt with enough? 

[GiandujaPie]

I'm watching Season 10 now and I think the most annoying character ever is actually Neela. I just don't understand why so many characters liked her so much. As a med student she was annoying because she lacked confidence and just seemed incompetent at times, especially in the NICU rotation. In the episode where she had to go into that pressurization chamber with the newborn, she started freaking out and I kept wondering why she was even there if she was going to freak out like this. I don't understand why Gallant and Carter both went to bat for her when she killed that one patient. And I don't understand why Gallant and all of the other men in the ER eventually all thought she was the most desirable woman ever. I think she was way more annoying than Abby ever was and I never saw her appeal. 

[Cloud9Shopper]

Neela lost me when she quit her internship in Michigan and had that identity crisis where she ended up applying for retail jobs and working at the Jumbo Mart. It was just dumb luck that another intern had quit and County was able to give her a slot again; otherwise, who else would want to deal with her drama? 

And I remember how she had a weird meltdown in S14 when her intern quit and Dubenko was telling her to get a grip. She was so far from the strong female surgeons of Corday, Hicks and even Abby Keaton. She’s not very mentally tough for someone who chose to go into surgery. 

[ch1]

Neela could be a really unlikeable bitch.  I mean Romano was unlikeable but people weren’t falling over themselves to be with him or kissing his ass because he is so wonderful.

I think that is why I’m not a fan of Abby, Neela or Sam.  Make them bitchy fine but don’t make everyone else treat them like god’s gift.

[GiandujaPie]

I feel like with Abby and Sam, not everybody liked them and they were shown to be off-putting or not as likable and to have flaws. With Neela, even with her flaws, it always seemed like we were supposed to feel sorry for her and every single male doctor that came into contact with her just thought she was the most beautiful and wonderful person and doctor ever. Except for Morris who never hooked up with her, as far as I can remember. Wasn't there a time when John Stamos, Shane West, Dubenko and that British doctor in the final season, were all in love with her after Gallant died? She's cute but not all that. Plus she was wishy washy and lacked self-confidence until suddenly she became the best ever doctor/surgeon they'd ever had. 🙄

[Cloud9Shopper]

I don’t remember anyone ever showing or saying Abby was unlikable but I may have to rewatch more closely. She had Luka, Carter and a med student in S11 wanting her love interest. She was always held up as one of the best med students and doctors in the hospital and never seems to be in the wrong at work. Even when she was under the influence on the job, she was told she was a good mom and doctor and super honest with herself. Luka even stayed married to her after she put Joe’s life at risk, which he even pointed out. Everyone seems to want to be her friend and top hospitals want to employ her 10 minutes after she leaves rehab. 

I know she had that disagreement with Sam after rehab in S14 but Abby was constantly painted as flawless and having tons of friends and romantic interests despite how miserable and selfish she could be. 

[suev3333]

On 8/10/2017 at 12:59 PM, Danny Franks said:

where Benton is paged down after Carter and Lucy are stabbed, and charges into the E.R. shouting "where is he?" And in the

It's " Is he conscious!!!????"

[Bastet]

19 hours ago, suev3333 said:

It's " Is he conscious!!!????"

I start to say that's my favorite moment in the episode, and then half a dozen other contenders immediately spring to mind.  The cast is pitch perfect in that one!  I even like Kellie Martin, whom I normally cannot stand; she does great face acting when Lucy mouths "P.E."? to Elizabeth, terrified because she understands what's happening to her.

[Cloud9Shopper]

One of mine was just Malucci asking Kerry “You OK, chief?” and Randi getting shaken up and trying to ask Kerry what to do. And before that, the fades on Mark and Elizabeth’s faces when they see their pagers. 

[renatae]

Today I saw the first episode with Mr. Rubidoux. He's constantly in Carter's face, and when he realizes his wife is actually dying, he angrily takes Carter to task.

Years later, when "Ruby" himself is ill, he repudiates Carter and refuses to have him attend to him. Carter doesn't remember him! No way is someone going to display so much anger, yet not be remembered, especially after Ruby gives him chapter and verse.

In other news, another recent episode was "Love's Labors Lost" which is hard for me to watch. Not only is it heartbreaking on its own, it reminds me of a patient I had about 50 years ago. She was a 38 yr old multip who was just the sweetest thing. She was so excited about the pregnancy and a delight as a patient. As I recall, she had an abruption and the next thing we knew she went into DIC and we lost her. It was heartbreaking.

[GiandujaPie]

I guess we all just have different opinions about who is the most annoying character. I know a lot of people here think it is Abby but mine is definitely Neela.

I'm watching the episodes now where Kerry is battling Sandy's family for custody of baby Henry and it's so sad. She lost her spouse and now has to contend with fighting with the family over the baby.

The show definitely showed multiple sides of Kerry. Yes, she was a hard-ass at work, but she was also very much relatable as a person outside of work. I did appreciate the scenes of Elizabeth reaching out to Kerry as someone who has also lost a spouse. It's heartbreaking. 

[Kel Varnsen]

3 hours ago, GiandujaPie said:

guess we all just have different opinions about who is the most annoying character. I know a lot of people here think it is Abby but mine is definitely Neela.

I am not sure who I think the most annoying character is but Neela's I don't want to be a doctor so I will try to get a job at the mall then work at the convenience store is easily the most annoying plotline that any character had.

[Bastet]

3 hours ago, GiandujaPie said:

I guess we all just have different opinions about who is the most annoying character.

For me, it was Malucci (of the main characters, that is; Cynthia Hooper will forever be the very worst character ever on this show).  I don't remember being consistently annoyed with anyone else (with the caveat I quit watching the show somewhere along the way originally, and even when I watched it in syndication a few years ago I would only watch one of the three episodes Pop aired each day in its entirety, with the other two as background noise as I worked, and in the later seasons I paid even less attention to those background noise episodes). 

[suev3333]

On 9/12/2023 at 7:30 PM, Bastet said:

I start to say that's my favorite moment in the episode, and then half a dozen other contenders immediately spring to mind.  The cast is pitch perfect in that one!  I even like Kellie Martin, whom I normally cannot stand; she does great face acting when Lucy mouths "P.E."? to Elizabeth, terrified because she understands what's happening to her.

   I really liked Lucy's  character.    I was rooting for her and Carter to get together.  I'm always sad when she dies.                                      Yessss.  I actually just saw that episode a few days ago with Benton..."is he conscious!?"    Then when Romano won't accept that Lucy is gone and wants to keep working on her.... 

and today when Mark's father died and says, I love you Mark....😭😭😭.    I'm not looking forward to Mark's death ( for the like 20th time btw).   I'll be sobbing for hours.  When I watch it ,  they are like my family.... seriously 

Edited September 15, 2023 by suev3333
Added some

[Cloud9Shopper]

Annoying characters for me would have to be Abby, Gates, and Brenner. Gates and Brenner really added nothing good to the show. And so far this watch, Luka and Lucy have made my dislike list.

Honestly a big reason why I don’t like Abby is because she’s a shitty person who ultimately walks away with a happy life she doesn’t deserve. She treats near everyone around her like crap, lies, refuses to trust anyone but herself to be an expert, but somehow gets a husband, a kid, and a dream job when she has done nothing to show she’s worthy of it. And she doesn’t even seem to love the kid she claimed she so badly wanted. It really bothers me that she ultimately gets lucky when in reality she should have ended up alone and had a lot more burned bridges than she did. 

I like Kerry for the most part this watch. She is compassionate to the staff more often than not and I think she’s a good leader overall. I wasn’t a fan of how she handled the thing with Romano in S6, but other than that she doesn’t bother me in her management role. 

I just watched Rescue Me and The Dance We Do, and after 20 some odd years I still wish someone would smack Abby for the way she treats her mother. The way she talks to Maggie with such disdain and drops her off in the pouring rain on Thanksgiving is just gross. If she really can’t deal with it maybe she should just stop telling her mother how to find her. And ugh Abby was so rude to Luka too when he ordered breakfast. Not even a thank you; just seems irritated that the room service guy would even walk into her presence. 

Kerry singing in the shower is iconic, though, so at least we get that. 

14 minutes ago, suev3333 said:

   I really liked Lucy's  character.    I was rooting for her and Carter to get together.  I'm always sad when she dies.                                      Yessss.  I actually just saw that episode a few days ago with Benton..."is he conscious!?"    Then when Romano won't accept that Lucy is gone and wants to keep working on her.... 

and today when Mark's father died and says, I love you Mark....😭😭😭.    I'm not looking forward to Mark's death ( for the like 20th time btw).   I'll be sobbing for hours.  When I watch it ,  they are like my family.... seriously 

I think Lucy and Carter would have made a great enemies to lovers storyline.

Rescue Me is when Mark finds out he has the tumor and Elizabeth tells him she’s pregnant. All I could think was “it’s all downhill from here.” And that’s how it feels. S7 is just too chaotic so far and it seems the tone shift is already happening. I almost cried when Mark had the seizure in the next episode.

I feel bad for Chen, too, having to deal with her racist mother on Thanksgiving. I loved Carter saving her from that at the hospital. 

Edited September 15, 2023 by Cloud9Shopper

[suev3333]

I seem to remember Romano getting Luka's attention with,  "hey, green card",  or something like that 😁😂😂  and he called him Igor?  I'm not sure about that one,  but I swear I remember that.  So funny.   

Some of the stuff Romano says leaves me laughing so loud!   He's an awesome actor.  It's like he's such an ass,  but he's so damn funny!  

[Cloud9Shopper]

9 minutes ago, suev3333 said:

I seem to remember Romano getting Luka's attention with,  "hey, green card",  or something like that 😁😂😂  and he called him Igor?  I'm not sure about that one,  but I swear I remember that.  So funny.   

Some of the stuff Romano says leaves me laughing so loud!   He's an awesome actor.  It's like he's such an ass,  but he's so damn funny!  

I don’t remember that line but I loved the episode in S9 where Luka was presenting at an M&M conference and afterward Romano said something like, “Did somebody confirm that they do indeed have medical schools in Croatia?” 

[littlebennysmom]

On 9/13/2023 at 1:16 PM, renatae said:

Today I saw the first episode with Mr. Rubidoux. He's constantly in Carter's face, and when he realizes his wife is actually dying, he angrily takes Carter to task.

Years later, when "Ruby" himself is ill, he repudiates Carter and refuses to have him attend to him. Carter doesn't remember him! No way is someone going to display so much anger, yet not be remembered, especially after Ruby gives him chapter and verse.

In other news, another recent episode was "Love's Labors Lost" which is hard for me to watch. Not only is it heartbreaking on its own, it reminds me of a patient I had about 50 years ago. She was a 38 yr old multip who was just the sweetest thing. She was so excited about the pregnancy and a delight as a patient. As I recall, she had an abruption and the next thing we knew she went into DIC and we lost her. It was heartbreaking.

Ruby was an entitled arse, no doctor is going to drop every other patient/task to cater to you.  "Shaddap" comes to mind every time I see these episodes.

[Heathen]

On 9/14/2023 at 11:11 PM, suev3333 said:

I seem to remember Romano getting Luka's attention with,  "hey, green card",  or something like that 😁😂😂  and he called him Igor?  I'm not sure about that one,  but I swear I remember that.  So funny.   

Some of the stuff Romano says leaves me laughing so loud!   He's an awesome actor.  It's like he's such an ass,  but he's so damn funny!  

Romano did call Luka Igor. I thought it was pretty funny. Romano had great one-liners. 

Another Romano funny -- remember when he was following Weaver around, after she came out to everyone, and he was loudly reading some article about LGTBQ+ health? "LESBIANS blah blah blah LESBIANS blah blah blah." Weaver was so visibly annoyed and uncomfortable, which is usually fun to see. 

 

[GiandujaPie]

8 hours ago, Heathen said:

Romano did call Luka Igor. I thought it was pretty funny. Romano had great one-liners. 

Another Romano funny -- remember when he was following Weaver around, after she came out to everyone, and he was loudly reading some article about LGTBQ+ health? "LESBIANS blah blah blah LESBIANS blah blah blah." Weaver was so visibly annoyed and uncomfortable, which is usually fun to see. 

 

Well Weaver got the last laugh by using his endowment to the hospital to fund a LGBTQ health center or something like that. 

Romano was a d**k but I was a little surprised that everyone went out of their way to avoid going to his memorial at the hospital. It wouldn't have cost them anything to go, but I guess it showed how much he was disliked that no one would just take a few minutes to go up to the chapel while at work. 

[Bastet]

3 hours ago, GiandujaPie said:

Romano was a d**k but I was a little surprised that everyone went out of their way to avoid going to his memorial at the hospital. It wouldn't have cost them anything to go, but I guess it showed how much he was disliked that no one would just take a few minutes to go up to the chapel while at work. 

The only person not going that didn't ring true to me was Susan.  Romano treated most people horribly, so why would they go pay "respects" they didn't actually possess, but he had a measure of respect for Susan (like Lucy), so she in turn for him.  I wouldn't expect her to speak or anything like that, but I believe she - based on their working relationship and her general personality - would have felt obliged to drop by.

[GiandujaPie]

I just watched the episode where Neela tried to get a job at a coffee shop, retail store (because she liked the clothes LOL), and even sat down with an employment agency where she admitted she had no skills in anything other than medical stuff other than working at her family restaurant and she was never going to do restaurant work again. Seemed a little high and mighty for someone who claimed to be willing to do anything for a job. Why couldn't she work at a restaurant? What did she think she was going to do at the coffee shop that was really all that different than a restaurant job? 

And the way she completely downplayed her academic skills was pathetic. With her academic background, she should have tried getting a job at a library or as a substitute teacher. And if she really wanted to do retail, did she try a bookstore? I get that we didn't see all of the places she may have tried to apply, and this storyline seemed to be played for laughs, but she's so annoying. 

[Cloud9Shopper]

Watching the pilot or Will and Grace on Hulu (never seen the show before so starting from the beginning) and they talk about watching ER in the opening scene:

Will: “Eriq LaSalle just smiled.”

Grace: “Really?”

Will: “No…now I have George Clooney.” 

Love a good ER meta reference in other shows and movies. There’s a reference to it in Coyote Ugly (which stars Maria Bello) where Violet’s boyfriend says “Stage fright DNA, I think I saw that on ER last week.”

It’s even known in The Resident universe where one of the characters says the type of guy she likes is “George Clooney in his ER era.” Loved that it came up in another medical show plus in the New Amsterdam series finale (one of the characters is deaf and holds up a pic of Doug to demonstrate her Halloween costume). 

[GiandujaPie]

13 hours ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

Watching the pilot or Will and Grace on Hulu (never seen the show before so starting from the beginning) and they talk about watching ER in the opening scene:

Will: “Eriq LaSalle just smiled.”

Grace: “Really?”

Will: “No…now I have George Clooney.” 

Love a good ER meta reference in other shows and movies. There’s a reference to it in Coyote Ugly (which stars Maria Bello) where Violet’s boyfriend says “Stage fright DNA, I think I saw that on ER last week.”

It’s even known in The Resident universe where one of the characters says the type of guy she likes is “George Clooney in his ER era.” Loved that it came up in another medical show plus in the New Amsterdam series finale (one of the characters is deaf and holds up a pic of Doug to demonstrate her Halloween costume). 

On the last season of The Resident, they started using an opening credits sequence that seemed to mimic the ER opening credits. 

I liked The Resident the first few seasons but it really went downhill the last 2 seasons. I don't think the time jump over Covid did them any good, especially since the pandemic wasn't really over when they did it, and then the time jump to age Conrad/Nic's daughter messed up the timelines of all the characters. I wonder how ER would have handled the pandemic if it were still on or if something like Covid had happened in the 90s/early 2000s. 

[Cloud9Shopper]

Continuing through S7 tonight, and I have to say The Greatest of Gifts and Piece of Mind are two underrated episodes.

The Greatest of Gifts (where Chen has her baby) is so sad, especially when she is watching the adoptive parents with the baby after she gets past her second thoughts. I love the dynamic with her and Carter too and how supportive he is. Just wish it wouldn’t have ended with him slipping/relapsing (whatever we’re calling it; I’m going with slip because it doesn’t become a full blown relapse). 

Also liked Mark encouraging Elizabeth to have the baby and saying how his life insurance is enough to cover the house for her and the baby to live in, but her insisting he was going to make it. I think it’s impressive that she manages to keep a fairly positive attitude throughout these two episodes. Just wish the writing for her hadn’t gotten worse over time…

The thing that I thought was most well done about Piece of Mind was the surgical scenes between Mark and then the father in the car accident. But I’m not looking forward to all the drama coming up when he returns to work and the tensions between Elizabeth and Kerry. 

 

 

[Cloud9Shopper]

Wow, the middle part of S7 is underrated. Haven’t seen the stretch of 7x10 through 7x16 I think in a while.

I hate this storyline with Benton’s nephew’s girlfriend (and she is such a brat and a nightmare child), but it’s hard to tell who has less emotion in his relationship with Cleo, Cleo herself or Benton telling her he loves her. I couldn’t stand Carla but at least Lisa Nicole Carson could show emotion and put energy into her lines and facial expressions. Cleo/Michael Michele just looks bored all the time. And now I’m reminiscing on the TWOP days when we called her Cleobot.

I understand why Abby was pushing Carter to tell Kerry about his slip, but having seen the whole series, it’s interesting to watch knowing Abby doesn’t take accountability and show much honesty about her own drinking. She even kind of hints at it when she tells Carter she can’t tell him to do things she has a hard time doing for herself. Makes you wonder how much she really lived the program even years before she became a complete trainwreck. I know she told him she was almost five years sober but she overall seems not to be into the whole thing. 

I did forget Carter had to start all over with meetings etc., but since this storyline is really only brought up once more in S7 and maybe once or twice more after that, meh. I’ve seen a lot of people shit on him for not taking recovery seriously, but besides my “see Abby” rant above, I think for the most part he does OK with it. I can’t blame him for things like getting frustrated with his plan and ranting a bit about the pressure. 

I liked the storyline of Elizabeth losing her confidence in the OR more than I thought I would. (Although mixing it in with her stress about Mark and pregnancy hormones makes it kind of a lot.) Sort of like how Mark was nervous to treat pregnant women for a little bit after Love’s Labor Lost. Something else I forgot is that she sees the patient again in the hospital, and I get how he feels too, that he can’t quite forgive even if he was told he couldn’t blame her. 

Awww Mark buying Elizabeth flowers and sending them to the hospital! That’s why I love them so much. 

I am not a fan of Legaspi. Never have been or will be. I wouldn’t say I strongly dislike her or hate her but I always thought her whole vibe with Kerry was not natural and they barely seem to tolerate each other at work so not sure why they’re an item. 

The bishop storyline with Luka has also started. I’m interested to watch it again since I’ve been Catholic for the last few years, but I don’t want to get into religion debates or anything here so I’ll think about that part of it on my own and just weigh in on the storyline when he comes back next episode. 

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

The bishop storyline with Luka has also started.

All I remember from my Pop re-watch (I don't remember it at all from the original run) is complaining it dragged on and on; dude took forever to die (looking it up, it was four episodes, but, man, it felt longer).  I don't remember if I was ever interested in it, but even if I was at some point - thanks to James Cromwell if nothing else - I know it wore off.

1 hour ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

I am not a fan of Legaspi. Never have been or will be. I wouldn’t say I strongly dislike her or hate her but I always thought her whole vibe with Kerry was not natural and they barely seem to tolerate each other at work so not sure why they’re an item. 

I appreciated the scene when Kerry tells her she's not interested in adopting a lifestyle, she just wants to be with her.  I am 100% in Legaspi's appalled and I don't want to deal with this closeted shit corner, but I also understand where Kerry was coming from at that age, that stage of understanding her orientation, and that level of fear of professional repercussions.

[Notabug]

11 hours ago, Bastet said:

All I remember from my Pop re-watch (I don't remember it at all from the original run) is complaining it dragged on and on; dude took forever to die (looking it up, it was four episodes, but, man, it felt longer).  I don't remember if I was ever interested in it, but even if I was at some point - thanks to James Cromwell if nothing else - I know it wore off.

I appreciated the scene when Kerry tells her she's not interested in adopting a lifestyle, she just wants to be with her.  I am 100% in Legaspi's appalled and I don't want to deal with this closeted shit corner, but I also understand where Kerry was coming from at that age, that stage of understanding her orientation, and that level of fear of professional repercussions.

I thought both Legaspi and later, Sandy, were really lacking empathy with Kerry's situation.  Back in those days, it was a very big deal for a physician, male or female, to come out at work.  Legaspi, in particular, knew Romano and also knew Kerry, as ER chief, had to work with him closely.  Even if she wasn't bothered by his attitude, she had to have realized that not everyone is as tough and resilient in the face of that kind of harassment and that Kerry was entitled to her feelings about going public and should've been allowed to take it slowly.  Fine, having private discussions about it; not fine to take it to work.

[outsmartabullet]

On 9/29/2023 at 5:13 AM, Bastet said:

All I remember from my Pop re-watch (I don't remember it at all from the original run) is complaining it dragged on and on; dude took forever to die (looking it up, it was four episodes, but, man, it felt longer).  I don't remember if I was ever interested in it, but even if I was at some point - thanks to James Cromwell if nothing else - I know it wore off.

I appreciated the scene when Kerry tells her she's not interested in adopting a lifestyle, she just wants to be with her.  I am 100% in Legaspi's appalled and I don't want to deal with this closeted shit corner, but I also understand where Kerry was coming from at that age, that stage of understanding her orientation, and that level of fear of professional repercussions.

The Cromwell arc was one of the times it became really clear to me that the general vibe of the show had changed; that the hospital, the work dynamics and the medical procedures were now clearly playing second fiddle to the Main Characters and their personal demons. Of course that was always a thing, but back when say, Greene was recovering from his beating, it felt like it didn't overshadow entire episodes, that it was still an ensemble drama.