All Episodes Talk: What's Up Doc?

[Heathen]

9 minutes ago, Mrsmaul2021 said:

I was watching season 2 this weekend and I think Kerry is gravely misunderstood.  TBH I remember liking her back in the day. I understood what position she was in. 

I liked her at times, too. She was in a tough position, but then again, she DID have unnecessarily bitchy moments and she picked on some people. 

Well-written character, all around. 

[Palimelon]

With that said, I did find myself siding with her more often when I'd rewatch the show than I did when watching the show when it came out. Especially during some of her arguments with Doug.

[Mrsmaul2021]

1 hour ago, Palimelon said:

With that said, I did find myself siding with her more often when I'd rewatch the show than I did when watching the show when it came out. Especially during some of her arguments with Doug.

 

 

ESPECIALLY with Doug LOL! But you know who else I see myself agreeing with in my old age? Romano

[Bastet]

2 hours ago, Palimelon said:

With that said, I did find myself siding with her more often when I'd rewatch the show than I did when watching the show when it came out. Especially during some of her arguments with Doug.

I liked her from the beginning, and was usually on her side, especially with Doug.  That guy has no respect for authority, and tosses policy out the window on a regular basis.  He always thinks he knows best, sometimes overriding (or at least trying to) a patient/their parent's express wishes.  Granted, virtually all of them take turns doing that, but it was his MO.  Same with Malucci and Pratt.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I think a lot of the Kerry issue came from the strange way the writing changed.   The writing inconsistencies really bothered a lot of the character and story development.    One season Kerry was more human, than other seasons where she was a total bureaucrat.   

[Heathen]

40 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I think a lot of the Kerry issue came from the strange way the writing changed.   The writing inconsistencies really bothered a lot of the character and story development.    One season Kerry was more human, than other seasons where she was a total bureaucrat.   

Heck, sometimes in the same episode. 

[Bastet]

The initial reactions to Kerry were interesting in how they varied, and rang true to me.  First, Morganstern was right that someone who's strong in his weak areas is a better idea than someone who's very similar to him.  Mark knows, yes, she's the right pick, so does it, but at first is wishy washy when conflicts arise (which is so Mark, which is why he needs a Kerry). 

When Peter, who had done a rotation with her, hears about the hire, he tells Mark it's a step in the right direction.  Makes sense, as he likes things orderly and doesn't give a shit about pleasing personalities (see, e.g., his own).

But Susan bristles, because she's stressed out at home (thanks to her dumpster fire of a sister and not far into Kerry's tenure having Little Susie dumped on her) and wants to be dealing with Mark and her friend, the Mark Jr, instead, so things are easy and familiar at work.

And Doug, of course, is an insolent jerk from jump because he won't even listen to his own best friend when he wants to go his own way, so he's certainly not going to listen to someone like Kerry.  I love one of their early interactions, which I just re-watched, where Kerry directs a kid with chicken pox to a room she believes to be empty because Doug can't be bothered to fill out the board - especially when he's treating a patient who should be seen at a clinic, but because they made a mistake he has decided the mother should come to him for everything - and when he gets in her face [complete with raised voice, hand gestures, and that obnoxious self-righteous look on his face] about how his patient, a kid with AIDS, doesn't need to be exposed to chicken pox, she has perfect delivery on her response of "No kidding, so maybe you can let us in on the secret that he's here".

Thinking back, that may be when I was drawn to Kerry as a new character, and certainly something I love on re-watch.  Doug is one of those attractive, charming male characters who gets away with way too much by the writers - and the audience, as art is imitating life here - because of that attractiveness and charm.  An "oh, that rascal" attitude that downplays or even outright dismisses inappropriate behavior.  I was never fully down with that, and as I got older I lost all patience with it.

Edited August 31 by Bastet

[Palimelon]

 

[peacheslatour]

Yay! It's starting over with the pilot on Thursday! I watch it on POP.

[Lisa418722]

When ER started, I was working a 2nd shift job and had a radio with the local TV channels.  You could hear them, but not see them.  Listening only, Doug seemed like a jerk a lot of time, but when I started watching it I could see how Doug came across as charming his way into getting what he wanted.  Now when I rewatch I see what I heard in season one.  

Also on rewatch, I like Kerry more than I did the first time.  I guess now I'm in my own "I don't want to put up with other's bull" time of life.  But like others said above, the writing didn't do her any favors.  Sometimes I think Laura Innes was one of the best actors on the show because of how quickly the writing for Kerry changed. 

[Olis93]

Abby Keaton was such a great character and I wish she stuck around longer. She was an excellent surgeon without all the arrogance and pompous. Sweet yet confident and self-assured.

Her scenes with Benton were so great to watch. The way she handled teaching him and then rejecting him for pediatrics without being mean or condescending about it was exactly what he needed.

The relationship with Carter was cute but unnecessary as it was never gonna go anywhere.

[Cloud9Shopper]

I was watching a late S10 episode last night and it reminds me how much I don’t like Kerry’s custody storyline with Sandy’s family. I know it wraps up so quick in S11 but it doesn’t sit right with me how Sandy’s mother basically hates Kerry and seems determined to keep Henry from her as if Kerry is some terrible unfit mother. (I know some of it is Sandy’s mother being against the relationship and a sign of the times in the early 2000s but it all seems so unnecessary.) 

I like Kerry overall and think she settles nicely more into friendships with other characters later in the series, but liked how good she was with Jeanie (for the most part, save the rift with Jeanie losing her job temporarily in S4). When I was writing a fanfic about Coburn last year I gave Kerry a role as one of her friends/supporters during her time in recovery. 

[peacheslatour]

On 9/1/2024 at 3:55 AM, Lisa418722 said:

When ER started, I was working a 2nd shift job and had a radio with the local TV channels.  You could hear them, but not see them.  Listening only, Doug seemed like a jerk a lot of time, but when I started watching it I could see how Doug came across as charming his way into getting what he wanted.  Now when I rewatch I see what I heard in season one.  

Also on rewatch, I like Kerry more than I did the first time.  I guess now I'm in my own "I don't want to put up with other's bull" time of life.  But like others said above, the writing didn't do her any favors.  Sometimes I think Laura Innes was one of the best actors on the show because of how quickly the writing for Kerry changed. 

Yeah, I hated Weaver during the first run of the show but I think we wandered off around the same time that Clooney did. On my current second watch I have a lot more admiration and compassion for her.

[Heathen]

On 9/1/2024 at 6:55 AM, Lisa418722 said:

When ER started, I was working a 2nd shift job and had a radio with the local TV channels.  You could hear them, but not see them.  Listening only, Doug seemed like a jerk a lot of time, but when I started watching it I could see how Doug came across as charming his way into getting what he wanted.  Now when I rewatch I see what I heard in season one.  

Also on rewatch, I like Kerry more than I did the first time.  I guess now I'm in my own "I don't want to put up with other's bull" time of life.  But like others said above, the writing didn't do her any favors.  Sometimes I think Laura Innes was one of the best actors on the show because of how quickly the writing for Kerry changed. 

She certainly has better range than some of the other actors on the show (this means you, George and Maura in particular). Their characters were largely one-dimensional; Laura played a mean bitch, an uptight administrator, a bureaucrat, a gifted and compassionate physician, a friend, a person with a disability, a partner, a mother, a daughter, and more. Sometimes more than one character at once. And she even had more than one facial expression (this also means you, George and Maura). 

[Palimelon]

The thing about Kerry was her delivery, more than anything else, even when she was making sense. Then again, I guess as far as people running the ER, she needed to be the "bad cop" to Mark's "good cop" as far as the showrunners were concerned. 

And to be fair, Mark could be a bit too lax at times when it came to running the ER.

[Bastet]

4 minutes ago, Palimelon said:

The thing about Kerry was her delivery, more than anything else, even when she was making sense. Then again, I guess as far as people running the ER, she needed to be the "bad cop" to Mark's "good cop" as far as the showrunners were concerned. 

And to be fair, Mark could be a bit too lax at times when it came to running the ER.

Every once in a while, I oppose what Kerry is saying or doing, but most of the time I agree with her.  Some of that agreement, however, comes with a cringe as I think, "Jeez, you really should have said that differently."

I think Mark was too lax in general, more of a buddy than a manager.  He was great for team morale, but the department wouldn't have functioned without Kerry.  I love when Anspaugh becomes the new chief of staff and is ascertaining who does what in running the ER.  Everything he asks, Kerry is the answer, so he asks Mark "Aren't you an attending, too?"  Mark's answer to what he does is all feel-good stuff, while Kerry is doing all the administrative work.  Everyone loves to put her down as a bureaucrat and some of her rules are indeed overkill, but you have to have a Kerry.

The big difference for me, in terms of how I felt about a character during the original airing and how I feel now, is Mark.  I remember he bugged me a number of times, but I pretty much thought he was great.  Now, though, I frequently find him insufferable.  They all, being TV characters, bring their personal baggage to work and take it out on their coworkers and sometimes patients, but he's just awful when he's in a mood.  He's pretty much unwatchable after he's attacked; I am sympathetic to your trauma, dude, but good lords.  And the appalling way he behaves with respect to Jeanie's HIV status because he's upset Susan didn't want him?  GTFO.

[Olis93]

3 hours ago, Bastet said:

The big difference for me, in terms of how I felt about a character during the original airing and how I feel now, is Mark.  I remember he bugged me a number of times, but I pretty much thought he was great.  Now, though, I frequently find him insufferable.  They all, being TV characters, bring their personal baggage to work and take it out on their coworkers and sometimes patients, but he's just awful when he's in a mood.  He's pretty much unwatchable after he's attacked; I am sympathetic to your trauma, dude, but good lords.  And the appalling way he behaves with respect to Jeanie's HIV status because he's upset Susan didn't want him?  GTFO.

Mark is my favorite character on the show but even I can see where you're coming from. Him snooping on Jeanie was definitely his lowest moment in the series and I wish the writers didn't have him go that route. I fully sympathize with him during his PTSD arc and I imagine I would be going out of my mind too and lashing out if someone did that to me and just walked away with no consequences.

He had his moments but otherwise I find Mark by far the most consistently likeable character on the show.

[Cloud9Shopper]

3 hours ago, Olis93 said:

Mark is my favorite character on the show but even I can see where you're coming from. Him snooping on Jeanie was definitely his lowest moment in the series and I wish the writers didn't have him go that route. I fully sympathize with him during his PTSD arc and I imagine I would be going out of my mind too and lashing out if someone did that to me and just walked away with no consequences.

He had his moments but otherwise I find Mark by far the most consistently likeable character on the show.

I agree with this. There’s a reason why Mark is one of the top fan favorite characters and a lot of people think his death should have been the series finale. (Although for me, it’s between that and Carter’s S11 departure for when the show probably should have ended.) I find him likable more often than not; he basically is ER for me.

On 9/1/2024 at 5:39 PM, Olis93 said:

Abby Keaton was such a great character and I wish she stuck around longer. She was an excellent surgeon without all the arrogance and pompous. Sweet yet confident and self-assured.

Her scenes with Benton were so great to watch. The way she handled teaching him and then rejecting him for pediatrics without being mean or condescending about it was exactly what he needed.

The relationship with Carter was cute but unnecessary as it was never gonna go anywhere.

I always refer to Abby Keaton as the superior Abby LOL. Loved how much she cared about her work and had a lot of self confidence. It was definitely a time when the show had actual strong female characters; that quality also went downhill in later years.

I never expected hers and Carter’s relationship to go anywhere but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t laugh every time at the scene where Benton busts them and Carter hides the book in front of his face in embarrassment. Everyone’s expressions were great. 

[Heathen]

3 hours ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

I agree with this. There’s a reason why Mark is one of the top fan favorite characters and a lot of people think his death should have been the series finale. (Although for me, it’s between that and Carter’s S11 departure for when the show probably should have ended.) I find him likable more often than not; he basically is ER for me.

I always refer to Abby Keaton as the superior Abby LOL. Loved how much she cared about her work and had a lot of self confidence. It was definitely a time when the show had actual strong female characters; that quality also went downhill in later years.

I never expected hers and Carter’s relationship to go anywhere but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t laugh every time at the scene where Benton busts them and Carter hides the book in front of his face in embarrassment. Everyone’s expressions were great. 

There's also the scene in Dr. Keaton's office where Carter is about to take off his shirt, I think, and then he hides behind her desk so Benton doesn't see him. Then Dr. Keaton says she was "reviewing some anatomy." Always makes me laugh, although not as much as the got-caught scene. 

By FAR the superior Abby! 

Edited September 3 by Heathen

[Bastet]

7 hours ago, Olis93 said:

I fully sympathize with him during his PTSD arc and I imagine I would be going out of my mind too and lashing out if someone did that to me and just walked away with no consequences.

That I can sympathize with.  Falsely accusing a young Black man, I cannot.  And he knew damn well it was a false accusation; he had no idea who attacked him, and the police told him his dead patient's brother had an alibi.  But he swore up and down that's who'd done it.  And in the end, his big apology was to go the family's house and admit racism was "probably" part of the reason he'd made his false assumption about the patient in the first place.

3 hours ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

I never expected hers and Carter’s relationship to go anywhere but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t laugh every time at the scene where Benton busts them and Carter hides the book in front of his face in embarrassment. Everyone’s expressions were great. 

That is a funny moment, but the Keaton-Carter relationship never worked for me.  If you're afraid someone can blackmail you into a recommendation in exchange for not reporting a relationship, maybe that relationship is a bad idea.  At least it wasn't a direct report relationship, and the show was terribly blasé about power differences in general, but this is another instance where she knew it was a bad idea and pursued it anyway.  It's off-putting on an additional level on re-watch, knowing Carter's mommy issues which we did not know at the time, because she has such a maternal vibe, there's an ick factor there.

Edited September 3 by Bastet

[Mrsmaul2021]

17 hours ago, Bastet said:

 

The big difference for me, in terms of how I felt about a character during the original airing and how I feel now, is Mark.  I remember he bugged me a number of times, but I pretty much thought he was great.  Now, though, I frequently find him insufferable.  They all, being TV characters, bring their personal baggage to work and take it out on their coworkers and sometimes patients, but he's just awful when he's in a mood.  He's pretty much unwatchable after he's attacked; I am sympathetic to your trauma, dude, but good lords.  And the appalling way he behaves with respect to Jeanie's HIV status because he's upset Susan didn't want him?  GTFO.

 

 

Now for me it's season 7-9 Carter. On re watch I just can't get over how self centered he is.  Particularly when it came to Abby. He truly felt entitled to her.  You know how you re watch and maybe gain some clarity? No. It's bad every time. In season 8 you could see where they were aiming for a quadrangle. The blatant disrespect he showed Luka was nothing less than appalling.  I will never understand the need for this. When that debacle finally ended I felt it set all three characters free(Luka, Abby and Carter) 

[Palimelon]

Ok I know the bomb on Grey's Anatomy was much bigger, but the comment in this video did make me chuckle:

"Grey's anatomy: rocket in body cavity for 2 episodes.                                     ER: Benton chucks the bomb aside and moves on."