All Episodes Talk: What's Up Doc?

[Palimelon]

Speaking of Abbey's exit, one thing I did like about the show on the whole was the majority of main characters didn't leave in the final episode of their final season, and new characters didn't always show up in the first episode of their first season. Yes, some of the main characters did arrive and leave the show that way, but most didn't. It did add a bit of realism because in life not all new hires show up in late August/early September and not all people leave a company or sadly die during May.

[Olis93]

Oh man, the double whammy of "Be Still My Heart" and "All in the Family" still hits hard.

The acting from Noah and Kelly during the stabbing scene is gripping. The whole cast gets a chance to shine here and seeing everyone springing into action is great stuff. While it will never have the same impact as when I first watched it, this is still amazing TV. Sad to see Lucy go as I was a big fan of her character but the actress wanted out and it was quite a way to go.

Unfortunately the show learned the wrong lessons from this episode IMO as big, overblown tragic events would become more common in later seasons, ultimately taking away from what made ER magic in its early years, the focus on life in the ER.

Edited November 23 by Olis93

[Mrsmaul2021]

1 hour ago, Olis93 said:

 

Unfortunately the show learned the wrong lessons from this episode IMO as big, overblown tragic events would become more common in later seasons, ultimately taking away from what made ER magic in its early years, the focus on life in the ER.

This, This, THIS. I mainly post on Reddit but I have been saying this for over a year now. After the success of these two episodes, the show began to rely too heavily on personal melodrama. It did not begin  after Mark left.  Season 7 alone you had Benton's nephew dying, the Maggie arc and Mark being diagnosed with cancer. 

Edited November 24 by Mrsmaul2021

[Palimelon]

I think what also helped "Be Still My Heart"/"All in the Family" was that it was relatively unspoiled or hyped up. We didn't know at the time - or at least it wasn't advertised much as such - that Kellie Martin was leaving, so those episodes really were a punch to the gut (much in the same way George Clooney returning for Carol's exit was a pleasant surprise because we didn't know about it ahead of time as well).

Plus in Lucy's case, there was that extra shock of her being the first main character to get killed off (yeah I know Dennis Gant died as well but he was a recurring character) instead of leaving County.

Quote

IMO as big, overblown tragic events would become more common in later seasons,

Sadly, Grey's Anatomy learned the same lesson as well.

[peacheslatour]

7 hours ago, Palimelon said:

I think what also helped "Be Still My Heart"/"All in the Family" was that it was relatively unspoiled or hyped up. We didn't know at the time - or at least it wasn't advertised much as such - that Kellie Martin was leaving, so those episodes really were a punch to the gut (much in the same way George Clooney returning for Carol's exit was a pleasant surprise because we didn't know about it ahead of time as well).

Plus in Lucy's case, there was that extra shock of her being the first main character to get killed off (yeah I know Dennis Gant died as well but he was a recurring character) instead of leaving County.

Sadly, Grey's Anatomy learned the same lesson as well.

I'm up to season 14 in my re-watch and I can't wait for it to be over so it can begin again. They replaced to intro theme music and the whole thing sucks. I am so sick of Abby.

[Mrsmaul2021]

10 hours ago, Palimelon said:

 

 

Sadly, Grey's Anatomy learned the same lesson as well.

 

 

In the later seasons you can tell ER was trying to compete with GA. 

3 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

I'm up to season 14 in my re-watch and I can't wait for it to be over so it can begin again. They replaced to intro theme music and the whole thing sucks. I am so sick of Abby.

Season 14 I go back in forth on. I felt Luka and Abby are finally in a good place and season 14 should have backburned her character and focused on the other characters. On the other hand I think they needlessly made her an alcoholic only to tie her with Carter and her addiction was always used to get a "reaction" from Carter. In season 14 I felt it was finally about her and I liked how it was handled.. 

[peacheslatour]

28 minutes ago, Mrsmaul2021 said:

 

 

In the later seasons you can tell ER was trying to compete with GA. 

Season 14 I go back in forth on. I felt Luka and Abby are finally in a good place and season 14 should have backburned her character and focused on the other characters. On the other hand I think they needlessly made her an alcoholic only to tie her with Carter and her addiction was always used to get a "reaction" from Carter. In season 14 I felt it was finally about her and I liked how it was handled.. 

Luka spends too much time with Sam and it kind of weirds me out. Sam is such a off putting character.

[Mrsmaul2021]

31 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

Luka spends too much time with Sam and it kind of weirds me out. Sam is such a off putting character.

 

Luka and Sam lasted longer than they should have. 

[Dr.OO7]

Happy 25th birthday, Tess & Kate!

[Mrsmaul2021]

16 minutes ago, Dr.OO7 said:

Happy 25th birthday, Tess & Kate!

 

 

you taking me back. I had a house full of relatives and I remember sneaking away in my room to watch this episode.  My cheap ass didn't have cable in my room so the picture had static

[Dr.OO7]

32 minutes ago, Mrsmaul2021 said:

 

 

you taking me back. I had a house full of relatives and I remember sneaking away in my room to watch this episode.  My cheap ass didn't have cable in my room so the picture had static

I remember being so thrilled at the fact that we were going to have a new episode on Thanksgiving night that my mother and I rushed through cleaning up after dinner so that we could be comfortably settled in by the time it started. 

[Notabug]

27 minutes ago, Dr.OO7 said:

I remember being so thrilled at the fact that we were going to have a new episode on Thanksgiving night that my mother and I rushed through cleaning up after dinner so that we could be comfortably settled in by the time it started. 

I have a similar memory because it was fairly unusual to get new episodes of TV series on a holiday.  In my case, I had online friends who were also fans of the show and we watched 'together' and shared our thoughts.

[mason86]

I am on hulu and er won't load. I can get every show to play except er. Wtf

[Cloud9Shopper]

I just watched the S11 episode where Kerry meets her birth mother, and I’d forgotten they did the setup where her mother comes into County pretending to be a patient in order to see her, which is also what they did with the plot with Abby’s father in S13. But at least Kerry’s plot was written well; it was nice to see her get her own episode and a big storyline since we never got to see tons of her relationship and family life with Sandy.

I did feel bad for Kerry, though, to think she was getting somewhere and was excited to be learning more about her family history only for her mother to essentially spit on her over her religious beliefs and not willing to accept her for who she is. I know this was before gay marriage was legal, but unfortunately, some people still believe what Helen does about gays. (On the flip side of things, my mom’s side of the family is largely Catholic, my sister who is clearly not religious has a wife, and none of us care or have any feelings of distaste towards her or her wife.) 

Also, as a personal/meaningful side note, someone bookmarked my very first ER fanfic last night. I wrote it over three years ago and kind of rushed it out, so now I feel motivated to rewrite it. May share it here too when I get around to it. I was flattered because it’s gotten some views here and there but it’s nice that someone is excited about this after it was published so long ago. 

 

 

[Mrsmaul2021]

They are airing Season 15 on Pop now. And I really liked the scene where Sam has moved in with Gates and they are all having a family breakfast. It was nice, good, healthy. Then the next episode they break up because of a car accident that really wasn't anybody's fault. My thing is, this was the final season, do we need drama and misery 24/7? They couldn't be a functional family throughout the duration of the season? It really irritated me.

[peacheslatour]

4 hours ago, Mrsmaul2021 said:

They are airing Season 15 on Pop now. And I really liked the scene where Sam has moved in with Gates and they are all having a family breakfast. It was nice, good, healthy. Then the next episode they break up because of a car accident that really wasn't anybody's fault. My thing is, this was the final season, do we need drama and misery 24/7? They couldn't be a functional family throughout the duration of the season? It really irritated me.

And then we have to life or death struggle to save Alex. Why did we have to have all that misery in the final season? I'm watching on POP too. I sure hope they start them over soon. I also hate they the theme music is changed. Why did they do that?

[Olis93]

Sally Field is just amazing in her role as Abby's bipolar mom. A fantastic actress with so many memorable roles. While I was never a big fan of Abby's personal drama swallowing up the show, Maggie's initial arc where she is introduced was incredible acting and made for some excellent TV. Unfortunately they revisit that well one too many times later on which spoils the character for me.

The Kynesha plot is completely pointless and I don't know how Cleo didn't just lose her shit after her apartment was trashed by that girl. I'm surprised Benton and Cleo even lasted after that.

I'm up to the beginning of the end for Mark and it sucks. Mark is my all-time favorite ER character and even though I know what's coming, it still sucks to watch his slow demise. They give you false hope in season 7 but we all know where it leads to at the end of season 8...

[peacheslatour]

48 minutes ago, Olis93 said:

Sally Field is just amazing in her role as Abby's bipolar mom. A fantastic actress with so many memorable roles. While I was never a big fan of Abby's personal drama swallowing up the show, Maggie's initial arc where she is introduced was incredible acting and made for some excellent TV. Unfortunately they revisit that well one too many times later on which spoils the character for me.

The Kynesha plot is completely pointless and I don't know how Cleo didn't just lose her shit after her apartment was trashed by that girl. I'm surprised Benton and Cleo even lasted after that.

I'm up to the beginning of the end for Mark and it sucks. Mark is my all-time favorite ER character and even though I know what's coming, it still sucks to watch his slow demise. They give you false hope in season 7 but we all know where it leads to at the end of season 8...

I'm watching it on POP, on cable. They have 4 and 5 hour blocks Tues., Wed., Thurs., and Saturday. They're going to start over this Wednesday.

[Cloud9Shopper]

4 hours ago, Olis93 said:

Sally Field is just amazing in her role as Abby's bipolar mom. A fantastic actress with so many memorable roles. While I was never a big fan of Abby's personal drama swallowing up the show, Maggie's initial arc where she is introduced was incredible acting and made for some excellent TV. Unfortunately they revisit that well one too many times later on which spoils the character for me.

The Kynesha plot is completely pointless and I don't know how Cleo didn't just lose her shit after her apartment was trashed by that girl. I'm surprised Benton and Cleo even lasted after that.

I'm up to the beginning of the end for Mark and it sucks. Mark is my all-time favorite ER character and even though I know what's coming, it still sucks to watch his slow demise. They give you false hope in season 7 but we all know where it leads to at the end of season 8...

The arc with Abby’s mother marked the start of my disliking her, and it never got better the rest of the series, especially as she continued to get every major plotline and so many episodes (even those not about her mother and/or brother) revolving around her, and all her worst traits were just beat over our heads until she finally departed early in the last season. 

I swear on rewatch that Cleo’s facial expression never changes. Or so it seems. Even when Michael Michele tries to show frustration and crying, she cannot sell it. (I saw her episode of SVU a couple weeks ago and she was a lot better in that; I wondered why she never got to showcase that kind of talent on ER.)

I’m still on S11. Cynthia Nixon’s appearance is incredible; she was fantastic at narrating her stroke from her POV when in reality she couldn’t move her face or do much of anything. That episode and Time of Death with Ray Liotta (RIP) really save S11, because I skip a lot of it otherwise. (She is another actress who was amazing in her SVU guest stint.) But now that I’m almost to the end of 11, I feel like the real series finale is when Carter leaves. 

[Mrsmaul2021]

 

[Cloud9Shopper]

Watched the episode where Ruby is brought back to the ER as a patient. And while of course it was pretty obvious Carter was lying about not remembering him, I honestly can’t believe Ruby held a grudge for 10 years and accused Carter of killing his wife. Carter did the best he could at the time (way back in Season 2) and maybe shouldn’t have lied, but there’s also no way a med student should have been left alone on that case either. Ruby is kind of a jerk, as we see throughout anyway, but geez 10 years later and still that mad at Carter? Come on. 

I did kind of appreciate that the end of the episode was left open, not knowing whether or not Ruby would agree to the surgery.

Other plot points in this episode:

-I end up liking Morris by the end of the series but I can’t believe he got the chief residency after that disaster of a presentation. It’s ridiculous even for S11 that he would have absolutely no competition. Liked the other callback to S2 of Susan reminding Kerry that she was hired for the chief residency from outside County.

-Also, Susan, Kerry’s and Carter’s expressions during Morris’s presentation were priceless. 

-I really can’t stand Ray. That’s one character we could’ve done without. 

Only three episodes left of S11 for me before an even more abbreviated watch of S12-14.

 

[Mrsmaul2021]

8 hours ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

Watched the episode where Ruby is brought back to the ER as a patient. And while of course it was pretty obvious Carter was lying about not remembering him, I honestly can’t believe Ruby held a grudge for 10 years and accused Carter of killing his wife. Carter did the best he could at the time (way back in Season 2) and maybe shouldn’t have lied, but there’s also no way a med student should have been left alone on that case either. Ruby is kind of a jerk, as we see throughout anyway, but geez 10 years later and still that mad at Carter? Come on. 

 

 

 

 

I honestly do not think Carter was lying. I get Ruby's resentment but accusing Carter of "killing" his wife was going too far. It reminds me of the ep A Shot In The Dark(season 11) where the little girl has an appendicitis but the mother was so hostile to Abby from jump, turns out her husband's father came to county for a routine procedure and he died. Both were still very bitter over that 

[peacheslatour]

12 hours ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

Watched the episode where Ruby is brought back to the ER as a patient. And while of course it was pretty obvious Carter was lying about not remembering him, I honestly can’t believe Ruby held a grudge for 10 years and accused Carter of killing his wife. Carter did the best he could at the time (way back in Season 2) and maybe shouldn’t have lied, but there’s also no way a med student should have been left alone on that case either. Ruby is kind of a jerk, as we see throughout anyway, but geez 10 years later and still that mad at Carter? Come on. 

I did kind of appreciate that the end of the episode was left open, not knowing whether or not Ruby would agree to the surgery.

Other plot points in this episode:

-I end up liking Morris by the end of the series but I can’t believe he got the chief residency after that disaster of a presentation. It’s ridiculous even for S11 that he would have absolutely no competition. Liked the other callback to S2 of Susan reminding Kerry that she was hired for the chief residency from outside County.

-Also, Susan, Kerry’s and Carter’s expressions during Morris’s presentation were priceless. 

-I really can’t stand Ray. That’s one character we could’ve done without. 

Only three episodes left of S11 for me before an even more abbreviated watch of S12-14.

 

Aww, I liked Ray. He turned out to be a good guy.

[Olis93]

On early season 8 now. Reaching the end of Malucci and Cleo's time on the show and both of them were such wasted characters IMO. Malucci I never liked or cared for and thought he added almost nothing to the show. Cleo was just Benton's love interest and I have no idea why she didn't dump him sooner, especially after the whole Kynesha plot.

Speaking of season 8, IMO this was a year riddled with pointless arcs that are either a complete waste of time or just get dropped (Nicole arc, Benton custody battle, Babcock/Corday plot, DV arc, Rachel drama).

That combined with how dark and gloomy the show gets and all the horrible things that befall the main cast members, it's just not a fun season to get through.

[Mrsmaul2021]

1 hour ago, Olis93 said:

 

That combined with how dark and gloomy the show gets and all the horrible things that befall the main cast members, it's just not a fun season to get through.

 

I have said season 8 is not as good as so many claim it is. Some claim the show went downhill AFTER this season and I disagree. Season 7 and 8 brought in all the melodrama and misery.