All Episodes Talk: What's Up Doc?

[starri]

I didn't like Rachel, but I did like Hallee Hirsch, if that makes any sense.

[chitowngirl]

On September 13, 2017 at 9:23 PM, walnutqueen said:

Edited Wednesday 09:26 PM by walnutqueen. Reason: Did I just dream that there were (empty) Season topics for a hot minute, or was that some other show I follow?

No, you didn't imagine it. There was a poll about them, they were there, and now they're not.

[walnutqueen]

5 minutes ago, chitowngirl said:

No, you didn't imagine it. There was a poll about them, they were there, and now they're not.

Thank you!!!  I thought I'd lost my freakin' mind for a moment.  :-)

I just watched the "Over The Rainbow" Iz vid, and it brought back fond memories of Hawaii, but also sadly reminded me of how morbidly obese that lovely man was.  Next time, I think I'll just listen with my eyes closed.

[ktwo]

7 hours ago, starri said:

I didn't like Rachel, but I did like Hallee Hirsch, if that makes any sense.

She's amazing for a child actress. Go watch her Law & Order episode, she's scary as hell. It's probably airing right now.

[chitowngirl]

I liked her Grey's Anatomy episode.

[walnutqueen]

58 minutes ago, chitowngirl said:

I liked her Grey's Anatomy episode.

I am also hopelessly addicted to Grey's.

Now you know my deep dark secret.  ER ruined my life.*  ;-)

 

* but I still blame Dr. Kildare & Ben Casey for my downward spiral.

[chitowngirl]

44 minutes ago, walnutqueen said:

I am also hopelessly addicted to Grey's.

Now you know my deep dark secret.  ER ruined my life.*  ;-)

 

* but I still blame Dr. Kildare & Ben Casey for my downward spiral.

Chad Everett in Medical Center and Emergency! for me!!

[KarenClassic]

I'm glad that my POP rewatch/watch is now on a more bearable Dr. Greene- if his personality doesn't give you that clue, he is working in scrubs again. But now I was wondering if he would have gone down this PTSD plot if Susan stayed. Does anybody know what the writers were planning before Sherry Sprinfield decided to leave?

[walnutqueen]

6 hours ago, KarenClassic said:

I'm glad that my POP rewatch/watch is now on a more bearable Dr. Greene- if his personality doesn't give you that clue, he is working in scrubs again. But now I was wondering if he would have gone down this PTSD plot if Susan stayed. Does anybody know what the writers were planning before Sherry Sprinfield decided to leave?

Then bumping uglies , incredibly awkwardly, like all of Mark Greens' sex scenes.

[absnow54]

On 9/4/2017 at 10:38 PM, jjj said:

I pretty much expect the Saturday reruns to cycle back to the beginning one more time before going through all the seasons -- but I'm betting they have jumped back on the daily reruns in order to start the recently unaired seasons early in October -- so they just counted backward and started there for the daytime reruns.   If they do not skip any days in the 3-per-day reruns, they will end Season 6 on October 11.  So, watch for what happens on October 12. 

I don't know if it's just a glitch in programming, but it looks like they might start playing new-er episodes starting October 2. It's not listing specific episodes, but the cast listing is from the final season.

[justduckey]

I think you might be right!! Woo-hoo!!

[Sticker Shock]

October 2nd's episodes are 5.21, 5.22, and 6.01, then 5.10, 5.11, and 5.12 later that night.

[absnow54]

Yeah I just checked my channel guide, and it's updated with the season 5 episode descriptions. The Saturday marathons hit 6x22 next week, so I have my breath held to see whether they push forward this time. 

[justduckey]

Well that's disappointing. My Fios guide had the later cast listed and no episode info. I was hopeful.  I mean, it's going to happen eventually. The question is when???

Edited September 23, 2017 by justduckey

[BooksRule]

I just checked ahead on my onscreen TV guide, and it looks like they will be starting season 7 on October 7th (woo hoo!).  I just hope it's right.

[justduckey]

Just checked again and I have it starting 10/7, too. Strange that it's starting with the Saturday rotation but whatever. I'm looking forward to these episodes bc I stopped really paying attention during the original run after JM left and really stopped paying attention after AE left. It'll be like seeing them for the first time!

Edited September 24, 2017 by justduckey

[PepSinger]

I watched "Be Still My Heart" and "All in the Family" last night on Pop, and it is still the most riveting two hours of television I've ever seen. In fact, I would say AITF is one of the best episodes of television of all time. It's heartbreaking. Flawless, really.

One thing I really paid attention to this time was how the hell the stabbing even happened. Whose fault was it? In my opinion, I think Carter, Knight, Greene, and Kovac, to some degree, all share responsibility for what happened. Carter needed to stop blowing Lucy off; Lucy needed to follow Carter's instructions to pass him off to someone else; Mark should've been more aware of the toxic Carter/Lucy dynamic; Mark is the attending, so the buck stops with him. With Kovac, well, "you were having a party." He never even saw the guy. It's just so unfortunate all around, which is due to the good writing. There isn't just one "bad guy."

Edited September 25, 2017 by PepSinger

[cpcathy]

ER did those types of episodes so well, the last five minutes of Be Still My Heart are so devastating, paired with the dance music, in my opinion, a great choice for that scene.

[voiceover]

One of my favorite moments is the silence in the OR scrub room as Benton, Corday, Anspaugh, and Romano wash their hands.  And you read the fear on their faces.

Watching the ep when an exhausted Elizabeth gives a patient too much magnesium (?).  It's the beginning of the end for Benton/Corday, and I put this on Peter: crabs at her for talking to the specialty surgeon, leaves her alone to go talk to the specialty surgeon, tells the specialty surgeon that Elizabeth is already involved with someone (true enough), blows off time with said upset girlfriend.

And don't get me started on Lucy/Carter.  Let us echo Julie Bowen's character & say: There's one good thing about Lucy: she's not here.

Not sure if it was the writing or what, but man! that relationship (L&C) was a missed opportunity.

[KarenClassic]

9 hours ago, voiceover said:

Watching the ep when an exhausted Elizabeth gives a patient too much magnesium (?).  It's the beginning of the end for Benton/Corday, and I put this on Peter: crabs at her for talking to the specialty surgeon, leaves her alone to go talk to the specialty surgeon, tells the specialty surgeon that Elizabeth is already involved with someone (true enough), blows off time with said upset girlfriend.

And don't get me started on Lucy/Carter.  Let us echo Julie Bowen's character & say: There's one good thing about Lucy: she's not here.

Not sure if it was the writing or what, but man! that relationship (L&C) was a missed opportunity.

I was also disappointed in Greene. He is dipicted as a good teacher during traumas but he found a problem with Carter and Lucy and when it became too difficult to solve he gave up. I don't know why continually expect more from Greene. 

 

And I agree that Peter is to blame for the end of the relationship- it would seem that even his sister would agree from that one scene she scolds him for not confiding with Corday. 

[chitowngirl]

As much as I would like to watch the rest of the seasons, Fall TV shows just started back up. I wish they would have aired them over the summer.

[cpcathy]

I don't know if I can get to the rest of the episodes, I think I have ER fatigue!

[voiceover]

50 minutes ago, cpcathy said:

I don't know if I can get to the rest of the episodes, I think I have ER fatigue!

Agreed!  I think I'm burned out too.

[justduckey]

I agree, summer would have been better. I also wish they wouldn’t show 3 a day. It’s a lot on top of the few other shows on my schedule for the fall, plus work and life, in general.

 

Still looking forward to seeing them,I’m just not sure how I’m going to juggle it.

[cpcathy]

For awhile three a day was great, but I've seen Carol give birth three times now! Never again!

[Mama No Life]

2 hours ago, cpcathy said:

I don't know if I can get to the rest of the episodes, I think I have ER fatigue!

I watched the first six seasons when they came on POP like a starving person, but haven't been able to watch again since...too much too soon.  

[justduckey]

Lol

[RedbirdNelly]

I watched the first six seasons the first time through--putting in a lot of work (ha) to avoid my DVR filling up. I am annoyed they will run the last seasons AFTER fall tv picks up. Will & Grace are back, etc. I've got a lot to record! can't get behind on my ER because this forum is most enjoyable when watching at the same pace as everyone else! such problems, I tell you.

[bythelake]

15 hours ago, cpcathy said:

For awhile three a day was great, but I've seen Carol give birth three times now! Never again!

Be Still My Heart is one of the episodes I could watch over and over. The acting is superb, the drama lasts until the very end and technically you feel like you are right there in the ER with them.

[rcc]

18 hours ago, cpcathy said:

For awhile three a day was great, but I've seen Carol give birth three times now! Never again!

I wish POP would have started with the very first episode and continued on to the end in sequence. This afternoon we will see Benton in Mississippi once again.

[cpcathy]

No, no Benton in Mississipi again. My disdain for Benton grows.

[justduckey]

I always just delete that episode. Watched it once in 1999 and I haven’t watched it since.

[ESS]

I actually hated Middle Of Nowhere for years, but the more I've watched it, the more I like it now. I don't know why I disliked it I just did.

[doodlebug]

4 minutes ago, ESS said:

I actually hated Middle Of Nowhere for years, but the more I've watched it, the more I like it now. I don't know why I disliked it I just did.

I disliked virtually all of the episodes that took the main cast out of the ER.  Didn't love Mark's many trips to visit the folks (though the one with Doug is not awful), Carol's trip to the convenience store nor Carter and Lucy run around Chicago looking for a guy who is sitting in Doc's for the better part of an eppy.  The multiple later episodes in Africa were initially interesting to me just because of the setting (and my own interest in medical volunteerism though not in war zones); but even those became routine after a while.  The show was always at its best for me when the whole ensemble was in the ER interacting as a team.  It reached its low point with me when we got the multiple episodes with Abby treating her mother and brother like crap while running around the countryside after them.

[cpcathy]

I really enjoyed the Doug and Mark on the road episode, it was really well done. The others set outside the ER, not so much. I watched the convenience store episode once in the cycle, then not again.

[starri]

3 hours ago, doodlebug said:

Carol's trip to the convenience store

I really loathe that episode.

[doodlebug]

36 minutes ago, starri said:

I really loathe that episode.

To think they got Ewan McGregor to guest star and wasted him like that still makes me very sad. 

[WendyCR72]

Don't know why this popped into my head, but I also remember the former NBC promo guy and how OTT some of these commercials were. I specifically recall the guy saying for some episode: "An ER to cherish."

I mean, I liked the show. But, really?!

[RedbirdNelly]

I too greatly prefer episodes in the ER. Best out of ER episode to me was Mark and Doug going on the road trip. It has a nice ending with Carol showing up. I also enjoyed Benton's Middle of Nowhere episode when I viewed it on Pop. But I like Benton.

[Danny Franks]

On 25/09/2017 at 10:20 PM, voiceover said:

And don't get me started on Lucy/Carter.  Let us echo Julie Bowen's character & say: There's one good thing about Lucy: she's not here.

Not sure if it was the writing or what, but man! that relationship (L&C) was a missed opportunity.

I think they rushed into giving Carter a storyline, once it became clear that Maria Bello wasn't coming back. So instead of continuing their flirtation, perhaps with the added stakes of her ex-boyfriend hanging around, they had to come up with something new. And figured that trying to make Carter then new Benton, but this time with added sexual tension for his student, was the way to go. And it kind of made sense that Carter would use some of Benton's 'tough love' tactics on his first real med student, but it didn't make for a fun character trait. 

I didn't mind Lucy, but again, her self righteous challenging of everything Carter taught her was far more heavy handed than when Carter had railed against his own mentor. I was actually interested in the idea of them getting together, once he was no longer teaching her (hey, it was apparently fine for Doug and Luka to sleep with med students, after all), but it was not to be. Instead, we got Carter/Abby/Luka, which was so much worse than anything else could have been.

18 hours ago, doodlebug said:

I disliked virtually all of the episodes that took the main cast out of the ER.  Didn't love Mark's many trips to visit the folks (though the one with Doug is not awful), Carol's trip to the convenience store nor Carter and Lucy run around Chicago looking for a guy who is sitting in Doc's for the better part of an eppy.  The multiple later episodes in Africa were initially interesting to me just because of the setting (and my own interest in medical volunteerism though not in war zones); but even those became routine after a while.  The show was always at its best for me when the whole ensemble was in the ER interacting as a team.  It reached its low point with me when we got the multiple episodes with Abby treating her mother and brother like crap while running around the countryside after them.

When I'm doing a rewatch, I pretty much skip any 'special' episodes that feature only one or two of the characters. Because they are always outside the ER, in some new, unfamiliar environment. And I'm not interested in the drama of a Naval veteran's family in San Diego, or a big city doc in the country, or some random cops being harangued by a worried woman about her relapsed druggie sister. If I was interested, I'd watch shows that are about those things (god knows, there's probably plenty of them).

[ch1]

6 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

I think they rushed into giving Carter a storyline, once it became clear that Maria Bello wasn't coming back. So instead of continuing their flirtation, perhaps with the added stakes of her ex-boyfriend hanging around, they had to come up with something new. And figured that trying to make Carter then new Benton, but this time with added sexual tension for his student, was the way to go. And it kind of made sense that Carter would use some of Benton's 'tough love' tactics on his first real med student, but it didn't make for a fun character trait. 

I didn't mind Lucy, but again, her self righteous challenging of everything Carter taught her was far more heavy handed than when Carter had railed against his own mentor. I was actually interested in the idea of them getting together, once he was no longer teaching her (hey, it was apparently fine for Doug and Luka to sleep with med students, after all), but it was not to be. Instead, we got Carter/Abby/Luka, which was so much worse than anything else could have been.

 

On rewatching Lucy was so beyond annoying to me that I got why Carter was such an ass to her.

The writers tried so hard to make sexual tension between them that it just turned me off.  And they definitely lost me with Lucy mentioning how much sex her grandparents had.  I mean hit me over the head a little harder.

She was bearable right before they killed her.  Go figure.

[WendyCR72]

2 hours ago, ch1 said:

On rewatching Lucy was so beyond annoying to me that I got why Carter was such an ass to her.

Friend!  :-)

[walnutqueen]

4 hours ago, ch1 said:

On rewatching Lucy was so beyond annoying to me that I got why Carter was such an ass to her.

The writers tried so hard to make sexual tension between them that it just turned me off.  And they definitely lost me with Lucy mentioning how much sex her grandparents had.  I mean hit me over the head a little harder.

She was bearable right before they killed her.  Go figure.

Oooh, Lucy annoyed me so much that I STILL resent seeing her in those Lifetime movies!  Her voice makes me cringe to this day.  ;-(

[/irrational hostility]

[jjj]

As noted above, on Saturday October 7, Season 7 will begin to air -- but note that the mini-marathon begins 90 minutes earlier than usual.  They are running 7.1-7.7, then repeating 7.1-7.5 the same evening.  My estimate for when Season 7 starts in daytime is October 12, the day after Season 6 ends. 

It was great having ER on during the summer, and seeing so many details I had never seen back in the original run.  But lack of interest in the later seasons and lack of time will keep me from seeing much of it.  But I'll watch here in case there is an episode/arc that you all say is good.  So many chances to catch reruns on Saturdays! 

On ‎9‎/‎27‎/‎2017 at 3:22 PM, cpcathy said:

I don't know if I can get to the rest of the episodes, I think I have ER fatigue!

On ‎9‎/‎27‎/‎2017 at 4:14 PM, voiceover said:

Agreed!  I think I'm burned out too.

[justduckey]

On 9/27/2017 at 8:44 PM, Mama No Life said:

I watched the first six seasons when they came on POP like a starving person, but haven't been able to watch again since...too much too soon.  

I’m sure I’ll watch until Greene dies and then my interest will wane again. I am, however, looking forward to the final season bc other than the Clooney/Marguiles episode I missed all the other original cast returns.

[voiceover]

"Viable Options" = a tough, tough watch, with all those arguments about mistakes & informed consent. Included is Kenny from Frasier as the dad who once begged Carter not to note his son's diabetes -- so John acquiesced -- and in this ep, blamed John for not telling him his son could die.

I feel like the first part of this story was retold many times on this show. So either they got lazy, or it's a common med issue in ERs.

[slasherboy]

1.  Just watched "Viable Options".  Mark had a bald-ish male patient who had some sort of disease that I didn't catch the name of.  His father had committed suicide and Mark suggested it was because of this disease. Among other things, it causes dementia and loss of all his faculties, both physical and mental.  Anybody know the name of the disease?  Thanks.

2.  Surprisingly, I like "The Middle of Nowhere" and I, along with most who commented, normally don't like out-of-the-ER episodes (except for Mark and Doug's road trip).  Anyway, at an outdoor meal Benton takes a big ole piece of fried chicken onto his plate.  Wasn't he a vegetarian?

3.  HATE HATE HATE Carol in the convenience store episode.  HATE IT!!

4.  One thing I really like about "ER", and notice every time it happens, is the snow.  I like it when the staff are outside throwing snowballs, when they come inside and it's in their hair, and watching it out the window.  I hope we have a very snowy winter here in Nashville.  Not likely, but a slasherboy can hope.

[jjj]

1 hour ago, slasherboy said:

1.  Just watched "Viable Options".  Mark had a bald-ish male patient who had some sort of disease that I didn't catch the name of.  His father had committed suicide and Mark suggested it was because of this disease. Among other things, it causes dementia and loss of all his faculties, both physical and mental.  Anybody know the name of the disease?  Thanks.

I think that is the episode where the patient has Huntington's Disease.

I agree with all of your points below, also!  I always think I don't like "The Middle of Nowhere," but then it grabs me.  I skip "Carol in the convenience store" every time, blech. 

And I liked their snow episodes from the very first season, "Blizzard" (1.11); how they set the calm of silent snow and quiet hospital in the opening is wonderful.  Then, the 32-vehicle pileup and so many patients.  

 

1 hour ago, slasherboy said:

2.  Surprisingly, I like "The Middle of Nowhere" and I, along with most who commented, normally don't like out-of-the-ER episodes (except for Mark and Doug's road trip).  Anyway, at an outdoor meal Benton takes a big ole piece of fried chicken onto his plate.  Wasn't he a vegetarian?

3.  HATE HATE HATE Carol in the convenience store episode.  HATE IT!!

4.  One thing I really like about "ER", and notice every time it happens, is the snow.  I like it when the staff are outside throwing snowballs, when they come inside and it's in their hair, and watching it out the window.  I hope we have a very snowy winter here in Nashville.  Not likely, but a slasherboy can hope.

 

[jjj]

I am watching "Loose Ends," where Carol gets birthday flowers from Luka and a big box of animal crackers from Doug -- I don't think this had been in the rotation over the summer -- I would have remembered the animal crackers and the big red bow.   My recollection is that they were showing the episode with Mark's father on the boat in Lake Michigan, then the next episode was the funeral planning.  I had thought the death occurred off-stage (so to speak), which can be a dramatic choice.  Anyway, I seem to be seeing "Loose Ends" for the first time.  It does fill the gap about Carol's growing frustration of being in Chicago and of course, the death of Mark's father.  John Cullum is wonderful in this role. 

Fun fact:  I finally found the location of the Seattle-area home where the Doug and Carol reunited, and I live on the other side of the lake (it's a big lake, 1 mile across and 21 miles long).  http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20000515&slug=4021039  His "home" was in Juanita, north and east end of Lake Washington -- Seattle is on the other side.  LOcation of Juanita:  https://www.google.com/maps/place/Juanita,+Kirkland,+WA+98034/@47.7058651,-122.2290784,14z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x5490126402fd0cef:0x3077143fe1f976e9!8m2!3d47.705867!4d-122.2115688   

From the linked article:  "The ending was one of television's best-kept secrets. It was filmed two weeks ago at a waterfront home in Juanita. The stars flew into separate airports. The crew, transported in two vans, was kept in the dark until the last minute.  Clooney did the scene for fans, for colleagues and, amazingly, for scale pay."

And also this about the secrecy of the reunion episode:  http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/entertainment/ 

Edited October 1, 2017 by jjj

[walnutqueen]

10 hours ago, jjj said:

Fun fact:  I finally found the location of the Seattle-area home where the Doug and Carol reunited, and I live on the other side of the lake (it's a big lake, 1 mile across and 21 miles long). 

I am Greene with envy!  ;-)