All Episodes Talk: What's Up Doc?

[voiceover]

The good news is, Freeform is showing reruns of The Middle during the first ER ep, so I can flick back and forth.

Because so far, the Grand Experiment of slogging through the later eps, is failing miserably.

4 hours ago, doodlebug said:

ER in the early seasons was a place where all the doctors were competent, dedicated and generally decent human beings.  By Season 10, it was filled with miserable complainers, many of them incompetent and lazy.  

I sense a straight line.

And the surprising thing?  Before they hit this series, I liked Maura/Mekhi/Parminder/Linda.

Edited November 14, 2017 by voiceover

[Bastet]

Ha - I like Sam's introduction, especially Romano's "Please tell me you work here."

I don't remember Morris or Coop at all from the original run, but I remember I liked Sam and Neela.  No specifics, just a general memory that I liked them.

[desertflower]

Hats off to you guys who watch these episodes live, because those friggin' commercials are ridiculous. I record and watch the next day, and even with fast forwarding I am still sick to death of the stupid Hot Date promos.

So on principle I don't like that Elizabeth gave into the surgeon's "charms" and slept with him, but on the other hand it's kind of nice seeing her having a little fun after the awful couple of years she had. 

Which reminds me, when Carter came back from Africa at the beginning of the season 10 opener, they were playing the sad piano theme that had previously been used for Mark's funeral and for a few scenes later where Elizabeth was having some grieving moments. It kind of annoyed me they used it for Carter coming back to Abby's apartment. That's Mark's music! 

Edited November 14, 2017 by desertflower

[voiceover]

Guest Star Bingo: Coop grew up to be Cliff, the lawyer that Mindy dated early on in The Mindy Project. 

Confession: I cheated with IMDb.

Here's a thing I like: Susan getting along with Romano.

[slasherboy]

Bob Newhart!  Or am I just dreaming ..... ?  (see what I did there?)

[ktwo]

Quote

Hats off to you guys who watch these episodes live, because those friggin' commercials are ridiculous. I record and watch the next day, and even with fast forwarding I am still sick to death of the stupid Hot Date promos.

 I've been meaning to bring this up -  has any channel ever reran an hour-long show with so many commercials that it takes an hour and 15 minutes? SO STRANGE.

Edited November 14, 2017 by ktwo

[Stuffy]

3 hours ago, ktwo said:

 I've been meaning to bring this up -  has any channel ever reran an hour-long show with so many commercials that it takes an hour and 15 minutes? SO STRANGE.

My remote has a quick 30 second skip.  Most shows I push skip six times or 7-8 for talk shows.  ER on POP takes 11-12. 

Edited November 15, 2017 by Stuffy

[rcc]

POP wants to make as much money as they can I guess with all those commercials. But that date show has got to be the worst one of the bunch. Garbage show and those commercials don't do it any favors. I can't imagine watching that crap.

[slasherboy]

Ok, these scenes of the woman setting herself on fire are way too intense for me.  Her flailing in the car engulfed in flames with her son screaming, "MOM!  MOM!" then being pulled out by the ER crew and the aftermath of her still being alive and burned to a crisp and actually expecting her child to want to come in and see her like that.  Pretty damn selfish if you ask me.  First, to set herself on fire right in front of him then thinking he'll be emotionally able to see her.  I wish I hadn't seen that entire storyline.

20 hours ago, movingtargetgal said:

We lost electricity last Friday and I did not get to see what Abby's brother did at Carter's Gamma's funeral.  Could someone fill me in?  He didn't fall into the open grave did he?

doodlebug answered far better than I even good.  Thank you for responding to me as well, doodlebug.  I always appreciate your answers.

[Bastet]

I've been meaning to mention this for a while, and Susan's "You're right, she's bugging me too; let's hate her together" reminded me: I have really enjoyed the evolution of Susan and Abby's friendship.  I like Susan and Chen together, too.

[desertflower]

@slasherboy, I haven't watched that one yet this go around but I remember seeing it the first time and remarking to my husband that it was overwhelmingly sad. I had forgotten when it happened so thanks for the heads up, I will fast forward through it this time. 

It seems like they ramped up the shocking visuals in later seasons. I remember one episode where there's a fight (road rage, maybe, can't remember?) out in the street and they show a guy getting kicked in the head. The way they filmed it looked super realistic and it made my stomach turn. 

[absnow54]

2 hours ago, voiceover said:

Guest Star Bingo: Coop grew up to be Cliff, the lawyer that Mindy dated early on in The Mindy Project. 

Confession: I cheated with IMDb.

He's more well known as Dennis from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. 

[voiceover]

52 minutes ago, absnow54 said:

He's more well known as Dennis from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. 

"More well known" only if you've seen the series?.

Co-sign the grimness of the suicide-by-immolation.  First I thought she was grabbing booze; when she locked the door, I thought: a gun; when she pulled out the lighter fluid, I was flummoxed.  What a hideously agonizing way to die!!  Let's set aside the permanent damage to her son, because IIRC, she didn't know he was watching.  But burned alive!??  

If you know when the head-kicking ep is running [agh! posted before finishing], let me know.  Hallmark Channel's running 24-hour Christmas movies, so I'd rather have *that* kind of pain.

Edited November 15, 2017 by voiceover

[Gigi43]

Pratt's annoying too  but God I forgot about Luka on his high horse actually saying "Maybe you should go to Africa." No, Luka. Go away.

 

At least according to my cable "NICU" is on Thursday. 

Edited November 15, 2017 by Gigi43

[keetmommy]

17 hours ago, ktwo said:

 I've been meaning to bring this up -  has any channel ever reran an hour-long show with so many commercials that it takes an hour and 15 minutes? SO STRANGE.

Amen!!! I agree with this they are making me not want to watch the show!

[Zoe]

It would go over an hour regardless because syndication always carries more commercials than first run.  It seems like it's necessary to push the end time to right on the half hour.  Today's episodes are 1:07, 1:08, and 1:15.

[RedbirdNelly]

every time I watch an episode at the very beginning I hear in my head "previously on ER" even though they never include that part. It's just habit. Just me?

I'm switching to the Saturday 7 show run so am waiting for that to get to season 10. I decided I could not keep up with 15 shows a week.

[doodlebug]

54 minutes ago, RedbirdNelly said:

every time I watch an episode at the very beginning I hear in my head "previously on ER" even though they never include that part. It's just habit. Just me?

I'm switching to the Saturday 7 show run so am waiting for that to get to season 10. I decided I could not keep up with 15 shows a week.

Nope, I think about the 'Previouslies' too.  I guess, since they're showing the episodes in rather rapid fashion, they figure they don't need the previously on ER portion.  Gives them more time for commercials.  It also seems to me that the episodes these days are not edited as drastically as they were when TNT showed reruns.  Maybe I am just forgetting, but it seemed like there were a lot more plot holes and dropped storylines when the reruns were shown back then.  That also might be contributing to the long run times for the episodes, which, I agree, have far too many commercials which is why I DVR them and fast forward.  Even so, I've seen more than enough of Hot Date to know I will never voluntarily watch an episode.  The ads aren't even funny, how does that help draw an audience to a comedy?

[RedbirdNelly]

the ads are awful and you in trouble if you dislike a particular ad, because the same ad runs for what seems like 4 weeks. . .

[voiceover]

So a hand that may be activated by nerve impulses and motion, can be unscrewed/popped out of place like a mannequin’s?  *whines*  I don’t get it!

Promos are getting out of hand everywhere.  The latest crazy-making one for me was during the middle-of-the-night Mindy Project reruns on LOGO. Once during every break for three weeks: the same promo for a Drag Race ep that had already aired.  If the episode being advertised has already been aired, how is it a promo?

[Bastet]

I dread what's coming, but in a sense I can't wait to see if the Helicopter of Doom really is every bit as horrible as it is in my memory.

Susan has always been a good teacher.  In the early days, she was the one who made sure Carter was included and got practice.  And now she's really good with the way she teaches Abby.  She's also very good with patients.  I think she's one of the best overall doctors the ER has had.

Edited November 16, 2017 by Bastet

[yankee1151]

LOL, "Freefall" is on right now. I'm sorry, but I can't not laugh my ass off when the helicopter falls on Romano. I had stopped watching by this time during the original run, so when I heard about this years later and found the clip on youtube, I actually thought it was a parody and not an actual thing that happened on the show. 

[Automne]

I watched this ep when it first aired and I still don't understand why he just turned and screamed instead of attempting to run and get out of the way. 

[Bastet]

31 minutes ago, Bastet said:

I can't wait to see if the Helicopter of Doom really is every bit as horrible as it is in my memory.

Quoting myself to say:  Yes.  Yes, it is.

From the moment the Free Falling elevator music starts to the one where Romano yells rather than runs, and all the bad special effects in between, it's awful.  And doesn't the episode end without anyone knowing he's under the wreckage? 

This has got to be in the top ten of horrible episodes of good shows.

[rcc]

35 minutes ago, Bastet said:

I dread what's coming, but in a sense I can't wait to see if the Helicopter of Doom really is every bit as horrible as it is in my memory.

Susan has always been a good teacher.  In the early days, she was the one who made sure Carter was included and got practice.  And now she's really good with the way she teaches Abby.  She's also very good with patients.  I think she's one of the best overall doctors in the ER.

It is.

[voiceover]

Beyond horrible.  This truly belongs in the Worst of the Best.

I just deleted everything else I wrote because I am babbling because this was beyond my power to describe.

At least “Red Wedding” furthered the plot.

[ESS]

5 hours ago, RedbirdNelly said:

every time I watch an episode at the very beginning I hear in my head "previously on ER" even though they never include that part. It's just habit. Just me?

I'm switching to the Saturday 7 show run so am waiting for that to get to season 10. I decided I could not keep up with 15 shows a week.

OMG I've wondering about this too that's why I used to love it when ER was on TNT because they did the "previously on ER" before every episode...I wonder why Pop doesn't...weird..even in the DVD's the "previously on ER" doesn't even start until season 10 which is also weird I'd love if the DVDs included that in the early years too.

[Automne]

I forgot what an annoying little liability Sam's son is. 

Edited November 15, 2017 by Automne

[Bastet]

Sam's son is creepy!

I'm glad they stayed realistic, and didn't have the characters suddenly talking nice about Romano, but I think Susan would have wanted to attend the memorial.  They got along in an odd way, so while I completely buy that she wouldn't want to speak, or be upset in the way Corday is, I think she'd feel obliged to go.

It's really cute that Corday put that picture of her and Romano in the memorial display in the ambulance bay.

Now I have to worry about Romano's dog; I hope she has a good home.

[voiceover]

Quote

I'm glad they stayed realistic, and didn't have the characters suddenly talking nice about Romano, but I think Susan would have wanted to attend the memorial.  They got along in an odd way, so while I completely buy that she wouldn't want to speak, or be upset in the way Corday is, I think she'd feel obliged to go.

Yes. I posted before that I liked that Susan had a — for Romano! — friendly relationship with him.  Then they dropped that thread, for the sake of piling on.

Edited November 15, 2017 by voiceover

[rcc]

He was a bastard but he did have some human moments. Fine actor and he made Romano so easy to hate and so easy to feel sorry for.

I noticed that PM had directed an episode of the show. Maybe he stayed on to direct more.

[Bastet]

2 minutes ago, rcc said:

I noticed that PM had directed an episode of the show. Maybe he stayed on to direct more.

Yeah, he did; he directed nine altogether.  He's pretty good behind the camera; he's directed about half a dozen episodes of Major Crimes (quite a few other shows, too, that's just the one I watch).

[justduckey]

I miss Carter. When does he come back?

i think the change of sets also helped me not gel with the new cast. Too much change. Too much change. I hadn’t remembered that Sam and Morris started while Susan was still around. I thought they came later. This is definitely around when I stoppped caring about this show.

Could they not think of anything for Corday to do like ever? As soon as Mark died she was relegated to back burner.

These episodes are so blah. 

Edited November 16, 2017 by justduckey

[bythelake]

1 hour ago, Automne said:

I forgot what an annoying little liability Sam's son is. 

This! No employee's child would be allowed to hang around a unit while his parent worked. There are so many ways a child could be injured in an ER setting. In addition, he could contract some communicable disease ( think monkey pox) or if he were incubating a communicable disease, he could infect the staff and patients. And now, he steals a patient's finger? The scenario is ridiculous and the kid is out of control. Why isn't he in school? 

[Zoe]

Romano was an ass, but he didn't deserve that.

[Bastet]

2 hours ago, justduckey said:

I miss Carter. When does he come back?

We saw him, bearded and brooding, with Kem, who has astoundingly sleek hair for someone in a humid refugee camp, in a brief shot in Freefall, so he'll be back on screen in tomorrow's first episode and back at County in the next one.

Edited November 16, 2017 by Bastet

[justduckey]

^^ Thanks!

Watching Freefall now so I haven’t seen him yet.

[CarolMK]

Ugh, I hate what they did to Romano ! I was wondering why the series killed him off, did he go to directing or have another project he was working on? Nevertheless, that was horrible to watch him crushed to death. Ditto for the lady setting herself on fire in her car. I just about jumped out of my chair.

Anyone long for the days when we used to see the staff singing and joking around? It almost seems like a different show now. 

I'm wondering if Noah Wylie was making a movie or something else, hence his move to Africa.

[Bastet]

33 minutes ago, CarolMK said:

I'm wondering if Noah Wylie was making a movie or something else, hence his move to Africa.

Wyle was doing other projects, yes, but I recall this time period also being when his contract was coming up for renewal, he'd had a kid, and he was just all around feeling like, "I signed up thinking months, maybe years, but not decades," and thus they were trying to give him a break during his final contract season to entice him to re-sign.  Ultimately, they got him to sign on for reduced appearances in a couple of seasons afterward, and then come back for a limited run as the series concluded.

Edited November 16, 2017 by Bastet

[absnow54]

10 hours ago, justduckey said:

I miss Carter. When does he come back?

I'm not saying I miss her, but Weaver has also been MIA this season. I know she gets a big storyline soon, but it's made the major cast transition even more prominent. 

5 hours ago, CarolMK said:

Ugh, I hate what they did to Romano ! I was wondering why the series killed him off, did he go to directing or have another project he was working on? Nevertheless, that was horrible to watch him crushed to death. Ditto for the lady setting herself on fire in her car. I just about jumped out of my chair.

And Bob Newhart's suicide. I got so anxious during each of the breakaway scenes of him making dinner (and what happened to the puppy!?!) that when they finally got to the suicide, I was convinced he wouldn't. 

[desertflower]

Well my dvr messed up again yesterday and missed the last two episodes so I guess I won't see the helicopter fall on Romano this time around.

Hey, it's Pedro from Napoleon Dynamite as the young inmate Neela and Pratt are treating. 

Edited November 16, 2017 by desertflower

[doodlebug]

11 hours ago, CarolMK said:

Ugh, I hate what they did to Romano ! I was wondering why the series killed him off, did he go to directing or have another project he was working on? Nevertheless, that was horrible to watch him crushed to death. Ditto for the lady setting herself on fire in her car. I just about jumped out of my chair.

Anyone long for the days when we used to see the staff singing and joking around? It almost seems like a different show now. 

I'm wondering if Noah Wylie was making a movie or something else, hence his move to Africa.

I think the main motivation for getting rid of Romano was that they'd gone everywhere they could with a basically one dimensional character and, once they cut his arm off, there really wasn't much more they could do with him in a hospital setting.  Had they wanted to take the time to develop some facets and nuance; perhaps by having him develop a condition that threatened his surgical career but didn't end it entirely; he could've been salvaged.  Season 10 was also the season that TPTB went on a bit of an economizing kick, I believe, introducing a bunch of younger characters played by newcomers who wouldn't command the salary that more experienced actors who'd been on the show for years were getting.  Note that a lot of the recurring nurse characters were also dumped around the same time.

Noah Wyle, after 9 years of the grind of a weekly hourlong show, wanted more free time to pursue other projects.  I believe he had gotten married and had young kids around then, too.  Since he was the only original character left, he had the clout to get a contract that allowed him to appear in only a handful of episodes instead of a full season.  He also was able to push for the Africa storylines which fit in with his own personal interests (Clooney was doing a lot with charities in Darfur and NW got involved, too).  He wanted to bring the situation there to the attention of the general public.  And, of course, as the highest paid regular cast member, NW appearing in fewer episodes meant more money to pay the newbies.

The past few episodes brought up some of the plot inconsistencies that plague any show which is on for a long time.  Remember back to 'Secrets and Lies' when Abby claimed she was second in her med school class when she dropped out?  Now, she cannot even pass a basic exam while her classmates get near perfect scores.  In the scene where Romano is watching the med students doing mock codes; Abby seemingly doesn't understand how beta blockers work.  No way she could've been second in her class without doing well on exams and knowing about such basic and important concepts.  I guess that was one of the lies.  Then, Gallant's twin, who we learned in Secrets and Lies had cerebral palsy, turns up in Chicago with multiple sclerosis.  Does that mean he lied about her?  

Seeing Alex again reminds me how much TV shows love bratty kids and how much I don't.  No way in the world a kid is allowed to roam the ER by himself.  About 20 years ago, I worked with a nurse who brought her 10 year old to work with her when babysitting fell through (ironically that kid was also diabetic and she couldn't use just anyone for childcare).  Her kid was far better behaved and spent the whole day, a Saturday, in the staff lounge reading and watching TV.  When management found out, the nurse was suspended and told to NEVER bring her kid to work again, no matter what.  Huge liability if something had happened.  Weirdly enough, as an OB/GYN, I have seen many, many people turn up in labor at the hospital with one or more young children in tow who actually expected that staff was available to care for their children while they gave birth and became unreasonable when told that wasn't the case and their partner/spouse was going to have to watch the kid. 

Edited November 16, 2017 by doodlebug

[voiceover]

1 hour ago, desertflower said:

Well my dvr messed up again yesterday and missed the last two episodes so I guess I won't see the helicopter fall on Romano this time around. 

You owe your dvr a beer for that.

16 hours ago, justduckey said:

i think the change of sets also helped me not gel with the new cast. Too much change. 

Food for thought.  I think there’s something to that.

[ch1]

1 hour ago, doodlebug said:

I think the main motivation for getting rid of Romano was that they'd gone everywhere they could with a basically one dimensional character and, once they cut his arm off, there really wasn't much more they could do with him in a hospital setting.  Had they wanted to take the time to develop some facets and nuance; perhaps by having him develop a condition that threatened his surgical career but didn't end it entirely; he could've been salvaged.  Season 10 was also the season that TPTB went on a bit of an economizing kick, I believe, introducing a bunch of younger characters played by newcomers who wouldn't command the salary that more experienced actors who'd been on the show for years were getting.  Note that a lot of the recurring nurse characters were also dumped around the same time.

 

On rewatching later episodes I noticed the lack of the nurses except maybe Chuny.  The other thing I noticed was if they didn’t disappear they only appeared to deliver their medical line and that’s it.   Losing the original characters obviously hurt the show but the lack of the nurses and what they bought to it made ER stop being ER IMO.  Imagine the first few seasons without Haleh, Lily or Chuny. The show would have been lesser for it.

[Zoe]

2 hours ago, doodlebug said:

I think the main motivation for getting rid of Romano was that they'd gone everywhere they could with a basically one dimensional character and, once they cut his arm off, there really wasn't much more they could do with him in a hospital setting.  Had they wanted to take the time to develop some facets and nuance; perhaps by having him develop a condition that threatened his surgical career but didn't end it entirely; he could've been salvaged.  Season 10 was also the season that TPTB went on a bit of an economizing kick, I believe, introducing a bunch of younger characters played by newcomers who wouldn't command the salary that more experienced actors who'd been on the show for years were getting.  Note that a lot of the recurring nurse characters were also dumped around the same time.

Kind of ironic given the plot line that lead to the nurses' departures.

I also came her to complain about Ms Second in Class failing her exam.

Edited November 16, 2017 by Zoe

[RedbirdNelly]

I now wish they had not cut off Romano's arm. Once they did that it was hard to keep him around and you run out that story line pretty quick. I wish they'd kept him--perhaps make him a smaller character that pops up now and then. Characters like Dr. Hix would show up now and then but didn't need new story arcs because they were side characters but always fun to see.

[desertflower]

2 hours ago, doodlebug said:

The past few episodes brought up some of the plot inconsistencies that plague any show which is on for a long time.  

I'm jumping ahead here but there is one inconsistency that comes up later (can't remember which season) that infuriated me. They got Luka's wife's name wrong. In a line that Luka says!! It was supposed to be Daniela, which was mentioned several times previously, and I forget what they said instead but I think it might've been the daughter's name. Don't they have some sort of chart with the characters' back stories to help new writers? Shouldn't Goran have remembered and fixed it? Grr. I get that those people don't watch as obsessively as we do but come on! 

[cpcathy]

I'm only dropping in occasionally for an episode or two, but, wow! The magic really is gone from the show. I'm also confused because I had missed so many plotlines. I also agree that killing Romano was not a good choice. It may have been a great shock value (Come on, who DIDN'T want someone to be offed every episode of The Sopranos?), but Paul McCrane had always done such a great job. He was completely believable as the asshole, but then could turn around and be kind to Corday or Lucy.

[voiceover]

Ugh, another TV trope I hate: medical professionals hit with unplanned pregnancies.

[Bastet]

Let me make sure I understand this: Kem has dedicated her life to HIV prevention and treatment, Carter has recently immersed himself in this work, yet neither know you have to use protection every time you have sex?

And wouldn't you be extra careful when living in a refugee camp, involved in a new relationship, with someone who lives in a different country?

This is the worst yet of all the stupid "we're health care workers, but don't understand how reproduction works" pregnancies.

Edited November 16, 2017 by Bastet