All Episodes Talk: What's Up Doc?

[voiceover]

Thanks! Found it & will try.

Ugh.  This is the ep when Gant dies.  I don't know that I can watch.

[RedbirdNelly]

this morning I saw the first Romano episode; I was so happy to see him; such a jerk always but so much fun.

I was bored as expected on the Mark/Doug road trip but I did like (a) the moment when Carol showed up and (b) when Mark's mom lament's Doug not making it back in time for dinner and Mark says "I don't think he expected it to be in the middle of the afternoon." ha

[RedbirdNelly]

9 hours ago, Mama No Life said:

 

And yes to the Mark Green! When I read that on twitter I replied, "Well, he's never been the same since that beating in County's bathroom" but either no one got it or no one thought it was funny.  :)

http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETc4YhjQBkw

7:13

I think your twitter reply is hilarious.

and thanks to all that pointed out other roles by G. Reuben besides Jeannie. I now kind of remember hearing somewhere she was with Tina Turner.

One thing that keeps happening is Carter comes up with a plan and it's a really stupid plan where should know he'll get caught. It happened early on a few times where he tried to manipulate his way into surgery or into get surgery to happen. Each time senior surgeon figures out the scam and it's really predictable that they will ask and figure out Carter either lied or manipulated things. Today I watched the episode where Dela Marco (sp) figures out he's rich and that's another stupid scam. It's one thing not to mention you are rich but he plays along and implies he's poor--and it's completely predictable that at some point she talks to one of the many people who know he's rich and feels lied to. So I hope at some point, Carter gets smarter.

[slasherboy]

11 hours ago, Mama No Life said:

"Well, he's never been the same since that beating in County's bathroom" but either no one got it or no one thought it was funny.  :)

I got it.  AND thought it was funny.

Wait a minute.....Reece is Carla's last name and they named her baby Reece?  So he's Reece Reece?

[voiceover]

3 minutes ago, slasherboy said:

Wait a minute.....Reece is Carla's last name and they named her baby Reece?  So he's Reece Reece?

He's Reece Benton.  For both parents.  Like Brady Hobbes in SATC.

[WendyCR72]

Actually, I think the kid's name was spelled Reese, like the peanut butter cup. But, yeah, he was named Reese Benton.

[Bastet]

58 minutes ago, slasherboy said:

Wait a minute.....Reece is Carla's last name and they named her baby Reece?  So he's Reece Reece?

No, as noted, he's Reese Benton.  They had been arguing over whose last name the baby should have (interesting that Peter thought decisions about the boy's penis were his alone, but didn't think having gestated and birthed the kid entitled Carla to give him her last name if she wanted), but after all that went down with his birth and early days, they each did the "I'm sorry; he can have your last name if you want" thing.  Carla came up with the perfectly logical solution of using her last name as his first and Peter's as his last -- Reese Benton. 

[voiceover]

Well, it's a weird thing.  According to IMDb, and the tape, her last name was spelled "Reece".

IMDb has the son's name as"Reese".  

If they really did that on the show, that's just...moronic.  Sure: name my son after me, but change one of the consonants to make it look like the candy.

There goes another Saturday, where I have done next to nothing, while glued to the marathon of shows I've already watched!

Maybe I should see a doctor?

Edited May 7, 2017 by voiceover
Complaining about my personal viewing habits

[BBHN]

Quote

So I hope at some point, Carter gets smarter

Keep hoping...

Quote

Carla came up with the perfectly logical solution of using her last name as his first and Peter's as his last -- Reese Benton. 

Reese Benton vs. Benton Reece.

Edited May 7, 2017 by BBHN

[starri]

Man, Carol was kind of a self-righteous asshole, wasn't she?  It may just be that Julianna Margulies has developed such a diva rep in the last few years, but I'm finding it hard to root for her.

[desertflower]

I really went back and forth about Carol. Sometimes I really liked her, and loved her and Doug together. She could be really great with her patients. But then other times she could come across pretty cold and bitchy. I love the scene where she comes in complaining about how some idiot parked in her space and Maggie says it was her but it was her first day and someone told her she could. Carol is still pissy about it, and then someone introduces her to Maggie and Doug pipes up "She's also the head of our welcoming committee!" Lol!

[starri]

One of the things that I truly appreciated about the early years of the show was a tiny one:  they never tried to make scrubs look like a flattering garment.  Despite what Chicago Med would have you think, they're not something that accentuates your shape, even if you are Hollywood gorgeous.  They're not taken in at the waist like that.

Watching the early episodes, I can't believe how...primitive, I guess...it all looks.  I just watched Benton chew Gant out for not picking up lab results.  These days, it would just pop into the patient's electronic chart, and if anything was dangerously out of whack, the lab would call you.  X-rays on actual film.  Tests and exams that I've never actually seen done.  I wonder if this is what watching Emergency! looked like back then.

[slasherboy]

21 hours ago, WendyCR72 said:

Actually, I think the kid's name was spelled Reese, like the peanut butter cup. But, yeah, he was named Reese Benton.

Normally, 100 times out of 100, I would spell it like the Buttercup.  But when Benton picked up the baby's ultrasound, I just so happened to see the name on it and it distinctly said "Reece", which I thought was odd at the time.  I'm so anal about this type of thing that it actually hurt my fingers to type Reece instead of Reese.  So there's that.....

[RedbirdNelly]

I kind of like how Carol is nice at times and bitchy at times--kind of realistic. I also like it when shows have characters that don't like all the other characters in the work place--like how Carol is not a Cynthia fan.

The scene with Carol griping about someone parking in her space is especially funny since Doug mentions that her car was reprocessed. She's objecting purely on principle.

when they were debating Reece, I was thinking Benton really is not a bad name so either really worked ok.

[starri]

11 minutes ago, slasherboy said:

But when Benton picked up the baby's ultrasound, I just so happened to see the name on it and it distinctly said "Reece", which I thought was odd at the time.

Because Carla's last name is Reece.  For whatever reason, they always spelled the baby's name Reese.  No, it doesn't make sense.

[slf]

Just now, slasherboy said:

Normally, 100 times out of 100, I would spell it like the Buttercup.  But when Benton picked up the baby's ultrasound, I just so happened to see the name on it and it distinctly said "Reece", which I thought was odd at the time.  I'm so anal about this type of thing that it actually hurt my fingers to type Reece instead of Reese.  So there's that.....

Production gaff or something. Hell in Clueless you can see a bill Cher's father receives and the name on it isn't even his, lol. The crewmember responsible for those things often doesn't pay that close attention to the details.

So Mark let a lawyer play doctor and actually treat patients so the guy would represent him for free? Was Mark ever likable? 

[starri]

2 minutes ago, slf said:

So Mark let a lawyer play doctor and actually treat patients so the guy would represent him for free? Was Mark ever likable? 

More like cosplay doctor.  I think he got to defibrillate someone eventually, but that was not something Mark wanted him to do.

[slf]

24 minutes ago, starri said:

More like cosplay doctor.  I think he got to defibrillate someone eventually, but that was not something Mark wanted him to do.

Yeah, he didn't do anything major up to that point but I'd think that would cause a lot of hell if it was ever discovered? At the very least wouldn't Mark lose his job? It's just sort of amusing that not long before that he was yelling "isn't that illegal?!" about the guy who served him a lawsuit pretending to be a patient.

These early seasons are really surprising me with how much I like Carter. He's like an eager puppy, it's adorable.

[EVS]

I'm about half a season behind.  I just finished season 3. In the episode where Mark gets beat up, did they ever definitively identify the author of the trashy manuscript? If so, I completely missed it.

[starri]

12 minutes ago, EVS said:

In the episode where Mark gets beat up, did they ever definitively identify the author of the trashy manuscript? If so, I completely missed it.

Didn't they heavily imply it was Kerry?

[RedbirdNelly]

17 minutes ago, starri said:

Didn't they heavily imply it was Kerry?

yes--it was Kerry. After Carol figures it out, Kerry diverts attention by making it look like Carol wrote it.

[EVS]

18 minutes ago, starri said:

Didn't they heavily imply it was Kerry?

They did, but I wasn't sure if they ever confirmed it.

1 minute ago, RedbirdNelly said:

yes--it was Kerry. After Carol figures it out, Kerry diverts attention by making it look like Carol wrote it.

I remember that also. It looks like I didn't miss anything. Thank you both for the replies!

[desertflower]

I've seen it several times before but the scene where Peter's classmate's son dies made me cry again. The actor playing his dad just breaks my heart. I've seen him in a few things over the years and I always remember him from this episode. 

Anna and Carter were cute after she bailed him out and he kissed her. I think they probably had the most chemistry out of any of Carter's love interests; too bad she left before anything really got going. 

[CarolMK]

When Carter got arrested for disposing of a patient's stomach contents, I remember being really puzzled about why the police officer arrested him right there at the hospital like that. I know the argument was that Carter was protecting the patient's civil rights, but the cop said he was obstructing justice by throwing out the evidence. Yet if they wanted to prove drunk driving, or whatever the charge was, wouldn't a blood test show that as well , or a breathlyzer? Sometimes I can never figure out what's true in real life or what's fiction. But I do find the scenerios of the show interesting and it never fails to capture my attention. Maybe it's because I'm currently in treatment for breast cancer (doing well, thanks !) but the medical procedures are fascinating and a distraction from what I'm going through . 

[BBHN]

Carter was such a smug ass in that scene, I was actually rooting for the police officer.

[Bastet]

Is Carol congenitally incapable of refraining from kissing other men when she's engaged?  I know they're going for a "the shoe's on the other foot" storyline with her and Doug, but she pulled this shit with Tag, too (although that was before they were engaged, but they were still committed to an exclusive relationship).  I like Carol, but she does not impress me as a romantic partner. 

[starri]

So, I'm looking at an S4 episode where George Eads was impossibly young and beautiful.  Kerry is still in the managed care plot, and I'm looking at her jockeying for this management role in the hospital and thinking that she seems middle-aged and kinda frumpy.  And then I look up Laura Innes' bio, and it turns out she was about the age I am now.

This whole thing is making me feel ancient.

[Mama No Life]

10 hours ago, starri said:

So, I'm looking at an S4 episode where George Eads was impossibly young and beautiful.  Kerry is still in the managed care plot, and I'm looking at her jockeying for this management role in the hospital and thinking that she seems middle-aged and kinda frumpy.  And then I look up Laura Innes' bio, and it turns out she was about the age I am now.

This whole thing is making me feel ancient.

I'm with you.  Hearing "Everybody wants to rule the world" in the background of the Peter and Elizabeth darts scene took me to ancient land in one beat....

[RedbirdNelly]

If it makes you feel better, Everybody Wants to Rule the World is from the 80s--so it was an "old" song in the darts scene. Or maybe that makes it worse.

16 hours ago, Bastet said:

Is Carol congenitally incapable of refraining from kissing other men when she's engaged?  I know they're going for a "the shoe's on the other foot" storyline with her and Doug, but she pulled this shit with Tag, too (although that was before they were engaged, but they were still committed to an exclusive relationship).  I like Carol, but she does not impress me as a romantic partner. 

That was very annoying Carol behavior. Early in the episode I was thinking how nice Happy Doug is and she had to go and ruin it. It's one thing to think things are moving quickly but you really don't have to go kiss whoever you happen to be with.

[starri]

Were the episodes this heavily edited when they were running on TNT?  Pop keeps bleeping what's overall pretty mild language stuff.

And I've seen more than one blurred butt.

[Danny Franks]

20 hours ago, desertflower said:

Anna and Carter were cute after she bailed him out and he kissed her. I think they probably had the most chemistry out of any of Carter's love interests; too bad she left before anything really got going. 

They were cute. The scene where Carter has to extract some bone marrow for a donor that Anna has matched to left quite the impression on me as a 14 year old. It was frustrating that the writers seemed to actually be putting real effort into building up a couple, having them go through a few dramas as friends, with a view to a romantic relationship... and then Maria Bello leaves the show. Dammit.

I just recalled that little storyline where Carter pretended to be just as financially strapped as most other young doctors, because he wanted to hang out with her, but didn't think she'd look at him the same way if she knew how rich he was. Then, of course she finds out and gets mad about it, because Carter never really did have much of a brain in his head when it came to women.

[RedbirdNelly]

does anyone know if the plan was originally for her to be a long-term character and why it changed? I did like Anna and Carter together.

[Sticker Shock]

20 minutes ago, RedbirdNelly said:

does anyone know if the plan was originally for her to be a long-term character and why it changed? I did like Anna and Carter together.

Bello initially signed a multi-season deal, but then decided she wanted out after one because the material wasn't substantive enough for her and TPTB let her go.

Edited May 9, 2017 by Sticker Shock

[RedbirdNelly]

thanks, Sticker Shock. Darn--I wish she'd liked the material better. Would have been interesting.

[voiceover]

So I missed most of yesterday's eps.  I tuned in in time for the Doug/Carol spat.  WTF is the "one thing [she] asked for" that she claims Doug isn't giving her?  I agree with @Bastet -- Carol's got some "romantic partner" issues.  I remember her mom accusing her of rarely finishing what she started.  In a way, the Ross/Hathaway neuroses meshed perfectly.

[Bastet]

"I was such an idiot to come out here like I was part of your family."  Wow, look, Cynthia had one non-delusional moment.  Great.  Now, go away.

[voiceover]

Mark spent a lot of time in the early seasons holding himself as morally superior to Doug.

Don't like this out-of-ER ep (I think most of us are in agreement on that), more than I don't like most of them.  Because: wow.  He's a *DICK* in this one.  Even the last five minutes don't quite compensate.

John Cullum's got a nice career of playing emotionally distant fathers to emotionally crippled sons.  He's currently doing it on The Middle for Neil Flynn.

Refloating my question: can someone tell me what came between Carol & Doug?

Edited May 9, 2017 by voiceover

[BBHN]

Quote

It was frustrating that the writers seemed to actually be putting real effort into building up a couple, having them go through a few dramas as friends, with a view to a romantic relationship... and then Maria Bello leaves the show. Dammit.

I wonder the same thing about Carol and Luka. How far would the show have gone with them had Julianna Margulies not left in season 6.

Speaking of Doug and Carol...for me, they were one of those couples that, on paper, should not have worked, but damn if the chemistry between Clooney and Margulies did sell me on them. Hell, I cheered them on when they reunited in Seattle.

[Danny Franks]

2 hours ago, Sticker Shock said:

Bello initially signed a multi-season deal, but then decided she wanted out after one because the material wasn't substantive enough for her and TPTB let her go.

That's frustrating. With the cast at the time, Anna would have been the second most prominent female character,  behind Carol. She was a paediatrician as well, which meant she would have been more prominent in that role after Doug left, and there was the Carter relationship to explore. Seems like she would have had a lot more to do, if she'd stuck around. 

[RedbirdNelly]

34 minutes ago, BBHN said:

Speaking of Doug and Carol...for me, they were one of those couples that, on paper, should not have worked, but damn if the chemistry between Clooney and Margulies did sell me on them. Hell, I cheered them on when they reunited in Seattle.

I completely agree. They just have great chemistry and you just believe they have this bond, even though in a lot of ways we should be cheering for a break up.

8 minutes ago, Danny Franks said:

That's frustrating. With the cast at the time, Anna would have been the second most prominent female character,  behind Carol. She was a paediatrician as well, which meant she would have been more prominent in that role after Doug left, and there was the Carter relationship to explore. Seems like she would have had a lot more to do, if she'd stuck around. 

and I completely agree with this. It could have been really good. I'm also enjoy Corday for now who is great as a strong person standing up to Romano. Imagining Anna as a fully character plus Corday would have been neat too.

[desertflower]

3 hours ago, voiceover said:

So I missed most of yesterday's eps.  I tuned in in time for the Doug/Carol spat.  WTF is the "one thing [she] asked for" that she claims Doug isn't giving her?  I agree with @Bastet -- Carol's got some "romantic partner" issues.  I remember her mom accusing her of rarely finishing what she started.  In a way, the Ross/Hathaway neuroses meshed perfectly.

She just wanted time to think and adjust to everything. Doug was pushing to set a date and get married because he was finally ready, but she wanted to slow down and keep things as they were for awhile. Which is understandable, but she really shouldn't have kissed the fireman. I know he initiated it but she plenty of time to tell him she was seeing someone. 

I like when Doug teased her about all her hair and she called him Elvis, because of the sideburns he had going on. Based on his look I think he was filming Out of Sight then, which I HIGHLY recommend if anyone has not seen it. Clooney and JLo had major chemistry and it's an entertaining movie to boot. 

I love drunk Peter and Elizabeth dancing in the pub. It's always nice to see Peter's smile, as rare as it was.

Edited May 9, 2017 by desertflower

[Mama No Life]

I love kick-ass Carter.

[slasherboy]

I'm so unhappy.  I had to take some medication today that put me to sleep and I missed all 3 episodes!  I don't have any way to record them and I may not be available Saturday to watch any I missed so ..... waaaah!

Here's a question: when people get the paddles and are shocked up off the table, how do they get the actors' bodies to jump like that?  Is there something on the table that bounces them up?  See where my mind goes?

And the more I think about Carol kissing what's-his-name, the angrier I get.  She's a grown ass woman. Can't she control herself not to kiss another man while she's engaged?  If she wants to whore around (maybe a slight exaggeration) then dis-engage from Doug (I'll take him!).

What happened to Shep?  I haven't seen him in forever.  And what about Morganstern?  Sometimes I think I'm missing stuff.

[desertflower]

1 hour ago, slasherboy said:

What happened to Shep?  I haven't seen him in forever.  And what about Morganstern?  Sometimes I think I'm missing stuff.

Morgenstern had a heart attack and is still out. Kerry took over as acting chief of emergency.

The last we saw Shep was at the softball game; he had a girl with him and Carol was a little sad about it but she had broken up with him because he wouldn't get help for his burnout/anger issues. I don't think they ever explain why we never see him bring in patients after that. 

Jami Gertz's character disappeared too. After Mark got beat up he backed off the relationship and then we never saw her again. 

[slasherboy]

Thanks desertflower.  I guess I knew those things but thought maybe there was some resolution or explanation, like where did Shep go?  I saw him with the girl at the ballgame but didn't realize that was the end of him.

I liked Jami Gertz's character ... Nina, right?  She was the psychiatrist?

I know it's supposed to be realistic how characters just come and go without explanation, but sometimes it gets confusing because I keep expecting to see someone and I don't.  Not sure I like it, but what can I do about it.  Not a daggone thing!

I don't like the Anspach's sick son storyline.  I didn't like it the first time around either.  I'm ready for Jeanie Boulet and her voice to go away.

[voiceover]

So...weirdly...Tuesday nights they've been running S1 again.

Tonight's subplot is one of my favorites, although it's tough to watch: Carter & the voiceless, dying old man who was a retired hs English teacher, estranged from his son.  He'd been brought back to life on the ER table before they found his DNR papers.  After failing to track down his son, Carter brought him a few library books.  It's one of the first times we see Carter stand up to Benton, who chides him for spending time with the patient ("That's what nurses are for!").

The man's choice? Walt Whitman's "Passage to  India", which Carter read aloud to him in the hour before his death.  Speechless at the perfection of that verse, that reading, that moment.

[Clemgo3165]

14 hours ago, desertflower said:

Morgenstern had a heart attack and is still out. Kerry took over as acting chief of emergency.

The last we saw Shep was at the softball game; he had a girl with him and Carol was a little sad about it but she had broken up with him because he wouldn't get help for his burnout/anger issues. I don't think they ever explain why we never see him bring in patients after that. 

Jami Gertz's character disappeared too. After Mark got beat up he backed off the relationship and then we never saw her again. 

Wasn't Shep not working because he was required to get the anger management treatment? I seem to remember Carol being irked because he was just sitting around all day and not taking care of business.

[Bastet]

I'd forgotten (don't most of my posts about this show start that way?) how much I liked Corday.  She's completely straight-forward about what she wants, and she's always reaching out to other women on staff for conversation and socialization. 

And screw you, Peter -- when a woman tells your showing up unannounced self, "This isn't a good time," do not interrupt her by literally saying, "No," and then plowing on with what you want to say.

[Runningwild]

I'd forgotten how much I disliked Peter. 

[Bastet]

Oh my gosh, Carter's complete lack of game when it comes to women cracks me up -- he is finally going to ask Anna out ... while she's stoned on Percodan. 

(Mark's equally non-existent skill at planning a banquet is also entertaining.)

The whole trajectory of Scott Anspaugh's storyline has been obvious since the moment we met him, but I still teared up when he finally said he doesn't want any more chemo.