All Episodes Talk: What's Up Doc?

[RedbirdNelly]

just stopping by to note I always enjoyed the Christmas episodes and how the show kept up with the calendar year.

I watched the episode last night where Lucy and Carter end up going all over Chicago and interviewing people Law & Order style to track down the dad because his daughter needs a transfusion. It kind of dragged on to me. At some point, it seemed like overkill. You are not detectives.

[My2Cents]

Even though I loved the Lucy/Carter storyline and the stabbing was excellent TV, I was really sad to see Lucy go, as I have always liked Kellie Martin. When she was hired for ER she had just lost her sister, who was 19 yo at the time to Lupus. I really like the episode of Lucy and Carter going all over Chicago, as it bonded them and they had to do that for Carter to care so much when he learned that Lucy was dead. I am sure he felt like crap how he treated Lucy at the beginning, the sweet Carter suddenly turned into Benton. This is my all time favorite show and I am so enjoying watching it all over again. I watched it during the TNT reruns and for some reason I missed the last episode of the original so I was anxious to see it in reruns. They didn't show it!!! So, this is the 3rd time I have watched the entire season and I better see the last episode this time. There are still things I forgot, storylines, but I am old retired nurse so the brain goes. This reminds me of my life, my young life, but mine wasn't as full as drama.

Edited May 19, 2017 by My2Cents

[desertflower]

Well my nose is stuffy now from watching Doug's last episode. Carol's "I can't remember a time I didn't love him" always makes me cry.

I love Djimon Hounsou SO MUCH. Such a powerful actor. And I could listen to him read the phone book. 

I had forgotten that Carter and Lucy made out. 

Re: Doug leaving. If Clooney hadn't come back for their reunion later I'd hate that he left without her. But as it was, the separation ended up making for a really great tv moment when she finally goes to him. So I guess I'm ok with the way he left. He was irresponsible and lied but it was consistent with the fact he'd do anything for his patients. I'm wondering how he still got a job after all that, though. Guess he didn't give out Kerry's number for a reference!

[starri]

I don't think there was ever a chance of him not making a cameo when she decided to leave.  He just seems like a genuinely good dude, and even if he figured he'd done everything he could on ER, he wasn't going to look down his nose at it.

When they were getting all of the old cast members to make cameos in the final season, Margulies didn't want to, but said she'd do it if he did, figuring that he'd say no.  And then he said that of course he would, and she was stuck.

[RedbirdNelly]

13 minutes ago, starri said:

I don't think there was ever a chance of him not making a cameo when she decided to leave.  He just seems like a genuinely good dude, and even if he figured he'd done everything he could on ER, he wasn't going to look down his nose at it.

 

that's my impression of him, too. Refreshing, really.

[BBHN]

Good thing too, since Doug and Carol had a nice ending the second time as well.

[voiceover]

Sex on a stick, those two.

btw: I never said, or even thought, that what Doug did was OOC.  But he's not a real person.  My gripe is with the writers, et al, who came up with that hideous overkill of a sl.

[voiceover]

While still hating the out-of-ER eps, I give grudging affection to Peter's trip to MS.  They got some important things wrong,  but it's memorable for featuring the most Benton smiles per hour, and the always terrific Celia Weston as the "nun with authority issues" -- bwah!

And the reminder, AGAIN, that Elizabeth & Peter = huuuuge missed opportunity.

[Bastet]

Jeanie is ridiculously rude to Kerry.  After the shit Jeanie pulled claiming Kerry fired her because of her HIV status, she has the nerve to say, "That's a doctor answer; I was hoping for a good friend's" when Kerry says they have to wait for the test results to know for sure whether Jeanie has Hepatitis-C.  But, okay, maybe she's trying to repair the relationship.  Except, no, because now that she's back at work rather than lying scared in a hospital bed, she's right back to being cold to Kerry who has, once again, committed the egregious sin of caring about her and asking her to lunch.

[BooksRule]

Quote

While still hating the out-of-ER eps, I give grudging affection to Peter's trip to MS.  They got some important things wrong,  but it's memorable for featuring the most Benton smiles per hour, and the always terrific Celia Weston as the "nun with authority issues" -- bwah!

I never liked that episode when I first saw it, because the geography is wrong.  For one thing, he's supposed to get to Biloxi, rent a car and then drive for what they imply is a long distance to the town.  I assumed that he would be going  way north for hours into a rural area of the state.  However, the scenes with the shrimp boats would place him on the coast and that is definitely not 'rural Mississippi'.  You can drive the coast from side to side in about an hour and there is no shortage of hospitals (or doctors, nurses, etc.) either.  I know it's just a show, but I always get a little annoyed when geography is screwed up like that.  I think it would have worked if they had left out the shrimp boats, and had him in a medical emergency at some type of plant or factory that didn't need to be on the water.  Okay, rant over (I guess a lot of people tend to get annoyed when just certain more stereotypical parts of their home state are constantly portrayed on TV and in the movies and not other 'different' parts.  Like Louisiana is more than Cajun country and New Orleans and California is more than L.A., beaches and wine country!).  I did like how he decided to stay and really enjoyed his more frequent smiles that we're used to and how he bonded with that girl (and won her grandmother over), so I guess I have to say I like the episode a little better than I used to way back when I first watched it. 

[starri]

In another What A Difference Twenty Years Makes, Hep C is completely curable now.  Incredibly expensive to cure, but cheaper than a liver transplant.

I always really loved Kerry's bedside manner.  She may not have had great relationships with her coworkers, but she was often really great with patients.  When she asked the wrestler what he'd rather be doing and he told her not to laugh, she has this big grin on her face when she tells him "I'll try not to."

[RedbirdNelly]

Just watched the episode when Doug gives Joi the meds and breaks protocol. It is like his character but at this point, you'd hope he'd try to find a better solution within the system and would appreciate how high the stakes are. They routinely deal with situations where they have to balanced the needs of many (keeping the hospital open) versus one patient.

I also thought Lynette should have talked to Carol about her grant and plans to run classes through the clinic. Who just does that without talking to the person who hired you? so Carol had a right to be mad and unsettled. But no reason to go overboard and push back on the meeting itself. A reasonable response would have been "talk to me first about these things. Good idea but I need to be in the loop."

[BBHN]

Quote

Jeanie is ridiculously rude to Kerry.  After the shit Jeanie pulled claiming Kerry fired her because of her HIV status, she has the nerve to say, "That's a doctor answer; I was hoping for a good friend's" when Kerry says they have to wait for the test results to know for sure whether Jeanie has Hepatitis-C.  But, okay, maybe she's trying to repair the relationship.  Except, no, because now that she's back at work rather than lying scared in a hospital bed, she's right back to being cold to Kerry who has, once again, committed the egregious sin of caring about her and asking her to lunch.

 

Quote

I always really loved Kerry's bedside manner.  She may not have had great relationships with her coworkers, but she was often really great with patients.

I always liked the Jeanie/Kerry friendship, even with all the downs that came with the ups. I especially loved the scene where Kerry lets Jeanie know that she knows, without coming out and saying it. Some really great understated work by both actresses.

[desertflower]

9 hours ago, starri said:

I always really loved Kerry's bedside manner.  She may not have had great relationships with her coworkers, but she was often really great with patients.  When she asked the wrestler what he'd rather be doing and he told her not to laugh, she has this big grin on her face when she tells him "I'll try not to."

Yes! She was great with patients. She had a kind, comforting demeanor. There's a lovely scene early on when she is with a kid and Doug tells her she could've gone into pediatrics. It's a rare warm moment between the two of them. 

[slasherboy]

Something I've noticed this time around, although it seems to be lessening as time goes on.  These people drink a lot of soft drinks, which really jumps out now that Cokes et al have been such a health concern.  So often someone is getting a Coke (ok, here in the South we call all soft drinks Coke, no matter if it's a Sprite, Root Beer or Orange Crush ... it's always a Coke) out of the machine or ordering one at a restaurant or getting one out of the fridge in the doctor's lounge.  You don't see that on shows nowadays.

[Mindthinkr]

As we learned a few episodes ago Coke (soda) machines can also fall on you causing more damage that the drink itself! 

[voiceover]

Eh, any place where regular dining breaks are rare, and long shifts the norm, it's whatever gets you there.  If the show was brought back (God forbid), there'd be less soda & more latte, viz to wit. Grey's.

[desertflower]

I'm going to be out of town for a few days this week so I set my dvr to record the eight thousand episodes I will miss while gone. :) Anyway, it looks like on Memorial Day they will be showing a behind the scenes show followed by a marathon that day, but they are selected episodes. Like they will be showing Carol's last episode, even though they haven't reached that yet during the daily afternoon eps. Maybe it's a Doug and Carol overview or something. Anyway, just thought I'd let you know so no one tunes in that day and gets totally confused!

[Mindthinkr]

Thank you so much @desertflower for posting that as I will need to record as well !! 

[RedbirdNelly]

I was just thinking this weekend about how my DVR will overload when I'm on vacation later this summer. Good luck catching up post-Memorial Day.

[Bastet]

Oh, poo - had they followed the normal schedule, Memorial Day would have been the episodes where Lucy and Carter get stabbed.  Now I'll have to wait an extra day.

[SoapDoc]

On top of that, they are showing "Be Still My Heart" and "All in the Family" on Tuesday and Wednesday. I am going to record them so I can watch them back-to-back.

[voiceover]

So, today's prom kids ep reminded me that in a few years it will be time to quit my job and assume my new career as Bodyguard/Chauffeur to the Nephew de Voiceover.  

Did I miss, or was it edited out, the fate of Melissa(?), the girl they hadn't recovered from the accident site?

[Mama No Life]

No, they never said, but indicated she wasn't in the vehicle. 

I enjoy seeing Carter become more competent with each show, and Mark is still such a great teacher. Too bad he's about to ruin it all with Lizzie Borden.

[starri]

"Power" remains one of my all-time favorites.  Having seen a lot of other shows that Laura Innes has directed, she's such a good director of actors, you can forget she can do action stuff as well.  I remember reading her talking about it, that for her first outing that they should have given her a script where Elizabeth, Kerry, and Carol sat around and talked about their periods.  Loved Kerry coming in with fried chicken for everyone too.

She also really played up the creep factor with the rapist.  She never let the audience get a good look at the actor, so when we saw the x-ray tech and the nurse from another hospital, it could have easily been one of them.  And of course, the great moment where Elizabeth identifies the body as the lights come back on.

[slasherboy]

10 hours ago, desertflower said:

I'm going to be out of town for a few days this week so I set my dvr to record the eight thousand episodes I will miss while gone. :) Anyway, it looks like on Memorial Day they will be showing a behind the scenes show followed by a marathon that day, but they are selected episodes. Like they will be showing Carol's last episode, even though they haven't reached that yet during the daily afternoon eps. Maybe it's a Doug and Carol overview or something. Anyway, just thought I'd let you know so no one tunes in that day and gets totally confused!

During today's episode they had a crawler across the bottom of the screen calling it a "Doug & Carol Marathon".  

I loved Benton with Reese strapped to his back while he worked on a patient.

[slf]

16 hours ago, Bastet said:

Oh, poo - had they followed the normal schedule, Memorial Day would have been the episodes where Lucy and Carter get stabbed.  Now I'll have to wait an extra day.

I've been waiting for the two-parter since they started reairing the episodes so I'm both excited for and dreading them.

[Shannon L.]

I'm not keeping up with the show as fast as you all are--I just finished the one where Lucy did her own evaluation and I've been wondering since a few episodes ago:  What the hell happened to Carter that he now has a bug stuck up his ass?  He's been miserable to watch.  He's admitted that Lucy is smart, and we all know she's a bit flaky, but he's no prize as an resident, either.  Is it simply because he's not used to living on a very limited income?  Am I forgetting some incident that turned him sour?  I did watch the show well beyond this the first time around, but I forget how long it takes him to come around.  I hope it's not too long. 

Speaking of Carter:  a few weeks ago, I said that he should have his own private practice.  Someone made a good point about him having special qualities that could be useful for surgeons.  I agree with that, but the more I see him with kids or the elderly, I think that's where his talents lie.  His bedside manner with those two age groups is excellent.

Edited May 23, 2017 by Shannon L.

[RedbirdNelly]

In the continued BINGO game of guess that guest star--last night I watched Rites of Spring (first episode of Monday's 3 shows) and Jessica Kapshaw--now Dr Arizona on Grey's Anatomy--was briefly on as girlfriend of law student who is hearing voices and beats up his car instead of listening to the voices who wanted him to hurt her.

[slasherboy]

8 hours ago, slf said:

I've been waiting for the two-parter since they started reairing the episodes so I'm both excited for and dreading them.

What's the name of the episode where Carter & Lucy get stabbed?  Thanks.

7 hours ago, Shannon L. said:

 I did watch the show well beyond this the first time around, but I forget how long it takes him to come around.  I hope it's not too long.

It's not.  I can't be exact, but before long he's clean-shaven and back to his ole sweet handsome self.

I haven't seen the male desk clerk who was an old hippie lately.  Am just now watching Season 6 Episode 1 and haven't seen Jerry yet.  I think this is about the time I stopped watching the first go-around so this is all absolutely new to me.  Already, I can tell I like the earliest seasons better.  Can't pinpoint why, but I just do.

[slf]

6 minutes ago, slasherboy said:

What's the name of the episode where Carter & Lucy get stabbed?  Thanks.

Be Still My Heart and All in the Family.

My favorite part in Power is when Peter walks into the ER trauma room, all business, with Reese strapped to his back.

[slasherboy]

Thank you slf!

And not to be critical of a baby, but does Reese ever smile?  If so, I haven't seen it yet.

[BBHN]

Quote

And not to be critical of a baby, but does Reese ever smile?  If so, I haven't seen it yet.

Well, he is his father's son...

[WendyCR72]

1 hour ago, slasherboy said:

What's the name of the episode where Carter & Lucy get stabbed?  Thanks.

It's not.  I can't be exact, but before long he's clean-shaven and back to his ole sweet handsome self.

I haven't seen the male desk clerk who was an old hippie lately.  Am just now watching Season 6 Episode 1 and haven't seen Jerry yet.  I think this is about the time I stopped watching the first go-around so this is all absolutely new to me.  Already, I can tell I like the earliest seasons better.  Can't pinpoint why, but I just do.

I liked and watched the show on the regular until S6 ended. Then it seemed so dark, figuratively and literally. Happy to see Susan return in S8, but the current writers never "got" her, so...

In short, as said by me before, I loved the Original 5 and the first 3 seasons best. I did like Early Elizabeth, but we know how she fared. Still, upon her S15 appearance at the end, she seemed much more like S4 Lizzie, which was a huge plus.

[Mama No Life]

The first time around with this show I wasn't sure when it all went awry.  I just kind of started losing interest and then when Carter left I had no problem cutting the tie.

This time in accelerated time I am absolutely positive when it all went wrong.  This season, what we are seeing right now.  Saint Luka, Clown Meluchhi and Snob Cleo....horribly, horribly wrong.  Reese custody fight, Elizabark relationship, Romano/Kerry power couple.....vomit vomit vomit.

The good news is that I am getting through the three episodes each night a lot faster because I'm pretty much only watching Carter.

[BooksRule]

I looked ahead on my DVR to see which episodes were coming up and according to the schedule shown, Pop Channel will begin showing episodes from the pilot again the first week in June.  It looks like they're going to stop after  Season 6 and start over.  I wonder if that's as far as they have the license to show or if this is temporary?  Although the series wasn't as good as it went on, I really wanted to see all of the episodes.  I might just have to see if any of my local libraries have season 7 to the end. 

[CarolMK]

Oh bummer, stopping at season 6? I wanted to see the whole series too- originally I think I stopped at season 3 as my kids were getting older and we were busy with activities like baseball, soccer, etc. I wish another network would pick it up, especially Netflix

[Sticker Shock]

I wouldn't have expected them to show the whole series, with how off the rails it went, but I would have thought they'd at least make it through Mark's death (sorry Carter; you hung on too long).

Anyway, these early season six episodes are reminding me how the writers never seemed to have any clue who they wanted Luka to be other than a handsome guy to fill the handsome guy void Doug left behind. Every season, from what I recall, was a new version or take -- no true consistency. This one was dull.

[slf]

Wow, Luka is creepy and unfunny in his first episode. And somehow they made Goran Visnjic skeevy-looking with that hair. 

[starri]

One thing I did really like about S6 was Alan Alda as Kerry's mentor Dr. Lawrence.  One of my all-time favorite recurring characters.  And Alda enjoyed working with John Wells so much, he signed up to be on the West Wing as soon as it was offered to him.

Score one for the absent-minded professor.

[Clemgo3165]

4 hours ago, starri said:

One thing I did really like about S6 was Alan Alda as Kerry's mentor Dr. Lawrence.  One of my all-time favorite recurring characters.  And Alda enjoyed working with John Wells so much, he signed up to be on the West Wing as soon as it was offered to him.

Score one for the absent-minded professor.

I didn't like Alda's character as much here as I did on West Wing. Speaking of rewatching...

[voiceover]

Man, I miss one day, tune back in -- suddenly there are 500 new cast members, and Carol's in her 10th month.

One episode, two SLs that were #2 & #3 on my "I hate this!" list, right after Doug's exit.  After that, I quit watching much during the original run, but the addition of Alan Alda snapped me right back to full-time.

Benjamin Franklin Pierce, back on series TV?  I was beside myself.  Many women of my generation modeled themselves on Mary Richards; not me, not ever.  I grew up wanting to be Hawkeye.

So: sorry, but casting Alda as a doctor will always bring that baggage, and IMO should have been handled better.  I don't remember how they got rid of him -- Alzheimer's? -- and I think he did some damage before he left because of it.

Aaaaaarrrrggggghgghhhhhhhh!!!!

And this whole Reese's paternity fake-out sucked ass.  There's Carla's character, shot to hell.  I wasn't her biggest fan, but that was hideous.  Leave the baby retcons for Young & the Restless.

And you damn kids, get off my lawn.

Edited May 24, 2017 by voiceover

[voiceover]

21 hours ago, BBHN said:

Well, he is his father's son...

Sadly...

Though one of my favorite Benton moments was the two of them giggling in the nursery.

[RedbirdNelly]

stopping at season 6? I really wanted to watch the entire series again. bummer.

I watched Power last night--definitely a good episode the creepy stuff with the rapist was really well done.

[Bastet]

Why, why, why did they saddle a great character like Elizabeth with the life suck that is Mark Greene?

Does Reese turn out not to be Peter's?  I laughed when he asked Jackie if Reese looks like him and she said, "I hope not; he has enough problems."

[starri]

42 minutes ago, voiceover said:

So: sorry, but casting Alda as a doctor will always bring that baggage, and IMO should have been handled better.

But that's the thing.  Lawrence basically IS Hawkeye: The Retirement Years.  He mentions at one point that he was a doctor in the Army during Vietnam, so they just moved him forward in time.  

Out of all the established Name actors that they had doing small arcs going forward, he was one of the few where I thought it added to the show.  Lots of the others are people I like, but were just black holes of sucking.  Looking at you, Sally Field.

Speaking of, another actress I really like, Rebecca de Mornay.  What the fuck was the point of that?  And she was maybe 40 when these episodes were filmed, so I don't know why they're playing her as this temptress Woman of a Certain Age.

[voiceover]

20 minutes ago, starri said:

But that's the thing.  Lawrence basically IS Hawkeye: The Retirement Years.  He mentions at one point that he was a doctor in the Army during Vietnam, so they just moved him forward in time.  

I know.  Exactly.  That's precisely why I hated seeing Hawkeye-my-idol  portrayed as they did.

Just like with what I posted re: hating Clooney's exit, I'm being misunderstood.  I never said, nor thought, Doug's actions at the end were OOC.  Just like it's perfectly believable to show an older Dr laid low by onset Alzheimer's.

That doesn't mean I can't find the storylines to be crap, and explain that they're part of what drove me away from this show.

[BBHN]

I never liked the Lawrence story. Granted, not a huge Alda fan to begin with, but the story itself was clumsy.

Quote

Why, why, why did they saddle a great character like Elizabeth with the life suck that is Mark Greene?

Its like they were in a competition with Peter and Cleo to see which couple had more anti-chemistry.

Edited May 24, 2017 by BBHN

[voiceover]

On 5/23/2017 at 7:43 AM, RedbirdNelly said:

In the continued BINGO game of guess that guest star--

I loveloveLOVE this!  Perfection.

N23 for Mad Men's Pete Campbell (with Conor's (Angel) hair) showing up as Lucy's paint-eating artist.

21 hours ago, BBHN said:

 

Its like they were in a competition with Peter and Cleo to see which couple had more anti-chemistry.

Preach!

Edited May 25, 2017 by voiceover
Clarifying shows for the Bingo game

[starri]

If such a thing is possible, I'm finding Luka even more unlikable the second time.