ER Discussion Thread

[dragonflies]

Same, nothing else to me compares to ER

[I Am A Swede]

 

So true! "ER" is the gold standard for medical drama, just like (in my opinion at least) "Hill Street Blues" is for police drama.

[YRBB]

 

I guess it'd be very difficult to avoid those major moments. A shame about Kelli Martin because that's the biggest shocker so far - but there's plenty more to it, so I'm excited to see your reaction to that. Remain as spoiler free as you can!

 

And certainly the show is hard to top.

[Soaplovers]

I think ER built on the strong foundation St Elsewhere started in the 80s.  Strong theme song, mix of medical/soapy stories, and was kind of gritty.

 

I liked Dr Corday...and her romances with Greene and Benton..before she was fired.  I think either too expensive or too old.

[Chris B]

Okay season three is excellent, but I am FURIOUS with some of these doctors!

 

I'll start with Dr. Greene. He's been going through a life crisis since his wife left him in season two and now with Dr. Lewis gone, he is taking it out on everybody. First, I hated how he reacted when he snooped and found out Jeannie was HIV positive. For a doctor he came off very ignorant and he gave no thought to how she felt. Even when she was forced to reveal her diagnosis with everybody he still didn't apologize, even though she did to him. I am absolutely disgusted with him right now and am going to need him to get it together! Now he's sleeping with a nurse that I'm sure he will dog out soon enough. SMH!

 

Next, Carter and Benton! We already know how tough Dr. Benton can be, but the way he's treated Dr. Gant has been appalling. I get tough love and as a black man I understand we do have to work harder than others, but it feels like he is just searching for a reason to tear Dr. Gant down. Carter is annoying because he's friends with Gant and basically got sick of hearing him complain and pulled away from him. When Dr. Gant went to upper management, Carter lied about what happened to protect Benton and of course this led to Dr. Gant committing suicide. I will say that was a huge shock for me. In retrospect you could see how it happened, but I certainly wasn't expecting it to happen the way it did. Even after his death you have Carter lying about how moods so it isn't ruled a suicide. I feel like he did that to protect HIS feelings and guilt. I'm very disappointed in him!

 

Now a doctor who has done a complete turnaround is Dr. Ross. You can tell since Carol's suicide attempt in season one, he's made a major effort to be a better person. I've loved seeing a very young Kirsten Dunst in a recurring role of a runaway teen that he has been helping. It's been nice seeing less of Dr. Ross' romantic life and more of him supporting his patients and coworkers. I'm beginning to fall in love with him. My Queen Dr. Weaver has had a more low key season, but I continue to love her. They really needed someone like her who is logical and there to do a job. She's one of the only people who doesn't let her personal feelings or life get in the way of her job. 

[YRBB]

OK, I had no idea what happens in Season 10's "Freefall" and was in no way prepared. That was a GREAT gasp-worthy scene. A bit over-the-top but deliciously ironic.

[Chris B]

Okay season 5 was excellent. I loved the additions of Corday and Lucy, the perfect examples of how to bring new characters onto an existing show. They complimented Benton and Carter so well. I'm not sure why they didn't go ahead with the romance with Carter and Lucy since most of his non-doctor love interests are dull as dirt. Now fast forward to season six and I'm starting to see the cracks. I HATE that they wrote Jeannie off. I feel she had gone through so much and had so much life left in her. I also found it very interesting that they made her an important part to George Clooney's exit since they never interacted much. To go from all that screentime to being written off was confusing for me. It's almost as if they brought on Michael Michele and felt they had their quota of black women. Speaking of Michael Michele, I find the new season six characters to be typical of a later hit. You can definitely tell looks are an important part of the casting. So far I'm not impressed with Luca, Cleo or this annoying Dave character. The loss of Jerry and Dr. Ross is leaving a huge void on this show. I know Jerry is a background character, but he added a lot to the texture of the storylines and Clooney was such a huge presence and had chemistry with everybody so his sudden exit feels incomplete. Mark and Carol in particular are suffering.

 

I wouldn't say the show is *bad* in season six, but the grit is gone as is much of what made the show unique. It's becoming more of what you'd expect from a #1 show on a network, i.e. more generic and safe for a large audience.

[Vee]

Michael Michele was only hired to give Benton a Black love interest because Eriq LaSalle killed the pairing with Corday, feeling an interracial romance sent the wrong message to Black female viewers. I always hated that story turn.

 

So much of Luca's early story hinges on pining for Carol, but I liked the character from the start. Later I got sick of him.

 

Malucci had ups and downs; I would like him, then hate him. Just when I accepted him in full, they wrote him out in a very loud way that was typical of many later character exits which led to my not watching.

 

Gloria Reuben left to sing backup for Tina Turner - no joke. It was surreal to watch her leave the show then turn up on Oprah, etc. as one of Tina's backup singers.

Edited June 2, 2021 by Vee

[Chris B]

@VeeWHAT?! Gloria Reuben left to sing back up for Tina Turner?! That is wild! I feel like the original cast got paid so much it probably made it easier to decide to leave to follow passions like that. I love that for her. 
 

Interesting to learn La Salle killed the Benton/Corday pairing. Their chemistry was pretty remarkable and it was nice seeing him evenly matched with someone. 
 

With Luca I think the reason I haven’t taken to him is because of the Carol stuff. He already feels like he’s there to fill the void of George Clooney’s exit and Carol is heavily pregnant with his kids so  it’s hard of invest in this. I’ll be happy when he’s on to something else. I know he lasts forever so I imagine the character is good, but not the greatest introduction. 
 

Im just happy my Queen Weaver is still kicking ass. This is the one ER character I’d never heard of and I am so in love with her. They are very slowly introducing more of her personal life with us learning she is adopted and Carter living with her. Im excited for when it’s her turn to get a meaty personal story. 

[Vee]

 

Well, my initial understanding was that's what happened - she did a big press blitz about it at the time, then she started turning up with Tina on any show Tina did to promote her new tour/album/whatever. It was weird, lol. She did go directly from ER to Tina Turner, they happened at the same time (and she got the gig with Tina while prepping to leave, that much is true). But as it happens, I looked into it today and in an interview from when she returned to the show for another typically-grim guest spot near the end of the show's run, she does say this, which is more complex than it was presented at the time of her original exit:

 

Edited June 2, 2021 by Vee

[I Am A Swede]

 

Kerry Weaver is a fantastic character, probably one of the best in ER history.

[dragonflies]

Ugh I despised Weaver, especially when she gave herself a pay raise after giving Jeanie that BS about budget's and whatnot. Urgh 

[I Am A Swede]

^^

That's part of why she was such a great character. She wasn't always nice and sympathetic. She was flawed, like the rest of us. Sometimes you wanted to throttle her, and sometimes you cheered for her. 

[dragonflies]

Never cheered for her, she was a true outright POS IMO 

[Chris B]

I loved that story because we got to see Jeanie fight back and win and also Weaver finally got to see she wasn’t as perfect as she thought she was. I loved how in over her head she was with that job. It was definitely karma and has seems to humble here. 
 

Right now I am halfway through season 6. I had to take a break after Lucy’s death. I knew it would happen but didn’t know when and it took me by surprise. Those two episodes were some of the best tv I have ever seen. The cast and crew definitely came to work.
 

I went to do some research afterwards and found lots of good interviews about that story. Apparently the story at the time was that Kelli Martin quit because the role was too depressing, but looking at the EW retrospective posted a few pages back she makes it clear she was fired. I’m also convinced Noah Wyle is a total [!@#$%^&*]. I’d read a blind item on Crazy Days and Nights that he’s secretly the real reason Sherry Springfield quit because he was harassing her and now based on his own words I wouldn’t be surprised if that was true. To EW Wyle said that he regrets how poorly he treated Kelli Martin. She started the show a week after her sister died so she was obviously in a bad place and him being an ass to her couldn’t have helped. He also mentioned that Lucy and Carter were meant to be a real couple, but he refused to play the story. That’s probably what sealed her fate and it’s a shame because their chemistry was through the roof. 
 

Beyond that story, I do think they found their footing as this season went on. I wasn’t impressed with Dave, Luca or Cleo, but Abby and Dr. Chen are welcome additions to the show. Due to my age when I think of ER in its original airing, Maura Tierney is someone who I viewed as the face of ER so it’s nice to see her finally appear. I found it interesting that she has a random guest star role as a nurse before coming back as a med student. I wonder if that was intentional or if they were just impressed with her guest appearance. Dr. Chen has so much more confidence now and her chemistry with Carter is still there. 
 

Right now I’m back enjoying the show and am excited to see where things go. My eye is really on Luca because I know he becomes such a vital character, but his introduce is *so* bad. I can’t wait to see how he’s integrated into the canvas. Right now he’s like this mysterious angel who pops up to drop sage wisdom and be handsome. It also doesn’t help that I know this is Carol’s last season and most of his scenes are with her.