Er - 3/13/03 (1 Viewer)

[Patrick Sun]

This episode was very good in terms of examining "do the ends justify the means" and in the end, one guy dies, many others will live (because the ER is fully staffed, no cutbacks) because Carrie sacrificed her medical intregrity for what she thought was the greater good; and Carrie's sense of honor and guilt will eat at her internally for the foreseeable future, and a politician will be ducking for cover, while also using that sense of guilt to hide his complicity in the matter. And the other incredible development out of Carrie's internal betrayal of her medical ethics is her frikkin' promotion as chief of staff! Talk about life's irony.

Susan's smart, and will figure it out. Whether she forces Carrie to come clean will remain to be seen.

Luka's subplot gives a little more insight inside his trouble psyche. He's still empty inside, competent on the outside, which makes him a desirable commodity at the ER, but besides his job, he has nothing to live for (it seems). Luka has no rudder at this point in his life.

The first clue to the Luka confession/introspection is the female voice during their "session". I knew right off that Luka was in the company of a lady of the night (otherwise, it'd be the male pshrink who was badgering him earlier in the episode).

Abby and Carter's subplot is just stringing us along for the eventually engagement, most likely during sweeps in May (they suckered us in during the February sweeps with the almost engagement). But I did like their segment at the end. Both of them are becoming more intertwined with the other, and I think some form of intimacy on an id level is developing as Carter sees that Abby now wants to help herself (he was never really able to help her with her inner demons because she simply wasn't "there" yet to want to help herself).

Deb cleans up well.

Also, they set the table for Gallant's return as an ER doc for future seasons.

 

[WillG]

Am I the only one who seems a bit fed up with what is going on in this show? I think that overall, this season has been pretty weak. I'm sick of the boring character stories of Luca's ongoing "Tortured Man" bit. And I've has enough of Abby's Moody, Distant "Keep your distance because I'm so messed up act" and her on the wagon/off the wagon teetering. Don't know why Carter wastes his time and effort on her. The only interesting story was Carrie's

I know alot of people like the kind of character stories like Luca's and Abby's, but It's really being dragged out to tedium

 

[Patrick Sun]

I think it's about character development that I am enjoying for this season of ER.

But I think the point about finally getting engaged is that you are at peace with the person you think you want to spend the rest of your life. Carter has seen Abby in all forms of despair given her circus for a family life, and he's also seen how precious life is as a physician in the ER. Is Abby's baggage enough to be an obstacle to their love? I think Carter sees that Abby is doing what she can to jettison her past baggage for her own well-being on her own terms, not his, and that is something that Carter can take comfort in, but always knowing that the darker side of Abby is also there, but not in such prominence that would sabotage their relationship.

Also, Carter is not entirely a saint, he's got faults as well. He's too trusting, and his upbringing doesn't quite give him the same view of money as the rest of his co-workers. He's also probably more co-dependent than he would admit. He's got a snarky temper in terms of competition (remember the fencing in the "Breakfast Club" episode?), also, Carter probably gets a kick out of vicariously living an out of control, not prim & proper, life by being at Abby's side during her family episodes.

I think they could make it work, but it'll be a challenge for both of them.

 

[Alex Spindler]

Lots of good meat in this episode from a character development standpoint.

I've always been a fan of Carrie (as well as Innes), and this was a great episode for her. Not only did she get a pretty clear response as to whether the Alderman was hitting on her but she also covered the range of emotions. Being promoted on the heels of the worst professional day of her life was a great conclusion. Unknowingly selling her soul to the devil for the greater good was especially well handled. I also liked her coercion of the kid to lie successfully.

Unfortunately, we're spinning our wheels on Abby and Luka. Both repeats of just about the same dialogue from sweeps week. Hopefully they won't drag this on any more and will move onto something new.

 

[WillG]

I see what you are saying, but I'm just not all that entertained watching it, since it really has been going on for so long.

I have always thought that, at least for me, these overly extended story lines have been a "Jump the Shark" thing, if you will. So many shows I have watched became unbareable when this sort of thing goes on. Plus, now that I think about it, didn't George Clooney go through almost exactly the same "arc" as Luca is going through right now. You know, with the dissassociation, reckless behavior etc. I just think they are spending too much time with these characters while ignoring others. Pratt has been given some time with the Leon thing and his relationship with Chen. Susan, I guess, got a "B" story with the Cancer Kid but not much else. Gallant has been given hardly anything to do. Corday is barely existant. I'd like to see more of Romano as well (the George Mason of "ER") Like I said, I am finding Carrie's story as really the only interesting thing going on, because is really the only thing that is directly related to the ER and not personal emotional issues.

 

[Michael Martin]

A very down episode. Not much to lighten it, which isn't bad in and of itself. I'm not a fan of Kerry's at all, though I do like it when her softer side shows through. She got herself in this mess; her naivte towards doing a favor for and then working for a politician have put her in a bad spot. A fairly realistic end to the storyline would be her losing her job (if not her license), but we know that's not going to happen.

Having said that, I do think this storyline was very well done. Kerry found herself in over her head in multiple dilemmas (professional, moral, etc.) Bruce Weitz is doing a great job in his guest role as well.

Regarding Luka...

He's still empty inside

Yes he is, because the writers seem to not have a ****ing clue what to do with him. A couple of seasons ago he had a HUGE crisis of faith and identity, and it was very well done. Except apparently it didn't really happen, or it left no mark at all upon his character. I'm really fed up with the writers utter inability to do something with Luka other than have him act inconsistently and repugnantly. I had to laugh when his voiceover talked about being a good doctor - from what we've seen of his track record, I'd rather be treated by Dr Dave Malucci than Luka. Dave might mess up, but Luka is almost sure to kill you.

Abby and Carter - not very fun to watch, but seems like a fairly realistic portrayal of addictive-prone personalities trying to muddle through life and love. As irritating as they've been, if you stop and think about it, they're not the typical American TV couple, and that's a good thing. Sure, the writing's not always as consistent as you'd want, but it's not anywhere near as bad as with Luka. I found myself glad at the end that Carter did not walk (ok, drive) away from Abby.

Will Susan do something? I think she will, because Kerry is putting patients at risk.

And did anyone else think Sherry String looked oh so cute with longer hair and the black turtleneck? :b

 

[Steve_Tk]

Abby definately replaces Carol Hathaway for me. I enjoy both of them equally.

But it's hard to replace Dr. Ross, Dr. Greene, and Dr. Benton.

Carter and a couple others are good, but you miss those others that were there for 6-8 seasons.

 

[Michael Martin]

Abby definately replaces Carol Hathaway for me. I enjoy both of them equally.

If I have to choose, I far prefer Carol. I did not like Abby at all for quite some time (while I liked Carol right way, though I started watching in Season 4). However, I have warmed up to her - mostly - and enjoy her storylines.

There are times I can't believe she used to be on a comedy - she has the taciturn looks and vibe down pat.

 

[Patrick Sun]

I never liked the Carol/Doug stories (or when Carol was shacking up with the EMT), so I don't miss her character's storylines. I've always like Abby (not her family, though).

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Whenever Luka's voice over started, I kept remembering "that scene" from Adaptation.

Overall, good episode. They seem to be dragging their feet through the season, they need to start focusing on someone else again. The Abby/Carter thing needs more twists per episode than it's already getting or else it will get old fast.

 

[Roberto Carlo]

her naivte towards doing a favor for and then working for a politician have put her in a bad spot.

I don't think of Kerry as naive. I think that she is ruthless and self-serving with a large dollop of ambition. Maybe I'm wrong.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Basically Kerry (that's how IMDB lists her name) got outplayed by the Alderman (who tapped into her ambitious type-A drive to dangle something she wanted in return for personal gain).

 

[Michael Martin]

I think that she is ruthless and self-serving with a large dollop of ambition.

Oh she is, and I have thought that for a long time. But she IS naive when dealing with others...Kerry really seems to think no one can outsmart or outplay her. Or maybe it's a combination of ruthlessness and denial. She certainly never imagined Jing-mei would be able to come back and blackmail her, did she?

 

[Don Black]

I've never really liked the Kerry character but enjoy Innes' performance. I also despised Carol (she gave up $20M from ER to do Ghost Ship?), but liked Abby and Susan.

As far as Kerry's actions, I would be hard pressed not to have made the same choices. This wasn't a situation of quid-per-quo. She never asked for anything in return for her actions. Initially, she was rewarded for her discretion by the councilman. The second time around she was threated (actually her workplace, collegues, and patients were threated) by the councilman. Sure, she got a promotion (unexpected and unrequested) out of it. But she really did not do anything MORALLY wrong in treating a patient without documenting the visit.

Can anyone confirm that documenting a visit is in fact an AMA requirement? Or is it simply a hospital's procedure?

 

[Steve_Tk]

Doctors give prescriptions to people all the time and never fill out the necessary paperwork.

If you have a friend that's a doctor, you can call him up and he will phone a prescription in for you basically any time you want for basic antibiotics.

I'm sure it even happens with CII controlled substances (although it's illegal).

 

[WillG]

Sorry, posted in wrong thread

 

[Julian Reville]

I'm sure it even happens with CII controlled substances (although it's illegal).

Pretty all-encompassing damning of the profession there, Steve. Speaking from personal experience?

As a doctor of the DVM variety, and as one who has many MDs as clients, let me just say that some of us take keeping our licenses a little more seriously than TV portrays.