Conference ljsrv1::tv_chatter

  I was surprised, it was actually pretty good. It's something of an ensemble
cast but the guy who use to live in the bubble on Northern Exposure plays a
part which seems to be slightly more equal than the others. He adds a lot of
personality to the show. 

  They have made an effort at being realistic on the medical part but one thing
that's different from real life is that there is no triage nurse. Because I
have a girlfriend who gets migraine headaches, I've spent plenty of time in
emergency rooms and no one just walks in and says hello to the doctor. 

  The way it works is that when you arrive you see the triage nurse who assigns
you a category of E for Emergency, U for Urgent, or N for Nevermind. If you get
an N, you sit there and wait anywhere from 1 to 5 hours before you see anyone.
That woman with the hangnail would have spent the better part of the night in
the waiting room at Beth Israel in Boston and would have been pretty exhausted
by the time she saw a doctor.

  But other than that it was ok. One problem may be keeping it fresh. The
problem with emergency rooms is that there are very few opportunities for on
going stories or variety. While the drama is high, it's always pretty much the
same thing, intense but short term. Patients don't stay in emergency very long,
they leave shortly after they come one way or the another.

  Good show, hope they find a way to keep it going,
  George

    
    Good drama, I liked it.
    
    Anybody quit smoking after watching it?
    
    
    Dave
    
    

    
    	I thought it was pretty good.  A question though, is the black
    	actor the same guy on "Coming to America", the real obnoxious
    	boyfriend?
    
    								Scott.
    

    I've watched both Hospital Shows (saw "Chicago Hope" on Sunday) and out
    of the two, I thought ER did the better job of being -- oh, believable
    or something.   ER also gets the nod for more likable characters and
    what not and less "tug at the heartstrings" cliches.  
    
    Not that "...Hope" was bad, but those doctors were more versatile than
    I thought Dr.'s generally were.  We had Siamese Twin separations, brain
    surgery and an element of slickness that felt like LA Law repacked for
    the hospital.  It wasn't bad, but not as involving.  (and gorier than
    ER, with lots of shots of pulsating hearts and brains and things like
    that.)  Chicago Hope touched on little dramas like being over-clinical
    with patients and making them feel like they are "just bodies" rather
    than people with lives and everything.  But it didn't do it enough.  A
    bit too package, a bit to shiny and clean and perfect.  
    
    ER, which I thought I would like less, I like more.  The cast is
    interesting, the medical situations seem more realistic, the doctors
    aren't whizzes at everything (for example, the resident who went
    against the rules and made the decision to do vascular surgery, which
    he admitted he wasn't an expert at).  Good sense of the hustle and
    bustle of a big city emergency room.  Good job at making the actors
    playing patients seem like people you'd find in an emergency room.
    
    Plus, the ER premier was 2 hours long.  
    
    
    If folks didn't know already, both ER and Chicago Hope are being thrown
    against each other on Thursdayn nights.  Provided there isn't a third
    program in there that I want to watch more than these two, I'll
    probably watch ER and tape Hope.
    
    kim

RE  <<< Note 298.4 by EVMS::MDNITE::RIVERS "Even better than the real thing" >>>

>    Provided there isn't a third
>    program in there that I want to watch more than these two, I'll
>    probably watch ER and tape Hope.
    
  If it's the 10PM slot and these two shows are on NBC and CBS then the 3rd
program is ABC's Prime Time Live. I use to watch that when ever L.A. Law
was a repeat or not on.

  George

    Re: .1 and no triage nurse
    
    Surpring, since the creator (Michael Crichton) was a doctor; you'd
    think he'd know better.
    
    
    Re: .3
    
    >the same guy on "Coming to America", the real obnoxious boyfriend?
    
    That's the one.

    I liked ER better than Chicago Hope, too, but it's hard to judge a
    series by its pilot. I liked the comparison of Hope to L.A. Law;
    similar slickness and hyperbole, or so it seemed to me. ER reminded me
    very much of St. Elsewhere - so much so, in fact, that it might have
    simply been "St. Elsewhere: The Next Generation"... [Since I loved St.
    Elsewhere and never liked L.A. Law very much, this strongly suggests
    that - if I watch either show - it'll be ER.]
    
    But this week I'm watching "Baseball".
    
    -b

the show was technically hopeless. I've never done cpr on a person with their
shirt on, much less shoke with shirt on!  sure the victum was a woman, but
I've seen cpr on tv [st elsewhere] with bare chest.
when are we ever going to see cpr performed correctly on TV?  to omany people
are going to think its done by flexing your elbows.

weak character cast.  didn't look promising to me.  I was hoping for another
st elsewhere.
I think hope needs to be taken to the ER for rework while there's no hope for ER
ed

    I did not see the whole thing (I missed the first 45 minutes) but I did
    enjoy what I saw...although I agree with the slick level being a little
    high.
    
    MJ

    Liked it a lot last night, but missed the beginning.  Who's the woman
    George Clooney goes to see at the end of last night's show (her mother
    is about to turn him away, but she says "it's all right", comes to the
    door, stands there noncommittally, takes his flowers...)?
    
    The hitting-the-emergency-button scene was truly stupid, but the
    reaction of the rescue crowd (& comments later) made up for it.
    
    Leslie

    
    I again enjoyed watching. This show moves fast, not a dull moment.
    Some very sad and touching moments. The elderly couple. Then the
    family hit by the drunk driver. And then it moves to some funny
    moments ie the young intern and the young lady with rash.
    
    Dave
    

RE   <<< Note 298.10 by USCTR1::WOOLNER "Your dinner is in the supermarket" >>>

>Who's the woman
>    George Clooney goes to see at the end of last night's show (her mother
>    is about to turn him away, but she says "it's all right", comes to the
>    door, stands there noncommittally, takes his flowers...)?
    
  In the pilot a nurse who had been involved with the good looking doctor
took an overdose after work one day and was rescued by the staff in the ER.

  It was all very dramatic because their relationship with her changed so
quickly from her being a member of the nursing staff to a critical patient. One
person would ask "why did she do this", the star Dr. would respond "we don't
ask about any other patient, we won't ask about this one", etc. 

  Anyway, that's who she was. The good looking Dr. finally got up his nerve to
go see her at home.

  George

  Overall I felt they slipped just a bit starting slow but they finished well.

  The beginning was really bad. A couple came in with a baby that was choking
and both the parents, who were suppose to be shocked, worried, terrified,
what ever, stood there with big sh*t'eaten grins on their faces all the time
the baby was choking. I don't mean after it started breathing, all along.

  At times it's a bit gross, like with the food poisoning problem. Of course at
times emergency rooms are a bit gross so I guess it makes little sense to
complain about that but it is still a bit annoying. 

  The rest was pretty good. I'll keep watching.

  George

Question about the end


  At the end the lead woman doctor ended up in bed with someone who was talking
to her about hospital politics. He looked a little familiar but I wasn't sure
who he was. Was he suppose to be someone we'd seen earlier in the show? 

    
    re: .14 I think the man in bed with the woman doctor was the
    psychiatrist who had refused to let her admit the elderly patient with
    demetia to his service. He had stormed out of the emergency room and
    told her to never do that to him again. Next thing you know, she's in
    bed with him. Shades of Frank Furillo and Joyce Davenport in the pilot
    for Hill Street Blues. 
    
    Linda 

    I just heard that Chicago Hope is being moved because it's being
    clobbered by ER.  They are moving CH to Thursdays at 9:00.  Now I'll be
    able to watch both in real time!  They are different, but I like them
    both.
    
    Cheryl

    The problem with this move is that it's putting "Hope" against
    "Seinfeld", which might hurt it if "...Hope" viewers were used to
    watching Jerry's antics first. It would have probably been better to
    put it in a less competitive slot.
    
    (not me, though.  Never got into the Seinfeld thing.)
    
    Cheers,
    
    kim

    
    	I never watched Seinfeld, either, but I've seen a couple of
    	the recent episodes and it's a GREAT show.
    
    	Just wish I'd remember it's on before it actually comes on
    	so I can watch it.  I'm usually reminded that I missed it
    	when I get here in the morning and read the reviews.  8^)
    
    							GTI
    

    I really liked Chicago Hope last night, the writers are starting to get 
    more involved in the doctors personal lives ,which makes it
    interesting.   I think Mandy Pinakin and Adam Arkin are just fabulous 
    actors they are so believable.
    
    Hopefully they will give this show a break and keep it on.
    
    Renee

    Maybe we should make a "Chicago Hope" topic and move associated replies
    there?  
    
    Just a suggestion. I can make the topic, but I don't think I have the
    "power" to move affiliated replies....
    
    
    kim

  I watched the Thursday night comedies followed by ER. I really liked ER a
lot, they are continuing to keep up the quality and avoiding the "Oh no, not
another kid who's swallowed something" syndrome of 911. A bit melodramatic
at times but it works.

  And the characters are coming along really well. The good looking guy doesn't
work to well, too formula, but the others are great characters.

  George

    I like both ER & Chicago Hope and have solved the problem of them
    being on at the same time but watching one & taping the other.

    The mother on ER last night who brought her son in because she said
    he couldn't hear was a real looney toons.  I'm glad they kept her
    son with them for awhile after they took her away rather than just
    sending him off to Child Welfare (Foster home).

    Dianne

    
    I hope they end this "good looking doctor and the attempted suicide
    nurse thing". The rest of the show is good, that is getting to be 
    a bore. Maybe after last night it's history.
    
    If not, I will tape so I can FF through the garbage.
    

    A comment about last night's show (behind spoiler)
    
    
    
    Last nights' plot line about the guy waiting for a heart transplant
    was very moving - had tears in my eyes when the daughter was
    saying goodbye to her father...
    
    One major complaint - is it possible for someone in defib (sp?)
    to be coherent and able to speak?  While the monitor was beeping
    wildly and they were pounding on his chest, he's saying to his wife 
    "forever" or something like that.  That kind of ruined the realism 
    for me.
    
    Anyone else feel the same way?
    
    Pam

    Yeah...
    
    
    
    Seemed a little bogus to me, too, but I agree it was touching.  Also
    thought the ending with Dr. So-and-so and his own daughter was nicely
    done.
    
    Also when that guy went flatline and they shocked him and 2 seconds
    later he sez "I don't usually do that" was really funny.
    
    							Marc

  They have a doctor on the set to handle this type of medical question. I
notice that when he was talking, the TV doctor was doing chest compressions
which I suppose might have forced enough blood into his brain to keep him
conscious long enough for him to say those few words. 

  At any rate, Shakesphere never wrote a dying scene like that guy had last
night, it was not only moving but it lasted the entire show. Good part for that
actor. He's the same guy who played Eli the lawyer on Civil Wars and then on
L.A. Law. After having 2 series shot out from under him I wonder if anyone
thought he was bad luck. 

  Still a good show,
  George

    This show gets me weepy everytime.  "Eli" (wish I could remember the
    actor's name) was very good.  I found myself wanting a "nick of time
    ending", I didn't care if it was cliche.  Whatta great ep.  ER should
    be up for Emmy's next year, no lie.
    
    (of course, any "father dying" scene usually has me in tears anyway,
    but still, last night's show really went for the emotional jugular.)
    
    I think that's why I give the nod to ER vs. Chicago Hope -- ER doesn't
    pull punches all the time and gets you more "involved".  Not that
    Chicago Hope isn't good (it's improving each time), but the doctors are
    (intentionally) colder fish.  Chicago Hope also seems to go for
    glossier stories that always have happy endings.  Still, I'm glad I can
    watch both shows now.  
    
    Cheers,
    
    kim

    Eli, and whoever he was last night, is played by 
    Alan Rosenberg. Spoiler question..
    
    Did he die in the end? After all that, I don't
    even remember.
    
    Also, getting quickly sick of the constant humiliation
    of that young pup resident. Maybe he'll smack somebody. 
    
    And, about the who-should-quit, husband or wife subplot--
    the wife's another bloody lawyer, just what the world needs.
    She should quit, stay in Chicago and get a useful job. 
    Lawyer! Gack. 
    

    
    	RE: .28
    
    
    	He didn't actually die during the show, but they led you to
    	believe that he was about 10 seconds away.
    
    	In other words, yes.
    
    							GTI
    

RE                      <<< Note 298.28 by RAGMOP::KEEFE >>>

>    Also, getting quickly sick of the constant humiliation
>    of that young pup resident. Maybe he'll smack somebody. 
    
  I believe that this is fairly realistic. For some reason interns and new
residents go through something equivalent to college hazing when they first get
to a hospital. The theory is that it makes them better doctors but of course it
doesn't. 

>    And, about the who-should-quit, husband or wife subplot--
>    the wife's another bloody lawyer, just what the world needs.
>    She should quit, stay in Chicago and get a useful job. 
>    Lawyer! Gack. 

  Just keep in mind that 800 years ago when Lawyers were writing the Magna
Carta, doctors were bleeding out evil spirits and that 200 years ago when
Lawyers were writing the Bill of Rights to the United States Constitution,
Doctors were still using leaches as a remedy for some diseases. 

  George
  
SPOILER Answer


>    Did he die in the end? After all that, I don't
>    even remember.
    
  They didn't say but it was pretty obvious from the star doctor's reaction at
home that he died. If he had saved him at the last minute he would have been
celebrating.

  

    Speaking of lawyers, Richard Brooks, who played asst DA on Law and
    Order for a couple of seasons, showed up on both Chicago Hope and ER
    last night. 
    
    In both shows he played the distraught father of a child brought into 
    the emergency room.
    
    I prefer Chicago Hope to ER but am happy to watch both shows on nights
    when I am unable to raise myself from the couch. They kind of blend
    together though when watched in succession, and having the same actor
    play virtually the same part in each show adds to the effect of just
    watching a two-hour block of generic hospital drama.
     

  I tried to watch a little of Chicago Hope but it seems too melodramatic. It's
sort of like a soap opera where everyone is INTENSE. 

  If they had a cafeteria scene no doubt some guy with perfect hair and a suit
would curl up his brow, stare into someone's eyes as music built to a climax
and as the organ hit it's final chord he's say in his best dramatic voice with
only the slightest hint of a quiver "PASS THE SALT" *** DA DAAAAaaaaa *** after
which the other guy at the table would throw down his napkin and storm out of
the room under the gaze of watchful eyes. 

  Maybe not but that's the way it came across for the few scenes I saw while
channel surfing.

  George

    
    My wife and I like Chicago hope better than ER (my wife more than I).
    They are different in a lot of ways. ER is total chaos (as it should
    be) but that makes it really difficult to follow. Chicago Hope is a bit
    melodramatic (mostly the Neurosurgeon) but the pace is a little slower
    and they don't have quite as much going on all at once and they do have
    some humor (which ER lacks). I hope they BOTH make it but I have the
    feeling that Chicago Hope won't.
    
      

  ER fits more into the new genre of realistic programs. It is to emergency
rooms what Homicide and Law and Order are are to cops and the courts. By
contrast, from what little I've seen Chicago Hope is an attempt to run General
Hospital at night. 

  The trends say that ER should work in prime time where as Chicago Hope's
chances are very slim unless they move it to 2 o'clock in the afternoon. 

  George

    I suggest watching a couple of episodes rather than just channel 
    surfing through them before comparing it to General Hospital and 
    the like. 
    
    ER is easily as maudlin and melodramatic, witness the poor dying 
    Eli scene last week.
    
    Last night's Chicago Hope began with a shooting in the emergency
    room and flowed logically from there. ER's led with a pizza delivery
    guy crashing into the emergency room, done simply for gratuitous
    pratfall-style value I think. Not exactly realistic, and unrelated to
    anything else in the show.
    
    Both have their moments and are quite similar in plot and realism
    I think. I can't imagine liking one and not the other, they are so
    alike. The difference lies mainly in the actors/characters rather 
    than the particular blood'n'guts vignettes. For that, just think of 
    Brooks' two parts, and try to remember which character he played on 
    which show. Not easy! 
    
    The subplot with ER's Dr (Sherry Stringfield)'s junkie sister Chloe was
    well done I thought. Stringfield sure made a good move jumping off 
    NYPD Blue and onto this hit show. 

I agree with .35, you really need to see more of a drama than a couple of
minutes here and there while channel surfing. You need to see the entire
episode, and preferably more than one episode, before you're really qualified
to say what it's like. I like both shows equally, they are the same and
different, depending on how you compare them. Time (assuming they both have
time) will tell which, if either, is better.


Randy

    I like Chicago Hope better than ER because I like the actors
    better on CH.  I think they are more realistic.  I don't
    agree that CH is  like a soap opera.  I think that CH has
    been improving each week.  I can't help but feel bad for
    that heart surgeon who lost his son,it brings the human
    side of doctors out.  I read that both have been renewed for
    the season.  I also read that they might change CH time and
    day again.
    
    Renee
    
    
    

    Haven't seen Chicago Hope but
    
    .32> If they had a cafeteria scene no doubt some guy with perfect hair and
         a suit would curl up his brow, stare into someone's eyes as music 
         built to a climax and as the organ hit it's final chord he's say in 
         his best dramatic voice with only the slightest hint of a quiver 
         "PASS THE SALT" *** DA DAAAAaaaaa *** after which the other guy at 
         the table would throw down his napkin and storm out of the room under
         the gaze of watchful eyes.
    
    I *love* it!!!  Thanks for the warning!
    
    Leslie 
  

The ER gang is featured on the cover of Newsweek, along with a very 
complimentary article.

    I don't understand how a person could pass a bar exam in one state, and
    get a judgeship in another? didn't she just get out of college.
    
    and now, there can be no doctor as adviser.  unless its a tv doctor
    giving advise to other tv doctors.
    this is no st elsewhere.
    

RE                  <<< Note 298.40 by NPSS::BADGER "Can DO!" >>>

>    I don't understand how a person could pass a bar exam in one state, and
>    get a judgeship in another? didn't she just get out of college.
    
  I may be mistaken but I thought she said it was a job clerking for a Federal
Judge. Once you pass any state bar exam pretty much all you have to do to get
accepted to the federal bar is fill out a form and send them $25. 

  In any case, you don't have to pass the bar to be a clerk for a judge. Most
clerks have passed the bar but it's not required.

>    and now, there can be no doctor as adviser.  unless its a tv doctor
>    giving advise to other tv doctors.
>    this is no st elsewhere.
    
  ER has a real doctor as an adviser.

  George

    Hi George.  I find it impossible to believe that they have a *real*
    doctor tolerating the medical misinformation.
    I hope he's paid well.
    

  I don't know, I'm not a doctor but I did hear that there was a real doctor
on the set.

  What did you see that was wrong?

  George

The TODAY show was "live on the set of ER" for two days this week.  Of course, 
it involved fawning all over the stars and the set, but what the heck, *we* 
found it interesting.  Some good stuff on the economics of a hit show (profit 
to Warner Brothers, profit to NBC, etc.).

Could anyone provide a quick run-down on the first half-hour from last night's 
(Nov. 17) program?  I didn't get home in time.

    Yeah, and if anybody taped either this or "Chicago Hope", and feels
    kind, could I borrow your tape?  
    
    live in Lowell, work at ZK.
    
    
    cheers,
    
    kim

    So, uh, how much do ya think Dunkin Donuts had to pay NBC for that
    little plug last night?

I had to enter a note before I forgot how wonderful I thought last nights 
show was.  The pacing was *so* well done - I was calmly reading the paper 
and watching the show when all of the sudden the accident victims from the 
highway pileup started to arrive.  For the next 20-25 minutes, my heart was 
racing.  I couldn't believe how realistic it was (or how I would imagine it 
to be since I've never seen an ER under this set of circumstances) The 
frantic rush of doctors,nurses, patients and others kept my attention 
rivited to the tv, and there are very few shows that ever do that anymore. I 
usually watch tv while doing something else (reading, crafts) and glance up 
every now and then - not this time - I never looked away.  The scene where 
the nurse was singing a lullaby to the little girl, admidst the chaos 
surrounding her was very effective.  I only wished that I had taped this 
episode so I could watch it again and try to absorb some of the images that 
so quickly flashed across the screen.  Oh well, I'm sure my chance will come 
sometime in the future.

    
    	I agree, excellent episode!  I thought it was hilarious
    	when that guy had "chest pain" and when they took
    	his shirt off he had a cigarette lighter impaled
    	in his chest, the doctor looks up and says "ouch". :^)
    
    						Scott.
    

  Incredible show. The acting is great, the writing is great, the direction
is great ...

  They still practice their Hollywood poetic license with people walking in off
the street not getting stopped by security or a triage nurse but once you get
past that it's a great program.

  George

    ... very funny scene with the biker, too.

    where can I sign up to be an advisor to the show?  the current doctor
    must be in a coma.
    
    the Triage was a joke.  One doesn't consume their resources only to be
    confronted with a worse situation.  Triage would have started at the
    scene, the paramedics/emts would not have brought in a bum thumb prior
    to shipping the ambutees.  and an undiscovered lighter in the chest. 
    medical profession is more
    professional than presented in this drama.  Only once as an EMT did I
    see something that approached what was in this show.  I brought in a
    person who had their face ripped off, and when the doctor took a look,
    he said "oh my God!"  perhaps the doctors and hospitals in Chicago are
    less professional than us new enlanders?
    I doubt it, but it does make good script, I guess.
    bring back st elsewhere.
    ed
    

    ed,
    
    I appreciate your contribution of what the *real* scenario would have
    been (but I love the show anyway!).  I found myself wondering how they
    expected us to believe, in the beginning, that *nothing* was happening
    in the ER... aren't they ALWAYS busy, any ER, any time of day or night?
    
    The scene with "Bob" was gripping, for me.  At the time (it's been a
    while since I've seen an episode) I didn't remember who she was or what
    her circumstances were - then when she went outside and confessed to
    the resident I remembered (DUH!  earlier scene wiping up the floor
    should have reminded me!).  I think we have a serious credibility gap
    with her situation--but who cares, it's only TV, and some of the best
    TV around, IMO.
    
    <?> Margolies (sp?), who plays the just-engaged nurse, was on the
    Tonight show last week and (aside from a hideous dress, IMO) has quite
    a funny, intelligent presence.  She seemed very much at ease, didn't
    take herself too seriously and seemed to have a great time batting it
    around with Jay.  I was impressed.
    
    Leslie

    Of course, dispite all my complaining, I do watch it  ;-).
    
    the one believable thing is that Bob jumped in and
    performed AND noone complained, or stopped it.  and that new doctor
    that no one had ever seen started...  my gut would have made them known
    to everyone before working, but..    In all my times in
    Elloit, CMC, St JOes, + Memorial hospitals  greater nashua,nh area,
    doing ER work, NOONE questioned anyone who jumped in and took over.
    I know after the initial shyness, if I started something, no one else
    stepped in unless I asked for them.  ?possiblely not wanting to step on
    an unknown doctor's toes?  and that part would magnify at a larger
    hospital such as chicago.
    
    another thing that carries true, come to think of it, is the charity
    workload, i.e. those that can't afford to see a doctor at a regular
    practice, come right on in to an er as they aren't refused there.  that
    is one problem with our health industry and they capture it well.

    Did anyone catch the mistake on ER last night in the operating
    room?  Carter, the resident, was finally asked to stand in on
    an operation.  He's taking forever to get scrubbed, dressed, etc.
    The nurse puts on his rubber gloves, and then GRABS his hands
    with her ungloved hands.
    
    A minute later, Carter is hovering over one of the doctors, and 
    touches the doctor's gown.  They immediately throw him out of the 
    operating room for "contaminating himself".  If that was enough 
    to contaminate him, what about the nurse who put her ungloved and
    unsterilized hands on his??
    
    Despite the medical bloopers, I still really enjoy the show.
    
    Pam

    Last night's epsiode...did anyone else out there see it...was so creepy
    when that second kid walked into the ER with the gun.  He didn't say a
    word...just pointed that gun around, looked at the dead kid and left. 
    I missed the first 20 minutes of the show...did he have something to do
    with the kid being shot in the first place?
    
    MJ

    
    When they brought the little kid (he was 12) in with the gunshot wounds, 
    it was said that the shooting was gang-related. Then the other little
    kid showed up pointing the gun around. He went into the trauma room
    with the intention (I felt) of shooting the kid. The doctor said,
    "you're too late...he's already dead". The little kid with the gun
    then just split. It was definitely creepy.

    
    	I got the impression that it had been he who had shot him, and
    	he was coming in to finish the job.
    
    	Probably not to "eliminate the witness", though, since there
    	would have been at least 10 witnesses to THAT shooting.
    

  Well they said it was gang related so it could have been anyone from the
gang.

  Most likely the reason he got shot in the 1st place had something to do with
gang activity and what ever the issue was, the gang doing the shooting wanted
to make sure he was dead.

  George

    I think it's even creepier how all the doctors shrugged it off.  And
    nobody called the cops or anything.  I mean, it may have not done much
    good, but still....
    
    
    kim

    Credit to last night's episode for using an actual elderly sick-looking
    person instead of an actor in make up. Even with the added realism of
    the close-up gory shots in this new generation of medical shows, few of
    the patients actually look particularly sick.
          
    It wasn't so long ago that TV shows went to the trouble of applying
    elaborate makeup to young actors when they needed old people, instead
    of just using real old people.
    
    The scenes with Carter and the elderly man, dying alone and unable to
    speak, were very nicely done. I'm glad they've decided to make better
    use of Carter in recent episodes. The moments of quiet compassion each
    of the doctors and nurses share with the patients have helped this show
    avoid the potential dramatic weakness of running in continual crisis
    mode.
    
     

    
    I fell asleep - can I have an update???
    
    

    Pretty intense, huh?

    After all that tension *I* need some chest paddles!
    
    Whew,
    Leslie

    I have such mixed feelings about this show (and Chicago Hope).  I think
    they are two of the best 1-hr dramas on the tube, however, I am
    surprised by the glorification of the doctors treatment of patients and
    the cover ups, etc.  Last night's show was _wild_ and impossible to
    stop watching, but the way they treated that poor woman (wonderfully
    played by Amy Aquino) was _insane_....
    
    Agree/Disagree?
    
    MJ

What else could Mark have done?   He asked for help right from the 
beginning and when things started getting critical, he was BEGGING for 
help and didn't get it.  I don't even remember if he had any scenes in 
past shows where he had to do surgury - usually done by Peter.  I have a 
girlfriend who will be one week late with delivering her baby tomorrow, 
and I hope she didn't watch last nights show!

    I agree.  Seems the only thing he could have done differently was to
    catch on that it was eclampsia in the very beginning--but he had it
    under control quickly.
    
    I was *howling* at Carter's embarrassment and curiosity at the
    progression-of-labor checks!!  In my experience there is *NO* dignity
    in labor/delivery, and personally I don't see how anyone in the throes
    of labor could even *care* who sees what!  I'm just mentioning this in
    case some of you who haven't gone through it thought those scenes were
    unrealistic or in poor taste.  On the taste, YMMV but it was definitely
    realistic from the laboring woman's POV!
    
    Leslie  

    I had such a hard time watching last night's show, all kinds of
    emotions.  And, I've never had a baby!  Just seeing what that poor
    woman went through, one minute talking and joking and the next moment,
    well... you know.  I agree, Dr. Green did what he could.  I can't
    believe that a hospital like that wouldn't take his "cries" for help as
    serious.  I felt so badly for him.  Very intense.
    
    I just love Carter!
    
    Cheryl

    
    	RE: Cheryl
    
    	I think I heard it mentioned that the OB staff was working on
    	a delivery and 2 C-sections already, and that was why they
    	couldn't send help.
    

  This was a great show. They did an incredible job of showing what happens
when people who are not up to a task end up sinking deeper and deeper as thing
start falling apart. 

  As for the plot, it appeared to me that Dr Green did make some mistakes. He
induced labor assuming that the OB ward would take over but they couldn't
handle the load. What he should have done was to keep her as comfortable as
possible and not induce labor unless the OB ward was ready to take
responsibility. 

  Medically he seems to have missed the fact that she was bleeding internally.
Seems an ER doctor should catch that sort of thing. 

  Great show, really well done,
  George

    
    Thought he had to induce labor for some reason. 
    
    It was one incredible show. That ending. Thought for awhile the doctor
    would pull it off and the mother would make it. 
    
    Dave
    

    [here there spoilers for the spoiler-sensitive]
    
    
    
    
    I believe the reason for inducing labor was less because of the woman's
    sake and more because the baby was starting to do poorly (falling
    heart rate, etc.)  They wanted to induce labor to get it out of there
    were it could be helped if something went amiss.  
    
    I think Mark's biggest mistake (in the sense that he "missed"
    something) was a blood clot, which the OB/GYN-type pointed out before
    the woman crashed for the second time.  The other things he initially
    mis-diagnosed, but corrected for it.  I really admired the character's
    cool when everything was going to hell, too. No snapping at people, no
    yelling at the interns, etc.  Benton he's not (thank God. Couldn't take
    two of them on the show :)
    
    I wonder if instead of an OB/GYN doctor, they couldn't/shouldn't have
    gone to a different surgical department and dragged a surgeon down to
    stop the woman's bleeding.
    
    Still, I think These Things Happen.  People still die, even from
    childbirth.   Plus, the plotline was an analogy for Mark's 
    falling marriage -- "trying desperately to save it" and in the end, 
    still losing the wife-equivalent.  
    
    Pretty good episode.  Wish we'd get out of this new-show/repeat cycle
    though (next week is a repeat).
    
    
    kim
    

    
    I can't believe I missed this episode!  If anyone has it on tape and
    would be willing to let me borrow it, it would eb very much
    appreciated.  I live/work in Nashua.  Would be willing to pay for
    postage both ways if necessary.
    
    Thank you in advance,
    Serena (who is currently pregnant)

    Last nights episode was certainly intense, I was in tears by the end
    (my hormones were in overdrive, I'm in my 7th month with #2).
    
    I think Mark did the best he could, but what I don't understand is why
    they didn't contact HER doctor.  Initially, after misdiagnosing the
    eclampsia as a UTI, he told her to call her doctor in the morning.
    Given the circumstances, having to induce, baby in distress, noone from
    their hospital available, I know my husband and I would be screaming for 
    them to call my doctor.  Even if her doctor didn't have surgical privs
    there was probably something s/he could have done.
    
    As much as I wanted the woman to live I thought the ending was
    excellent.  
    
    Susan

    
    
    I thought they had called her doctor and she was at another hospital
    doing a repeat c-section. Later when commenting on "where was she??"
    there was a comment about taking a turtle for transportation or
    something. Wasn't that her doctor at the end or was that a doctor
    from upstairs??
    
    Patty

I thought they *did* call her doctor, but that she was detained at another 
hospital.  Wasn't she the doctor that finally arrived near the end?

Whoops... notes collision... and what's with the time on the system?

If its after 8am this day has been much longer than it seems  :*)

    RE: .76 .. time stamp.
    
    this file is based in Australia.  That is why the time stamp is
    different.
    
    H

    
    	That doctor [the black female doctor, right?] looks familiar ...
    	I think she's part of the staff at that hospital.  Possibly part
    	of the OB staff.
    

    I guess I was confused then.  That would make sense, I thought that
    doctor at the end was the attending ob, but that wouldn't make sense
    since if she was then she wouldn't be at another hospital doing the
    repeat c-section.
    
    Gee, this makes it all the more disturbing 8^(
    
    /Susan

    The Dr that came in towards the end is on staff at the hospital.  She
    was not the woman's Dr.
    
    Also...I think I was misunderstood.  I didn't mean that the treatment
    given was inappropriate.  I meant the way the woman was treated (as a
    person) was unbelievable.  They barely spoke to her during much of the
    procedures, and then after she died, they just left her body in that
    room, uncovered, exposed.  The door to that room is glass, anyone
    (including her husband) could have seen into the room.  Nobody cleaned
    or covered her up at all.  She ceased to have any importance (if she
    had had any before) in their eyes.  True, she is no longer an
    "emergency", but let's show some respect!
                                             

  I think the staff was in too much shock to think about who was getting or
not getting respect.

  Also, as you mentioned, ERs are highly oriented toward the triage system where
most in danger gets the most attention. Once you are dead, you move way down
on the list unless someone needs your organs.

  George

    I find it highly interesting that some people in this string talk as if 
    they were watching real life.  Like Geoge's statement:
    
    "  I think the staff was in too much shock to think about who was
    getting or not getting respect."
    
    It's a TV script.  It's fictional. Perhaps it is good since so many
    people forget it's not real.
    very serious drawback is so many repeats.  the viewer can loose track
    of events past/present.  since the eposides build on each other this
    can be very confusing when viewing an old version.
    ed
    

    OK Ed, from now on when I write "I think <whatever>" I will actually
    mean "I think THE WRITERS MUST HAVE MEANT <whatever>".
    
    HTH,
    Leslie

    Help me!  I fell asleep and missed the last ten minutes of last week's
    episode...what happened to the girl who was attacked...and anything
    else you can think of.
    
    Thanks
    
    MJ

    re. 84
    
    This was a repeat, so I'm not going to tuck a form feed in, but if for
    some reason you don't want to know, stop reading.
    
    
    
    
    
    Carol (the nurse)  saw the girl who'd been raped hanging 
    out outside of the hospital later that night.  She'd gone back to her 
    boyfriend, who'd kicked her out, not wanting to have anything to do with 
    her after finding out what had happened.  To the best of my memory, 
    the girl was angry and confused and felt like she should have been able
    to do something to prevent the whole thing (shouldn't have went with
    her boyfriend's friend, shouldn't have got drunk, etc.).  Carol was
    consoling enough for one to think that the girl would gather the
    strength to not condemn herself for the rape, or at least that she
    wouldn't run off and commit suicide.  
    
    Lessee, the other hanging plot thread was the result of Mark's "sick
    day" with his wife.  After yet another bout of lovemaking, the phone
    rings (again).  Mark says "Let the machine get it", but when Jen hears
    that it's Craig, her cohort in the law offices, she bounds of out of
    bed and starts talking about work stuff.  Mark (like Jen had when the
    hospital called) tries to distract her back into bed, but Jen pushes
    him off irritably and continues to conduct her business on the phone. 
    The show ends with Mark putting on his glasses and sort of looking at
    her (the show's way of noting the irony in their work situations--Jen
    didn't want HIM to have anything to do with work on their day off, but
    the moment her office calls, she's all over it), giving us all a sense
    that the strain of work will indeed continue to impact Mark and Jen's
    marriage.
    
    That, as I recall, was about it in the last 10 minutes.
    
    
    kim

    Thank you Kim!  I thought it might have been a re-run.  It seems like
    their relationship is not up to a 24-hr "sick day".  I wish they'd get 
    back to the new episodes.

    This coming week is a new ep, I think.  Mark is having trouble dealing
    with the aftermath of the thing with the pregnant lady from a couple
    weeks ago.  (and probably having problem dealing with his marriage
    collapsing)
    
    
    
    kim

    
    yep, last nights show was a good one. 
    ER is a great show.
    
    Dave
    

    Bubble Boy has come a looooooooong way from Northern Exposure!!! 
    Sherry Stringfield, well, what can I say...she was wonderful as Blake
    in the soap opera Guiding Light, and started to show her "prime-time"
    acting abilities, but in ER, she really kicks ass!  I adore her.  Her
    personality really took an overhaul from the inexperienced resident, to
    the confident 2nd year resident she is now.  Good for her!
    
    I liked the fact that on one of the first episodes they had Rosemary
    Clooney as a guest star acting with her nephew Dr. Handsome!! :)
    
    Love ER...I am completely exhausted after these episodes!
    
    After reading all the previous notes, to answer one question, regarding
    whether ERs are busy 24 hours a day.  No, they are not.  This is only
    true in small cities, tho.  Your teaching hospitals, which are usually
    the county hospitals, are generally busy like that, but 24 hours worth. 
    The ER professionals and the labs just can't keep up with the pace
    shown on the program.  Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Florida may
    be the execption!  ;)
    
    I even look forward to the repeats...usually miss 'something' the first
    time around...
    
    /sr

  NBC is promising a new ER tonight. They are also hyping a new Mad about
You, Seinfield, and Friends.

  George

What, no traffic here for weeks?  Last night's episode was great (5/18/95)!

Spoilers...

I couldn't believe it was Carter's last day there, supposedly.  Thank goodness 
they worked that out!  Funny scene with his evaluation form on Dr. Benton.
Great stuff between Carter and the little boy with leukemia.  OUTSTANDING 
stuff between Dr. Ross and his young friend; he's really blown it with that 
family!  The pain in his eyes was so real.  The only thing better than that 
scene was Dr. Benton mourning his mother's death at the bedside of the dying 
AIDS patient.

And poor Carol.  The perfect wedding, all for naught.  But you kind of knew 
it was coming down that way.

  I agree, it was a great show. In fact it was a great season.

  Right now this show and Homicide are my top two.

  George

    This is our favorite show on TV by far. My wife and I are only sorry
    that we watched Chicago Hope for a while at the beginning of the season
    and so missed the first few shows. She's a nurse who spent three years
    working in an ER, so it's interesting viewing for her.
    
    In one of the early shows I noticed a continuity blip. Towards the end
    of the show, when Carter was delivering a baby in a car outside the ER,
    you see him hand the baby girl to the mother and put a blanket over her.
    Next, a shot from inside the car showing bloody baby with no blanket.
    Then another shot from outside the car as they put mother and baby on
    the stretcher, and there's the blanket again.
    
    BTW, if anyone is waiting for them to rebroadcast the pilot episode,
    don't hold your breath. I saw it at Blockbuster's the other day and
    rented it. Was glad I did because it filled in some missing background;
    but you still don't get much more insight into why Hathaway tried to
    commit suicide. (Kathy and I think it was because of Peter's remark
    to her about the nurses taking the doctors' coffee :-)
    
    Did anyone else catch the reference to ER on one of the Chicago Hope
    episodes, rebroadcast two days ago? I don't watch it any more, but
    Kathy had it on, and I was thinking that Chicago Hope and ER should
    have a cooperative episode sometime : they're set in the same city,
    even if they're in different networks. Then, so help me, one of the
    doctors asked his wife to go with him to dinner with Dr. Geiger, and
    she said "I can't go tonight; I'll miss ER!" He said that if he could
    miss the Knicks, she could go a night without seeing Anthony Hopkins.
    "Edwards" she said; "Whatever" he replied.
    
    Looking forward to the new season!
    				Jim

RE      <<< Note 298.93 by NEWVAX::BUCHMAN "UNIX refugee in a VMS world" >>>

>    In one of the early shows I noticed a continuity blip. Towards the end
>    of the show, when Carter was delivering a baby in a car outside the ER,
>    you see him hand the baby girl to the mother and put a blanket over her.
>    Next, a shot from inside the car showing bloody baby with no blanket.
>    Then another shot from outside the car as they put mother and baby on
>    the stretcher, and there's the blanket again.

  I think I read somewhere that they fly the actors to Chicago on occasion to
shoot the outside shots but they shoot all the inside stuff in a studio in
Hollywood. While that's no excuse for being sloppy it may be the reason this
happened.
    
  George

    A snippet from last week's show (second to last in season) shows that
    Dr. Benton thinks more of Carter than he lets on. It was just a very
    quick exchange between Benton and ?? (the 3rd year surgical resident)
    which occurs just before another emergency comes through the door. She
    says, "The decision's been made, Peter," very forcefully. He retorts,
    "Look, I've been training this guy all year! ..." I'm sure they were
    talking about Carter's surgical subinternship. A few minutes later,
    Benton runs off to his mother's nursing home, and the 3rd year resident 
    tells Carter that he didn't get chosen.
    				Jim
    

    
    >A snippet from last week's show (second to last in season) shows that
    >Dr. Benton thinks more of Carter than he lets on. It was just a very
    
    	I figured that already.
    
    	I always had the impression that Benton was tough on him so
    	that Carter would be more disciplined.
    

    So I guess you didn't see the season finale where Benton does Carter's
    evaluation?!? If you did, you know how Benton really feels about Carter
    - if you haven't seen it yet, I won't spoil it.

    I think the season finale is being repeated this Thursday.  Can't wait
    to see it, it was the only one I missed.
    
    When does the new season start?

    Thursday, 9/21.
    

    I missed the first few minutes of last nights episode, tuned in as
    Carter was trying to get Benton into an examining room to check out his
    finger.
    
    Would someone please fill me in.
    
    Thanks.
    
    /Susan

    
    	Benton had a fight with a prosthesis salesman in the parking gar-
    	age who parked in a surgeon's spot when he shouldn't have, taking
    	Benton's space as he waited to pull in after a departing vehicle.
    
    	Benton was driving a loaner, since his car was in the shop, and
    	therefore couldn't prove to the salesman that HE could rightfully
    	park there either, so when the salesman didn't believe him Benton
    	punched him out.
    
    	You might have seen the salesman show up later on in the show,
    	and Benton excused himself from the area to avoid a confrontat-
    	ion.
    

    Ahh, ok, thanks.
    
    Yes, I did see the later segment and figured he was the one but didn't
    know why.
    
    /Susan

    Spoiler (rhetorial, I guess) question:
    
    Does anyone believe Susan will really put little Susie up for
    adoption???  How COULD she?!  (And how could it be legal, with Chloe
    gone only what, a few weeks?)
    
    Right where they want me [tuning in next week :-) ],
    Leslie

    
    	RE: Leslie
    
    
    
    	She doesn't want to, that's obvious ... but I think the inter-
    	view she had towards the end of the show really hit home with
    	her.  The part about the routine is what did it, when she real-
    	ized that her schedule would be flip-flopping back and forth
    	and that the baby would have a hard time adjusting to it.
    
    	And if she wanted to, she could make a very good case for Chloe
    	not being a suitable mother and more than likely have the baby
    	taken away from her.
    

    
    
    
    
    I sat there saying, "No, No don't do it!!!!!"
    
    I don't think she will in the end.  I think she'll come very close and
    then at the last second not be able to go through with it.
    
    As for the legality, while she was talking to Doug she mentioned that
    it would take 3 months before little Suzy would be considered legally
    abandonded, I'm sure that would have to be explained to the adoptive
    parents.
    
    Anyone know what's up with Kathleen Wilhote (Chloe), last season she
    was really thin, face very angular, and the 2 episodes she was in this
    season looked very heavy, like maybe she was pregnant in real life.
    
    I'm hooked, too.  I don't watch much tv, but every Thurs @10 I'm right
    there.
    
    /Susan

    
    	I thought Chloe was played by Carrie Snodgrass [sp?] ... no?
    

    No, I knew it wasn't Carrie S. but I knew I'd seen "Chloe" before (but
    where?).  It does look like she's put on some weight.
    
    Love your personal name, BTW (it's one of my all-time favorite movies)!
    
    Re Susan's dilemma, I missed the line about the 3 months.  I can
    sympathize (and see both sides), but AAGH!
    
    Leslie

    Carrie Snodgrass is pushing fifty by now.  She was in Chicago Hope
    this week, as the mother of the young Nazi who needed a heart
    transplant.                            

    
    	50??  You must be thinking of someone else.
    
    	Carrie co-starred with Charles Bronson in the movie where he was
    	arrested for killing his wife, and he escaped while handcuffed
    	to Carrie.  And she couldn't have been more than 20 at the time.
    
    	But I did look at an "E.R." cast list, and you're right, it's
    	not Carrie playing Chloe.  But it sure looks like her to me.
    

    Well, put it this way. If she's much younger than fifty, then she 
    hasn't aged well. Though granted playing the mother of a Nazi is 
    not exactly a glamor role. She could play Susan's mother more 
    convincingly than she could play her sister.
    
    Wasn't she in Diary of a Mad Housewife? Which is twenty years old,
    at least.

    
    	I looked her up in a "Movie guide" from last year and the only
    	one I recognized was the Bronson movie "Murphy's Law".  So I'm
    	not any more positive than I was.
    

    The actress who plays Chloe also played Benny's girlfriend in L.A. Law.

    Yes, Carrie Snodgrass starred with Richard Benjamin in "Diary of a Mad
    Housewife", which was made around 73.  
    
    John

    .112, Aha!  That's where I've seen her.  Thank you.
    
    Leslie

    Re: Chloe
    
    Is that Amanda Plummer?  (Sorry, I've never watched ER, but I remember
    LA Law.)  If it is, she was "honey bunny" in Pulp Fiction.
    
    Catherine
    

    
    	No, Sue was correct in reply 105 ... her name is Kathleen Wil-
    	hote, or something very similar.
    
    	I, ummm, didn't believe her, so I went home and checked.  8^)
    

    re. 116
    
    Aha, that will teach you!  8^)
    
    I take my ER very seriously (oh boy, I think I need a life 8^{} )
    
    /Susan

    Yep, it's Ms. Wilhotte (sp).  Not Amanda Plummer.  I believe they BOTH
    played Benny's love interests in "LA Law", and since they both usually
    play mousy-women type roles, they are often confused.
    
    
    kim

    No bennie's girlfried was Amanda Plummer -- i don't think this is the
    same person.

    Both women played Benny's girlfriends on LA Law.  Amanda Plummer was
    first -- with the over-protective Dad.  The actress playing Chloe was
    next, and the one he eventually married (at least they were planning to
    when I stopped watching LA Law).
    
    

So...why was last night's show a repeat already?

-stephen

    
    	I think ALL the Thursday shows were repeats, for some reason.
    

    No use wasting a new show against a world series game.

    
    	Why didn't "ER" participate in NBC's "Star-crossed Thursday"?
    

  Well that makes sense for four reasons I can think of. First ER is not
considered to be a Thursday night comedy, second they are set in Chicago not
in New York where the comedies are set, third the demographics of the audience
are such that fans would be less likely to recognize the characters, and fourth
it is probably harder to get ER's production schedule in sync with the simpler
comedies. 

  They did have two of the ER doctors on Friends last year but they didn't
attempt to integrate their story line in any way. In fact they didn't even
claim to be the same characters. 

  The real question is why didn't Seinfield participate in the star crossed
whatever. This is the 2nd time they've begged out of a a cross show gimmick. A
few years back all the N.Y. based Thursday night comedies had a running story
line about a blackout and all but Seinfield participated. 

  George 

    
    	Actually, I think I did mean to say "Seinfeld", but I was also
    	thinking of the "Friends" episode with the "ER" doctors at the
    	same time and wondering why they didn't do it again.
    

	Can anyone provide a run-down of last Thursday's show?
	(November 2, 1995)

	I mistakenly taped over it this weekend before I had a
	chance to watch it...

	Silly me and thanks in advance.

  Well ER had something I'd never seen before (we watch it every week). It had
a really bad show. It consisted mostly of George Clooney trying to extract a
kid from a pipe then bring him back to life but it just didn't work. If there
was one thing we learned it is that Clooney is rather limited as an actor. 

  The rest of the cast didn't do much. They pretty much phoned their parts in. 

  If there is one positive thing to say it is that even a bad ER is better than
a good Chicago Hope but then that's not saying much. Hope they are back on
track next week. 

  George 

    Well, I watched it instead of "Murder One" which I usually watch,
    because the paper and "ET" and etc all rated it as a very exceptionally 
    well done episode.  I don't watch "ER" very often, so I cannot really 
    compare it to much, but I thought it was pretty good and George actually 
    got to act in this one instead of just being another pretty face.  (I 
    like "Chicgo Hope" better myself, but with both Mandy Patinkin and Peter 
    McNicols leaving that show in next week's episode we will have to see how 
    that show develops.)

    RE: .128
    
    Ain't diversity great? I watched it last night and thought it to be 
    one of the better episodes. I guess I must not be much of a judge of
    good acting because I thought Clooney was excellent. 
    	
    Different strokes for different folks.
    
    --Leo 

    
    	Yeah, I thought it was an excellent show also.  Very moving, for
    	the most part, during the Clooney rescue.
    
    	Yes, he can act, but he sure seemed to grunt alot at first.
    

    I liked it too--my heart was in my mouth for the whole episode!--though
    I agree that there was way too much grunting in the culvert scenes. 
    Loved the way Carter told off the reporter: cold and decisive.
    
    Also: excellent photography when they were (suddenly) outside the
    culvert.  If it was 3 spliced shots, they were seamless, and the focus
    was tack-sharp.
    
    Both boys were good (loved the scare when the little brother banged on
    Doug's car window!!) and I look forward to Doug's afternoon at Wrigley
    Field with the older brother.
    
    Leslie

    I feel sorry for Doug's Firebird which got to sit in the rainstorm with
    the driver's side window open all that while.  Boy, is that gonna be a
    mess. :)
    
    
    
    kim

    
    	RE: Kim
    
    	You noticed that, eh?  8^)
    
    	[But I think it was closed when he went back to it to rummage
    	through the trunk, so someone apparently closed it.  Heck, if I
    	remember right, he had also left it running.]
    

    
    ...left it running with the headlights on...they were off when he went
    back to get the tire jack from the trunk.
    
    I also thought this was an excellent episode, but I can't wait to see
    what they're going to do with him next week.  (The previews showed
    glimpses of Doug getting a call from his father.)
    
    What did you all think of the woman who was growing her own "medicine" to
    fight the glaucoma... ;)
    
    -Brenda

    
    The suspense is killing me.
    
    Will Weaver let them play Doom next week or beat them with her cane?
    
    

  If someone had told me George Clooney's character was going to be flopping
around in the water with someone saying "UH, UH, UH, UH", I can't say I would
have been surprised but I wouldn't have pictured something rather different. 

  I found the grunting to be really distracting. What was that suppose to be
about anyway, is he suppose to have some gastro-intestinal problem? He didn't
sound out of breath, that's "HH, HH, HH", not "UH, UH, UH". 

  We both found ourselves saying "come on already" as the drain scene dragged
on and on. We guessed who was going to live and who was going to die about 10
minutes before it happened. The scene with Carter telling off the reporter
was completely unrealistic, a real reported would have ignored Carter and
kept badgering the couple as they walked down the hallway.

  Carter and his boss both being sour grapes over their busted love life is
getting old, they pretty much rung out what ever was left in those story lines
last week. I'm waiting for someone to tell them to "get over it, they're not
interested". Even Martinez on NYPD Blue was able to accept no for an answer
earlier in the week.

  But people seemed to love this show so if you liked it great, but it didn't
do much for me. In fact I thought it was so bad I was surprised they even ran
it and figured it drove a nail into the coffin of George Clooney's movie
prospects.

  George

    That shot after he dived looking for the boy the last time, and
    came up with him, was quite a trick. The sequence was well done I 
    thought, done in real time. I'd be grunting/gasping too. 
    
    I liked the digs at the annoying reporters 
    including the one on the chopper who got a great does-not-compute 
    look on his face when asked to put down the camera and help.
    
    Shades of the very scary scene in Ken Kesey's book and movie,
    Sometimes a Great Notion, with the logger pinned under a tree as the
    river rose.
    
    Now for the police to call with the news that they hauled Ross's car
    away and found a joint in it. Ha ha.
    
    Maybe the publicity from the rescue will force the head of Pediatrics
    to keep Ross on.

    I kept on waiting for the cops to show up, saying they'd found his car
    abandoned, and a joint in it....boy would the news have fun with that!
    
    
    I did find several tears running down my cheeks when the little girl
    died [the one who was hit on her bike].  Having young kids...who ride
    bikes in the street...
    
    
    I hope they don't drop this episode altogether; from what next week's
    previews show Doug's on report again.
    
    sandy

    
    	Ummm, reminder that not everyone has seen this show yet and might
    	not want to know how it ended.
    

  Oh yeah, here's another thing that gave me a chuckle. 

  Remember just before the little kid came and banged on the window when Ross
was getting ready to light up the joint? The way he was over acting you'd think
he was just about to shoot up with heroin. He was going to END IT ALL by taking
a drag on a joint. 

  Sort of hit me the same way that reefer madness did years ago. Seems a
medical doctor would know that it was relatively harmless and not at all
addictive.

  George

    -1
    
    next time, light up a doobie and try to enjoy the show will ya.
    
    heck...most people would be a bit paranoid, lighting up a joint
    in car. Unless they are regulars at it. Comes with the weed.
    
    Dave
    

    
    	Yes, I understood that to mean that it'd been awhile since he
    	last smoked 1, and he was debating whether or not to try it
    	again.  Possibly wondering whether he would start doing it
    	more often, especially if he was feeling down.
    
    	Regardless of the narcotic addiction [or lack thereof] factor,
    	he could become psychologically addicted in depressing times.
    

  Ok so here's a guy who plays Russian Roulette with AIDS every week by jumping
between the sheets with another strange lady terrified over the fact that he's
taking the plunge and lighting up a jay.

  And a doctor at that who should know better on both counts.

  Nope, I don't buy it. Not at all credible.

  George

    Plus the fact that if you were going to have to hassle with changing a
    tire in the rain, the last thing you'd need is to "get small"! 
    Realistically he'd deal with the tire FIRST.
    
    Leslie

  No doubt he realized he was near the end. On changing the tire he'd get lost
in inner space while crouching down with the lug wrench in hand getting wowed
out watching the ran flow off the spare.

  On recovering he'd get confused over which way to turn the wrench then get
lost in though once again wondering why they decided to make you turn it that
way in the 1st place. Where upon he'd wonder off into the rain in search of
Susan's old boy friend who suffered that same fate last year.

  Lucky for him that kid came and banged on the window when he did.

  George

    
    	Geez, and I thought he was going to smoke a joint.
    
    	You make it sound like he was ready to free-base cocaine or
    	crack or something.
    

  That's my point, I'm being a bit cynical.

  Check back a few notes and you'll see that I first criticized that scene
for being too much "Reefer Maddness".

  George

    I got the impression that the kid from the culvert that was saved
    wasn't really all there in the end, that he suffered brain damage
    from being underwater, heart stopped, etc.

    
    	Sorry, George ... missed the implied sarcasm.
    
    	In my defense, today IS Monday.
    

    I think last weeks episode was done well, I just don't like the
    way the writers are taking the ER out of the "ER". I noticed the
    difference from last year from the very first show. The first show
    actually SHOWED how the injuries happened, instead of hearing about
    them through the eyes of the ER people. The same with this weeks
    show. Too much of it happened outside of the ER. What I like most
    about ER is the fast paced, hectic, emotional scenes in the ER. 
    I don't really want to see how the person was shot or whatever.

    This has happened a couple time this season, and I keep hoping that
    it won't continue. 

    Just my opinion
    Marcie

    re: last night's episode
    
    
    
    Poor Mark - but I'm not surprised. 

    
    What happend to mark?  did his family get hurt in the accident?

>>    What happend to mark?  did his family get hurt in the accident?

Spoiler...

Yes, Jen and Rachael were in an accident, although Rachael is fine and 
despite surgery, it looks like Jen will be fine too.  But, Jen has fallen
in love with another man.  He and his daughter were in the car too when 
the accident happened.  They were all going to an office party or something.
He hung around the hospital, obviously very concerned, while Jen was in
surgery.  It was clear that something was up between them.  When Mark got
in to see his wife after her surgery, she asked if the other guy (I can't
remember his name) was still there.  Mark said yes.  Then he asked her if
she'd fallen in love with him.  She said, "I didn't mean to."

						Tracy

    Well, the show is about doctors.  That means the lawyer was bound to
    lose.  :)
    
    (Hey, didn't they get rid of the lawyer on "Chicago Hope", too? Proof
    of my theory. ;)
    
    
    
    kim

I'm not an ER fan, but I do like some of Tarentino's work (although he may be a
better writer than actor). I may tune in tonight. It might be interesting for ER
fans to note whether they notice differences for better or worse in tonight's
episode.

For a QT web page, see http://www.mind.net/nikko11/QT.html

Jeff

    It's a rerun of last year's "Mother's Day" episode, whichever that
    was.

    is it a repeat tonight?  I know that Quentin Tarentino had already
    directed one episode - I remember watching it and thinking that it
    looked a little more "maniacal" than usual

    Yes, it's a repeat.  New show next week, and then I think the other 4
    new shows won't be shown until May. 
    
    
    
    
    kim