# \*\* ER \*\* 11/20/03 Episode **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 21, 2003, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/er-11-20-03-episode/214438 "2003-11-21T03:32:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![LilShieste](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@LilShieste](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilShieste)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/er-11-20-03-episode/214438/1 "2003-11-21T03:32:40Z")
It isn’t over yet (half-hour into the episode) but… The helicopter scene caught me REALLY off-guard. I was thinking they were showing too much in the commercials for this episode, but… not even close, IMHO. Wow. LilShieste ---
**Author:** ![MonkeyMule](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc348/32.png) [@MonkeyMule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MonkeyMule)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/er-11-20-03-episode/214438/2 "2003-11-21T04:00:09Z")
What shocked me about this one is that no one even knows that Romano is dead. And I hate ER now. All teh Really interesting players have moved off stage. Romano was a uniquie personality, the rest of the cast are very bland. Other then Pratt and that Fuck up weed head doc, they all are prettty mucht he same. Man Networks know how to ruin a show ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/er-11-20-03-episode/214438/3 "2003-11-21T04:02:50Z")
Holy flurking shnitt! That was a pretty damn impressive crash sequence! I guess Romano was right to fear the helicopter. That was so shocking! I wish, however, that they hadn’t shown him in a moment of weakness just before it happened. I know they did that to humanize him, but it would have been great to see him be his typical asshole self to someone and then he walks outside and BAM! Justice! Oh well, I would say good riddance, but I’ll actually miss his character because he was someone you could really love to hate. ---
**Author:** ![DeepPurple](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@DeepPurple](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeepPurple)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/er-11-20-03-episode/214438/4 "2003-11-21T04:08:18Z")
I’m not the kind to get bent out of shape about this stuff, but I agree. I really hope they know what they are doing, I think the spice is gone. I’m also irritated by the fact they are making this drag on for another week. I know, it’s good for ratings…I hate them for taking this step, I hate me for wanting to see more. Morris pissing himself waiting at the desk would be slightly amusing. ---
**Author:** ![MamaHen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c89c15/32.png) [@MamaHen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MamaHen)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/er-11-20-03-episode/214438/5 "2003-11-21T04:22:13Z")
I was impressed by tonight’s episode. They caught me just like when they killed Lucy, I wasn’t ready for this. I admit it, I cried but it was during Susan’s scenes. I am so impressed, I really didn’t think ER could get to me like this anymore. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/er-11-20-03-episode/214438/6 "2003-11-21T04:22:54Z")
Bear in mind that such decisions are often made by the actors, when they choose to pursue other opportunities. Paul McCrane, who played Romano, gets a lot of roles, so he just might have gotten a chance to do something else. ---
**Author:** ![MonkeyMule](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc348/32.png) [@MonkeyMule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MonkeyMule)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/er-11-20-03-episode/214438/7 "2003-11-21T04:27:31Z")
So thats why they Killed lucy? beacuse she left the show. Man she was the ONLY woman that could handle Carter, she had him twisted around her finger ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/er-11-20-03-episode/214438/8 "2003-11-21T04:40:57Z")
Definitely a good episode! I was frustrated that they decided to end it before anyone knew what happened to Romano, but at the same time, why should they know so soon? And how would they fit the reactions of the other characters into the show, what with so much else going on? It would have made the show unrealistic and rushed, I think. I knew Romano was leaving, and I knew that he was going to be killed off, but this was way more than I expected! Had me sitting on the edge of my seat, waiting for someone to call out 'There’s someone under the helicopter!" I thought Susan would see his arm, when she was treating that woman outside. I didn’t even realise she was worried about her ex - I thought she knew Romano was there. I will definitely tune in next week to see what happens! ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/er-11-20-03-episode/214438/9 "2003-11-21T06:36:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by MonkeyMule \* > \*\*So thats why they Killed lucy? beacuse she left the show. Man she was the ONLY woman that could handle Carter, she had him twisted around her finger \*\* Kellie Martin wanted to leave because working on a show about a hospital with people dying was especially difficult for her as she had lost her sister to a terminal illness right after she started the show. ---
**Author:** ![Avalonian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@Avalonian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avalonian)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/er-11-20-03-episode/214438/10 "2003-11-21T06:45:00Z")
The thing with Romano was dramatic, and satisfying in a sort of brutal way… but damn if it didn’t just feel like the lame punchline of a bad joke. As the Church Lady said, “Well isn’t that con_veeeeeen_ient?” Yeah, a bit too much. In general, the scenes that seemed to really _want_ to be intense just weren’t. Sort of a disappointing episode, despite the “big event.” Or perhaps because of it. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/er-11-20-03-episode/214438/11 "2003-11-21T07:16:42Z")
Carter’s cameo was kind of goofy though. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/er-11-20-03-episode/214438/12 "2003-11-21T08:07:31Z")
I thought the whole “Return of Helicopter” thing was a bit much – as someone said in another thread, a bit like the white whale coming back for Ahab. And it seemed almost gleeful to me – let’s drop a helicopter on him! Kind of like when they killed off the bitchy woman lawyer on L.A. Law by dropping her down an elevator shaft. (Bet I just dated myself there, huh?) And I am getting sooooooo sick of every other episode being The Biggest ER Ever! You’ve Never Seen Anything Like This!! _Someone’s Going To Die!!!_ All the interesting characters have been killed off or have left, IMO (with the exception of Abby), and now it feels like they’re trying too hard. ---
**Author:** ![Hydrocortisone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e19b73/32.png) [@Hydrocortisone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hydrocortisone)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/er-11-20-03-episode/214438/13 "2003-11-21T08:46:50Z")
> [@](#): > > bit like the white whale coming back for Ahab. More like the crocodile and Hook. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/er-11-20-03-episode/214438/14 "2003-11-21T11:19:06Z")
OOO! I like the crocodile and Captain Hook angle - hey, the chopper even had a watch on board! _…tick…tick…tick…_ Part of me was going “WHEN are they going to notice the one-armed crispy critter under the chopper?” and part of me was going “Ding, dong, Romano’s gone —” _Really_, you almost expected two feet to be sticking out from under the wreck. If they had had red loafers on it really would have been over the top (or under the bottom). I did think they nicely captured the terrifying experience of Aviation Gone Bad. Oh, man - that chunk of rotor blade slamming into the wall next to Neela and that nurse! (And me yelling “Get DOWN you twits! Get DOWN! Forget messing with the damn gurney and DROP!”) {{{shiver}}} Worse yet, the chunk that slammed into the nurse. (I _told_ you to DUCK you stupid b\*\*\*\*\*!") That nasty, slow-motion period when you KNOW things are going Very Bad Indeed and there is _nothing_ you can do. That awful nastiness when the magic goes away and the flying thing drops like a flaming rock. I think it’s entirely plausible Romano’s absence would go unnoticed - after all, they’re only _expecting_ four bodies in the chopper and they found 'em. After that, it’s put out the fire, drag off the wounded, and by then Romano isn’t exactly looking like himself, if you know what I mean. Just one more lump of burned wreckage. Meanwhile, there aren’t enough doctors to go around and plenty of mass confusion. There IS something bizarrely appropriate about him suffering Death by Helicoptor. Forget the scythe, that is soooo old fasioned, The Grim Reaper harvests with rotorblades now. Very nice bit with Susan and Chuck - although I get tired of just about everyone suffering Major Ilness, Injury, and Surgery on this show. Gosh, what can I say? I’m a sucker for medical shows and disasters, including aircraft crashes. Hey, _I_ enjoyed the show in a sick, perverted way. Fire! Blood! Death! Lucky for ya’ll (and me), I like my reality very tame and uneventful. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/er-11-20-03-episode/214438/15 "2003-11-21T12:10:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by MonkeyMule \* > \*\*So thats why they Killed lucy? beacuse she left the show. Man she was the ONLY woman that could handle Carter, she had him twisted around her finger \*\* No way! That chick in the tent seemed to be handling him pretty well. he he he… I loved this episode, and I’m so glad he got squished!! One question… I thought I noticed (that new hot med student who hung out with Abby today and finally got some coffee - whatever her name is) while she was pushing the portable ultrasound cart from one room to the other, she avoided the room with a charged AED in it. And, Susan looked up to make sure that the machine was not in the room before she discharged the AED and shocked the patient. It was like she was about to go through that trauma room, but then went a different way because she saw the AED in use. And Susan hesitated before shocking to make sure the machine was not brought in the room. Was I seeing things? Would the EMP from the AED damage the ultrasound machine?? Was there some other issue? Or was I just seeing things?? Also… I was so NOTimpressed by Abby’s intubation. Why is that always a big deal on the show??? It’s not that freakin difficult. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/er-11-20-03-episode/214438/16 "2003-11-21T13:02:19Z")
I don’t think this will be wrapped up next week. Sweeps ends next Wednesday, and they’re not going to show a new episode on Thanksgiving. We may have to wait until December for them to find Romano. It pissed me off so royally that Morris sat on his ass while the ER was exploding around him. “Romano told me not to move.” That’s the difference between him and Pratt. Romano tells Pratt he’s fired, Pratt shrugs and goes right back to work. Whereas Pothead sits at the admit desk. I guess that just goes to show he doesn’t have it in him to be a doctor. I knew Romano was going to die (I shouldn’t read spoiler boxes) but it shocked me when Chuck died, then he came back, then he collapsed. I hope Susan doesn’t decide to hook up with him in her moment of weakness. I thought there would be more to the pictures on the camera Frank found…that kind of fizzled. Is Chuny going to be okay, or is she paralyzed? And what exactly happened to the chopper to make it crash? ---
**Author:** ![Suse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@Suse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suse)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/er-11-20-03-episode/214438/17 "2003-11-21T13:08:54Z")
So it _was_ Chuny up there! I looked but couldn’t tell. I’ve heard that Paul McCrane didn’t really want to leave, but wasn’t given a choice. It’s my understanding that the winds caused the crash. Re the intubation question, I think an attending is at least supposed to be present in that ER, which is why it was a big deal for Abby to do it alone. This episode really got me; I hadn’t heard any rumors beforehand and I was shocked. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/er-11-20-03-episode/214438/18 "2003-11-21T13:12:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Avalonian \* > **The thing with Romano was dramatic, and satisfying in a sort of brutal way… but damn if it didn’t just feel like the lame punchline of a bad joke.** So… are we the only ones who laughed? Granted, we knew what was going to happen, and we knew that it would be a helicopter. Romano is also our favourite character. He was always such an ass that he made us laugh. Disappointed that he’s gone. > [@](#): > > Originally by Apos > **Carter’s cameo was kind of goofy though.** I immediately thought “man, when he gets back he’s gonna have one weird tan line from that beard…” ---
**Author:** ![dav01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8491ac/32.png) [@dav01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dav01)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/er-11-20-03-episode/214438/19 "2003-11-21T13:21:57Z")
What I don’t understand is, where was Chuck when the chopper crashed? He wasn’t on the roof because there were several wide shots of the roof while the chopper was spinning out of control, but he was close enough to be injured by it (had his spleen removed). He wasn’t in the elevator w/the other two. Where else could he have gone? Seems like his absence was just convenient enough to make you think he was in the chopper, only to miraculously show up in the ER. Hmmmm. ---
**Author:** ![Lux\_Interior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@Lux\_Interior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lux_Interior)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/er-11-20-03-episode/214438/20 "2003-11-21T13:31:46Z")
> [@](#): > > and part of me was going “Ding, dong, Romano’s gone —” Yes! I clapped and said “The wicked witch is dead!” > [@](#): > > but it shocked me when Chuck died, then he came back, Uhh… where DID he go? He was on the roof. Did he scale down the side of the building because the elevator was too slow, or something? > [@](#): > > And what exactly happened to the chopper to make it crash? The wind. They showed a close up of the windsock shifting rapidly as the chopper had just become airborne. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/er-11-20-03-episode/214438.md?page=2)