What a rip. The network made a big deal out of advertising Dr. Carter’s return, and it turns out to be a few seconds at the very end, when he’s shown in a helicopter.
Otherwise: There wasn’t much of a reason to include Sam and her kid in this ep., except that Luka wanted to tell her about Abby’s pregnancy before anyone else did.
Dr. Clemente: I can see why you’re upset; your lover was blown full of bullet holes. But come on, let the other docs do their jobs without your attempted interference.
Who the heck is the new female doc with the long dark hair and the attitude? Did she just pop up last night, or was she there before the hiatus?
Yeah, that episode made me wonder why I’m still watching this show. I mean, there have been ads for week proclaiming “the return of Dr. Carter” and he had, what, 10 seconds of screen time?
What is the point of having Abbie and Luka stressing over the amnio results? Sure, they are both doctors, so they know that stuff can go wrong, but I don’t think the show has made any indications that anything is wrong. I can’t see getting that stressed over a routine amnio. I’m not a parent so maybe I’m off base with this one, but that subplot seemed to be there just to try to add drama.
I think the hot dark-haired surgery chief resident has been around for a few episodes. Her attitude really annoys me–what problem does she have with Neela, other than the fact that she is a woman?
And Clemente’s behavior was really annoying too. I mean, sure he was high, but he still needed to back off. They really should have sedated him before he could get away and start bothering the people in the OR.
I should probably just stick to watching House and Scrubs
Who was the woman in the chopper with Carter? Didn’t look like Kem.
Best part of the episode was Callie Thorne, when her husband was in the room. She played that perfectly. Emmy time for her.
It was almost a quintessential ER episode. Did they miss any of the ER cliches? I think they hit 'em all.
Nice touch, the song at the end, to make sure we get it. Regrets, hope, loneliness.
It was Mary McCormack, a Red Cross worker (a nurse, maybe?) who works in Africa and helped Carter find Luka when he went back to find him when he thought he was dead - I forget her character’s name.
I saw her name in the credits along with Noah Wylie and thought we’d be getting an Africa storyline somehow tied into the Chicago ER, but then I blinked there at the end and missed both of them. :rolleyes:
It was Mary McCormack, a Red Cross worker (a nurse, maybe?) who works in Africa and helped Carter find Luka when he went back to find him when he thought he was dead - I forget her character’s name.
I saw her name in the credits along with Noah Wylie and thought we’d be getting an Africa storyline somehow tied into the Chicago ER, but then I blinked there at the end and missed both of them. :rolleyes:
I’ve kind of been watching off and on this year and for the past few years, and the episodes have been kind of dismal, a real fall from where they were.
Then there was the James Woods episode two weeks ago about a professor with ALS that was absolutely wonderful, as good as anything I’ve seen on ER. Maybe it is because I’ve worked with ALS patients, maybe it’s because they got the disease pitch perfect, maybe because they did a great mix of medicine and drama like in the old days…
But then this week was right back in the toilet. I understand the hottie was a cop’s wife. I understand Clemente has problems. But how can they seriously focus an investigation on him when he was shot? Give me a break about shooting himself, that’s just idiotic, haven’t you heard of Occam’s razor? Anyway, I don’t care about any of the characters or their personal lives anymore. Luka and Abby are in a relationship out of convenience, again, without resolving any of their old problems, and have papered it over with a pregnancy. Not much new plot potential there. Clemente we barely know and they are already shooting him. For the nine millionth time, they gave someone a shot at happiness (Neela and her husband), just to shatter it into a million pieces for no discernable reason except to keep the characters miserable. And Mekhi Pfeiffer and the rockstar doctor just seem to be hanging around as transparent characters. If they were killed off next week, I wouldn’t even notice them gone.
The Shark has been jumped so many times by this series…
Maybe they can arrange for Luka’s new kid to be Autistic, and maybe the entire run can be in the kid’s head?
I also had problems with a weeks worth of “the return of Dr. Carter” turning out to be a ten second helicopter ride. Not really because I care, but because it’s cheap and dishonest.
NBC might be putting ER on the shelf for a couple of weeks for the olympics and wanted let us know that a Dr. Carter storyline was coming at the end of the month.
I think ER might have another year or two left in the tank. And if the network had more overall success, they might have considered pulling the plug even sooner. It will soon reach the “7th heaven” plateau…too expensive to produce for the return realized.
Abby and Luka were likely stressing for a couple of reasons, Hirundo82.
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As doctors, they’re painfully aware of the odds and see the million ways things go wrong all the time. Most expectant parents have vague “Just want a healthy baby” hopes, doctors’ lists must be much longer “Just want no spinal bifida, cerebral palsy, ALS, neural tube defects, Down’s syndrome, hypospadias, cleft palate, etc.”
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Since it was an accidental pregnancy to begin with, the possibility of a severe enough chromosomal defect that might make Abby decide to abort would likely mean no future attempts.
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Abby’s in the dreaded ‘after 35’ age group that increases every risk factor.
So they didn’t utterly trip out, she was pretty quiet about her anxiety, it seemed spot on to me.
I’ve loved Leguizamo as a performer, but can’t get into this storyline at all. I’ll agree that Callie’s performance when faced with the scary ex was fabulous, but sadly it’s the first time I’ve felt anything for her character. They set us up from the beginning with the whole Doctor who blows thru different jobs scenario, I figure he’s overdue for a flameout.
After the very good episode with James Woods, this was indeed disappointing.
A more fitting end would be the series ending with Carter flying off in a helicopter, with the the word “Goodbye” spelled out in Dr. Romano’s lost limbs… 