# What happened the first half hour of ER 4-25? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 26, 2002, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-the-first-half-hour-of-er-4-25/105702 "2002-04-26T02:33:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Big\_Kahuna\_Burger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Big\_Kahuna\_Burger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Big_Kahuna_Burger)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-the-first-half-hour-of-er-4-25/105702/1 "2002-04-26T02:33:23Z")
I missed it, why does Star Wars have to be so addictive? Susan’s in New York, med students are screwing up and I think Carter has Mark’s old job, and I want to know why. ---
**Author:** ![SlightDistrurbance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SlightDistrurbance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlightDistrurbance)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-the-first-half-hour-of-er-4-25/105702/2 "2002-04-26T02:50:46Z")
Not sure if Carter has Mark’s old job, but I know he has his student. The students were attempting to save a patients life, and screwed up, didn’t call Carter. It started out with Abbey and Luca in her new apt, and Carter came in with flowers and saw her with a beer and left. Susan got a frantic call from Chloe’s daughter, and now Susan is in NY looking for her. That about sums it up. ---
**Author:** ![SlightDistrurbance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SlightDistrurbance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlightDistrurbance)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-the-first-half-hour-of-er-4-25/105702/3 "2002-04-26T02:53:15Z")
OH!!! Forgot to say something about Elizabeth getting a call form Rachel, and Romano asking Liz if there was anything he could do… If that wasn’t bad. I mean I’ve always rooted for the mean butthead, but I was touched. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-the-first-half-hour-of-er-4-25/105702/4 "2002-04-26T12:04:53Z")
Carter is Chief Resident, which was Mark’s old job way back, and was until recently, Chen’s old job. I think that Luka doesn’t know about Abby’s alcoholism. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-the-first-half-hour-of-er-4-25/105702/5 "2002-04-26T14:44:26Z")
**I think that Luka doesn’t know about Abby’s alcoholism.** Is that what Luca and Carter were talking about 40 minutes or so into the show? There was a scene when Carter was talking with Luca alone in a room. Carter even puts his hand on Luca’s chest for emphasis. It doesn’t look like either one was angry – just like Carter was being extremely frank. So what did they talk about? My wife was on the phone and muted the TV during this scene! ---
**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:** [April 26, 2002, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-the-first-half-hour-of-er-4-25/105702/6 "2002-04-26T14:48:13Z")
Okay, have to break in: Luka and Carter are hot. Hear that? LUKA AND CARTER ARE HOT!!! Okay, I’m better now. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Judith\_Prietht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b19c9b/32.png) [@Judith\_Prietht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Judith_Prietht)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-the-first-half-hour-of-er-4-25/105702/7 "2002-04-26T14:54:34Z")
Carter confronted Luka with his observation that Abby was drinking again, and that she’s an alcoholic. To which Luka replied that she’s a big girl and can take care of herself. At that point Carter was whisked away to an emergency. ---
**Author:** ![Slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-the-first-half-hour-of-er-4-25/105702/8 "2002-04-26T15:08:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bordelond \* > \*\*\*\*So what did they talk about? My wife was on the phone and muted the TV during this scene! \*\* Whooopeeesh! (kidding!) Luka didn’t think it was a big deal. Carter, who of course has struggled with addiction before, knows otherwise, so he gives Luka the third degree for letting her drink around him. ---
**Author:** ![Merlot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3e96dc/32.png) [@Merlot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merlot)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-the-first-half-hour-of-er-4-25/105702/9 "2002-04-26T15:29:02Z")
I also think the rivalry between Luca and Carter for Abby’s affections contributed to their somewhat heated exchange about Abby’s drinking. Remember the fencing duel? ---
**Author:** ![trishdish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d2c977/32.png) [@trishdish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/trishdish)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-the-first-half-hour-of-er-4-25/105702/10 "2002-04-26T16:13:07Z")
Last night’s ER was just one big commercial for Third Watch. That really pissed me off. If I want to watch Third Watch, I’ll watch it. But, don’t force me to because you’re continuing the plot line of ER on Monday night’s Third Watch. Plus, those Third Watch characters were such stereotypes of NYC police officers, ugh, if that’s what a typical Third Watch program entails, no thanks! My husband and I were laughing out loud last night at that storyline. ---
**Author:** ![Oblong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/c0e974/32.png) [@Oblong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oblong)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-the-first-half-hour-of-er-4-25/105702/11 "2002-04-26T17:18:11Z")
I think that’s such a gimmick and a scam. I didn’t know there would be a cross over and I asked the wife, when she got to NY, if that was the set from another show. It looked too detailed to be something just for ER. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-the-first-half-hour-of-er-4-25/105702/12 "2002-04-26T20:21:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bordelond \* > \*\ ***I think that Luka doesn’t know about Abby’s alcoholism.** > > Is that what Luca and Carter were talking about 40 minutes or so into the show? There was a scene when Carter was talking with Luca alone in a room. Carter even puts his hand on Luca’s chest for emphasis. It doesn’t look like either one was angry – just like Carter was being extremely frank. > > So what did they talk about? My wife was on the phone and muted the TV during this scene! \*\* Yes, that’s what they were talking about. Carter came over to Abby’s at the beginning of the show, when she moved back to her own apartment. Luka was there fixing the chain on the door, and she was drinking a beer, and Carter caught her. He later confronted Luka about her drinking, in sort of a “what are we going to do about it” way, and Luka was not very concerned, so I don’t think he knows that she’s a recovering alcoholic. She has been drinking around him before. **Guinastasia** , you can have Carter. I’ll take Luka. ::drool:: 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2002, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-the-first-half-hour-of-er-4-25/105702/13 "2002-04-27T00:44:48Z")
The crossover is company business as usual. Try not to let it get your doidies in a twist. The man who operated the Steadicam for the first few years on “E.R.” ( named Guy Bee ) is now apparently the Supervising Producer of “Third Watch”, having gone from “ER” to movies to shooting “Third Watch” to directing shows, to producing it now. There’s a LOT of cross-pollination amongst Warner Brothers’ Productions. I didn’t see the episode, I’ll catch it on re-runs I guess. If it was basically pimping for “Third Watch”, then that’s a shame. God knows “ER” doesn’t need the help. It seems to have done what only “M_A_S\*H” did before it. It’s moved players in and out, and still survived well as an ensemble piece. More power to it. Cartooniverse ---
**Author:** ![Oblong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/c0e974/32.png) [@Oblong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oblong)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2002, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-the-first-half-hour-of-er-4-25/105702/14 "2002-04-27T01:07:08Z")
It’s not the crossovers that’s the problem, that’s not unusual, it’s the “If you want to see what happens to Dr. Lewis and her sister, tune in to Third Watch on Monday” attitude. It would be different if it was a spinoff or characters were related. ---
**Author:** ![Calliope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Calliope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Calliope)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2002, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-the-first-half-hour-of-er-4-25/105702/15 "2002-04-27T01:16:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BiblioCat \* > **Guinastasia** , you can have Carter. I’ll take Luka. > ::drool:: 😛 \*\* And I’ll take seconds with either of them… ---
**Author:** ![evilhanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba8739/32.png) [@evilhanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilhanz)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2002, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-the-first-half-hour-of-er-4-25/105702/16 "2002-04-27T02:30:44Z")
According to editors over at TV Guide, Third Watch is on the bubble for next season. Whether it gets renewed or not will depend on its performance at the end of this season and the quality of the new crop of pilots. They’re simply trying to boost viewership in the last few weeks by tapping into the reservoir of ER viewers. It’s business as usual. I was irked by the crossover, too. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2002, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-the-first-half-hour-of-er-4-25/105702/17 "2002-04-27T02:44:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Oblong \* > \*\*It’s not the crossovers that’s the problem, that’s not unusual, it’s the “If you want to see what happens to Dr. Lewis and her sister, tune in to Third Watch on Monday” attitude. > > It would be different if it was a spinoff or characters were related. \*\* I got that impression too. I watch something on Monday nights, but I _might_ tape 3rd watch if my Dad isn’t taping a sporting event. I don’t like it being resolved on another show, though, since I’ve never seen 3rd watch before… ---
**Author:** ![Hazel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Hazel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazel)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2002, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-the-first-half-hour-of-er-4-25/105702/18 "2002-04-28T14:04:31Z")
I usually like it when shows do crossovers. I loved it when _Magnum, PI_ and _Murder, She Wrote_ had a crossover. But usually, it’s set up so that each episode can be seen as a stand-alone, so the episode can be shown when the show goes into syndication. In this case, they didn’t do that. This annoys me. I can’t watch the conclusion of the story on _Third Watch_ as it conflicts with _Angel,_ a show I can’t possibly miss. Re the whole Abby drinking thing – Carter has cirtainly internalized the whole AA position. He’s convinced that if Abby has one beer today, she’ll inevitably have two tomorrow and six the next day. I’d say, not necessarily. I’d say that this will be the case **only** if she is the particular type of alcoholic that AA thinks is the only kind that exists. I don’t agree. I think that there are many ways to get into trouble with alcohol, and that total teetotal-ness is not the only solution. But I don’t suppose _ER_ will be brave enough to be so un-PC as to have Abby discover that she can drink in moderation. I get it that the theory is that the best or only solution for an alcoholic is complete abstinence. But I don’t get why Carter is supposed to abstain from alcohol. He had a drug problem, not a booze problem. Is the theory that if a recovering adict drinks alcohol, he’ll inevitably become an alcoholic? I don’t see that that would necessarily be the case. Esp. re Carter, whose drug problem seems to have been situational\*, rather then the the result of possing any sort of “adictive personality”. With someone like Carter, change the situation that caused the problem, and that should solve the problem. \*two factors: physical pain and post-traumatic stress ---
**Author:** ![Big\_Kahuna\_Burger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Big\_Kahuna\_Burger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Big_Kahuna_Burger)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2002, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-the-first-half-hour-of-er-4-25/105702/19 "2002-04-28T17:20:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Hazel \* > Re the whole Abby drinking thing – Carter has cirtainly internalized the whole AA position. He’s convinced that if Abby has one beer today, she’ll inevitably have two tomorrow and six the next day. I’d say, not necessarily. I’d say that this will be the case **only** if she is the particular type of alcoholic that AA thinks is the only kind that exists. I don’t agree. I think that there are many ways to get into trouble with alcohol, and that total teetotal-ness is not the only solution. But I don’t suppose _ER_ will be brave enough to be so un-PC as to have Abby discover that she can drink in moderation. > \*\* They already have shown her drinking in moderation. Look at the episode where she first meets the beaten wife–they have beers on the apartment staircase. I don’t know what would make her fall off the wagon now.