Good episode, more later.
0 Kudo
15.17 T minus 6
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 Iczer eh |
15.17 T minus 6 |
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Posts: 1192 (02/27/09 04:34 AM) |
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Trunkfish |
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Posts: 857 (02/27/09 09:43 AM) |
When I saw Carter in that dialysis chair just before the episode name, the image of Lily Tomlin playing the little girl in that giant rocking chair flashed in
my mind. We need more of the Banfield fakeout type scenes. He almost had me going. I thought, what, did Banfield put herself on some volunteer kidney registry?
Very funny.
Just to get this out of the way...Carter has been gone 3.5 years, not 5. Surgeons don't get an attending position after a 3 year residency. There. This was an entertaining episode all around. Except for the choice of song, I even liked Sam and her mother. You could see the disappointment on Sam's face when she realized that her mother didn't actually remember her. I ignored the Gates and Sam reconciliation bits. I was pleasantly surprised that the incident with the police beating didn't turn into an issue with Morris and his cop. There was concern and discussion but no fighting or moralizing on Morris' part. Whoever cast the little girl deserves a bottle of scotch. |
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Pandorama |
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Posts: 706 (02/27/09 02:59 PM) |
I actually forgot how much I enjoyed Carter messing with people - he has a way of making other characters seem more relevant and interesting. And if anyone can
make Banfield seem relevant and interesting, I have to give them props.
Nice to know they made Carter's kidney story legit...and Trunkfish, nothing about Neela's surgery rotation was believable. Comparing her surgical training to Carters and Elizabeth's, as well as, oh, say, the real world, it's completely unbelievable. |
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legaleagle1 |
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Posts: 4791 (02/28/09 01:28 AM) Member |
I get the feeling that this whole Brenner abuse storyline is something tptb originally intended to do with Carter several seasons ago, and gave up on in favor
of the addiction storyline, possibly because NW refused to go along with it. Since nobody on the face of the earth gives a flying f#ck about Brenner,
naturally it is bombing.
Yeah, pretty much none of Neela's career trajectory has been believable since she decided not to take her original internship, but I always liked her interactions with Dubenko, and I'm sorry to see her leave. As for her dispute with Carter over the surgical case, I don't think they gave us enough information about the case to make it clear why either one of them was so sure they were right. The scene with Sam's mother was some of the best work LC has done on the show, not that that's a huge hurdle to clear. But I have definitely been watching this show for too long; all I could think was that the actress playing the mother looked an awful lot like Mare Winningham, who played that nutty ER Chief who got all obsessed with Mark Greene back in the day; what was her name? Still liked Morris with Claudia. As for the Carter storyline, meh. I suppose it is too much to hope for that tptb will kill him off, but from the previews I think it is at least possible that the visits from SS and ELS will be in dream sequences or the result of delirium while he is in kidney failure. In his presence, Stamos' lack of talent is slightly less grating; NW levels the playing field a bit. |
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Mrs S Eyre |
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Posts: 5568 (02/28/09 04:45 AM) Member |
what was her name? Amanda Lee.
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Common sense: not all that common and frequently not very sensible |
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momentator |
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Posts: 700 (02/28/09 09:14 AM) |
Brenner abuse storyline is something tptb originally intended to do with Carter several seasons ago and gave up on in favor of the addiction storyline,
possibly because NW refused to go along with it
Possibly, but the story of Carter's childhood molestation didn't come out until "Secrets and Lies" after the addiction story was a couple of seasons old. So they would have had to give him a molestation story on top of an addiction story. Thank goodness that didn't happen. My alternative theory is that TPTB got so much negative feedback from the casual way they tossed out Carter's story--and treated it as a "seduction"-- that they're trying to do a "make-good" now with Brenner. I think both NW/Carter and AE/Mark benefitted from their years of absence and the opportunity to come back simply as guest stars, without the dreary burden of Carrying the Torch or being the Moral Center of the ER. They've both been less pretentious and more like their early-seasons characters. But am I the only one totally appalled by Banfield's awful, inexcusable behavior at the adoption seminar--and they had have her long-suffering husband act out too, and slug another prospective parent? How is it that an actress I formerly had such respect for became the most awful female character ever on ER?? And boy, is that saying a mouthfull.
Last Edited By: momentator
02/28/09 09:18 AM.
Edited 1 times.
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Pandorama |
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Posts: 710 (02/28/09 02:12 PM) |
I've wondered before if Carter's 25-year-old maid was really an attempt at a molestation storyline, a joke that was written in without a complete
thought, or the result of one of the writers coming to work high. It seemed...awkward. But I never pretend to know WTF is up with TPTB...
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Iczer eh |
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Posts: 1193 (02/28/09 02:30 PM) |
But am I the only one totally appalled by Banfield's awful, inexcusable behavior at the adoption seminar It was ridiculous - she's worried about her clothes making her look nurturing enough to be accepted, then the minute she hears that the fees for adopting an AA baby are lower to encourage parents, she starts crabbing about it loud enough to pi.ss off others?? Do TPTB want us to cheer for or against her getting a baby??? Also appalled by Banfield undermining Carter on his first day back. If she thinks he needs someone to help him catch up on new rules, work it out privately, don't announce to the whole staff he shouldn't run cases without a resident to supervise him, ye ghods, Gates didn't need any more encouragement. Loved the whole reveal scene in the trauma room. Very dry matter of fact retelling of the stabbing - no weepy emo - and then beautiful payback zinger with the fakeout request for the kidney. I'm liking the sardonic twist they've given him for approaching what is just a horrible life-threatening situation. Bonus points for dropping the whole hiding-his-condition-from-everyone-but-Benton angle. Noah Wyle said in an interview this episode was originally the script for the finale until they got Clooney and 3 more eps and it shows although there were some obvious changes, it would have been a nice send off for the series and bookend Carter's first day in the premiere. I've wondered before if Carter's 25-year-old maid was really an attempt at a molestation storyline, a joke that was written in without a complete thought, or the result of one of the writers coming to work high. I'm going to go with B&C cause whoever put it in didn't think twice about having women laughing like hyenas at the idea of an 11 year old boy and a 25 year old woman having sex. They've never done a patient molestation reveal where it wasn't supposed to be taken very seriously. That said, I'm enjoying Brenner's storyline and acting for what we have now, but they made yet another massive mistake in the way they introduced him as a creep which made fans not give a damn about his issues. Speaking of creeps - Sam's Liitle Sis - she moved a fragile, altered woman halfway across the country to be near a daughter she can't recognize?? Then bails. Lovely. LC did some of her best work in years, playing Sam being a good nurse and approaching her mother just like any other patient but still, there's no excuse for being forced into that situation. Sis could have left mom where she was comfortable and familiar and arranged for someone else to check in on her from time to time.
Last Edited By: Iczer eh
02/28/09 02:41 PM.
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lukafic |
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Posts: 430 (02/28/09 03:59 PM) |
Noah Wyle said in an interview this episode was originally the script for the finale until they got Clooney and 3 more eps and it shows although there were
some obvious changes, it would have been a nice send off for the series and bookend Carter's first day in the premiere.
______________ This makes so much sense--and it would have made a nice finale. Love LC in Sam's scenes with her mom--all the best parts of Sam (I've always like her with patients.) Her sister really is a creep; mom's parenting skills must have been really poor. I get that molestation leads to sexual promiscuity and such, but wouldn't it have been better if TPTB had given us a clue as to why Brenner is the way he is before sticking him bed with two bimbos as his introduction? Oh, and if he was worried about Lucy, he should have called her social worker to check on things rather than handling it himself (oh, I kill myself sometimes, I'm so funny...) Banfield at the adoption seminar--just plain icky. Banfield with Carter at the end--perfect. Love his "gotcha" moment. Poor Lucien; his baby's going to fly away. I do love the scenes with LO and PN--they work so well together. All in all a good episode. As for11-year-old Carter and the maid--I always felt it was a writer's wish-fullfillment--a "look at how manly I (the writer) could be be, bedding an older woman at such a young age!" Icky, but not character-specific. |
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Pandorama |
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Posts: 712 (02/28/09 04:25 PM) |
lukafic wrote: Perhaps NW felt emasculated in that episode and requested he be made to seem like a playa' from day one. After all, he was sort of a prissy arse in S&L. I've never seen such a pansy fight as him running at Luka. |
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Iczer eh |
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Posts: 1196 (02/28/09 07:04 PM) |
Not likely. The actor talked about his first experience at age 13 (with a drunk 18-year old girl) and how conflicted he felt about it. Much more likely John
Wells just didn't think through all the implications of what was supposed to be a throwaway line. That whole episode was made of pure stupid anyway.
Ep 21 is supposed to have Brennan reaching some sort of realization about his issues (hey buddy - t-h-e-r-a-p-y). Would be sensible and interesting for Carter to figure into that with this maid experience to relate to, but I'm not holding my breath. |
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Pandorama |
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Posts: 713 (02/28/09 09:09 PM) |
It was more a chance to take a jab at Carter, not a real theory. And, for the record, I loved S&L.
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elsbells72 |
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Posts: 14 (03/04/09 07:01 AM) |
Another good episodes. It's been a while since there were two consecutive good episodes. Agree with most re Banfield, tone it down a bit. Carter's
story is playing out well. Surprised but glad there was no fall out from last week with Morris and Claudia.
Am sad that each episode that I watch reminds me that there are only a few left. I hope that the cast manage to get decent acting roles after ER finishes as they are all very good and deserve a chance to shine. Also I'm developing a serious crush on David Lyons. I know most people here have a thing for foreign accents but his very light Aussie accent does it for me every time. 
Finally, what does T minus 6 mean? I know Sam mentioned it in the episode but I wondering if I missed something. |
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miq |
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Posts: 22 (05/11/09 05:29 PM) |
elsbells72 wrote: It means that there were 6 minutes left of Sam's shift. |
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