4271. JudithAtHome - 2/11/00 5:06:03 AM
Does anyone here watch ER? I've never watched it but was wondering what happened last night that caused that British chick to say, "Oh my God..." in the ads for last nights episode. It didn't interest me enough to watch the show but I'm curious...

4273. CalGal - 2/11/00 6:20:15 AM
They killed off Lucy and Carter's badly wounded.

4274. JudithAtHome - 2/11/00 6:27:55 AM
Okay...who are those 2 in real life? Is Lucy Kelly Martin?

4275. Dantheman - 2/11/00 6:33:21 AM
Juditha,
Yes. Carter's Noah Wyle.

4276. glendajean - 2/11/00 6:50:18 AM
Oh, my god. Did Lucy die? I watched it but thought that they both had an opportunity to survive.

The promos were misleading because the reactions aren't taking place till next week.

4277. CalGal - 2/11/00 7:56:15 AM
Well, Kelli Martin announced her departure from the show a month ago, so I'm figuring she's dead.

Yeah, I noticed that about the promos, but it was probably a fair thing to do--if they hadn't made it clear that something BIG was going to happen, who would have watched?

Did anyone notice that they were looking for the bigger knife to cut the cake and Lucy found the patient in that room?

One thing to remember about ER--if Carter is brusque and impatient, he's gonna be punished.

4293. glendajean - 2/11/00 11:12:00 AM
Cal, thanks for the ER update. I'm sorry they killed her character off. I enjoyed her in this series and in the one where she was girlfriend to Rob Lowe's brother Chad. (they are brothers, aren't they?). Poor Carter. It's nice to see his character go full arc, particularly in his interactions with the nurse turned doctor on letting an elderly patient die on her own terms. He used to be the one fighting to keep old people alive. Still, he stroked the woman's forhead and made her feeling comfortable.

Last night's episode was much more about death than other episodes, with the two parents dying, the doctor facing death from cancer, and then the attack on Lucy and Carter.

And John Cullum, formerly a Shakespearean actor who ended up doing musicals on Broadway before his Northern Exposure role as Holley, got to sing show tunes. Gripping show.

4294. CalGal - 2/11/00 11:19:49 AM
John Cullum is in 1776 as Edward Rutledge, youngest delegate from South Carolina, and every time he says, "And what happens to South Carolina?" I tell him, "South Carolina moves to Alaska and shacks up with an 18 year old."

The scene with Luka and the kids is wonderful; particularly when the boy says he wants to see his mother and Luka doesn't try to talk him out of it, but just gently prepares him for it. Beautifully done.

I have never liked Lucy or Kelli Martin, so I won't miss her. In fact, I don't care all that much for ER any more--I just tuned in because I knew what happened. Carter was irritating as all hell, and I imagine he'll have to take some heat for not supporting Lucy and making damn sure that Psych came down to check out a possible undiagnosed schizophrenic.

Still, it was a good episode. One character I particularly like is Maura Tierney from News Radio (nurse turned doctor)--I hope her character gets more to do. Dump the skank from Homicide though. (CalGal, she never forgets.)

4799. glendajean - 2/18/00 11:06:43 AM
I watched ER last night. The past two episdoes were quite riveting, (Cal you called Lucy's death last week), but I wonder how many more years are left for the series.

BTW, Carie's reactions to the stabbings were the most interesting, that and Benton's feelings for Carter.

4800. CalGal - 2/18/00 2:25:11 PM
Thoughts on the ER episode:

• Best demo of acting chops put on by the three traditional hardasses on the show--Weaver (Laura Innes), Benton (Eric LaSalle) and Romano (Paul someone or other). All three of them were superb--managed frantic haste, fear, concern, pain, grief and never once overplayed.
• Innes in particular was heartbreaking--I can't tell yet if Weaver's additional pain is only due to anger and grief at the failure of management, or if something else is going on with her, but it was beautiful. She is ignored too often by Emmy noms.
• LaSalle was excellent in his scenes with Carter particularly, as well as his complete absorption in Carter's wellbeing.
• Romano (who has always had a soft spot for Lucy) was particularly effective when he first calmly calls her death--having forgotten who he was working on--and then realizes it and loses it for a moment. Very, very touching at the end to see him sewing up the chest and Weaver cutting the thread.
• Lucy mouthing "Thank You" was a jaw-clencher, unless you just wanted to burst into tears.
• They should have cut out Mark Green (Edwards) along with Margulies (which was a good move). He was not only wasted; I began to actively dislike him.
• John Aylward, as Anspaugh, was excellent in his few scenes. I particularly liked the way Benton treated him as if he were being an old fusspot, and he suddenly became authoritative and held his ground--saving Carter's kidney as a result. Nice writing there as well.
• The scene at Magoo's was wasted.
• Psychoboy was extremely good--he's the kid who was in Addams Family Values
• The director used silence well--particularly in the scene where the doctors are scrubbing up.

Overall, I thought the writing was superb--very tight, and they focused on the tragedy in a very different way than I expected.

4811. ChristinO - 2/18/00 3:35:51 PM
terribly visceral

Now I'm wishing that I'd seen this episode.

4812. CalGal - 2/18/00 3:39:07 PM
It will undoubtedly be on rerun.

The final scene was really very simple--Weaver enters the operating room, the camera pans so that you see Romano sewing up Lucy. Weaver walks over and as Romano pulls the last suture tight, she cuts the thread for him. He says "Thanks." She pulls up the cover over Lucy's head.

4813. spudboy - 2/18/00 4:18:08 PM
Actually, I really liked that closing bit of dialogue.

Romano, to Weaver, as she pulls out the sheet to cover up Lucy after they finish: "You can leave that for the nurses."

Weaver: "I know." And she proceeds to cover her up, lovingly.

Very touching. I'm not a regular watcher (Mrs. Spudboy is) and I usually find it a bit overdone, but this episode was outstanding.

4814. CalGal - 2/18/00 4:59:39 PM
Spud,

Agreed. That was the real surprise of the episode, actually. It's the first time they've killed off a regular (one guest regular committed suicide), and I expected it to be overwrought and angst-ridden.

I think the decision to focus on the surgeons and Weaver--coldblooded, one and all--was a good one.

The other scene I forgot to mention was Corday's scene with her mother. No emoting, just Corday's drawn face. And her mother, very English, doesn't know what to do so starts fixing breakfast.