This was definitely one of the tougher episodes in recent memory especially being the mother of a son Watching Gates brave young patient succumb to his terminal respiratory disease was almost too much to bear The scene with the chaplain and the mother watching his struggle for each breath was heartbreaking made even more so by the courage and conviction the boy demonstrated by making the decision not to go on a ventilator On a much more lighthearted note I felt like there was a lot of chemistry between Sam and Gates as they butted heads over the ethical handling of the case Ive said it before but I really feel like a Sam-Tony pairing would be an interesting place to go especially when you think about the kids and the connection they would have there Come on ER writers throw me a boneAs Pratt and Morris opted for a rather nontraditional approach to preparing for their board exams a new attending came on the scene I loved Kari Matchett on both Invasion and St
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As if mothers dont have it tough enough tonight we got some stellar examples of bad mothers clueless mothers and mothers dealing with secrets and regret And thats not even counting our favorite mommy of all Abby who was patiently dealing with Lukas absence and Morettis in-your-face management style But first up we had a visit from our old friend Dr Anspaugh who was busy deflecting Pratts offer to take over as chief It was quite amusing later on when Moretti let on that he knew Pratt had tried to throw him under the bus While Pratt can be a little irritating I am glad to see him stepping up as an authority figure in the ER and trying to be a leader I was also glad to see that Pratt and Archie acknowledged the situation with Ray as they cleaned out his locker Archie took a tough situation and put his own inappropriate spin on it by trying to steal Rays sneakers the ones he clearly wouldnt need anymore Not much to report
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Per the Hollywood Reporter, ER's Linda Cardellini is Paul Walker's love interest (and thus scene upstager) in Heaven Project, a supernatural mystery about a convict who wakes up from his lethal injection in a small Oregon town. Gas up the Mystery Machine!.... James Purefoy (Rome) is in talks to star opposite Nia Vardalos in the rom-com I Hate Valentine's Day.... Barry Sonnenfeld is in negotiations to direct The Box, a contemporary take on the Pandora's-box myth, in the form of a college kid who must save the world from destruction after cracking open you-know-what.
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Its never too late to choose The simple eloquent words of the terminally ill cancer patient seemed to echo the theme tonight people choosing to take a stand and trying to make things right As this season winds down and we prepare for the imminent departure of beloved characters emotions are running high and the writers seem to be upping the ante in terms of character development and story progression When I think about characters on ER who havent made much of an impression on me Sam immediately comes to mind I have often felt that the role was ill-conceived and underdeveloped a big disappointment since Ive found Linda Cardellini to be very compelling in other vehicles The entire detour into crazy Steve land that kicked off this season was so distracting and uninteresting to me that the ensuing fallout between Sam and her son Alex generated little more than apathy on my end However these episodes with Annabella Sciorr
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Though I enjoyed Abbys transport-team heroics last week it was good to get back to the usual excitement of the ER with an episode directed by Laura Innes I was glad to see that she took the opportunity of the directors chair to give her alter ego Kerry Weaver a little romantic action However not everyone was feeling the love tonight Lukas problems with Curtis Ames continued when Luka thought he spotted him outside of his apartment building Though I can imagine most men in that situation would react with similar zeal in protecting their family it does seem that the tragic circumstances of Lukas history would explain his heightened reaction to a perceived threat When he went to see Ames at his work site his threat to kill him if Ames comes near his family was certainly believable No one does passionate resolute anger quite like Goran Visnjic However considering Abbys reaction at the end of the episode when Luka came clean with her it does
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Before I start on the juicy stuff I need someone to explain to me why in the 13th season of a show someone thought it was a good idea to change the theme music I understand that the trend with a lot of shows is to forego the opening credits and I dont necessarily have a problem with that But why change such a recognizable and long-standing part of the show Those first few percussive strains have always been my signal to get back to the couch Ive mentioned before how small familiar touches have really helped maintain the continuity for me amid the numerous cast changes and the theme music has always been a part of that Bad call Anyway I was so glad to see the wonderful John Mahoney back at home on NBC acting his heart out and singing as Bennett Cray He was always my favorite part of Frasier but this character was a far cry from the conservative old-fashioned Martin Crane he skillfully embodied for so long The love story between Bennett and his partner
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John Stamos, ER
Question: I admit to being one of those who, for the last season or two, watched ER solely out of habit. However, I am psyched at the prospect of John Stamos being a regular cast member next season, and I am eagerly awaiting next season. Do you expect that the casting of John will pull the show out of its "funk" and re-entice some of the viewers who think it's jumped the shark?
Answer: It can't hurt. I know I was sorely disappointed when ABC's inexplicable renewal (to little effect) of Jake in Progress kept him off the show during a season that could have really used him. I just hope he doesn't succumb to the same ailment that has befallen so many promising actors (Linda Cardellini, Parminder Nagra, Shane West, Kristen Johnston) who join the cast and are almost immediately sapped of appealing personality traits.
Coming to ER's defense is Phil S., who writes: "I'm tired of people bashing shows just because they've been on the air for a while. If anybody actually sat down and watched ER
...
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ERHow nice to finally see the episode that was supposed to be on last Thursday. Was it worth the wait? Yes, and I'll, of course, tell you why. Laura Innes as Kerry Weaver has been one of my favorite actresses and characters ever since she began on this show. Kerry can indeed be a bitch, but we're often able to see her other layers, like tonight with those tender moments of true friendship between Kerry and Abby. But Kerry's appearances have been few and far between the last few seasons, so I was really gearing up for this episode. I was so glad she finally decided to go ahead with the hip-replacement surgery, especially after she said, "I'm a disabled person. What else would I have left?" What an effective way to end the hour by having her count down from 100 after receivi
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ERPoor Clemente. It was good that we got to see the scene where Callie Thorne's Jodie got shot by her soon-to-be-ex husband. Otherwise, I'd have been just as skeptical as Luka and the others and would've suspected the mysterious Clemente of foul play, mainly because we really don't know much about him. But now we know he really does love Jodie. Speaking of which, how about that hint of NYPD Blue-type nudity at the top of the show? We don't normally see a bit of butt crack on ER, but they've got to lure those viewers away from CBS somehow. You know I was saying "It's about time!" when Luka finally told Sam about him and Abby, but let's talk about how Sam went from "Oh, yes — everyone knows you two are together" to the utter shock on her face when he told her he and Abby were starting a fam
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ERThis repeat of the season premiere made me recall three distinctive things: 1) It was the first episode without Noah Wyle in the opening credits, and I remember not missing him that horribly, only because they had been downplaying Carter's importance and not featuring him as much as they usually did towards the end of last season.2) It was the first episode with Dominic Janes as the new Alex (Sam's son). I found out literally the night after I wrote about Oliver Davis being replaced in the role exactly why it was done: Per ER's former casting director Sara Isaacson, they loved Oliver, but they got tired of working around his Rodney schedule, so they recast him. Poof! New Alex. 3) This was Linda Cardellini's best episode this season. She
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