April 19, 2007: Family Business
For my money, tonight's episode provided some of the most heartfelt emotion we've seen this season - emotion that was no doubt underscored by the devastating events of the past week. Rarely have the themes of loss and family been more resonant as we all witnessed how, in an instant, lives can be irrevocably altered by tragic circumstances.
Robert Prosky touchingly portrayed the elderly, Alzheimer's-stricken man facing the unexpected death of his caregiver son (played by his real-life son Andy Prosky). His reaction in the moments following his son's death was gut-wrenching and the situation became even more heartbreaking as the man had to be reminded of his loss moments later. Robert Prosky is one of those actors who has made a career out of small but memorable roles, and his turn tonight was no exception. (The actor has definitely aged in recent years - it was hard to believe that this was the same guy who played boss and mentor to
Holly Hunter's manic producer in
Broadcast News, one of my favorite movies of all time.)
While we are on the topic of tonight's guest stars, I will admit that I have yet to see
Borat or guest star
Ken Davitian's over-the-top performance in that film so I can't really say how much he had to stretch for his role tonight as an Armenian florist/Good Samaritan. I'm counting on all of you to comment on that.
I can't believe I am going to say this, but tonight I actually didn't hate Tony Gates (and let me state for the record that I've never hated
John Stamos - my issue has always been with the direction of his character. And his facial hair). As a matter of fact, I felt kind of sorry for him. Between dealing with Sarah's paternity, his angry and alcoholic father, and kissing up to Pratt, it seemed like he was having a tough time juggling everything. Maybe it was just his proximity to
Goran Visnjic or the fact that he has been too distracted to moon over Neela, but for the first time, I was able to empathize with his character.
Speaking of everyone's favorite Croatian, it appears they are already setting us up for Luka's exit. The case of the father and son appeared to trigger some remorse in Luka for not being more a part of his own father's life, which will probably lead to some big decision (that's just a guess, by the way). I was especially touched as Luka was loading the old man into the ambulance and could not bring himself to reiterate the events of the day yet again. From a character-continuity perspective, Luka knows all too well the pain of losing a child, and I thought that added even more depth to his interaction with the man. As he continued to prove later on in his scenes with Abby and baby Joe, his soulful presence, gravitas and leadership will be impossible to replace. Whatever number of episodes he has agreed to for next season, it will simply not be enough. I still can't fathom how they are going to realistically write around this departure, and frankly, I don't even want to. (Click
here for some potentially interesting news about a possible return from the scoopalicious Michael Ausiello.)
Finally, is it just me or do Sam and Neela seem to have the market cornered when it comes to garnering male attention? Neela currently has at least two doctors in love with her and one (Dubenko) who seems ready to declare his intentions. Meanwhile, it seems like Sam has sexual tension with just about every guy she meets. (Granted, that cop was very cute and I wouldn't mind seeing more of him!) Come on, ladies of the
ER, share the wealth.
According to the promo, we have new episodes to look forward to right up until the end of the season, so keep those comments coming as Season 13 rolls toward the finish line.
