Does everyone like Jeannie?!

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I read the review every week and I am surprised how popular the character of Jeannie is! The comments this week (parting tribute I guess) are even more overflowing with enthusiasm.

I have never liked the character and it has only become worse since she decided she wanted the child. Saccharine sweet is just not that interesting.

The only storyline with her that I found interesting was when she manipulated the hospital by claiming they were firing her over her HIV status. She revealed herself as someone with no ethical standards but then they continued to write her as that wonderful person everyone loves.

Personally, I'm just glad she is leaving.

Rusty

-- Rusty Priske (rusty.priske@hrdc-drhc.gc.ca), November 15, 1999

Answers

Personally, I didn't agree with the idea of keeping her in the ER. I understand concerns of fairness and "universal precautions," but someone who is HIV-positive has no business in a job that involves that many open wounds, where patients need immediate, thorough care with no hesitations whatsoever. What if there are multiple traumas, as there often are--she has too many limitations as to what she can do. I also didn't like the idea that none of the people she was treating knew about her condition--that doesn't seem fair. The hospital should have gotten her a job handing out perscriptions or something--no one who can transmit a job like that has any business working in emergency health care.

I also agree with you completely about her using her HIV status to blackmail the hospital. That was especially heinous considering how Kerry had gone to bat for her.

-- Heather H. (heather@gol.com), November 20, 1999.


How ignorant.

-- random person (ewwhatevr@aol.com), November 20, 1999.

I hope that the last comment was aimed at Heather and not me. I don't think disliking a character warrants such a jab.

However, if you are referring to her not being allowed to work in the hospital...I agree with you. Removing a useful person from an important job over paranoia would be ridiculous.

I still didn't like the character. :)

-- Rusty Priske (rusty.priske@hrdc-drhc.gc.ca), November 22, 1999.


No, Rusty, that was not aimed at you.

-- random person (ewwhatevr@aol.com), November 22, 1999.

I am soooo glad she is gone. I have never liked her character. sweet and whinny.

-- june pettit (jpettit@dellsnet.com), December 03, 1999.


I miss Jeannie. I never thought of her as whiny. I remember how well she dealt with Anspaugh's dying son. She showed great dignity in her efforts to deal with her own medical condition. However I admit that there wasn't any new direction for this storyline to go. Having finally split with her ex, acquired a new man, and come to terms with HIV a graceful exit was the right way to end it all. I'm sure Gloria Reuben will be successful in her future endeavours.

-- diane pope (nywla@yahoo.com), January 15, 2000.

I never saw what all the fuss is about Jeannie Boulet, either. The character was originally nothing more than a love interest for Peter Benton, and an extra-maritial affair at that for Jeannie. But they brought her on board as a regular member of the cast in the second season, in a move that, to me, seemed more forced than anything (I always suspected that it was due to the fact that they were looking for a black female to add to the regular cast).

At any rate, her relationship with Peter soon went sour, and she was diagnosed with HIV, which was a "creative blunder" on the part of the producers/writers. I say "creative" because it had never been attempted before on that level. I say "blunder" because the writers basically wrote themselves into a corner with Jeannie Boulet, limiting her potential on the show even more and made a mediocre character even worse. I just didn't feel the same sense of quality and validity for her involvement with the show's story that I felt about most of the other characters (remember her scene with Carol where they were discussing Jeannie's transition to the ER?). Nothing happened over the course of her stay in the ER would make me feel different (not Anspaugh's son, not the numerous attempts to get her into a relationship, and definitely not her marriage to that bumbling cop Reggie -- all of which seemed forced). From the very beginning, I wasn't convinced. The only way they could have truly did her justice would have been to have her die of complications from HIV/AIDS, which would have given Gloria Reuben more quality material to work with than she ever had before. Heartless, you say? No more than having Kellie Martin's character, Lucy Knight die from injuries inflicted by a madman. Jeannie Boulet's exit was as forced and unnatural as her entrance, but perhaps it was just as well.

I've seen all of the talk and fan worship of Gloria Reuben around here and in the newsgroup. That's fine with me -- I have no problem with her as an actress. But even the best actors and actresses can do very little with poorly scripted material, and I do have a problem with anyone who thinks that Reuben's role on ER was central to the show. If that's what you believe, then take a moment to separate yourself from your admiration of her beauty, etc., and see things for what and how they really are.

-- Earl R. (earlthepearl@rocketmail.com), February 19, 2000.


heather, the chances of any patient contracting HIV froma healthcare worker are pretty slim. unless she spits , bleeds, urinates, defacates, on a patients open wound, or has unprotected sex with them!!! very slim chance of any of those things happening!! dont be so silly and uninformed!!

-- Alexis (lexicat1@webtv.net), February 20, 2000.

I have a question, hopefully someone can answer this.

What was the name of the character - or, better still, the actor - both would be grand! - who played the hunkity tall guy whom Jeanie was seeing just before she decided to go back to giving Al a chance. I have no clue what season. I watch 'em in reruns mostly. But he was tall, handsome, and had a wonderfully husky voice. Also, I believe the actor was in an X-Files episode, but it's bugging me that I can't think of which one -- and there doesn't seem to be a way to get IMDB.com to help me search for "an actor who was a guest star on both the X-files and ER".

...anyone know...?

signed, sometimes-the-Internet-just-doesn't-help-without-actually-asking- somebody

-- Veigl Whosis (insect_sister@hotmail.com), July 11, 2001.


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