Loved and Hated "All in the Family"greenspun.com : LUSENET : ER Discussions : One Thread |
I was SO frustrated when, after Kerri opens the door and gasps, the next scene is them rolling out of the room on carts. The show SHOULD have been about the reaction to finding them...exactly how did those partying respond to the fact that 2 colleagues were lying on the floor dying? The shock of all the blood and how terrible Lucy looked would have been invaluable tv viewing.Instead, we were treated to an episode that had more "procedure" lingo than any in the past (I think!) I don't care about all the heroic measures by all the doctors...what I cared about is how people reacted to this horrible event. Only Kerri, Romano and Benton were true to how people would feel--and as I read these boards I see that these are the characters everyone loved during the episode.
I almost cried when Benton came flying down the stairs when he heard, and how torn he was between helping Lucy or Carter in the ER. I also loved that Anspaugh was back..and how he reigned in Benton when he was going to remove the kidney.
And all the newbies at the diner, just talking about Lucy and Carter was great--that was definitely something that would happen in real life. Did you notice NO ONE mentioned the words dies/dead when telling others? The all just said her name, Lucy.
Carter's response drove me crazy, too! When he said to Benton, Lucy's dead, isn't she?, all he did was stare. What kind of response was that? Especially when we know there are going to be lasting repercussions in his psyche to her dying and his role in that.
Overall, I thought that the build-up was just not met by the actual epsidoe. The writers seemed to forget that we love these people and want to see how they interact--we don't want to just see them screaming one procedure after another. We want love and caring between them--and shock and anger at their death. Marlene
-- Marlene (gitterle@cboe.com), February 18, 2000
Hey! You forgot to mention Elizabeth! I thought she also did an outstanding emotional performance. But I agree with you about Carter, I really was dying to see what the emotional impact would be on him... Although if you noticed, his eyes did fill with tears when her heard. (Sigh...) Anyway, I guess that he was still so much in shock over ehat happended that it didn't really sink in right away. I'm sure we will see everything next week. (At least I hope so!!!)
-- Jess (mei07242@aol.com), February 18, 2000.
I was disappointed too with the lack of response by many of the characters. Carol's response was the worst. I have seen her react so emotionally to a strangers death who came under her care and to her friends and co-workers nothing. If it was supposed to appear like she was in shock and unreal to her it failed miserably. She seemed nonchalant and unmoved. I was disappointed that Lucy did not ask about Carter. I think many scenes were very compelling as mentioned the saw scene seemed very real. It is just a procedure until you empathize and then it is unbearable. The emotion portayed there was right on. Unfortunately the realness of that moment did not cary over to all the scenes. I did like the interaction between Lucy and Corday. Romano was great in his response and Benton. I wish that they had given us a bit more of that with all the technical drama. I think the scene with Romano and Weaver is much more on target. After the storm is over they become people instead of doctors. Seeing her as Lucy lying there and not a body. Gosh I hate to see her character go.
-- Lisa Mitchell (Rorryjane@aol.com), February 18, 2000.
Lucy may not have known about Carter. Her eyes were open when he fell and saw her, but she may have been in too much shock from blood loss to realize he was there. Or she may not have remembered details like that when she woke up, although she did seem coherent enough to thank Elizabeth and to realize what was going on.
-- Laura (ledaily@aol.com), February 18, 2000.
Ok Ok people i can totally understand everyone hating Carol's reaction to the situation but i think they couldn't of possibly show everyone's reaction to the news. Just like Mark Green had to take a few moments at the very end of the show to 'regroup' before he goes to the next critical patient, he is shaken by the news but he also has a job to do with other peoples' lives at stake. As I'm sure Carol felt horrible but she has to keep her full attention on her job. I felt last nights episode was excellent and i am very sad to see Lucy go but what a way to go! she did an excellent job. You know as well as I do that next weeks episode will have nothing to do with what happened last night but in a few weeks they will do another episode with some info about what happened afterwards. Carter won't be back to work next week but when he does come back that is when they will tackle the emotional trauma that everyone will be going through. And I will be right along for the ride !!
-- Heather (charliegirll@hotmail.com), February 18, 2000.
I am usually pretty emotional when it comes to my suspension of disbelief with the show, and I find my self tearing up at some point in almost every episode. I was not that way this time...I just sat there with my mouth agape. I think the reason there were so many seemingly stale reactions to Lucy's death and Carter's trauma is because, how do you react? It had not sunk in with everyone yet, and some people take longer to realize and deal with situations such as these. Carter, himself in excruciating pain and doped up, probably could not fully process the event. I think his emotional battle will come later, and if the writers are worth a grain of salt, they will have Carter (and everyone else) deal with this is a realistic and human manner, and not deal with it like they did with the death of Dennis a couple of seasons ago. I think this is a fabulous time to develop Dr. Romano in to an actual person, rather than the misogynist gimp they had him before. I dont know what they were thinking with Carol...i guess they weren't.
-- Jenny (lazycomet4@yahoo.com), February 18, 2000.
For me, one of the better scenes was when the surgeons were washing their hands. No one said a word. Each were weighted by the task at hand.I thought the double reversal of Lucy's and John's conditions was good writing. At first Lucy was in much worse shape but she seemed to get through surgery better than John. Then, of course, Lucy took a turn for the worse. The production was top notch, as the camera work became more and more dynamic as Lucy's condition deteriorated. In the end I was happy to see Lucy die, the worst thing would be after all of the trama that she endured, she somehow survived. That would have been too TV cheezy. Don't get me wrong, I will miss Lucy, especially the (recently underplayed) chemistry between her and John. But at least the writers wrote her out of the show in a way that be delt with in future episodes. I'm still bitter over Delameco's (sp?) departure and how it was never delt with.
I agree that this needs to leave ripples in the plotline of upcomming episodes. There has to be a funeral.
-- dicko (akadicko@hotmail.com), February 18, 2000.
I agree with the first statement, I wanted to see Kerry run out and get help, and I did not like all of the surgery/technical work (except Benton's care over Carter and Elizabeth an Romano over Lucy). Romano really respected Lucy after the whole Christmas deal (does everyone remember...with Valerie) and he couldn't stand losing her. I know it is a medical show, but people also want to see character development too. No one said "Lucy's dead" (except Carter), and I loved Chuney's telling them at Doc magoos. I wonder if everyone will remember about Carter and Lucy's fling. Maybe Chuney will help Carter out later on. That's alittle far fetched I guess. I was a bit disappointed with Carter's reaction to Lucy's death too, but actually it was good to leave him with that sad look as the last time we see him in this episode, because we know it will affect him...he asked about her like four or five times.
-- Elaine (mrsclooney78@hotmail.com), February 18, 2000.
I really enjoyed the last couple of shows. I do think that the big anticipation as to what was going to happen in the first show was kind of a let down to wait until the very last minutes. I think the story of the kids was way too short. I also think that they did an excellent job of showing the feelings of the others. Benton with trying to save the guy he mentored, Romano and his actual kindness that isn't shown. I think Carol's part was down played but that could be because of her departure this year and the need to show that everybody in the real world reacts differently to death. I do hope that they go further with this. I think there should be a funeral to show more of a closure. I also have to say what great acting on the part of psycho Paul. My hair actually was standing on end. I think there was a lot of "technical" talk but I think they were trying to show what it would be like in that kind of situation and also show that they're jobs didn't stop at the loss of one of them that there are still others that need their help as in the case of Mark Greene at the end. I applaude "Lucy" in going out with a bang and doing a wonderful job and another great performance to put on her list. I hope they keep doing great spell-binding episodes and not get so sappy as they had been.
-- brigette (stoner@upstel.net), February 18, 2000.
For the most part, I liked the entire show. I thought it would have been better played as a two hour show, rather than over two Thursdays. I agree that Carol was awful in her reaction, so unlike her. I felt like I was on a rollercoaster ride, couldn't wait through the commercials. I was very emotional through the whole show. Seemed like it took forever for Dr. Weaver to finally go in that room. Everyone's acting was very very good.
-- Vanessa C. Honore' (vanessah@mail.city.new-orleans.la.us), February 18, 2000.
This was my take on Carol's reaction.First of all, let's remember that as of late she has been having very fluctuating emotions. She is definately on an emotional rollercoaster lately. The woman is so emotionally drained, repressing her feelings at this point has probably just become easier.
Also, she was JUST TOLD. Mark, too, was very orderly and calm when he first walked into the ER. By the time Carol arrived, everybody was slowly getting "back to business." Let's say it was Malik who told her. He was definately in the working frame of mind by then. She probably saw the commotion, asked what happened, and, in the midst of giving her the run-down on some patient or some work detail, probably told her that Lucy Knight had been stabbed and died. I doubt she got much more than that.
She DID have a look of shock on her face. Notice, as she looks past the police tape, her eyes are sad and her mouth hangs slightly ajar. Mark doesn't want to talk about it, he initiats the "let's get working" mentality. After staring, rather stunned, into the room for another beat, Carol slowly walks away, then rushes to catch up with Mark, whose pace is quick.
This is shocking news and, considering that she didn't work on them, probably hasn't gotten the chance to visit with Carter, view Lucy's body, or hear EXACTLY what happened, the realization of it certainly hasn't "hit" her yet.
Carol tends to keep her emotions to herself, anyhow, as does Mark. I'm sure it "hit" several hours later. A quiet moment came, everything finally sunk in, perhaps after Mark filled her in on HOW they were found...The whole ordeal is, I'm sure, not "real" for Carol at that point. She will deal with her emotions when she is alone, and good and ready. Most likely after visiting Carter, when she gets the chance.
Also, by "removing" oneself emotionally from a situation, it is easier to deal with it. I think Carol rather prefers to do that. Not in every situation, but in the ones that hit closest to home.
-- Leigh (WillnGraceNYC@yahoo.com), February 18, 2000.
I have to admit, after reading some of the reactions to *Carol's* reaction, it seems to me that the only person that has a grasp on how people really handle death is Leigh. Right, Carol had JUST found out, what the hell do you people think she was gonna do? Throw herself on the floor? Cut off her hair? Go change into black scrubs? When my father died, I didn't cry for days! People all react to death differently. And, well, jeez, it's a TV show for cripes sakes!
-- Laurie (lzor@hotmail.com), February 20, 2000.
I thought Carol's reaction was right on target. It is often only in Hollywood that people react so dramatically and immediately to such awful news. In my general experiences with totally bad news, people seem reactionless as the shock sets in,before the news even registers.
-- Barbara S. (barbelaine@hotmail.com), February 21, 2000.