Am I the only person who feels like the hype was bigger than the episode? I mean it was a good episode but I guess after waiting so long, I wanted it to be a BIG deal when they were finally reunited. Just my random thoughts - go ahead and yell at me now.

-- Linda (l.brown@mindspring.com), May 12, 2000

Answers

Well, considering they had to beg, borrow and steal to get Clooney there, it was right on target to have to wait until :54 into the show to see him.

-- Paige (pg@eyecool.com), May 12, 2000.

I was, too. I thought it was good but not great though I have to say I very pleased that Doug was in the episode. Except for the resolution of Carol and Doug, I thought it was a pretty mediocre episode. Unlike a lot of people who have responded, I think it was a poorly written episode. I feel like now that I know what's going on with Carol (and that she won't be back), I can't say that I am terribly interested in the show. Okay, so I want to know what's up with Carter but beyond that...

-- Rachel (Rachel_L_Stephens@prodigy.net), May 12, 2000.

I loved it. I thought the beauty was in the simplicity, and I'm glad they made us wait. To me, it was a big deal, because there was such a feeling of belonging, of being home. Few words needed to be spoken, and it was as if they'd never been apart!! *sigh* I thought it was an incredibly well-written, superbly acted, wonderfully directed episode, but that's JMHO.

-- Arianne (CarolRossSusanGreene@yahoo.com), May 13, 2000.

Carter was the best part of the whole thing.

-- Monica (Moni4987@teen.com), May 13, 2000.

ditto on the vote that carter was the best part... even though i did let out a big yay to see doug 54 minutes into the show..

-- Paige (pg@eyecool.com), May 13, 2000.

I know, I felt a bit disappointed as well. I guess because she did EXACTLY what everyone expected...there wasn't ONE surprise. When she knocked on the door in Seattle, we didn't even get to see her WAIT for no answer. There was no suspense! My sister went to the bed at that point, saying "Oh here comes Batman." (ha ha)

I do have to admit though, I have never been a huge Carol fan. I was never a big Lucy fan either, but her death had me in tears. It was very traumatic. For Carol, I guess I was expected to feel happy for her character but I felt more for Juliana (oh...good. YOu got what you wanted! Good luck in your film career.) I just don't think they had written Carol convincinly these last few episodes....a bit repetitious, with will she go, won't she go. She's going, everyone knows that! Unfortunately, that meant I was just waiting for her to go...sigh.

I wasn't really a Susan/Mark romance fan, and Union Station managed to change my mind! (Just another example of how they have done good byes better...)

-- Marjorie (mudge@interlog.com), May 13, 2000.

I was disappointed, too, and I'm still trying to figure out why, since I *am* a big fan of Carol and Doug and very much wanted them to end up together. I even went back and watched it again, hoping for a different reaction, but I just didn't feel as enthralled as I thought I'd be. I'm very glad they ended up together, and the last scene was sweet, but somehow something was missing for me.

Maybe it's because, as Marjorie said, there wasn't a single surprise. Since I heard the spoiler on the Today show that morning, I knew Doug would appear, so even that wasn't a surprise for me. And there were SO many uses of Phyl's baseball bat--you could see it whopping Carol upside the head all through the show as the cancer patient's daughter talked about having a whole family, the cancer patient's husband talked about soul mates....I know there had to be some catalyst to get her to make a decision, but I wish it could have been a little more subtle.

Also, I'd really kind of hoped Doug would come to Chicago. Someone mentioned on another thread that it would be appropriate for him to come back to support Mark the way Mark supported him when his father died--I really liked that idea, having him there for *both* of them.

Also, I found the background music in the last scenes distracting from the emotion I was trying to build. I guess most people liked the song, but for me the music was just too dominant an element--I would have preferred very soft background music that let us really focus on the emotions at hand.

Having said all that, I'm still not sure if that's entirely why I'm disappointed. Maybe there was just no way the show could live up to the anticipation. I'd be interested in hearing other people's thoughts.

-- Mary (mslyman@erols.com), May 14, 2000.

I thought the best part of the show was Kerri on a rampage!!!! I was laughing all the while she was hollering. Can you say cranky?

-- Casey (steinbec00@netscape.net), May 14, 2000.

Mary, maybe you would have liked it better if they had used the old Doug and Carol theme music. I loved the song Taking You Home, I loved how it fit in, and I will probably buy the CD it was so beautiful, but a couple days later I realized that we won't hear the Doug and Carol theme anymore (do you know what I'm talking about? They used it all the time in their scenes, plus when Carol is talking to Mark about missing Doug while she's still pregnant...Peace of Wild Things maybe?...they had it.) Anyways, since I loved the song, maybe they should have played their theme while the widowed husband was talking to Carol. Just an idea.

-- Elaine (mrsclooney78@hotmail.com), May 14, 2000.

It would have been nice if they'd played "Doug & Carol" when Mr. O'Brien was talking about his wife and soulmates, but I thought the music there was perfect, as well. The music just fit the atmosphere, in it you could almost hear the sudden realization and urgency in Carol's heart.

I thought about that, too, how we'll never hear "Doug & Carol" again. Although, that song was awfully angst-ridden and sad. I don't believe they've played it during many of their happy times, other than very softly during the bathtub scene in "Stuck On You." That theme seems to represent the sadness and heartache that troubled them for years -- and now, finally, we have happiness. :-)

-- Arianne (CarolRossSusanGreene@yahoo.com), May 14, 2000.

Thanks for that thought, Elaine and Arianne. I can't bring the "Doug and Carol" song to mind now, which probably means it fit the scenes it was in so well that it was very unobtrusive. I'll go back to my tapes and check it out.

When I rewatched the tape, I found the song didn't bother me as much. Probably the main part of my problem was having the surprise spoiled--if I'd been wondering whether Doug was going to appear, I might have been so on edge I wouldn't even have noticed the music. Jill Rappaport of the Today show has a lot to answer for....

-- Mary (mslyman@erols.com), May 14, 2000.

Yes, Linda, I was completely disappointed! I truly believe that this was the worst episode of ER I have ever seen. It just didn't ring true. I liked when Mark gave Rachel the pearls, I liked when Elizabeth said she would come to Mark's after work, I liked the Carter scenes, and I liked the Frank guy. But the rest of it I could have done without.

-- Annie (GoldenLaur@aol.com), May 14, 2000.