I was just wondering, are they going to "replace" Carol? (Not that they could ever really and truly replace her, nor that I would want them to.) Not to sound sexist or anything, but except for Kerry and the nurses, the rest of the female staff annoys me . . . Jing-Mei (aka Deb), Cleo, and Abby. Am I the only one who feels this way?

It also seems that the "strong" female roles have left a big hole . . . Susan, Jeanie, Maggie, Carol, and Dr. Abby Keaton. (I'm sure there are others that I have forgotten.) I don't mean for this message to come off wrong (or like a total feminist issue), and I'm sure some ppl out there disagree with my statements, but I'd like to hear how other ppl feel! :)

-- Kimberley (kwendt@utk.edu), June 26, 2000

Answers

Just for further clarification and not to leave her out of the shuffle, I think Kerry would be considered the one "strong" female role left on the show.

-- Kimberley (kwendt@utk.edu), June 26, 2000.

Me . . . AGAIN. Sorry, add to the list of female characters with substance, Dr. Corday.

-- Kimberley (kwendt@utk.edu), June 26, 2000.

I'm with you, Kimberly--Chen, Cleo and Abby are all irritating, each in their own special way. :)

Kerry and Elizabeth are certainly strong characters and it is to be hoped we'll continue to see that from them. As for the others, well...I'm really hoping Cleo will simply go away. The cast could really use some trimming if it's going to remain a good, quality show. I would definitely "cull the herd" (to paraphrase Dr. Romano) and take out Cleo and at least one of the other two. I can see Abby possibly improving, if she gets an attitude overhaul. But Chen...I don't know. She's "strong," in a sense--very competitive, an overachiever. But we haven't seen anything worthwhile in the way of a plot from her recently. And I just don't like her. :)

Still, I have to keep reminding myself of this: Cleo and Chen represent the only minority women in a lead role on the show (opening- credits characters). I think there would be a tremendous hue and cry from minority groups if either of them were summarily "culled."

-- Cecelia (evilstoat@hotmail.com), June 26, 2000.

I know I am the minority here, but I like Chen. She is a little competitive at times (but I think she has gotten better about that). Personally, I think it is great to see a young female resident like that (we seem to think its ok when Carter or Malucci are competing against each other). I imagine Elizabeth as being like that as a resident. There are a lot of possibilities for Chen in relation to Dr. Carter (just friends :) ) She was the only one who saw that he was in trouble and the only one who tried to reach out to him afterwards. There are many possibilies for her next season. If TPTB give her good stuff to work with she could be great. I've always enjoyed Ming Na in everything I've seen her in. I think we need to give Abby more time too. I think eventually she will be a good doctor. Cleo on the other hand...that's a different story :)

-- amanda (amanda.rehm@home.com), June 26, 2000.

I like Kerry, Corday, and Abby. I do not care for the other female main cast members. I don't like Cleo and the actress who plays her is not a very good one. While Ming Na is a good actress, I can't stand her character. I have not noticed that much of a change in her season one personality from season six one. She cares a bit more about her patients. She naturally is a more competent and confident Dr. I still didn't care for her attitude when she returned and think she is as competive as before. I don't think she reached out to Carter anymore than the others. In fact when she noticed something , she went to Mark and had him talk to Carter.She didn't do it. We saw Kerry, Carol, and Mark talk to Carter after returning to work( not including the May Day chats). I thought Kerry tried the most to reach out. Carol meant well, but had problems on her own and gave him the wrong advice. I thought Mark's talk was the lamest considering he went through PTSD. He should have been much better help to Carter. Benton blew Carter off after he was released from the hopspital and his care. Though emotional closeness has never been Benton's strong suit and probably never will be except with his son. I'm glad they gt together and helped Carter in the finale. I really do hope that ER trims it large main cast. Cleo and Chen would be at the top of my list. However, it looks like Cleo will be back. I just hope that neither one of them get larger roles than they had this past season. It will make it more bearable.

-- Brenda (jckwfan@aol.com), June 26, 2000.

The only female character i really do not like is cleo. I did not like cehn at first, but now i do. I think she has some god possibilities for growth, TPTB just have not gieven her a good storyline yet. She has changed from the first season in a few ways--she is not quite as competitve anymore and she seems to care more about patients and coworkers, she also seems more willing to conceded she needs help and she realizes where her faults are. as for he r having Mark talk to carter, she tried to get him to open up on numerous occasions. John was not talking to anyone. so she went to her boss and expressed concerns. i don't think that was the wrong thing to do, nor was abby in the wrong for discussing what she saw with mark and kerry. Abby i also think has potential. she needs to be watched more closely. itt would be great if she got to do a second ER rotation, as did Lucy, and carter volunteered to be her teacher. Carter is a good teacher when that is what he is focused on, and i think that under his guidance, abby could learn to be more confident. i do wish they would dump cleo...her character is really one dimensional and annoying. but the others have the potential to become very interesting characters...they just neeed good plotlines.

-- Erin (earthgirl24@yahoo.com), June 26, 2000.

Like most of you, I don't like Abby and hate Cleo and I do agree that the cast is too large, but still I wished Dr. Hicks would still be there...

-- Elisabeth (sweetliz141@aol.com), June 26, 2000.

Did anyone else hear or was it just me that Neve Campbell is been considered to play Luka's love interest?

-- Lara Aine (survivingseattle@hotmail.com), June 26, 2000.

I heard that as well Lara but I don't know if that's true or not.

-- Cammie (rmaelhorn@home.com), June 26, 2000.

please no Neve Campbell!!!

-- amanda (amanda.rehm@home.com), June 26, 2000.

Amanda, I like Jing-Mei/Deb too. I think she's a much stronger character now than she was in the first season. Abby's a softer character, but that's okay. You need that also. But I don't think Susan was ever a strong character. She was soft in many ways.

BTW I doubt Neve will be coming on full-time, if at all. She just got out of 'PO5' (I miss it :~( )and she was one of the movers to get the show off the air because she was tired of doing a weekly series. And no, she wasn't one of my favorite actresses on 'PO5' either. She was probably the least talented on that great show.

-- AmyE (roamyn@aol.com), June 26, 2000.

If it hadn't have been for Deb then noone would have bothored to realize that Carter had a problem and I would hate to think what might have happened then. Don't you agree?

-- Cammie (rmaelhorn@home.com), June 26, 2000.

Cammie,

I'm probably just biased, but I have to disagree with you Cammie. I think eventually people would've taken notice of Carter. And whoever mentioned Dr. Hicks was right, she was also a great addition to the cast when she was on the show.

-- Kimberley (kwendt@utk.edu), June 26, 2000.

I think people were starting to notice things as well. Several of them already had notice things and tried talking to him. They were just giving Carter the same spcace they gave Mark when he was totally acting up and and not being a very goof Dr. during season four. Abby was the one that got them to realize that they could not give Carter any more space, not Chen. I don't care for Chen. I find her more annoying in season six than I did during season one. The less I see her next season the better.

-- Brenda (jckwfan@aol.com), June 26, 2000.

I would have to agree with a lot of you about Cleo. She would be my first pick to get the boot...it's not that I despise her either, because I don't, I just think that the poor girl wasn't given very good direction with her character. If she would become more personable, I would probably like Cleo better. As for Neve Campbell playing Luka's love interest...Run Luka! Run far far away! That girl is no good for "our Luka" :) I suppose she would probably agree to do it because let's face it people, ER pays pretty darn good! I just don't think I could take another whiner on the show though! LOL

-- Joy (joijoy@webtv.net), June 27, 2000.

I agree with those of you who miss Dr. Hicks. She was fabulous! I especially loved the way she handled Dr. Benton. Another strong woman that I miss is Anna. I think the way she dealt with Dr. Ross was wonderful. I also believe that if Maria Bello hadn't decided to leave the show, Carter and Anna would have had a great romantic relationship. She seemed to be more his equal than any of the other women he has had a relationship with. BTW, I want to add my vote to the get rid of Cleo count ... someone get her out of there -- stat!

-- Katrina (cattrek@ga.freei.net), June 27, 2000.

I just wanted to add that I one character I would get rid of is Abby (with Cleo running a close second). I realize that many people like her character, but she is a little two self-righteous for my tastes. perhaps if the TPTB toned her down a little I could tolerate her. I guess I really like Deb (although I didn't at first), but she is only given two lines an episode so I don't think the viewers really know her well yet.

-- Emma (webbef@hotmail.com), June 28, 2000.

I agree with those above about Dr. Hicks. She was great. I also liked the other Abby -- the pediatrics surgeon (Glenne Headly). They both were such great surgeons and totally confidant in their abilities. Of course, they could never bring her back now that there is another Abby.

-- amanda (amanda.rehm@home.com), June 29, 2000.

I think Kerry & Deb are great, strong female roles, both in their own different ways. Kerry's shown her stuff, and I hope that people can give Deb & Abby a chance (I think Cleo is beyond help at this point). I like Deb a lot, and I think she's going to become a more and more interesting and vital character on the show. I especially want to see how her friendship with Carter will evolve after she returns--I really enjoy watching their scenes together because they have some good banter going.

As for Abby, she started out so well, but then she started to turn into a loose cannon--I really hope the writers reign her in and don't let her fall into that characterization.

-- Lynda (unabashedly_masochistic@yahoo.com), July 01, 2000.

I have thought about what many have said regarding Cleo and Chen and Abby and how irritating they all are in different respects, and I agree. But, that irritating factor is what makes the show interesting. What--do you all want Cleo to be compliant and to think about others? And Chen? You want her to step aside and let other resident's have "their chance." And Abby? Do you really think she would be remotely interesting if she weren't so self-righteous?

I admit they are all irritating in some way or another, but much more interesting than a "perfect" woman would be.

Just my two cents.

-- sharon (mrsrorque@aol.com), July 01, 2000.

Sharon's right, it makes for an interesting show that we can all carp and yap about...But Cleo? She's not just irritating, she's wooden. The acting is bad.

I was watching the movie "Blade" last night, and I was thinking, "This woman would make a good replacement for Michael Michele. She can register a facial expression or two. And she's black, which would appease Eriq LaSalle's need for an African American love interest."

-- Cecelia (evilstoat@hotmail.com), July 02, 2000.

Abby would be better if she would stop trying to be exactly like Lucy was. As for Cleo, there is no hope for her.

-- Cammie (rmaelhorn@home.com), July 02, 2000.

We can go round and round about whether Chen is annoying or whether Abby is a worthwhile character to fill Carol's shoes (certainly not) and of course almost everyone agrees about the inadequate contribution Cleo has made to the show. But the question was about whether ER still has strong female characters. And even without Kerry (who is very strong and will continue in that direction, I believe), Alex Kingston's Elizabeth Corday is one of the strongest female characters on television. She doesn't have the same kind of role as Carol, and a lot of that is because she does not physically spend as much time in the ER as Carol did. But how many women could work as effectively in an environment like surgery where Corday must bend to the powerful men of the old guard and still get as much done as she does, without compromising her identity? She was not afraid of the intimidating Benton, and now she has proven herself a worthy match for the 'main' character of the show, Mark Greene. She is a talented surgeon, a compassionate, dedicated doctor, and one of the best things to happen to ER.

-- Julexer (julexer@hotmail.com), July 24, 2001.