Well, here we are once more. It is halftime for Season 7....eleven episodes down, eleven more to go. Due to the strike, some shows are adding filming addition episodes (just to be on the safe side). "ER", however, is not doing such a thing. Possibly, because John Wells is the President of SAG, which is the center-point of the strike issue. Moving on....seriously, though, has Season 7--in your opinion--been all it's cracked up to be?? Has it moved you?? Have you found youself eager for a new episode?? My thoughts on the matter...well....

This continuing roller-coaster ride of plots and storylines that the "ER" writers have produced for us this season, have been extraordinary I believe. I love the constant curving road without knowing where the next bend will be, it makes for intriguing subject matter. From storyline to storyline, plot to plot, character to character, death to death, birth to birth, love to love, hate to hate, and everything in between, "ER" has been overwhelming this year.

For some, this overwhelming season has been too much and they believe that "ER" is hitting over-the-top with drama. In other words...slow down, it is too nerve-racking!! Nerve-racking can be good, it certainly sets a tone and atmosphere.

We have seen the downfall of characters, the strengthening of characters, and complete and utter suprises. For some, Season 7 is proving hardship rules, while others still point out the fact that it is never to late to change. From Mark's sudden illness to Carter's addiction, Kerry's new-found love to Jing-Mei's new-found loss, Cleo's emotional upsets to Dave's utter sheerdome of joy (we assume), Abby's personal triumphs and secrets to Luka's hidden truths and pains, Romano's sheer weirdness to Elizabeth's constant strength and continuence, and Peter's chances at a new start (i.e. the job, Cleo, family).

After being stomped on with such brilliance and simple strategic settings, the viewers have had to take a deep breath and sigh after several episodes. This, is a good thing, though, I believe. Bring on the pain but even it out with happiness, bring on the explosions but even them out with justice, bring on the new-comers but even them out with old stories, bring on the let-downs but even them out with triumphs. TPTB are doing a fairly consistant job with the storylines and plots, leaving the viewers basically wondering what they will pull out of their sleeves next.

Stop and think though, it's only half-way over. We still have eleven new episodes full of revelations and discoveries. Of course, do not wish Season 7 away too quickly, for it will all be over but the crying in spring of 2005.

-- Abby (PrettyLittleDaisy@hotmail.com), January 17, 2001

Answers

I love season seven. I think it is great. The only thing that is pissing me off about it is the lack of anything between Carter and Benton. I really wish they would talk or something. Then there is the whole no plot type gig for Malucci. Other than that it is pretty good. I hope there will be more surprises in future episodes and seasons.

-- RagDoll (iluvjameshetfield@metallica.com), January 17, 2001.

I have my complaints. I do miss Carter and Benton relating to each other. There was too much Abby for a few episodes, there. Luka's personality has done a huge turnaround in a short period of time. Romano's gone from love-to-hate-him to why-does-he-act-like-that. I'm sure there are a few other things that bug me here and there. But overall, I wouldn't stop watching for anything! I love this show.

-- Maureen (shepcaff@ix.netcom.com), January 17, 2001.

Hi! I think season 7 is great so far! I really can't wait for each new episode. I love it becasue you never know when something is going to twist and completely surprise you. The characters and actors this year are really good, too. The only thing that dissapoints me is the lack of friendships among the characters and that not too many happy things happen. But over all, I think it is great. I am kinda p.o.'ed becuase we have to wait till feb. for a new episode, tho! (But I guess that means that I like it)

-- another ER fan (qtpienureye@aol.com), January 17, 2001.

The scripts suck. The situations the characters are in are half interesting (Carter, Abby, Deb, Kerry), and half not (Elizabeth, Mark, Luka, Benton). I thought the first four episodes or so were far more interesting and better written than any of the recent ones (with the exception of "The Greatest of Gifts").

It's very different from last season, but in terms of overall quality, about the same as last season, all things considered. Not dreadfully horrid... but I'm waiting for the next good episode.

-- Ellen (eedgert1@twcny.rr.com), January 17, 2001.

I'm a little disappointed with this season. For starters, from episode 4 - 8, I just couldn't stand the amount of time Abby was on screen. And I very much so disapprove of her and Kovac. I mean, we see them in bed together, yet we never see them communicating, or talking about each other's problems or comforting... they're just two people occupying the same pair of bedsheets (no offense to you A/L fans)... kinda like Peter and Cleo. They fight one episode, yet they're together in the next, only to have another disagreement. And They've been dating since late last season and Peter already admits his love to her? Geez, it took Mark over a year and a half to let us know he loved Elizabeth when he proposed. Speaking of which, that's the part of this season I'm most pleased with, mostly because I'm a biased M/E fan. I'm glad Kerry is getting some personal plots, because until now we haven't really known that much about her. And she's seemed a lot happier... although I do miss the 'chiefness' about her, the way she would scould the staff and whatnot. Romano, yeah, he's kinda gotten... alittle over the top? Back to Luka, I completely loved his character last year because he was very devoted to patients and had very good morals (like don't break up families and children need to know things, even if it's painful) but this year... he's like Dr. Death... very depressed and all. Is it me, or does it seem liek TPTB are trying to make Abby and Luka the new Doug and Carol? I mean, Abby is now a nurse, and seems to have quite a lot of screen time for a nurse, who so happens to be dating the hunky doctor. And anyone notice how Abby intubated that druggie in "Rescue Me"...and a difficult one to boot? Since when do nurses intubate? She did it so smoothly, yet in SSS last season she had never tubed anyone before. Now the OB/ER nurse is an old pro, ey? Sorry, it's the little things that bug me. And yeah, I feel so sorry for Erik Palladino, because I did enjoy Malluci's stupidity and carelessness last season, and now that brunette nurse, Dorie, from "Under Control" has more lines and screen time than he does. Jing Mei.. I'm extremely pleased with her character. I couldn't stand her last year cos she was exactly what she said: too aggressive, too proud, too competitive and way too good at it. She was a little full of herself, but my mom thinks that this pregnancy has sort of humbled her. And I think it might give Jing Mei some more substance. I'm glad with Carter's character this year, overall. I think his situation is true-to-life and they're going about it in a realistic way. My biggest complaint is I want to see more patients! I know we're supposed to be getting character deveolopment, but I could care less about half the cast and this show is about the emergency room! Not bedrooms, bathrooms, living rooms... oh, and i know it's ER, but i wanna see more of the OR...not one scrub in this year! Not one! Well, we saw Elizabeth in the scrub room in RPS, but there wasn't any soap on her hands. Oh, the last complaint is widescreen: I'm so sick of it! I know this has nothing to do with the season, but I feel like I'm seeing less of the ER... like the camera needs to zoom out a bit so we can get a broader view and see more... not so up close and personal. Oh, and the admit desk: Why'd they have to go and rip out the walls? The way it was was absolutely fine... and this clear board... I just don't like it. Ok, I've probably just said a bunch of things that make no sense, and I'll have people yelling at me, but oh well, I wanted to vent. Overall, the season's decent. I hope it improves during the last half, because I feel like we haven't gotten very far with these first 11 episodes. JMHO.

-- *lucky* (theedge@epix.net), January 17, 2001.

I see this season as being on par with last. Better than season 5, but nothing overly terrific. WRT Luka and Abby being the next Doug and Carol, I can't see it. First of all, even in his darkest moments, Doug had a sense of humor. I see only doom and gloom from Luka. Secondly, there's no repartee, no banter, no teasing or friendship between Luka and Abby. That was the hallmark of Doug and Carol's relationship, even when they were apart.

-- Phyl (erfan@flash.net), January 17, 2001.

As far as I'm concerned, Season 7 has been consistently mediocre. Nothing outrageously stupid, but a lot of little dumb things; nothing amazingly brilliant, but a lot of humdrum events; nothing, in short, that makes you want to laugh, cry or even heave a shoe through the screen. And that apathy, to me, is even more ominous than a show whose plotting and acting just becomes complete schlock - at least you can laugh at that, a la "Mystery Science Theatre." But I digress...

Looking at the characters, grief and uneasiness seemed to pervade the season. Abby, the nurse thrown out of med school because of an irresponsible ex-husband, saddled with an ill mother and an insensitive lover; Luka, the rebel without a cause (really, all he needs is six tons of hair grease and a cigarette to be a character in an S.E. Hinton novel); Carter, battling drug addiction and terminal hubris (I still don't know which habit is harder to kick); Peter, who tried so hard to reach out to his patients in previous seasons and the early episodes of this one, getting slapped every time and retreating more and more into his "I am Surgeon, I feel no emotion" persona; Kerry, both overjoyed and terrified by the prospect of a new relationship; and Mark and Elizabeth, trying to carve out a life, a home and a family for themselves in the face of Mark's illness and Elizabeth's ongoing struggles with Romano. (Note that I didn't mention Cleo, Dave or the Rocket on their own; these characters have, in my opinion, degenerated into caricatures. The nurses should get their screen time; it'd be put to far better use.)

I'd be the first one to tell you that every life is filled with ups and downs, and sometimes people get hit with one downer after another after another. That's life. But to have the entire ER depressed for half a season? Surely somebody has to be happy in the place. Even in my own ED at Beth Israel Deaconess, where we're hemorrhaging red ink and budget cuts are a dime a dozen, people still are happy - because they genuinely love doing what they do. Instead of faked pathos and big dramatic plot twists, let's see some of this for a change. That, I think, would be far more compelling than any helicopter crash or brain tumor.

Another thing that's been consistently missing from the season is the patient aspect, and I know others have commented on this as well. When I really got into watching "ER", when I thought the show was at its most engaging, were the episodes in which my father, my mother and I (a general surgeon, a nurse administrator, and a premed student/ED volunteer) could watch and try to beat each other to the correct diagnosis for each patient. Granted, this is a very limited view, but it serves to illustrate just how important the patients are to this show. Lately it seems that the cast have been so busy breaking their heads over personal matters that they no longer care about patient care, and it shows in the lack of patients in the hospital. Worse, leaving the patients out also deprives us of all the wonderful supporting cast members who also care for them. Who wouldn't want to see more of the nurses, or the other physicians in the hospital? Personally, I'd rather have a lot of little scenes spread out over a whole season rather than the "bolus doses" of specific cast members we've been given lately.

Finally, the "big plot events" haven't been anything all that great. The episodes dealing with Jing-Mei's pregnancy were decent, although rather heavy-handed; however, they also represent some of the best plot development in the season. Likewise, I found the final developments in Mark and Elizabeth's relationship to be very well- handled (loved the bit with the ring in the freezer!). Where the season failed rather spectacularly were the points when the writers tried to artificially create pathos or drama with big, staged events. Life just doesn't happen that way, and in the end "ER" is a show about life. Leave off the crashing helicopters, the insane parents, the tearful family moments in the middle of the ER, the staged "threats" to reputation/job/family/friends. "Big events" do happen, but "ER" would be far better off as a show if they were used more sparingly and in combination with a generous amount of the quiet, believable character development we've seen before.

So, to sum up: "ER" didn't do much for me this season. It wasn't great, it wasn't horrible, it was just blah - and as I mentioned above, if anything kills "ER," it will be apathy. As long as the characters keep growing and the show keeps moving, I'll welcome as many seasons as TPTB want to produce. If they're going to let it stagnate like this, however, I'd rather see it let go while it's still a great hour of television.

Thank you for listening. :)

-- Lindsay E. Murphy (murphyl@earthlink.net), January 17, 2001.

I still think Carter and Abby should get together. I'm convinced that someday they will, I'm still hoping. Cleo and Benton have never really done it for me, so i'm not overjoyed/disappointed in their characters this season. malucci and romano are as funny as usual, maybe more so; you just got to love the both of them even though romano is fun to hate. jing-mei really hasn't been here much this season. i don't like luka's relationship with abby (see above).

all in all, i hope the remaining shows will be shocking. I really don't want to see mark die, but if he must he must. i can't stand to see another single mother on the show. can't any of these people have normal healthy happy relationships??

-- Jessie (sweetbebe0686@yahoo.com), January 18, 2001.

No matter how much I gripe about ER I still love the show and won't quit watching (it's all the high expectations I have). With that said, for the most part this season has been relatively disappointing. There are have been about three episodes that I really enjoyed regardless of which characters are featured (Mars Attacks, The Greatest of Gifts and Piece of Mind). There have been a couple other episodes that weren't terrible, but because they didn't feature my favorite characters I wasn't that interested. Then there are a few episodes that IMO were painful to watch. The one good thing this season is the performances that I've seen. Eriq La Salle, Anthony Edwards, Alex Kingston, Laura Innes, Ming Na have all given very strong performances (some of them with horrible storylines). I hate the brain tumor storyline, however AE and AK make it interesting. Ming Na had a great storyline (not enough screen time, but that's another discussion) and she showed that when given a good storyline that she could deliver. The letterboxing was neat for the first few episodes, however now it is getting old. Although it didn't really bother me until last week's episode, so perhaps it's because the episode was so uninteresting that I just concentrated on the black bars more. However, I'm not sure how well the letter boxing will play in syndication. Anyway I'll be interested to see how the second half of the season plays out (although I'm dreading Sally Field's return), so it can't be all bad afterall I'm still watching :)

-- Emma (webbef@hotmail.com), January 18, 2001.

I think they're doing okay. They are beginning to realize what they needed to fix over the past two seasons, but they aren't there yet. I thought they really got back to that with Mars Attacks (the third episode of the season) and The Visit was pretty good too. I'm guessing the overall impression of the Carter/Abby friendship is good, with a few exceptions. And they've been very consistent with that in every show, since we haven't seen one yet without a Carter/Abby scene (after he got home, of course!) ANd I think they're working on Carter and Deb's friendship too (Greatest of Gifts did a good job of that), but they really stopped their consistency with the Benton/Carter relationship, which I thought they'd take advantage of, since we were all eating that up! The brain tumor storyline is not horrible, but I still don't like it, and Mark and Elizabeth's life is getting way too depressing, in more ways than just that. I can't wait to see them back at work. They need a nice party to get them all together, and they need to deal with Carter's PTSD, because there has got to be some there! Cleo's looking better, Malluchi needs a lot more scenes, and they just need to work the friendships to death. Otherwise, it's getting better.

-- Elaine (mrsclooney78@hotmail.com), January 21, 2001.

"They need a nice party to get them all together"

Elaine... maybe that'd be a *bad* idea:) Remember last time!

Or perhaps they need another banquet. The one in Season 4 was awesome, really show-cased the "family" aspect.

-- samira (matb_west@chickmail.com), January 22, 2001.

Yeah Elaine. Don't you remember the last time they had a party in the ER? I like samira's idea though of another banquet.

-- Andie (non@no.com), January 22, 2001.

First time post here...I saw Sally Field mentioned above, that she's returning? OY VEY, if there's anything I've hated about this season it's been the manic mother routine. I'm not crazy about Abby, and every moment she and her mother were on screen took time away from characters I *do* care about (Benton and Carter, for starters). How many more eps will she be in? Not many, I hope. Too bad shee wasn't standing underneath Mark's helicopter when it when it fell.

The biggest disappointment this season for me: no Benton/Carter interaction.

Fox (foxmonk@yahoo.com)

-- Fox (foxmonk@yahoo.com), January 23, 2001.

I only just started watching at the beginning of this season, and it's the only tv show I watch on purpose (haven't decided if Gideon's Crossing is worth making a habit of yet). So I guess that means I like it. Of course, my tastes seem to run different than everyone elses on here. I seem to be the only one that liked the 3 Abby/Maggie epi's, and the ones everyone else raves about I think are kind of boring. Overall, I think tptb are doing a good job. The hardest thing about watching ER is having enough patience to see what happens next.

-- why? (tkjjd@yahoo.com), January 24, 2001.

Well I'm in Britain so I've only seen 4 episodes so far...but from what I've seen I think it's great, although from what I've read in the reviews about the episodes I haven't seen yet...it seems it's mostly downhill from here!! I don't like the whole Luka/Abby storyline (and also - does anyone else wish that Luka would actually shave once in a while??) I thought he seemed really sleazy when he went to kiss Abby in the bar on their first date - ugh! And the whole brain tumour storyline is really OTT...but hey, it's ER, and I'll carry on watching it!

-- Claire (fatcowwaitingtogetout@skinny.co.uk), March 28, 2001.

I thought Season 7 was so-so. Last nights episode(Rampage) was awesome. It kind of made up for the weaker story lines this season.

Shana

-- shana (skk4286@aol.com), May 18, 2001.