#juliana marguilies

[er-fan]

S1E1 - 24 Hours

Hello world! I’m going to keep up this blog about watching the tv show ER. I’m not very good at writing, so please keep your expectations low. This is mainly a document for my first impressions.

To give some backstory, I grew up in the 90s when pop culture seemed a lot smaller and more accessible. TV shows like ER were an event. It isn’t like now when we have so much to watch and people are watching youtube to the point where they don’t even buy TVs. (I’m guilty of that. I know at some point I do want to buy one and a bluray player.) I watched a few episodes here and there throughout the 90s. I was never a regular viewer. We had one family tv and others usually had access to it. I watched tv shows as reruns or in syndication on other channels.

A few weeks ago, I started thinking about the big tv shows from my childhood/teenager years. ER popped into my head. I wanted to know what happened with George Clooney’s storyline. I wanted to see Lucy again. So, I was very glad to see that all the episodes are available on Hulu. Since the episodes are forty-five minutes or more I’ll be watching one per day most of the time.

Yesterday on 6 August 2020, I watched the ninety minute premiere of ER called 24 Hours. 

Premiered: 19 September 1994

Synopsis: The viewers meet the main characters: Dr. Greene, played by Anthony Edwards, who is chief resident of the ER; Dr. Ross, played by George Clooney, who is a pediatrician; Dr. Lewis, played by Sherry Stringfield, who is a resident; John Carter, played by Noah Wyle, who is a medical student; and Dr. Benton, played by Eric La Salle,  who is a surgical resident.

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What stuck out to me throughout this episode is how exhausted these doctors and students have to be. You are awake for long hours, encountering who knows what with your next patient. You barely have a minute to unwind and those darn nurses just keep taking your coffee and never making more for you. 

Dr. Greene’s dilemma throughout the first episode is whether or not he should take a well paying job at a private hospital. He would be able to spend time with his family. I suspect that this issue will keep popping up throughout the season.

Dr. Ross is first seen coming into the ER drunk on his night off. This is apparently what he likes to do in his free time.

Dr. Lewis seems like a competent resident. We know that she has relationship issues and may be getting back together with her boyfriend. She seems very competent and confident when dealing with her patients.

Dr. Benton takes the lead in a situation where a patient would otherwise have died. He goes above his duties as a resident and it is appreciated by the surgeons.

John Carter is first being taught by Dr. Benton and he seems very nervous about helping the patients, but you start to see him grow a little more confident by the end of the episode.

~

The secondary character of Nurse Carol, played by Julianna Marguiiles will become more prominent in the show from what I can remember, but right now she doesn’t have much screen time. Towards the end of the episode she leaves the hospital, only to come back in an ambulance having overdosed on medication in an attempted suicide. Whether she lives or dies isn’t resolved in this episode.

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Attempted suicide wasn’t the only serious topic addressed during this episode. There was also an instance of child abuse that Dr. Ross handled. A crying baby with burn marks and a skull fracture is brought to the ER by his babysitter. We see that it is the mother who is doing this to her child. 

I felt terrible hearing that baby cry knowing that many real live babies/children are abused by their parents. I’m glad it was addressed on the show. 

~

Even though this episode was very long, I felt very engaged with it. The characters seemed like real people. I’m looking forward to seeing how Dr. Greene can stay in the ER without hurting his wife who needs more time with him, if Dr. Ross has feelings for Nurse Carol, and when Nurse Carol gets better.

Also, there was a member of staff complaining a sore throat and he kept being ignored. I wonder if that will pop up again with him having something serious. I wish I could recall his name.

Also, I wish I could recall what Dr. Benton said about how the residents only make $23,000.00 before taxes. This was set in the 90s, but I wonder what surgical residents make today.

[anik]

juliana marguilies is so sexy in the sopranos i always forget what a curly wig does to me

[reneegoldsberry]

Look who’s back at The Good Wife one last time? Geneva Pine!!  🙌🏼 🙌🏼 🙌🏼

[griesly]

So conflicted about the best actress in a series award but - hot damn, Julianna Margulies is flawless.

[er-fan]

S1E3 - Going Home

Premiered: 29 September 1994

Synopsis: Carol returns to her first day back at work since her suicide attempt. Dr. Ross tells everybody to be sensitive towards. Dr. Lewis and another doctor go head to head about how to treat a patient. Dr. Carter struggles with time management.

I didn’t want to watch the show tonight for some reason, but I’m so glad that I did. Of course, it’s still so overwhelming hearing a massive volume of medical terms thrown rapid fire, but it feels authentic. It’s going to take me a while to get comfortable, but it does give you empathy for the residents like Dr. Carter who struggles to keep up at times.

Dr. Carter.... wow. That woman from the last episode who likes to seduce doctors showed up again. Her name is Liz. I wonder if she’s going to be trouble down the line. 

The big story line that I really liked in this episode was how Carol came back to work. It was eight weeks after he suicide attempt. She made a lot of jokes about what happened. Dr. Ross kept trying to make another connection with her. She’s moved on with another doctor, but I don’t think it’s absurd to think that she still has feelings for him. Aside from romance though, I want to know why Carol did what she did. There has to be something more going on in her life which caused her to act that way. I hope that gets delved into more over this season.

Dr. Lewis and a cardiologist disagree with how to treat a patient. She wanted to use drug therapy and the other doctor wanted an angiogram. When they were doing their meeting, all the rest of the doctors agreed with her opponent. They would have done an angiogram. She was disappointed that Dr. Greene didn’t support her decision and he reminded her that even though they are friends, that they could still disagree. 

Random thoughts:

I was so disappointed when a patient who was being abused by her husband refused to go to a shelter. Her son was forced to deny that his father was hurting his mother. That is so much to put on a child.

I liked how Carol connected with a patient who has leukemia who takes it one day at a time and seems to appreciate what little life she has left.

[reneegoldsberry]

The Good Wife 5.12 - LMAO!