ER

Oh.. this episode really worked well. First the fooled us for quite long before the truth was revealed. It starts as Abby is sent to waiting area to look patients and he finds a man who has a shotwound. Wife tells a sad story and Abby believes her and she with Dubenko hide evidence and in the end it comes out, they both were involved.



Neela gets home and Gates treats a very special boy. That kid was just amazing- the way he figured out what he has and the way he talked but on the same time, he was a kid.. and he had fears.. beautiful episode.

I really liked this episode.

Lots of humour in one-liners and quick interactions. I liked Frank's gene studies for instance, with Pratt being Jewish, hehe.

It had time for 'almost' injokes e.g. there were loads of references to Sam's hair , and relationships e.g. the nurses' speed-dating - so it focused on the personal and the audience empathy, as well as the medicine. Like Ray's locker scene. These are the things ER has been missing in later seasons, because they just haven't made room for it. But we got so much of it tonight

Oh, and it was lovely to get the image of a matured settled house-broken Pratt at that 'double date'.

I thought they laid it on a bit heavy with Gates and the kid, like they were really trying too hard to suddenly get the audience to forgive all his faults and love him. I don't always get their intentions with the character, they seem to pull him one way and then push him the other.

It will be nice to see Abby and Neela as house-mates They were really emphasising the fact that Abby still loves Luka this episode.

Didn't like Hope much She improved on me last season, lets hope she doesn't slide back down.

Moretti telling Bernie he was God was funny.

Best scene: Abby taking care of Neela, sort of rekindling their friendship of old, and eventually talks her into staying with her & baby Joe while recuperating. Funniest scene: Moretti pretending to be God.

Saddest scene: Morris & Pratt "retiring" Ray's locker.

Odd scene: Gates in ICU, talking to the child prodigy "Fazio-Londes" patient. They seemed to have nothing in common, like coming from opposite worlds, and yet understanding each other somehow.

Most annoying: The speed dating. I know it's supposed to be a bit of fun, but I find that "meat market" thing degrading for all involved. Just saying...... Sam's new hair colour is great, though! I really like it and I hope she keeps it!

Hard work in the ER?: Frank's genealogy thing made me wonder, how can he find time to do that at work? - Well, perhaps he did the research at home and told the others about it when he met them at work.

Right or wrong?: The story of Carlos Vega, the patient with a bullet in his back, made me think about how things can't always be easily characterized as "right" or "wrong", and sometimes there is more to see than meets the eye.

well i think this episode was a little boring i mean other years they have an amazing season premier and they still have drama and action for the second episode of the season, for example, last year with "Bloodline" we had one of the best season premieres ER, and then "Graduation Day" was an excellent episode also so i don´t know why they couldn´t do the same thing this year, i mean "The War Comes Home" wasn´t as strong as "Bloodline" but i really think this episode was boring and uneventful, i hope they do a nice storyline with that kid in the ICU and hope to see Moretti through the whole season!!!

This has been a totally surprising start to the 14th season of 'ER'. It's not tense. It's not gripping. Bloody? At times. Revealing? Slowly and surely. It is also confusing after a rabidly obsessive kind of past two seasons. Surprisingly I am really liking Abby without her Croatian Sensation shadowing her every move at work....even though I DO miss their romantic interludes at home. It's kind of mindful of the reasons that her character was so appealing in the very beginning. It's interesting to see moments where she and Stanley Tucci's Moretti character work in perfect sync with one another. This week it was the moment they stepped away from the gun shot victim and planned the x-ray and phone call to the police. He may be rankling her by putting her in the waiting room to do her job but she is learning...which is his intention. While the staff are involved in work and play together, the patients have been more up front than usual. This week's comedy bit was Mr. Zucker and his 'message from God'...via the speakers and Tucci. Hee. For Abby it was Carlos Vega, a gunshot victim that put her and Dubenko in moral cahoots with one another...and surprised them both with their inability to read the situation correctly. Gates was tolerable this week, but he was focusing on a kid...and Stamos does his best work with kids. But if they are hoping to make the character more likeable, they better find another color for him. Blue has long been Luka's signature color and it instantly rankled me to see Gates wearing it. Pratt and Morris worked together on a pregnant Teacher/student relationship that ended with a car crash. This one was ripped from the headlines and has been over done everywhere. I was glad to see that it wasn't the full focus of the show. Didn;t like it much at all. After watching the episode twice, Sam's new hair color is growing on me. Liked the speed dating bit with Chuny and Dawn but it's actually SO passe. The guy with the time machine in his garage was a nice touch as to how much. Pratt and Morris had some other good stuff to work with this week. Cleaning out Ray's locker was heartbreaking but had a nice comraderie spin to it. Nice to see that Ray may be gone but is not forgotten. Morris had a running argument going with Hope regarding her desire to work in Caracas (?) for six months. Not his thing and he knows it. Watching him deal with Pratt's assistance was nice. I am liking Pratt much more thus far this season. He even went so far as to suggest himself as ER Chief to Anspaugh. LOL Neela is coming along with her recovery and becoming addicted to day time television. Her blah persona was pretty credible as one who has been in a hospital bed with only television, gummy worms and magazines for stimulation. The friendship between she and Abby is getting back on track. Yay! The only truely disheartening moment in the episode was Abby's admission that Luka seems 'comfortable' in Croatia. It was a subtle reminder that Maura's tenure in the ER is ending as her contract expires this year. Sigh. Tucci continues to rankle people even as he forces them to do a better job. My heart was breaking as he pulled Morris to attention and forced him to tell Casey's mom that he was gone. He is irritating Pratt by watching his every move. He forced Abby to take another look at the patients in the waiting room. A wierd move....I think. Last week Abby told Moretti that the ER is not always the 'bunker'....that most days it's not. This was one of those 'regular' days. Very quietly and nicely done.

I don't think that what was in the preview was actually in the show. They had the guy being held against his will and the cops screaming orders with the doctors refusing. And then when you watch it you keep waiting for the action to take place, but nothing happens. You find out what's going on, but nothing major happens. It is mellow from beginning to end. I wish they'd do something crazy where you feel like someones breaking policy. I thought this one was going to be better than the series premiere, but it's shocking to think that it is not. Even though I can't remember it. How sad.

Another day kicks off in the ER, with the new chief Moretti kicking in a number of changes to how things will work from now on. Amongst those changes include a trial period of having a doctor in the waiting area, a job Moretti volunteers Abby to do.



Whilst doing this job, Abby discovers a patient who is eventually diagnosed to have a bullet shot to his lower back. A dilemma follows for Abby and Lucien about the best course of action with regards the patient and the police - no doubt in the end conclusion is a life lesson for us all.



Meanwhile, Neela recovers sufficiently to be discharged (after a moderately funny scene where firstly her love for daytime TV and then her bowel movements are questioned), and in a (sort of) link Ray's locker is cleared out.



Aside from that, the episode offered little else. Gates first day was fairly plain in ICU, and he further distanced himself from any possibility of us liking him by having his patient deliver the diagnosis.



On the positives, Moretti is growing as a character and has the potential to be a decent character I hope (kudos for the microphone 'this is God' moment). Sam (Linda C) looked hot with dark hair and the Frank geneology side was quite amusing, particularly his 'discovery' that Pratt is of Jewish origins.



Long gone are the Carter et al days, but if the writers play it right there is potential here for the future. However overall this episode failed to deliver.