From NBC Universal Media Village

ER
TANDEM REPEATS
05-08-2008 10:01PM

LIFE ISN'T FAIR-AIDA TUTURRO ("The Sopranos") GUEST STARS-- Morris (Scott Grimes) is de briefed by the hospital psychologist after his traumatic run in with the jewelry thieves. Neela (Parminder Nagra) is frustrated when Sheryl (guest star Aida Tuturro) must go in for a fourth surgery to fix the infection. Abby (Maura Tierney) struggles to make a decision after she is offered a new job. Mekhi Phifer, Linda Cardellini, and John Stamos also star.

Show Cast: Linda Cardellini, Parminder Nagra, Mekhi Phifer, Maura Tierney, John Stamos, Scott Grimes, Goran Visnjic

The description is up...

Did anyone realize that it's been a year since Ray's accident?

Anyway, this episode didn't do much for me. I found it to be pretty average at best. I would have to say that it was the worst post strike episode so far. I find Neela's story touching, however, I really wish we had gotten to see more of her and Sheryl's interaction. I would have liked to hear the conversations they had about their personal lives and watch their relationship grow. It would have made that storyline more potent emotionally.

Brenner is a sick dog that adds absolutely nothing to the cast or the show.

I'm getting tired of Sam and Gates using the hospital as a motel. Is there nothing more of substance to give these two?

Abby's patient's story was obviously a parallel to what's going on in her personal life with Luka. I don't really think the story really added any new dimensions or was even that intriguing in general for that matter. The interactions with the parents and the girl/boy felt flat to me. There was no emotional impact.

Pratt and Betina's short scene was cute. I like the fact that Pratt is in love.

I wish we could have seen more of Morris and really get into his head after what he experienced. I think TPTB really missed an opportunity with that and I was dissapointed.

Anyway, next week's finale looks great. Was that Luka punching out Moretti?

What I find funny is how sanctimonious Sam was when she realized Abby had been drunk at work....last time I checked, both being drunk AND having sex are pretty big NO NO's while you're working.

Just sayin'.

Okay, so this has been driving me nuts. Does anyone know who played Lois' mom in this episode? I know her from another show or movie, but I can't put my finger on where. It's driving me crazy!??!?!?

Anyone know?

Overall: *shrugs* just okay. The writers really did miss an opportunity to explore more of Morris' emotions re the hostage situation and show what made him finally decide to go back to the counselor in the end. Scott Grimes really is wonderful when he's given good dramatic material instead of just slapstick all the time.

In the case of Neela and Sheryl, though, I felt okay with the emotional element here -- we've seen them bond in the past and clearly Neela was upset about what was happening to her patient. Today was more about the mechanics of being of a surgeon -- having to take the bad, view it from a clinical perspective and move on. Sounds cold, but it's part of what enables them to keep doing their job. Dubenko was great in these scenes. Has Neela cried three epis in a row now??! She really is an emotional basket case, and I really hope that the tears pay off for Roomie fans in the end.

Gates and Sam, don't get me started. How all your colleagues can see you do that all over the hospital and still take you seriously is beyond me.

Dr. Brenner is definitely an ass, but there's always a need for an ass in house.

That Lois/Lonnie person's glowing yellow eyes were totally freaky. I did like the interaction between her/him and the mother though. That twist with the mom having cirrhosis was interesting in that it gave some insight into the issues that might have influenced Lois's decisions six years ago when he moved out.

And can you believe that was Mrs. Garrett from "Facts of Life"?? (If you don't know 'Facts of Life' then I am really really old.)



That's Beth Broderick. She's on Lost and was on Sabrina, the Teenage Witch for a while too, according to her imdb profile: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0110803/

"You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have The Facts Of Life...The Facts of Life!" (and yes, I can do the rest of the song. I just don't wanna. ).

It's not that we're old. It's that other people are really, really young.

tonight's show was so-so IMO. I HATE the Gates/Sam thing....Sam has had more p****s in her than a porcupine this past while. Really, they got her rotten kid out of the picture, thank god, then turned her into the town pump. Perhaps an AIDS scare is in the future for her and all she has boinked? I used to work in hospitals....funny how in tv land there are never any supervisors? I sure wouldn't want to be getting the linens that don't get removed after one of the many 'sex scenes' lately...ewwwwwwy.

I cried watching Neela watch the blog of the family..that was well done.

I miss Luka.

I can't wait for Dr Carter to return next season and bring some professionalism back to the show.

AS FOR THE NEW DR.....shoot him, fire him, just get rid of him...he adds NO VALUE to the show....we have all worked with jerks and morons, why do we need another one on tv?

JMO

Four actually (!). She cried on her birthday in front of Dubenko, she cried the next episode when Sheryl had the aortic graft infection, she cried last week during the hostage situation (justified, IMO )and then today. Maybe TPTB are making up for all the "fun" she had earlier in the season. I do hope they address the reason for her emotions being all over the place. It seems so unlike Neela since she tends to keep things bottled up usually. I will be very disappointed, though, if nothing is addressed next week since it's the last episode this season.

I adored Morris! He's an amazing actor... I wish he had more screen time.

I'm trying to like Gates and Sam together, but I just can't seem to get into it. Looks like TPTB are setting them up to be the "power couple" next year, but I can't even begin to imagine them as the next Luka and Abby...



Sandalwood - I do remember Facts of Life, so you're not alone!

what happened to the part where dubenko slams a chart on the table yelling at neela, i remember seeing it last week

it was a good episode, it was sick how pratt came threw and saved the day for lois, after sweet talking to his girl

i thought it was gonna be abbys last day then she came back at the last minute with pratt

The Episode was okay I dozed off a few times but, I got to see most of it. I didn't miss much. Sam and Gates are annoying me. Morris was good, I felt bittersweet for Pratt,(that's all I'll say about that ) brenner is cute but an ass wipe. Neela, I've been trying to figure her out these last episodes. I hope her interactin with sheryl is going to help her deal with the realities of life. I hope the season finale does something positive for her.

I loved the facts of life. Oh Mrs. Garrett... Charlotte Rae is great.

LOL thats it!!!! I knew I'd watched her on another show! She was Aunt Zelda!!! Thanks so much!

Is anyone frustrated that we haven't really gotten to the core of Neela's current breakdown? I mean I like the fact that she's getting more screen time and that her storylines have gotten more interesting, but I feel there is something missing. I like the fact that Neela is showing all this emotion, but what is the root cause of it? There is no substance behind it. We need to get into Neela's head. This is my only gripe with her storylne with Sheryl, which was otherwise a very effective storyline. We should have seen some deeper conversation, especially coming from Neela's end.

You hit the nail on the head exactly G-Unt! THANK YOU! I don't understand why the writers/producers continue to drag their heals in properly developing the character of Neela. She has so much potential to be a multi-faceted character but unfortunately just like they did with the character of Ray Barnett, they are wasting the talent of Parminder Nagra (just like they did with Shane West). They have no qualms about telling the same story over and over again with other characters (Luka, Abby, Sam, Gates) instead of developing other just as worthy/interesting characters (Neela, Ray, Morris). TPTB have only 19 more episodes to finally step up their game and write a decent/front-burner storyline for Neela. Here's my advice:

-Have Neela finally "break-down" and express what she is truly feeling inside
-Have Neela grow a backbone not just professionally but personally as well
-Bring Ray Barnett back and give him a front-burner/substantial storyline
-Have Neela fight for Ray this time and not give up until they are united as a couple once and for all.
-Have Morris and Ray become the new powerhouse duo in the ER.
-Give Morris a more substanial storyline and bring back his beloved Hope.

If and only if these things occur will the show have any chance of staying afloat in the 15th season after Pratt/Abby/Luka take their final bow. Also bringing back Carter (though a great character he was) is not enough and he shouldn't become the sole focus of the show's last season. There are two many other loose ends that need to be properly "tied up". Listen to the fans Wells & Co. otherwise your mighty "ship" is going to ride off into the sunset and sink.

Peace,
Sem1973

Until Neela deals with her emotional turmoil concerning Ray and Gallant she cannot move on. One would think this would mean resolution of Reela in Season 15. Shane West has to be in front of the camera in the upcoming season to do this justice. I really can't believe TPTB would resolve Reela off-camera w/o a face to face meeting between Ray and Neela.

Oh, good, buzzy - glad i wasn't imagining it and good thing you're keeping track too. All of this crying had better mean something decisive, or I will just be mad.



Henia, this cracked me up! Not "must-see TV" anymore, huh?



Lord help us, sem! lol! That'd be like Scrubs on a power trip.

Did anyone feel that the way they tried to get Abby to come to this out-of-nowhere/sudden revelation that the County system was so flawed was very forced and out of character? Has this ever been an issue for Abby before? I know that Abby needs an exit arc but giving her the excuse that she wants to leave County because the standard of care is not good enough and it's just too much beauracracy is just lame.

I thought this episode was just OK.

Morris: Why oh why didn't they dig a little deeper into why he went back to the therapy. They set it up well and then didn't really didn't give us the progression to why ended up back in therapy. Nothing really changed in the course of the episode for him to want to go back, right? Or did I miss something?

Neela: Man, she's an emotional wreck. The 4th episode in a row that she's broken down? I don't really know where they're going with her but I hope (like many of you) that all this crying will lead her to Ray.

Pratt: He's just gotten so sweet. I love it!! I do wish they would've given him more screen time with Betina.

Sam and Gate: Ahh, they just got on my nerves. Do they have nothing else to offer besides sex? Come on!!

Brenner: I know he's an ass but... the show needs an ass and he fits the bill nicely.

Abby: She was absolutely great in this episode. Reminded me of the old Abby, when she didn't have all this drama in her life. It was great parallel to what was going on in her life and she handled it so well. Gave me a lot of hope for Abby and Luka to end up together. I loved how she told the dad "the people you love, they can't always help who they are and they do stuff we don't understand but you have to just try and get past that; especially when they need you" Wow, felt like those words were meant for Luka.

Btw, I missed Luka sooo much and I cannot wait for next week's episode. Looks really good!!!

[Lord help us, sem! lol! That'd be like Scrubs on a power trip. ]

LOL!!!!!!!!!! Too funny! I love "Scrubs" by the way. That's another perfect example of a show that NBC really took for granted. My two favorite medical shows: "ER" (for the drama and heart) and "Scrubs" (for the off-the-wall humor).

Peace,
Sem1973

[Until Neela deals with her emotional turmoil concerning Ray and Gallant she cannot move on. One would think this would mean resolution of Reela in Season 15. Shane West has to be in front of the camera in the upcoming season to do this justice. I really can't believe TPTB would resolve Reela off-camera w/o a face to face meeting between Ray and Neela. ]

ITA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Peace,
Sem1973

I like Abby, I really do, but she was giving off this impression of tapping her toes/waiting patiently for Luka to "get over" the affair so they could carry on with life as usual. Her comments to Lois's parents -- and I get that it was all a parallel to her life -- seemed more about justifying her own behavior. Like, Luka should love her anyway, Luka should just accept it, Luka should take her as she is, Luka should know she's still true-blue Abby. I do want them back together, but I don't see her being very contrite or guilt-ridden over what she did -- it seems, in a subtle way, that she feels she was big enough and honorable enough to tell him, so now she expects that he should be big enough to forgive and forget.

Re the new job, I think for a lot, if not most, physicians in her position, it would be a no-brainer to take that job. Especially since Luka took a new job, I think she'd be inclined to have a fresh start herself. Hmm, let's see...work long hours at an underfunded, understaffed, inner-city ER with low doctor survival rate from shootouts and falling helicopters vs. big paycheck, great benefits, probably a less cranky and better looking assistant than Frank, efficient work flow and you still get to save people's lives. I admire Abby's dedication, but at this stage of her life, it's not really a tough call.

You make a good point Sandlewood in regards to Abby and the new job. I also think with Luka no longer at County, she may not want to continue working there with all those memories still lingering in the air. JMO. I too hope that Luka and Abby get back together but the only way they are going to mend their broken marriage/family is by meeting each other half-way. Abby was definately in the wrong and she should be sorry for what she did not only to her self but to Luka and Joe as well. Luka deserves some time to think but he hopefully while thinking he realizes the position he had put Abby in very early on in their marriage. It's like "I do" and then "goodbye". Yes his father dying was a good reason to visit Croatia but he should have let Abby and Joe come with him rather than leaving them behind. Abby wanted to go but stayed behind to respect his wishes. I know Luka can be a private person but this is the woman he wanted to marry and the son they conceived in love, not just some woman he was dating at the time. Abby is not usually very big on family (I mean look at her own example) but the fact that she was all for going with him, should have accounted for something with Luka. Anyway, what's done is done and I just hope they can find their way back to each other. Now if only the same can be done for Ray and Neela!

Peace,
Sem1973

Didn't Abby stay behind because Joe didn't have his passport yet, and that was the problem? I thought Luka wanted them with him, but they couldn't go because of the red tape surrounding Joe? :

So I don't think it was a matter of Luka being private, and Abby "respecting his wishes", I think it was the fact that they COULDN'T go.

Am I completely wrong here? I'm pretty sure that's the way it went down, isn't it? Or am I losing my mind (again)?

At the beginning of ER's latest episode, Tandem Repeats, Morris is talking to a psychiatrist while sitting on a couch. In the background is a piece of pottery that is visible for a while. Does anyone think the pottery is Mata Ortiz? Just curious. Thanks.