"ER" (10-11 p.m.)
"The High Holiday"

IT'S THE BEST TIME OF THE YEAR -- As Christmas nears, Morris (Scott Grimes) receives an unwanted package from his father while Sam (Linda Cardellini) is anxious about getting Alex (Dominic Janes) off of the ventilator. Meanwhile, a pregnant woman with a high-risk pregnancy is in danger of getting deported. Parminder Nagra, David Lyons and Angela Bassett also star.

Thats a big spoiler there. When does Alex get put on a ventilator???

Seriously, it must happen in "Let it Snow", although there was no description on the episode available. Maybe there is a snowstorm and Alex gets in a car wreck?

This episode had it uplifting moments but also had it's sad moments.

Dr. Banfield has changed since she dealt with the memory of her son's death, has softened towards her husband and the people that work for her. I really liked how she dealt with the same sex couple that had a baby and found out one of them had cancer. She really shows her softer side when it comes to children. I also liked how concerned she was about Sam and I'm sure felt empathy towards her because of the death of her own child. I hope she and her husband succeed in having another baby.

I got such a kick out of Banfield's husband joking with Morris about him sharing a room with his wife at the conference in last week's episode. It gave Courtney Vance a chance to lighten up after all of the angst his character has gone through since he was introduced.

Ryan, Daria and Frank getting high off of those brownies and Banfield's reaction to it was funny.

The return of Jerry was amazing and I hope we see him some more as the final nine episodes air.

Morris dealing with his unresolved issues with his father kind of struck a cord with me. It hit too close to home in the fact that my father passed away three and a half years ago before me or my sister could make peace with him and his neglect from when we were little.

Alex waking up was amazing to see and I was happy for Sam but it was touched with a little bitterness. You could see how emotional both Sam and Tony were when she broke up with him. I have a feeling though that it isn't completely over with them.

Brenner's comment to Neela about 'Good things happen when you take a chance' was very telling. As soon as he said it, I thought to myself, 'Will it send her closer to him or towards a certain former roommate in Baton Rouge.'

I also like what she did with his advice when she put that woman in a cab to another hospital so she could stay with her baby and not be deported. I don't agree with separating a child from his mother, no matter what the circumstances.

I have a feeling the next nine episodes are going to be very interesting for all of the characters.

I hear you on this one D! Her change of heart is apparent, and I think it has allowed those who didn't like her in the beginning, to now sympathize with her.

Welcome back Jerry!

I wish we had seen Morris and his father interact before he died. It seems like his death still haunts Morris. I do "hope"(get it ) Morris has a happy ending.

Isn't it interesting that Neela felt so attached to a case where the husband and wife(as well as baby) were going to be separated? Major Anvil - Brenner: "Good things happen when you take a chance".

Neela helping Gloria near the end was very Abby-esque. Does anyone else think so? It definitely reminded me the episode where Abby and Neela help the young girl escape to go home to Mexico.

Morris was downright endearing, as well as Banfield. It's very nice to see another side of her.

I appreciate a Brenner/Neela friendship, seeing as though the writers love to have them on screen together. Whatever his intentions are, they seem to be helping Neela reconnect to her old, morally righteous self. (back to ray?)

yay jerry!

JERRY! JERRY! JERRY! JERRY!!!

i like banfield and glad the lady and the fact she was dying helped banfield lean on her husband [i love the real life marriage b/w angela bassett and courtney b. vance shining through yup they are happily married in real life with toddler twins]and i love the brownie thing and good o'le frank saying they couldn't eat at his desk but he did.and jerry . neela at the begining was still a stuck up b...h but glad to see breener put her in her place [almost like he was chaneling ray but ray would have said it much sexier] i loved his good things happen to those who wait [well i say we and neela have been waiting ]too long neela needs to get her a.. in gear .glad she went off with archie going with ray's best friend was best keeps her close to ray untill he comes home to her. but god sam makes me sick she uses men almost as bad as neela they do everything wrong in her eyes yet she refuses to open her eyes to the fact that she's completely to blame .she lies to alex as easily as she breathes and treats him like her personal yo-yo my god tony loves that child and her the idiot.heather

I'm just thrilled that Neela went after Morris instead! I think the upcoming episodes are going to be good because the "good things happen when you take a chance" line was enough to point out that Neela needs to take a chance with Ray!

I like your take on this dshortklutz. I saw the emotion in Tony, and in Sam too, but I felt bad for Tony since he seemed to really love his home life with Sam and Alex. I loved Tony, and Sam together. Maybe Sam will realize that she made a big mistake...we will see.

Anyway...back to the episode...

I thought that Banfield was great tonight. She gave support to Sam, and Morris. The other side of her is coming out, the nice side. I hope she and her husband try to have kids, and succeed. Morris was also great tonight. We kinda saw a little bit of his past as each item he saw passed by. When he put the plate of milk, and cookies beside the baby's NICU bed was soo cute. Neela, and Simon are developing a nice friendship, and I like it. The brownie story was funny.

Jerry!!! What a great suprise! Frank looked so funny at the end. He must have been really high from those brownies.

I can't wait for the next new episode!!!

I liked the episode. Wasn't great, but good. I didn't think Alex would die, would've been too much, even for ER. I think Sam is odd-- have always thought so. She certainly doesn't have a past to preach on (as if she hasn't made major mistakes). So, though I can understand her having a hard time separating Alex's accident with Tony's role in letting them go to the party, I'm not sure the case was clearly made. It's not as if she said they couldn't go to the party because they didn't know who was having the party, if the parents were home, etc., I think she just said they had to do their homework. There's a lot more reasons than just homework and weather not to let teenagers go to a party. Maybe Tony was just trying to be "cool" as he suggested at the end. Anywho, maybe that's besides the point (it's the parent in me thinking this over...). I think it was strange for Sam to completely break up with Tony. I think it would've been more normal for her to have said she wants to stay with a friend for a few days to sort things out.

I'm a Reela fan, but I see the show developing the chemistry between Neela and Brenner. I'm hoping the "good things happen when you take a chance" quote from Brenner to Neela could end up actually being about Neela taking a chance with Ray, but the writers are doing a good job at making me think about other possibilities. Hope Neela and Brenner are just becoming friends, helping each other become better people.

Finally saw the whole episode with more calm. Because I have had many exams in my faculty and do not have time to see ER with more depth and attention like I wish...
And I even like to see the friendship between Simon and Neela...only the friendship... I hope their friendship will remain that way...and I hope those Simon's words do Neela follow in the direction of Ray!

Neela really seems to be to evolve and grow as a person. She is more stronger and more determined.
And Please Neela Good things happen ...if you take a chance with Ray.

I thought this entire season has been great. At first I was really angry when they killed off Pratt. I felt that enough characters have died in this series that it is becoming unrealistic.

BUT the rest of this season has been incredible. My favorite (besides Dr. Banfield...Angela Bassett is just amazing) right now is Sam. I think she has worked very hard to be a good parent. And her reason for breaking up with Tony was very clear. She did not agree with his parenting style. Whether or not he could change is irrelevant. She can no longer trust her son with him, nor can she trust his judgement skills. Come on...look at all the things he did not know about Sarah and her firends!!! Sam is demonstrating that no matter how close in age you may be, your first job is to be a parent. Tony never asked where they were going, whose party is was, was there a parent home, etc. He wanted custody of Sarah but never learned how to be a parent.

I totally understand Sam's point. And I'm sure she is sad to leave Tony. Perhaps they will get back together again. But Tony needs to first work on his problems with Sarah. He is in complete denial with that.

Over the years Sam has had some ridiculus story lines and some very unrealistic episodes but right now I think the writing and character development in this final season have been the best ever. I can't wait to see how they wrap it all up.

Oh and Dr. Banfield (Angela Bassett) singing in the lounge!!!! What a tribute to her Tina Turner performance from years back.