Yet another comment :) This is a strange feeling and I want to know if any other long-suffering fans share it: I have never missed the former cast so much as during this episode. I was heartbroken when Susan left and was sad when Doug wasn't there for Great Expectations (I wasn't actually, I mean that I'm sad he wasn't there at all, not just for the epi) but nothing like I feel now. When C and L were being worked on in the trauma rooms, I entirely expected to see intense Doug, and when Mark was looking into the crime scene I was shocked when Carol came along and not Susan. So strange! If it had not been Carol I would have been offended. And Carol nearly counts as the former cast now- when the elevator closed and Mark, Kerry and Luka were left standing there, and no Carol, I thought Oh geez she's really leaving! I did really enjoy all the hints to the past- Dennis Ghant, Random Acts, The Healers, Doc's, Dr Anpaugh, &c. I suppose holding onto the known is what happens (on great tv anyway) when tragedy hits so close. As Mark once said "This is supposed to be a safe place, a place of healing", and now they all have to deal with that safety being violated. ps. for all the C and M fans: wasn't that walk down the hall together great? I'm afraid to say that now matter how likeable and interesting new characters are, that cannot replace characters (and actors) with a long history. Oh man, I wish I never started watching this torturous show!

-- May Archer (archerl@cadvision.com), February 19, 2000

Answers

I know what you mean!! There were so many hints to the past, like "The Healers." I miss the gang gathering at Docs, but it took me back to Raul & Shep. As strange as this sounds, my real tears for that scene came from my memories of that episode.

Also, and for some reason I've caught myself doing this a lot lately, I was definately expecting to see an intense Doug, working dilligently to save them!! Or watching them being wheeled off to surgery, that intense look on his face, knowing the dangers of what they face, and also knowing there's nothing he can do. Then Carol would approach him silently from behind, touch his arm, and nothing would need to be said. *sigh* I shouldn't torture myself this way!!

I, too, half-expected it to be Susan approaching Mark at the end. Did anybody else feel that she would've reacted in the same way as Carol? Soft, stunned, introspective. Anyhow, I was glad it was Carol, and that walk down the hallway was terrific!! I have a feeling they were chosen not only because they have a long history with each other and Carter, but because both of them have been patients in their own ER. That, besides the fact that they know each other so well (they have an unspoken understanding), explains their repressed emotions. It was perfect.

-- Leigh (WillnGraceNYC@yahoo.com), February 19, 2000.

Absolutely. As much as I love and live for ER, I almost wish they would just call it quits. I mean, almost all of the original cast members are gone, and they're introducing new members like there's no tomorrow while other people leave. If it had been done gradually, we could have warmed up to all of the new members slowly, and then it would have been a lot less painful, but we're forced into Luka, Dr. Dave, Cleo etc. so quickly, that I feel like I don't know any of the characters anymore. I'm just thankful for reruns.

-- Rachel (raingrrrl@chickmail.com), February 19, 2000.

I have said this before on here, but I agree, I wanted the old cast together...Mark, Doug, and Carol working to save them, Doug would have been very intent in saving them. In the past I haven't thought much about the nurses, but they are part of the past in ER too...they are all (I think) members of the old cast...Chuney, Malik, Haleh, Lydia...I think Lydia was actually crying when they first brought Carter out. And Randi could barely speak, I wish Jerry had been there. So yeah, I don't totally dislike any of the new characters, but I wanted the old ones around to work and care for Carter and Lucy.

-- Elaine (mrsclooney78@hotmail.com), February 20, 2000.

Sorry, one more thing, does anyone feel like the newer episodes are so different from the first few seasons? I know, of course it will be different, since characters have come and gone, and others have changed, but the earlier ones seemed almost more friendly and lighter...funnier. I don't have time to watch reruns that often, but I just watched one from the first season that I hadn't seen before where a very young, goofy Carter called a song into the radio for Susan and then he takes Susan's and Carol's hands and they dance. It was very cute. He should have been that way with Lucy!

-- Elaine (mrsclooney78@hotmail.com), February 20, 2000.

Yes, I love that episode!! The three of them dance to "Twist & Shout." The older episodes managed to mix the elements perfectly. That just doesn't happen much anymore.

-- Leigh (WillnGraceNYC@yahoo.com), February 20, 2000.

If any of you guys look here again: I see our names often saying similar things on other posts, and we all seem to enjoy the oldies, (and I think this is a place safe from vengeful Lucy fans,) so I would like to ask the question: Did any of you like Lucy in the first place? I certainly didn't and I'm glad she is gone from the show. She just didn't jive. The send out was fabulous, a great opportunity for drama (hey even I felt really bad for a while, till I remember that the human Kelly Martin is alive and well), but I'm glad she's gone. No flame wars please.

-- May Archer (archerl@cadvision.com), March 04, 2000.

May-

I couldn't agree more!! I liked ER much better in the first third, maybe fourth seasons. Ever since the fifth season its been downhill (except for the last 3 episodes). Just coincodence that Lucy joined in fifth season? I wonder.

*~Amelia~*

-- Amelia (sorry@msn.com), March 05, 2000.

You're preaching to the choir regarding the old cast. I miss everything about them and find this NewER to be simply not as satisfying.

Years ago, though I always loved Doug and Carol, I enjoyed the ENTIRE cast. I didn't whine when Doug wasn't featured, didn't complain about his lack of screen time, I just enjoyed the daylights out of the whole show. Nowadays, the new cast has brought about new fans, and that's good for the continuation of the show, but I find that the new fans have no clue about what ER was and don't appreciate what was laid down in the past. Case in point: After one of my reviews, I got an e-mail from someone who took great pains to explain why Luka Kovac should take his place, and I quote, as the "rightful father of Carol's twins." Needless to say, I shook my head in disbelief. The person was clueless.

The first three, possibly four (though I'm stretching it) seasons were wonderful. Now, for these last two I find myself really loving about three or four episodes out of twenty-four, and find myself enjoying *scenes* rather than episodes. A far cry from what it used to be.

I'm rambling, yes? Sorry. To answer another question, I didn't like Lucy the minute she was on screen. I felt that she walked in at a terrible time -- remember we were waiting to see what the result of "Hole in the Heart" would be and what our beloved "old" characters were up to and got, as we said then, "All Lucy, All the Time." So, I never cared for her.

-- Phyl (erfan@flash.net), March 05, 2000.