At the risk of offending others, I must ask:

Am I the only one who does not like Carol? It seems that all of her scenes are predictable and that her character is self-righteous and boring...

-- sharon (lobsteregg@aol.com), February 25, 2000

Answers

Sharon I have to semi agree with you. I have really liked Carol through all of the episodes, but ever since she gave birth she has just been boring, unemotional (well not unemotional, but just not as caring, at least not to her friends),predictale and plannly, just not in character. Hopefully as Julianna Margulis is about to exit the show we will see some more and final character expansion.

Amy

-- Amy (areinders@hotmail.com), February 25, 2000.

I think she was back to her former behavior on Thursday's episode. The sweet, loving, caring Hathaway we know and love. :-) "5'6, pretty, packs an attitude." Anyhow, in all honesty, who WOULDN'T behave a little out of the ordinary if they were a single working mother of infant twin daughters? I won't even START on the Doug situation, which of course adds to her possible "emotional wreck" status...

-- Leigh (WillnGraceNYC@yahoo.com), February 25, 2000.

I just don't know how I feel about Carol these days! I absolutely hated her reaction when told about Lucy's death and haven't seen anything very nice about her character since she had her children also. Seems like Romano and Carol have switched brains or something...lol.

-- Joy (joijoy@webtv.net), February 26, 2000.

these last past episodes carol has been mean or something worse[ if you know what i mean]

-- rachel (thehilfigergirl@aol.com), February 26, 2000.

I've always found Carol to be a self-righteous busybody. I was aggravated when she went looking for the ex-wife of the man dying from chemical burns. I totally agreed with the mother who didn't want to put her 6 year old through the trauma of seeing a suffering, dying stranger who would suddenly announce he was the father she had never known. How dare Carol intrude like that, especially after being told "No" on the phone? Remember when she had the pregnant waitress busted and arrested, and that social services took her baby away at birth? It was none of her business to butt in, no matter what seemed good to her. She should just do her job and stay out of people's personal lives. She sure hasn't done a very good job managing her own!

-- Chessie King (barrelofcrows@hotmail.com), February 26, 2000.

Carol gives me a headache. I can't wait for her to be gone! Her performances come actoss very flat to me so I do not understand all this "she is such a great actress" nonsense.

-- Alice (abutton68@aol.com), February 26, 2000.

About Carol tracking the ex-wife of the man with chemical burns. That, naturally, stems from her anger at not having a chance to say goodbye to her own father. She started to wonder if he was asking for her, and she never showed up...it was bringing forth emotions from her past. She did what she did with the pregnant waitress to protect the baby, she herself being pregnant at the time.

-- Leigh (WillnGraceNYC@yahoo.com), February 26, 2000.

St. Carol has always bugged me. She is a mega jerk lately. I can't believe how selfish she is about not letting Doug know he has babies. She seems to get way too involved in most of the patients lives, except of course for her colleagues, whom she blames for messing up her schedule! I realize it is the writers, but she is icky!

-- 2222 (rachelrr@ivillage.com), February 26, 2000.

To be truthful I've never liked Carol...not from day one. In my opinion she should have died during her overdose episode, which I believe was her first. Her character has always been predictable and shallow

-- Ann (isadora@ime.net), February 26, 2000.

I love Carol, she's my second-favorite actress ever. Interesting that so many here say they don't like her because TPTB didn't offer Julianna Margulies $27 million for nothing. She is, to me, the heart of the ER and I'll miss her tremendously. She's not supposed to be perfect. Perfect characters don't exist on ER...well, except for one, and I think that'll change soon ;^D

-- Phyl (erfan@flash.net), February 27, 2000.

Her acting is flat? Did you happen to miss "Sleepless in Chicago", The Storm part 2", "Great Expectations", etc etc etc?

She is afterall the only person in the cast to have ever won an Emmy.

-- - (marcysux@aol.com), February 27, 2000.

After reading the last response, I must say this: I LOVE Julianne Margulies, I HATE Carol! It takes a great actress to play a character that uptight and meddling, though! I almost think the writers and Ms. Margulies are trying to 'let us down easily'--that is, they don't want us to miss her TOO much when she leaves. How very considerate, if that's the case! --Michele

-- Michele Billau (kpminc@aol.com), February 28, 2000.

Lucy's tragedy has unleased some bad feelings toward Carol. Whether or not Carol has shown an appropriate amount of grief on camera, is probably unfair. Carol is being perceived as as a meddling, heartless busybody. That is a contradiction in itself.

I think we have to remember that Lucy was not very nice to Carol. From the beginning, Lucy was letting Carol cover for her mistakes and inadequacies (making Carol look back). I think Lucy was ungrateful to Carol. In the episodes after that, Lucy treated Carol badly, going as far as to question Carol's judgement and call her just a nurse. In the beginning Carol tried to help Lucy and protect her and for her own good, made Lucy own up to her deficiencies.

Lucy was not perfect, neither is Carol. As a character in a TV show, Carol is not so bad. If I were in a ER fighting for my life I would be fortunate if I were lucky enough to have Nurse Hathaway saving my life.

-- judie (jasbel95@aol.com), February 29, 2000.