I've been giving some thought to Cleo the past few days (in light of all the controversy here) and it seems no one has explored some interesting things yet...

We've been given some real clues into who she is so far. 1)She takes better care of herself than almost anyone else on the staff (exercising, etc)...or at least she's shown taking care of herself more than anyone else.

2)She has a clear sense of morals from which she doesn't deviate at work (she took responsibility for iron poison girl, wouldn't lie for Carter, wouldn't allow Peter to not share blame for prescription).

3)She is more interested in meaningful relationships than flings (is attracted to Peter but wants to get to really know him...wanted to talk over coffee instead of going to jazz club)

4)She has a beautiful house full of beautiful things but believes in using them (wants to work out/get sweaty in living room rather than garage, doesn't seem overly concerned about carpeting on stairs).

So who is this person? I'm not sure how to express what it seems she has...maybe it's an incredible sense of the worth of things. A beautiful house is important but not if you can't actually live in it. A beautiful man is nice to have around, but not if you don't take the time to get to know him. What is this leading up to? I can't help but wonder how she's going to put up with Peter's crap. Others here have noted he has trouble opening up and treating the women in his life as they deserve (even going back to Jackie and his mom). How will Cleo deal with this? And what I'm even more interested in is what the Cleo-Peter-Reece triangle will work out. She's a peds res, but how does she really feel about kids? Will Peter allow her to get close to Reece? I'm not saying that Cleo and Peter seem yet to be ultimately right for each other, but how it plays out may be more compelling than I, at least, initially thought.

-- nancy (ntc72@mailcity.com), April 11, 2000

Answers

Great thread, Nancy. I'm hoping the Cleo storyline opens up a bit more soon. There obviously is some mystery there behind the character, but it's been subtle...due to the writing, acting, or possibly other distractions--on the show and for fans. Your observations are very insightful. Thanks for posting them. I'm not going to say anything more now until I've had a chance to think about this some more.

-- Diana (Dilynne@juno.com), April 11, 2000.

For anyone who cares, there's a big article about Michael Michele in the 4/3/00 edition of People Magazine - the Oscar Outfits Double Issue.

-- Linda (l.brown@mindspring.com), April 11, 2000.

Maybe someday we will find out the Cleo was pushed into pediatrics by her parents (who are supposed to be doctors right?). That would explain why she seems to not relate well with kids. There are alot of mysteries about her and I think the writers could really delve into alot of interesting issues with her.

-- amanda (amanda.rehm@home.com), April 11, 2000.