Observation about Carter

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Watching the TNT E.R. last night (season premiere, season 2) reminded me of why I like Carter in the first place: anyone can be kind to children but Carter is kind and thoughtful toward elderly people. That is such a nice detail for his character. Was reminded of this again last night when he was dealing with the bipolar lady showing Harper Tracy how to do the IV. The patient was funny too: "You're very handsome. Are you a doctor? My son's a doctor..." The look on Carter's face was so cute and he was genuinely interested in this old lady and paid attention to her. A lot of people have complained about how Carter has acted like a jerk lately... however, his attitude toward elderly patients has not changed. Mrs. Connolly in "The Peace of Wild Things" and "Be Still My Heart" for example. I think that is what makes Carter so compassionate a doctor at heart which the fans appreciate. Not a slam on Carol or anything, but... where Carol is concerned, it's much easier to be kindly toward babies and children. They're cute and innocent. But the elderly are not so easy to deal with,. so it is so nice to see a character on TV like Carter who treats them with respect and caring.

-- debbie (riccardoiii@aol.com), April 25, 2000

Answers

I agree with you, Debbie. I, too, have always been impressed with the way Carter treats the elderly. He has always shown compassion towards his patients, but there seems to be something special with him senior citizens. Remember his scenes with Ruby and his wife? Plus, he was also wonderful with Ruth Johnson, the lady who was being honored by the hospital on her 100th birthday. He didn't want to have to chaperone her at first, but Amanda Lee insisted since he had the injured arm from "The Good Fight." They had some really nice scenes together. All of the bipolar people from the last few episodes on TNT definitely do not seem to have much in common with Carter, though. I still don't think that they will make him bipolar. Please don't change my favorite doctor -- I love him the way he is!

-- Katrina (cattrek@ga.freei.net), April 25, 2000.

The reason Carter's such a good doctor is because he cares so much about his patients. He involves himself in their lives and their situations and goes out of his way to cure them, help them, or improve their standard of living - like when he dragged Lucy first to some house where a man attacked him for entering then leapt a fair thing to catch a train on which a guy who could be a blood donour for his patient had gotten away. Later he and Lucy climbed a wire fence and searched a house which ended in Carter falling down and dislocating his arm. All this for the sake of a single girl who needs blood.

He also makes so much effort to make patients feel at home and feel better - dressing up as santa - as well as having a great sense of humour. He also seems to relate to his patients - especially the elderly. This is perhaps why his grandmother is the only person he tells about how he's feeling. This compassion and involvement with people is also why he's in such a state after Lucy - he was so involved with her, acting as her teacher but also arguing and snapping at her. With Lucy it seemed he let his irritation flowed loose yet for all his patients he was able to keep it locked away. This is probably why he feels so guilty about Lucy's death - also that she died and he didn't.

-- juliet (Vizzn@AOL.com), April 25, 2000.


I believe that what Doug & Carol are to children, Carter is to the elderly. As both Doug & Carol seem to relate well to children (though Carol is compassionate with mostly any age group...remember the elderly rape victim?), Carter relates very well to older people.

-- Arianne (CarolRossSusanGreene@yahoo.com), April 25, 2000.

I only caught the last 15 minutes or so of last night's epi, but in addition to being struck by our young Carter, I was also stunned by Kerry Weaver's first appearance...she just hasn't changed at all :)!

-- nancy (ntc72@mailcity.com), April 25, 2000.

In response to the comment about Kerry...at least she's not as nerdy! (as Rosie O'Donnell called her) I just recently saw the show that introduced her and the way she came up to Mark and said, "hi, I'm Kerry WEEaver" made me laugh so hard.

-- Elaine (mrsclooney78@hotmail.com), April 25, 2000.


Perhap Kerry should have changed - it's much better to see characters develop and react to the changes around them rather than stay the same through it all. But KErry's always been very good at keeping her private life locked away - maybe she has changed but is not showing it.

-- juliet (Vizzn@AOL.com), April 27, 2000.

Carter's always had a special touch with the elderly. Has anybody thought about WHY?

-- (trelles@ix.netcom.com), April 27, 2000.

Dunno. It's just a nice touch to his character. And again last night, he was concerned about the old folks. I liked it when he said to the husband in parting, "You're very welcome." He's so polite and gracious to the elderly, even when rushed...

-- debbie (riccardoiii@aol.com), April 28, 2000.

He was practically raised by his grandparents.

-- Diana (dilynne@juno.com), April 28, 2000.

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