Was anybody else as throughly sick of Carol as I was? I was very sick of her I'll-kiss-any-guy-that-comes-along-and-then-go-into -depression-because-it-isn't-the-guy-I-made-babies-with attitude! I am glad that she is gone and now we can concentrate and speculate on Carter's problems (much more serious than Carol's, I think) and look forward to the season finale without Carol... I've heard rumors about Carol coming back for the season finale... are they true? Anybody know for sure? I hope she isn't!!

-- Marie (cartersbabe@aol.com), May 16, 2000

Answers

No, I loved Carol, and I love the way they had Doug & Carol reunite. Of course Carter's problems are more serious, but Carol has had her share of problems as well (so has the whole damn staff), and I'm thrilled she's happy, with her soulmate and their daughters. :-)

-- Arianne (CarolRossSusanGreene@yahoo.com), May 16, 2000.

I've never really cared too much for Carol, but I really identified with all the conflicting emotions she's had about Doug, the babies, life, marriage. Conflicting emotions that real people have. And I was elated when she got back with Doug. I'm not sure it would happen in real life, but with ER being too caught up with "Real", I loved this fairy tale ending. But now ofcourse, saving the best for last. CARTER! Season finale, WOOHOOOO.

-- samira (matb_west@chickmail.com), May 16, 2000.

I loved this reunion, I think it was history-making TV (I know, that's dramatic, but it's like those TV moments producers compare others to, you know?) but I will miss Carol a whole lot, as much as I missed Doug. She was my hero :) So was Lucy (well, Kellie Martin has been my hero for awhile, so I was happy to see her on the show with my other hero...now they're both gone!) Anyways, I completely understood her problems over deciding what to do about Doug, they were pretty realistic if you think about it. Trying to move on (w/ Luka) is what a lot of people do before they realize that they can't move on from something they don't want to.

As for Carter, so many people I know are waiting to see about this Carter/Benton confrontation. Everyone's like "Oh my gosh, Carter's flipping out, and did you see...he hits Benton next week!?" Everyone thinks Dr. Carter is great, even people who don't watch regularly. I think it's great...Noah Wyle is incredible!

-- Elaine (mrsclooney78@hotmail.com), May 16, 2000.

While I really did like the character of Carol from the beginning, I was beginning to grow rather tired of her myself. After the whole Doug leaving, babies being born thing, I really couldn't see them doing much with her character except reuiniting her with Doug. It's the only thing that would truly make sense. While she will be missed, I feel her leaving was the best thing that could have happened. I wouldn't call the reunion a history making tv event. Yes, it was touching, I cried, got a warm fuzzy feeling, then it was over. Carol was gone and it was time to focus on more important things, such as the whole Carter storyline. Only two more days guys!

-- Mandii Faris (contradiction@uswest.net), May 16, 2000.

I totally agree, Mandii! They let Carol down easy and gentle, leaving the ending to our imagination, and that was it! A little sad Carol's gone, yeah. But I was tired of her up and down love life and I was ready for her to "be happy, and be history". It was a great ending for Carol-- and now we can look forward to seeing what will happen w/ Carter.

-- Kim (ILuvSnowB@aol.com), May 17, 2000.

No, I could never be sick of Carol. She was a very large part of the show for me. Don't think that I'll feel the same way about the show without her. I really could care less about Carter. Its not that I don't feel terrible for him and all, but he's never been a favorite. While I used to count the days till the next new episode rolled around, I barely remember that the season finale is this week. As far as I'm concerned, the season ended for me last week.

-- JLS (ewwhatevr@aol.com), May 17, 2000.

I just don't think the show revolves around one character. Maybe from time to time there are focuses on different characters. But if any character should get more attention it's Carter, because in the beginning he was the green med student that most people could relate to (learning the ropes, etc). It's time for him to be in the spotlight. I didn't dislike Julianna Margulies, but I never identified with her character either. I identify with a Carter a bit more even though he is a guy (obviously!) It's nice to have a character to focus on, who has something more compelling going on than just his love life.

-- debbie (riccardoiii@aol.com), May 17, 2000.

I am soooooo pleased to see someone with the same sentiments as myself. I was soooooo sick of Carol. I've always thought she was thoroughly predictable and frankly of late boring and performance-wise FLAT. I've never been impressed with the clooney/margolis team...100% predictable. Including the ending last week. The crackers were a dead giveaway...what a lousy storyline....so predictably perfect. If anyone knows Doug at all he'd have been on his boat with another woman, not just waiting for her to arrive. Especially given the fact they've had little or no contact for 2 years. Glad that whole saga is OVER! The writers should bring back Lucy.. she had depth and her violent end was brushed aside. Stands to reason that Carter would have memories and flashbacks of her/them. I'm still in mourning over Lucy's departure and violent death. One thing is certain for this ER fan...I'm toasting the last of Carol and Doug. Good riddens! Nothing personal of course. Oh and while I'm dissing add the new one...what's her name (she's so memorable) oh, Abby that's it. In a word zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

-- Ann (isadora@ime.net), May 17, 2000.

I am soooooo pleased to see someone with the same sentiments as myself. I was soooooo sick of Carol. I've always thought she was thoroughly predictable and frankly of late boring and performance-wise FLAT. I've never been impressed with the clooney/margolis team...100% predictable. Including the ending last week. The crackers were a dead giveaway...what a lousy storyline....so predictably perfect. If anyone knows Doug at all he'd have been on his boat with another woman, not just waiting for her to arrive. Especially given the fact they've had little or no contact for 2 years. Glad that whole saga is OVER! The writers should bring back Lucy.. she had depth and her violent end was brushed aside. Stands to reason that Carter would have memories and flashbacks of her/them. I'm still in mourning over Lucy's departure and violent death. One thing is certain for this ER fan...I'm toasting the last of Carol and Doug. Good riddens! Nothing personal of course. Oh and while I'm dissing add the new one...what's her name (she's so memorable) oh, Abby that's it. In a nutshell, BORING!

-- Ann (isadora@ime.net), May 17, 2000.

Exactly, Ann! I have never been a big fan of Abby myself... her character just isn't DEFINED. It's hard to pinpoint her personality-- it may be just me, but whenever Abby comes on I lay back and yawn... but that's another subject for another thread. What did you mean, Ann, when you said they should bring Lucy back? Just back into discussions? Because I don't really get it, are you saying they should bring her back from the dead?? Maybe I just missed something :-) One more thing: while we're in the process of dissing characters, I really was not too fond of Lucy. She was... to me, all she ever was was Carter's girlfriend. Her personality never really had anything to it. I think they let her go nicely... leaving the one person whose life she was most involved in to mourn her. But it does confuse me a little that all the Lucy-mourning was on Carter's part. No one else, after the general stabbing epi, seemed too devastated she croaked. They felt sympathetic for Carter, but not exactly devestated themselves. Just a couple miscellanious thoughts... I should probably start a whole new thread because that has absolutely NOTHING to do with the character focus from Carol to Carter... sorry everyone!! :-)

-- Marie (cartersbabe@aol.com), May 17, 2000.

Yes, Marie, I was pretty sick of Carol, too. I liked her a lot in the beginning, but as her character developed, she became cold and judgmental of others but felt no one should judge her. She had become the mother she was always moaning about. Becoming a single parent was entirely her decision as Doug gave her a choice, but it had to be her way or no way and I, for one, was tired of hearing her whine about it. To let Kovach become close to her was a cruel as when she led Taglieri and Shepherd on. She and Doug deserve each other.

-- Indira (indira54@yahoo.com), May 17, 2000.

Okay, I can understand that some people dislike Carol, that's fine. But to say that Julianna's performance is "flat"?? That's utterly ridiculous. She is SUCH a talented performer! Watch her facial expressions. She's stunning. And her work in "Great Expectations" this season is simply remarkable. May I remind you that Julianna is the only member of the cast to have ever won an Emmy in the past 6 year

-- frances christine (lghtmycndl@aol.com), May 17, 2000.

I agree with you, Indira. But I see your point, Frances. I was quite in awe of Julianna's acting and I was impressed by how well she played Carol. No grudge w/ Julianna, I just didn't like Carol's character.

Also, Indira, I think you're right-- Doug and Carol do deserve each other!! I was very, very glad when Doug left because he just flirted with every girl in sight. I don't think Carol was quite as bad but she did get quite a few guys to kiss her in the duration of her time on the show :-) And realilisticaly (don't EVEN spell check me), how long would Doug and Carol last anyway? Face it, Doug's never happy with a woman-- unless it's a different woman every night. Not that I have any particular problem with Doug, it's just the guy never even HEARD of the word "commitment". How long would Carol live with Doug before she discovered another girl in his arms one night and left? Would they ever get married? It's kind of interesting to wonder and make up endings (or continuations) of the Doug/Carol thing.

-- Marie (cartersbabe@aol.com), May 17, 2000.

Frances, Anthony Edwards also won an Emmy award, Julianna Margulies wasn't the only one. Or was that a golden globe award? I can't remember, but he won one of them. Anyways, I also think JM deserves it, and I will definetly miss her on the show.

-- Elaine (mrsclooney78@hotmail.com), May 17, 2000.

No, Anthony Edwards never won an Emmy. And if we're gonna get into *other* awards, Julianna's got a couple of SAG Awards for Best Actress under her belt.

-- frances christine (lghtmycndl@aol.com), May 17, 2000.