Hello and thank you for being a DL contributor. We are changing the login scheme for contributors for simpler login and to better support using multiple devices. Please click here to update your account with a username and password.

Hello. Some features on this site require registration. Please click here to register for free.

Hello and thank you for registering. Please complete the process by verifying your email address. If you can't find the email you can resend it here.

Hello. Some features on this site require a subscription. Please click here to get full access and no ads for $1.99 or less per month.

'ER' Was Prestige TV Before the Term Even Existed

[quote]NBC’s highly realistic hospital drama—which turns 25 years old on Thursday—played by its own rules, made a star out of George Clooney, and never shied away from the truth.

I... can kinda see it? 🤔

Aside from Clooney and Margulies, did anyone else make it big, and why not?

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 107April 16, 2021 8:27 AM

Noah Wyle did for a little while.

by Anonymousreply 1September 20, 2019 3:21 AM

Noah was why I watched.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 2September 20, 2019 3:23 AM

Clooney was in one series called E/R and one series called ER.

by Anonymousreply 3September 20, 2019 3:24 AM

Remember Noah's 'The Red Line' that just came and went earlier this year? Me neither. We finally get our fantasy of him playing a gay character and then the show sucks.

by Anonymousreply 4September 20, 2019 3:25 AM

Did I not make it big?

by Anonymousreply 5September 20, 2019 3:26 AM

It was not prestige TV. I watched it and I really liked it. But it got really schlocky. I think they had 3 helicopter incidents at the hospital

It was a way above average drama on a major network, but it doesn't compare to the programs on cable networks. Those are prestige shows.

by Anonymousreply 6September 20, 2019 3:26 AM

Sherry would have if she didn't piss away her career. She had always left shows just when her character and the show were getting super hot- Guiding Light, NYPD Blue then ER.

by Anonymousreply 7September 20, 2019 3:27 AM

There will never be a prestige show on the top 3 networks (abc, cbs, nbc). They always have to tone or dumb them down for the general public, who likes boring shit

by Anonymousreply 8September 20, 2019 3:27 AM

r5 Holy shit, I can't believe I forgot she was on ER!

by Anonymousreply 9September 20, 2019 3:27 AM

Dr. Green and the preeclampsia episode, memorable.

by Anonymousreply 10September 20, 2019 3:28 AM

I liked Kelly Martin on the show and always hated that they killed her off, at her request.

by Anonymousreply 11September 20, 2019 3:29 AM

Maura Tierney

by Anonymousreply 12September 20, 2019 3:29 AM

Noah was young and hot on this show but I doubt anyone watched for him. If anything people were into Clooney and Marguiles storyline.

Maura Tierney and Sally Field’s storyline was one of my favorites.

by Anonymousreply 13September 20, 2019 3:30 AM

What is it about pre-eclampsia that makes such compelling television?

by Anonymousreply 14September 20, 2019 3:31 AM

Maura always looked like a basset hound with that sour look on her face 24/7.

by Anonymousreply 15September 20, 2019 3:32 AM

r13 Gaylings such as myself watched it for Noah. 😊

by Anonymousreply 16September 20, 2019 3:33 AM

The show did well for long. It fully jumped the shark by the time John Stamos joined.

I’m gay and for sure didn’t watch ER for Noah. It’s not like he was walking around half naked.

by Anonymousreply 17September 20, 2019 3:33 AM

Also , this was prestige TV in the 90s. Cable TV was not that great then like it is now. Not until the late 90s.

by Anonymousreply 18September 20, 2019 3:34 AM

[quote]It’s not like he was walking around half naked.

But that face and the smooth skin... I thought he was just about the prettiest thing ever when I was a kid.

by Anonymousreply 19September 20, 2019 3:35 AM

I thought it was so bizarre that Sherry left the show as the show was peaking. It was such a stupid decision, like when Pamela Sue Martin left Dynasty before it hit number one.

And when Sherry came back it was so stupid because her character had been gone too long. It was pointless.

by Anonymousreply 20September 20, 2019 3:36 AM

Kathleen Wilhoite!

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 21September 20, 2019 3:37 AM

This scene always stuck out to me. Maybe because I was so young when i saw it, but it scared me to death of hospitals.

RIP Lucy

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 22September 20, 2019 3:42 AM

R20 The show and her character were peaking. She left just before they negotiated a huge salary increase. She would have made a fortune. She left in the beginning-ish of the season. When she came back, they largely ignored her and she had no purpose. It was really bad producing and writing. Then I think she was just gone again, never explained.

by Anonymousreply 23September 20, 2019 3:44 AM

St Elsewhere did it all first, and did it better, puppy

by Anonymousreply 24September 20, 2019 3:46 AM

ER was prestige TV in the 90's. No doubt. Those first 4-5 years were wonderful.

by Anonymousreply 25September 20, 2019 3:51 AM

Lucy (Kellie Martin) dying was one of the most powerful storylines because they killed off a newer and young Doctor just starting her career. It was scary when Carter gets stabbed and looks over and sees her there bleeding to death already. Then she dies and he doesn’t.

by Anonymousreply 26September 20, 2019 3:55 AM

was Miss Clooney bearding with multiple models back in the early 90s? does anyone know/remember?

by Anonymousreply 27September 20, 2019 3:58 AM

Clooney is Hetero. Get over it.

by Anonymousreply 28September 20, 2019 4:01 AM

Wasn't The Cloon with the blonde french waitress during his ER days...

by Anonymousreply 29September 20, 2019 4:04 AM

Kellie Martin and Noah Wyle discussing their characters being stabbed during season 6 and how fans reacted. Noah also said they gave her a hard time when she first came on board because they all worked so hard to make the show number 1 and she just got to walk into the number 1 show and be a big character. That didn’t sit well with the cast. Lol.

People forget this show was bringing in 30 million viewers a week at its peak, and for years.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 30September 20, 2019 4:04 AM

R28 REPORTED for trolling/libel/slander

Miss Clooney ain't straight, We are not having this discussion.

by Anonymousreply 31September 20, 2019 4:12 AM

Anthony Edwards was relatively big before the show (Top Gun, Revenge of the Nerds, etc.). But he hasn't really done anything since ER.

by Anonymousreply 32September 20, 2019 4:17 AM

The cast was completely different by the end of the show. It was Angela Bassett, John Stamos, Linda Cardellini, Mekhi Phifer, Scott Grimes, Shane West, Alexis Bledel etc.

by Anonymousreply 33September 20, 2019 4:21 AM

WEHT Gloria Reuben?

by Anonymousreply 34September 20, 2019 4:21 AM

I enjoyed the Dr Benton and Dr Wylie dynamic.

by Anonymousreply 35September 20, 2019 4:23 AM

Bitch, please, Oz and sopranos were the OG prestige tv.

by Anonymousreply 36September 20, 2019 4:23 AM

Carol Hathaway (Julianna Margulies) was supposed to be brain-dead from a suicide attempt in the first episode, but the character was revived for the series. For the first episode, Margulies was credited as a guest star.

R36. Both came after ER sweetie.

by Anonymousreply 37September 20, 2019 4:25 AM

“Gloria Reuben (Jeannie Boulet), and Erik Palladino (Dave Malucci) left the show because they felt that their characters were being under-used. Kellie Martin (Lucy Knight) left the series when it became too painful to work in a medical show following the death of her sister.”

by Anonymousreply 38September 20, 2019 4:26 AM

R37 gurl, please, ER was generic Kroger store-brand gravy sauce. Oz and sopranos were OG Rao's homemade sunday gravy.

by Anonymousreply 39September 20, 2019 4:43 AM

It was ground-breaking tv because it tried to depict what a real ER looked like and how it felt to work in one. They used an actual medical consultant (I think John Wells used to work as an ER Doctor?).

It was more accurate when it came to medical procedures, terminology, etc., than the current tv shows of its time. I would laugh out loud when a doctor on a tv show go overboard and defibrillate a patient at a ridiculous amount, or someone would be in a hospital and not even have an IV drip or oxygen. In those days, tv shows weren't big on being accurate especially when it came to medical stuff or anything related to science. Nowadays, it's taken for granted.

by Anonymousreply 40September 20, 2019 4:53 AM

R37 They should have killed off Nurse Hathaway as planned in Season1. Who did Marguiles fuck to keep her job?

by Anonymousreply 41September 20, 2019 5:02 AM

Never watched it. I like Clooney but Margulies is a wooden cow and without a strong supporting cast The Good Wife (which I did watch) would have crashed and burned.

Prestige tv that I remember was Masterpiece Theater in the 60's. You might check the live shows in the 50's for previous prestige tv.

by Anonymousreply 42September 20, 2019 6:35 AM

[quote]I think John Wells used to work as an ER Doctor?

That would certainly be peculiar. He's a 1979 BFA graduate of Carnegie Mellon's School of Drama. Then he got a master's in 1982 from USC's Cinematic Arts Program.

by Anonymousreply 43September 20, 2019 11:33 AM

Agree with R24. St. Elsewhere was a better show.

by Anonymousreply 44September 20, 2019 11:44 AM

Prestige Network TV: St. Elsewhere A Year in the Life I'll Fly Away Homicide

Arguably Prestige Network TV: thirtysomething The West Wing

Not Prestige Network TV: ER anything by David E. Kelley anything with Law & Order in the title

by Anonymousreply 45September 20, 2019 11:50 AM

The West Wing was peak middlebrow TV.

by Anonymousreply 46September 20, 2019 11:53 AM

Prestige Network TV:

St. Elsewhere

A Year in the Life

I'll Fly Away

Homicide: Life on the Street

Arguably Prestige Network TV:

thirtysomething

The West Wing

Not Prestige Network TV:

ER

anything by David E. Kelley

anything with Law & Order in the title

by Anonymousreply 47September 20, 2019 11:55 AM

"Prestige TV" as we understand it, was not a thing until this decade, with the 64th Emmys in 2012 being the first year the Emmys didn't nominate a big Four Network Drama for Best Drama Series. A Big Four drama series wouldn't receive a Best Drama nomination again until the 69th Emmys in 2017 and "This Is Us" (which, since then, has remained the only Big Four drama to receive a Best Drama nomination.)

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 48September 20, 2019 12:11 PM

This Is Us = not Prestige TV

by Anonymousreply 49September 20, 2019 12:13 PM

Michael Crichton is the one with ER experience. As I recall, he worked in an ER (then known as an Emergency Wing) during his college days and in the 1970s wrote a movie script based on his experiences. In the early 1990s, Crichton adapted that script into a TV pilot.

Crichton also served as an EP on ER for the show's first few years.

by Anonymousreply 50September 20, 2019 12:13 PM

I know This Is Us is not Prestige TV, you freaking dumbass. That is the point I was making.

by Anonymousreply 51September 20, 2019 12:16 PM

Actually it was Neal Baer who brought the medical eye to most of the scripts. He and John Wells were friends from Denver.

Eric LaSalle has gone on to a producing and directing career.

by Anonymousreply 52September 20, 2019 12:22 PM

Where would people here place Hill Street Blues and LA Law on the prestige TV scale?

by Anonymousreply 53September 20, 2019 12:23 PM

[quote]Eric LaSalle has gone on to a producing and directing career.

Good.

by Anonymousreply 54September 20, 2019 12:24 PM

R34, Gloria Reuben does the occasional cabaret show in NYC. I’ve seen her thru papering services for $5.00 Pleasant voice if no stage presence.

And it’s WHET.

by Anonymousreply 55September 20, 2019 12:26 PM

I always thought the episode in which Clooney shit out a tapeworm was nicely done.

by Anonymousreply 56September 20, 2019 12:28 PM

[[quote]]Where would people here place Hill Street Blues and LA Law on the prestige TV scale?

That was from the era when the "10 PM Network Drama" was usually considered the most prestigious kind of television available.

by Anonymousreply 57September 20, 2019 12:31 PM

I thought the first 6 seasons of ER were probably some of the best TV made. The fact that none of the cast that time won Emmys besides Margulies was a crime. Edwards should have gotten it for season 1, LaSalle season 3 and Wyle for season 6.

Fun fact: Noah Wyle and Eriq LaSalle are BFF’s to this day. LaSalle, in addition to producing, directing , sometimes acting is also an author of crime novels. He probably has the most interesting post ER career.

Quite a few ER alums have gone into directing besides LaSalle and Clooney: Paul Mc Crane, Laura Innes, Noah Wyle (who also wrote some interesting and the better episodes of the Librarians).

Maura Tierney was originally going to play Lauren Graham’s character on Parenthood but she had to leave the role due to breast cancer treatments at the time.

by Anonymousreply 58September 20, 2019 12:35 PM

[quote]Where would people here place Hill Street Blues and LA Law on the prestige TV scale?

HSB was generally considered "prestige," but I wasn't watching TV those days. The first year I watched TV, 1988, the nighttime shows I watched were thirtysomething, A Year in the Life, and LA Law. I only thought of the first two as anything prestigious, particularly A Year in the Life, as it was from Brand-Falsey, whose St. Elsewhere managed to break through for me even though I mostly didn't watch TV then.

The term "appointment television" may have been coined in this era.

by Anonymousreply 59September 20, 2019 12:36 PM

I think 1999 was the last years when every nominated drama was a 10PM slot drama (except Fox's X Files since that network doesn't have a 10PM slot). The nominees were The Practice, ER, NYPD Blue, Law & Order, and The X-Files.

The following year, the 51st, was when The Sopranos became the first cable drama nominated for Best Drama, and is probably the beginning of the end of the prestige network drama.

by Anonymousreply 60September 20, 2019 12:37 PM

Also interesting to note, resistance from the Industry against cable was so strong that The Sopranos, often considered the greatest drama series ever aired, didn't win Best Drama until its fifth season. It was beaten every year previous by NBC's maudlin West Wing.

by Anonymousreply 61September 20, 2019 12:42 PM

The West Wing was needed then as an alternative White House. The real one was just too awful. Even so, I only liked it for the first four years or so.

by Anonymousreply 62September 20, 2019 12:50 PM

R61: actually The Wire is considered the greatest drama ever but it was never nominated for anything. For various reasons.

by Anonymousreply 63September 20, 2019 12:54 PM

Hollywood never liked David Simon. The very deserving HLOTS was ignored as rigorously as The Wire.

by Anonymousreply 64September 20, 2019 12:57 PM

The episode "Love's Labor Lost" is one of the reasons I don't have children.

by Anonymousreply 65September 20, 2019 12:58 PM

[quote]I’m gay and for sure didn’t watch ER for Noah. It’s not like he was walking around half naked.

Though yes, r17, it would have improved things [italic]molto[/italic] if Dr. Carter had had a penchant for walking around in nothing but his scrub bottoms, Noah Wyle was very much the main reason I watched ER.

by Anonymousreply 66September 20, 2019 1:06 PM

That is true r64 now that I remember. Why was that, or is that?

by Anonymousreply 67September 20, 2019 3:31 PM

I wish anthony Edwards worked more. Maybe he doesn't need to?

by Anonymousreply 68September 20, 2019 4:29 PM

Why would anybody want to watch a show about people who work in a hospital? Hospitals as entertainment is creepy.

by Anonymousreply 69September 20, 2019 4:31 PM

R69 this show was getting 30 million people a week. So you’re clearly on the wrong side

by Anonymousreply 70September 20, 2019 4:56 PM

I remember when it first came out, it was huge! I didn't realize it stayed on the air for so long. I think I stopped watching after many of the originals left.

by Anonymousreply 71September 20, 2019 5:08 PM

R68 between ER money and his ex wife was the makeup artist to the A+ list, plus she founded Stila Cosmetics, he didn’t need to work.

Network TV would slit someone’s throat to get ER like ratings these days.

When the Sopranos debuted, it was a game changer. Funny how the Emmys resisted awarding right away then and these days they fall over anything HBO airs.

by Anonymousreply 72September 20, 2019 8:04 PM

R72 thanks for the update. I recently watched Zodiac (late to the party i know) and was thinking how good it was to see him in it.

by Anonymousreply 73September 20, 2019 8:23 PM

Just started rewatching it on POP channel. Schlock. Unbelievable actions -- any medical professional who attempted even half of the shit they did would be out on their ass. This was the original "BECAUSE WE CARE, DAMMIT!" show. And bad acting from LaSalle, Clooney, and others.

by Anonymousreply 74September 20, 2019 8:26 PM

An incredible show. I watched my first episode when I was 12, when my father was dying from cancer. It just gave things a dimension that my mother was too embattled to do for me at the time. I needed it. Have always loved the storylines, so intense, but at the same time so usual, experienced by people everywhere all the time. It gave me an education. No other show could depict the reality, the overbearing stress of working in the ER and the cruelty of nature quite like it. It is still up there on its own in my view.

by Anonymousreply 75September 20, 2019 10:26 PM

Julianna Margulies is a cunt. Someone had to say it. Carry on

by Anonymousreply 76September 20, 2019 10:43 PM

No, R69 is correct. These hospital shows are fucking creepy and they've always been creepy.

Hey kids! Next week on Hospital Show we wheel a three year old into the ER and she's all fucked up... will she DIE?!? Can we SAVE her? How can you turn away?!?

Blech.

by Anonymousreply 77September 20, 2019 10:50 PM

R77 how is it any different from detective shows or cop shows etc.? Please.

All 15 seasons are on Hulu

by Anonymousreply 78September 20, 2019 10:56 PM

I can understand why Sherry left. The shooting schedule was brutal because of the way they shot it, with lots of really complicated set pieces...even an extended scene shot by one roving camera without edits where you knew it took hours and hours to get it right.

Supposedly, they worked at least 18 hour days most days and lots of the cast was crashed on gurneys between takes, just sick and exhausted. Not like shows where each scene is self-contained.

Sherry, as I recall, was dating a finance guy in nyc at the time and wanted some quality of life back.

by Anonymousreply 79September 20, 2019 11:04 PM

The pre-eclampsia episode was the best thing I've seen on episodic tv, along with the ep of Homicide which was entirely about an asshole guy who fell between a subway car and the platform. Based on a true story.

by Anonymousreply 80September 20, 2019 11:11 PM

Sex god - Goran Visnjic

Alex Kingston - Dr. Who's wife

Linda Cardalini - Velma

Ming Na Wen - Sheild

William H Macy - criminal

John Stamos - Uncle Jessie

Jared Paladicki - Demon hunter

Christina Hendricks - quite big tits

Zac Efron - cum bucket

Thandie Newtion - Robot

John Leguizano - mexican

Chris Pine - homo

Lucy Lui - Lesbian.

by Anonymousreply 81September 20, 2019 11:18 PM

R79 Sherry was used to the schedule on Guiding Light where she worked 16 hour days, learning a Moby Dick's worth of script each day. Sherry could have negotiated time off for less pay. She knew she was about to strike it rich. She left for love.

by Anonymousreply 82September 20, 2019 11:31 PM

I never much cared for ER but a lot of its "prestige" also came from how it was promoted.

NBC would have these self important commercials with a deep voice intoning "the most important TV show of our time!!!!!1111!!!!!"

by Anonymousreply 83September 20, 2019 11:41 PM

r82 please - GL did not have 16 hour days for one actor - it was rare. Most were in early or afternoon - and did not have to learn a Moby Dick;s worth of pages. Daytime taping schedules are split early then a break for lunch then afternoon - Pages are sent weeks in advance or at the very least a week in advance. Not to mention they had cue cards on set just in case...

by Anonymousreply 84September 20, 2019 11:48 PM

R84 Bev Mckinsey. when she quit, same time as Sherry, said it was 5am to 11pm nonstop.

by Anonymousreply 85September 20, 2019 11:57 PM

This was the first show I made sure to stay up and watch when I was in middle school. Many times I fell asleep before it ended at 11, but it definitely was must see tv. I thought Carter was the cutest thing, but later was all about Luka Kovac. He was hot af and absolutely my type.

The episode where Carter and Lucy were stabbed was disturbing. I remember I couldn’t stop thinking about it for a few weeks after I saw it. That never happened with me. Laughed my ass off when Dr. Romano got crushed by a helicopter. Wtf was that? Dr. Greene dying was also pretty sad. He was a good guy.

I also liked Ron Eldard as Carol’s fireman boyfriend- before his character turned into an asshole. Sexy guy. Was never into Clooney. Dr. Weaver was irritating.

I can’t even remember what happened to the main characters except that Mark died, Carol and Doug moved to Seattle(?), Carter went to Africa...and that’s it. What happened to Benton and Luka?

by Anonymousreply 86September 21, 2019 12:47 AM

Dr. Kovac. Yes, please.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 87September 21, 2019 12:48 AM

So true r7. Her last GL episode was Holly catching Ross/Blake in bed. The storyline was really peaking but there was so much left to play out. Elizabeth Keiffer was totally miscast as her replacement. Blake got 20 years older overnight.

Jerry Ver Dorn and Sherry Stringfield had electric chemistry.

by Anonymousreply 88September 21, 2019 12:54 AM

Been watching some of the reruns on tv. First time seeing it. I like the theme song. I only caught the tail end of yesterday's episode. Mario Bello was getting angry with one of the doctor's because his patient was a rapist and he gave him the wrong transfusion or something....

by Anonymousreply 89September 21, 2019 1:05 AM

R86 yes, I spoke about the Carter and Lucy stabbing earlier in the thread and for some reason that was the only storyline that DISTURBED me. I was 13 or 14 at the time and I remember seeing it and being terrified by it! It stuck with me for weeks! And when I think of this show now I always think of Clooney, or the image of Lucy laying on the ground shaking with blood surrounding her because she was stabbed. Terrifying.

by Anonymousreply 90September 21, 2019 1:11 AM

ER was created by Michael Crichton, who also wrote The Andromeda Strain, Jurassic Park; he also wrote and directed the original Westworld. Crichton had studied to be a doctor but dropped out to pursue writing. He's used a lot of his medical experience in his novels and screenplays.

by Anonymousreply 91September 21, 2019 4:45 AM

I've always loved Crichton's 1978 film Coma r91.

Creepy, suspenseful and love the hospital settings.

by Anonymousreply 92September 21, 2019 5:00 AM

R22 [quote]This scene always stuck out to me. Maybe because I was so young when i saw it, but it scared me to death of hospitals.

I was 15 when that episode first aired and it scared me a bit.I remember my mom being very sad by Lucy's death. . A couple of years ago, I watched on POP and it was still one of the saddest TV show moments for me.

by Anonymousreply 93September 21, 2019 5:09 AM

[quote]This Is Us = not Prestige TV

To fraus it is prestige TV.

by Anonymousreply 94September 21, 2019 5:12 AM

Paging Dr. Carter. My heart is all aflutter.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 95September 21, 2019 5:14 AM

The woman dying during labor episode left me shaken for days.

by Anonymousreply 96September 21, 2019 11:38 AM

R83 I was fan of the show, but I agree with you on those self-important commercials. I couldn't stand them. NBC is pretty much doing similar commercials these days for This is Us.

by Anonymousreply 97September 21, 2019 6:39 PM

[quote] I thought the first 6 seasons of ER were probably some of the best TV made.

I would agree with you, up through Season 4. What made those seasons so great was the focus on the careers of the characters.

There was a drop in the quality of the writing by Season 5. In addition to introducing the awful character of Lucy, there were ludicrous storylines including one where a crazy woman played by Mare Winningham infiltrated the hospital as an administrative head of the ER.

By Season 7 the show had become completely humorless, with storylines increasingly depressing and dark. I always wondered if that had to do with “Scrubs” debuting on the network at around this time. NBC wanted to keep the tone of each show completely separate?

They also decreasing the airtime of the nurses (Hallee, Malik, etc) considerably starting with Season 7. They were still appearing on the show, of course, but were given hardly any lines of dialogue or storylines of their own.

by Anonymousreply 98September 21, 2019 7:50 PM

The Sally Field arc in season 7 was great.

by Anonymousreply 99September 21, 2019 8:06 PM

Cable dramas aren't really better than network ones, the only real difference is that they say fuck a lot and show nudity and excessive violence. If you take away the curse words, nudity, and violence, they are not better.

by Anonymousreply 100September 21, 2019 8:25 PM

What happened to R83?

by Anonymousreply 101September 22, 2019 4:31 PM

Gloria Reuben has been in a few episodes of Mr. Robot as Elliot’s therapist.

by Anonymousreply 102September 22, 2019 5:50 PM

Big Four Networks take home combined 16 Emmys, an all time low

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 103September 23, 2019 3:52 PM

I just finished season 1 and this show really is excellent.

The way they weave in compelling medical drama along with the doctors’ lives is a lot harder than it seems: compare Benson’s obnoxious kid on SVU or Stabler’s slightly less obnoxious trainwreck kids before that. The doctor’s lives outside are just enough that it doesn’t detract from the medical drama.

There are all sorts of excellent standalone episodes and great guest stars. And the supporting cast of administrators and nurses that stayed the same for the entire run ground the show and make it feel homey.

It’s weird that Sherry Stringfield exited GL only two years before this premiered. I watched her run on GL and thought she was excellent on that, and her character Susan is so much different from Blake on GL that I have to give her kudos. She grew a lot as an actress in only two years.

Eriq La Salle is a delightful curmudgeon as Dr. Peter Benton. I love guys who are constantly annoyed and gruff. The ruder they are, the more you come back for.

Young Noah Wyle’s babyface is so just so sweet. I could stare into his eyes for hours.

Margulies was gorgeous. As Nurse Hathaway she is the glue that holds the show together.

Anthony Edwards as Dr. Green is so likable and I can’t wait for him to be rid of that pill of a wife he has. And he’s not hot, nowadays he would have to be hot, but it makes him so much more relatable that he’s just average looking. The episode where his patient had to have an emergency c-section and then died absolutely crushed me.

Ming-Na Wen’s season 1 arc as Deb Chen was terrific. At first she intimidated Carter because she had so much knowledge, but she overcommitted and her heart wasn’t in it. And this show’s pacing is so perfect. We didn’t linger too much on Deb’s emotions of dropping out or the effects with her family: they played the important beats of the storyline, she was memorable, and then she was gone (though I know she’ll be back later.)

I’m not sure why Clooney is the one who made it big because, to me, he is the weakest link of the OG cast. He always has this smirk on his face and I just want to smack him.

I can see why this show was immediately a huge hit. You feel smart watching it but there’s just enough smut that you don’t feel guilty about it.

It’s on Hulu. Worth a rewatch, DL.

by Anonymousreply 104April 16, 2021 5:26 AM

[quote] It was not prestige TV. I watched it and I really liked it. But it got really schlocky. I think they had 3 helicopter incidents at the hospital

Grey’s Anatomy had a helicopter crash, a plane crash, a bus crush, a car crash, a bomb explosion, nurses blowing up, nurses eaten by wolves, and every tragedy imaginable. Meredith has lost her husband, sister, mother, father, roommates, interns, co-workers, lovers, and friends to death. She is a black widow or the unluckiest person alive. Stay clear of her since everyone she knows ends up dead.

by Anonymousreply 105April 16, 2021 5:55 AM

ER was a garbage melodrama.

St. Elsewhere and Hill Street Blues were prestige TV, and that term existed back in 1982.

St. Elsewhere is on Hulu, by the way, and a much better watch than ER. It shocks me how well it holds up – medicine hasn't come as far as we think.

by Anonymousreply 106April 16, 2021 6:01 AM

Well smell you, R106.

by Anonymousreply 107April 16, 2021 8:27 AM
Loading
Need more help? Click Here.

Yes indeed, we too use "cookies." Take a look at our privacy/terms or if you just want to see the damn site without all this bureaucratic nonsense, click ACCEPT. Otherwise, you'll just have to find some other site for your pointless bitchery needs.

×

Become a contributor - post when you want with no ads!