WHY IS ER JUMPING THE SHARK?

[zelda]

I am opening this thread to share with you my madness at TPTB committing an unacceptable murder with ER!

It won't be about Luka and Abby,we are dissecting all their gestures and doings here everyday.

It's about the the death of an ensemble show, which used to keep us hooked with most of the storylines. Quoting ANDREJIA.

It has nothing to do with the number of seasons.

SEASON 13 started with 2 MASTERPIECES: BLOODLINE and GRADUATION DAY, with lots of journalists writing everywhere about the ER MIRACLE, and as many ratings as GREY's ANATOMY.

If I and many others will find it hard to watch after the LUBY HAPPY ENDING ( fingers crossed, don't DARE SCREW IT UP TPTB! ) , it's because of the assasination of many other characters.


JUST 2 EXAMPLES:

- When BENTON left, it was no big deal, because Pratt had so much potential.
What about him now, the guy is nearly transparent. What A WASTE!

- Same goes for Neela. She has been here for 4 seasons now and her storylines are painfully superficial and dull.

And now, what about the young viewers, the REELAS,, who were thousands to desert en masse after RAY 's exit. ( the most ridiculous one in a TV show. I still can't BELIEVE in what someone called " THE HORIZONTAL CHOPPER OF DOOM " ...and LEGLESS RAY!!!)

I have been watching ER since day One, have always been a die-hard fan, and am feeling VERY, VERY ANGRY at TPTB, for their indolence and their lack of respect .

If nobody is interested, I'll delete the thread. No problem.

[maggie]

It's simple, really. At least in my opinion.

1. There is no longer a strong ensemble cast. Especially with the departures of GV and Laura Innes, we're left with a skeleton cast held together by Maura and (sort of) Parminder. The rest of the cast may be able to hold together a decent storyline, but they aren't ensemble players.

2. The shift from multiple patient stories to one or two. The episodes used to center around the medicine, and the characters' lives happened in the background. Now, we're left with a slower pace and less attention to the medicine.

3. The music and lighting make for a slower atmosphere. The fast-paced music and bright lighting of the old seasons made it more exciting.

4. Viewers want drama, not reality. This has been the cause of so much, from Abby's tryst to the helicopter to the shootout.

5. The days of Mark and Doug weren't just about the medicine - they had a lot of fun in the ER. There's not a lot of fun left.

[andrejia]

I completely agree about the music and mood. I think it's because of that I'm so addicted to S9. Just the way they played "Clocks" as Romano was on the roof gave me goosebumps.

However, I think that there are many viewers who don't like Abby. I did before she and Luka got back together but honestly, if that wouldn't have been the case I would've quit watching a while ago. Or at least go back to my off again-on again days. I do agree that she holds the cast now, but it's only because TPTB allowed her to. Mark was the center of it all for a long time, still he left room for the Triangle, for example. Now, all the other characters do is be doctors and in a not so interesting way I might add. Zabel became a bit corny and it's clear for whom he likes to write (Luka and Abby, IMO).

I agree with Zelda. S13 had an amazing beginning. And then they brought Hope and Gates, those new nurses and changed the set again (yeah, they had some shooting so it was required, but still...).

And Pratt...whatever happened to Betina? They could at least mention her! They started some storylines then completely dropped them, changed the approach (one of the golden rules of journalism: if you started telling a story from one angle, stick with it, either the readers will be baffled).

More, the E.R. always seemed full. Now, they were supposed to have 299 patients and the hallway is clear??! Come on...

[Hecate]

There is nothing wrong with this tread Zelda .
I think some of you need a place to express your feelings against TPDB.
I feel like Maggie .
In the beginning ER was all about the patients and now it's focused on the characters private life .
That's probably the reason why I didn't watched ER for a couple of years .
I miss the adrenaline, the strong storylines of the patients , the feelings & reactions the doctors & nurses had to all those difficult situations .
The first 8 seasons were the best , ..... at least you learned something after watching the show ( how to talk to patients , how to tell bad news , .... ) .
If it wasnt for some actors we adore , the show would already be dead for a long time , ... just IMO.

-MURIEL-

[larue]

I have said before that I bought the season 1 DVD set (very cheaply on ebay) because I wanted to compare. The music, the crowded ER, the pacing of the shows are definitely different. The comedy was more subtle and more 'adult'. (I laughed my head off at a scene with Susan and Carol on the roof sunning themselves and then flowing through the ER with their shades on...still in the euphoria of being somewhere else.) Doug and Mark had fun at work and it wasn't stupid, 5th grade humor kind of fun. I doubt if something like Morris' cheese rolling thing or petri dish babies would have flown in the earlier days. That kind of comedy chews up too much screen time and - as stated before by many others - takes away from the medicine. But, given that they have been there for 14 years, trains/planes/ helicopters have crashed, buses have rolled, doctors have died via knife attack/el trains and cancer.....what else is left for us to see? I loved when they brought back two of the very first patients Greene had seen when Anthony Edwards did his last show. Maybe they could do some of that?? Show the advances that medicine has made in the ensuing time in how their treatment might have changed?? At any rate, time to check out IMVHO.

[zelda]

I agree with all of you!

But I'd like to show that they are STILL many characters with a great potential who have been reduced to caricatures.

Am not going to ramble and make a boring list.

Just express some frustrations:

Morris:
TPTB wrote a great storyline for him in Jigsaw. He was moving AND a very efficient doctor.
Why reduce him to the jolly doctor cracking lame jokes in nearly ALL epis ?

I promised not to talk about Luka and Abby , but bad me, I can't help it.

The Eddie storyline was really promising.

The Maggie episodes were really amazing AND compulsory to help understand ABBY's fears and baggage.
I don't understand why EDDIE came for a couple of minutes in season 13 ...and has become INVISIBLE MAN since.

I perfectly know that a series which has been broadcast for 14 years, can't find new tricks ALL THE TIME to attract a very demanding audience....and I don't compare with the first seasons, that I religiously watch regularly.

I just want to point out that RECENT STORYLINES HAVE BEEN COMPLETELY BUTCHERED.

It's like if TPTB didn't give a damn anymore.

I am french and know nothing about NBC programs.

If I understood what has been said, ER is their best asset in this time slot and that's why they want to keep going AD NAUSEAM...

[andrejia]

I got that we're not supposed to talk about Luka and Abby..but as Luby. On your list above, I might add Luka himself. In S8 he was more of a tool rather than a character. And don't even get me started with his PTSD in S9 and the way they just sent him off to the Congo. It got many negative responses from the viewers who couldn't quite understand why he had turned like that. I found something that GV said about that..it was like...this is a guy who lost his virginity on his wedding night and now he was sleeping around. Something was definetly wrong. And in S10 and 11 he was always in the background. I think that Ray had more sceen time then!

[larue]

But they kept Luka there....lurking in the background...waiting for the right moment to bring him forward again. They didn't chop his legs off and send him to the bayou to recoup. I actually liked Luka's Congo epis. The preachy-ness seemed more lowkey and the actions more appropriate for his character than the Darfur epis were for Carter.

And I for one was totally intrigued with Eddie. While I can understand Abby sending him off in such a negative way, I would have liked to see some sort of resolution to his story. Why raise three step children and let his own two flounder??? Was it totally Maggie's disease? Was he REALLY around enough for Abby's Thanksgiving visit when she was ten or did she just throw that one out at her Mom for spite?? Lots of questions and not enough answers. Sigh

[lyvanna]

Agree with everything said here, particularly Maggie's list. Because I love Luby so much I have this strange contrast when I'm watching the show where anything Luby has me glued to the screen/in tears/grinning etc and anything non-Luby has me emailing/reading/making tea - in the old days I liked so many more of the characters and they had much more to do.

There seems to be a change between who gets personal storylines and who doesn't. Luka and Abby (happily) do, but (I've not seen any S14 yet so this might have changed) Morris, Pratt etc don't - have we even seen them at home in the last year? Pratt for me now has lost it, there is just nothing there. Morris has potential but I get tired of watching him appear for 30 seconds to crack a joke then leave again. Sam, Neela and Gates get more focus on the personal stuff but their storylines are flawed/dull (imo).

They've lost that balance between the personal and the professional lives of people, something similar happened around S7 when there were too many doctors, but at that time there was also a much stronger cast of characters and storylines (Luka's past was explored, Weaver's sexuality, Abby's mother, Greene's medical problems etc) - think about someone like Malluci who we also didn't learn much about personally, the difference being that when he exited that was turned on its head (when he reveals that he has a child to support and criticises them for not knowing more about him).

I also feel very strongly about the change in lighting/music/direction - its become very lazy and dull and looks like any other show now, I want some of the originality of the early seasons - perhaps they need to get in new/younger/more radical directors.

[andrejia]

I forgot to put Susan on my list. Did she actually have a storyline besides the leukemia kid in S9? All she did was talk to Abby about Carter and talk to Carter about Abby. Then, there was Chuck. End.

[marioh]

ER is just soooooo slow now

If it wasn't for Goran/Luka and Maura/Abby I would have stop watching the show years ago cause best seasons were old seasons BUT there was season 12 and this really was a good season: Luby of course but it wasn't just that...

Then Bloodline and Graudation Day were incredible episode!!!
Like Maggie said we want drama but no drama like Ray's incredibly stupid ending which caused thousands (millions?) of viewers to stop watching the show...

But TPTB doesn't seem able to go deep in the characters' histories anymore: Pratt's father, Abby's father, Morris who annoys me when he's just the funny doc, and I also liked the freshness with Clemente but we didn't see much about him...

I really have no interest on Gates who was supposed to be the new male attraction...

We don't even see interaction between the characters: Abby and Neela -> nada...

It's sad to think about old good times and realize it's not as good as it was even if of course Luby makes me stay... but for how long?...

[zelda]

Apart from LUBY, the other characters NEED to be developed... ( sorry, I'm rambling again! )

It's not because they are having a drink together at IKES' that we get to know them better.

Many of us agree to say that SECRETS AND LIES was one of the best epis ever!

And it was not ONLY ABOUT THE TRIANGLE: CARTER- ABBY- LUKA, there was a UNITY among ALL OF THEM.
Through the hilarious VIRGIN GAME, we got to know lots of details about each of them. ( for example GALLANT.)


I am quite desperate to try to find an interest in SAM, MORRIS, NEELA and PRATT, even GATES! ( making a huge effort to write his name.)

What about Chuny, ma fave nurse ?
We only know that she had a speedy love affair affair with Mark and a ONS with The Pretty.

Who will be the screenwriter who will give us a tiny bit to keep us interested???

I'm gonna ask my MUSE MAGGIE TO DO SOMETHING!

[andrejia]

Ah....Secrets and Lies...I really can't decide if indeed that's my favourite of all time because in Hindsight I loved Luka even more...But I think I'll go with the first! The bad thing is that I somehow feel that it was more about Carter and Abby than anything else...Susan was the third character I loved and I have a feeling she was there just to give Carter that speech at the end of the epi. It doesn't seem fair...

On another note...isn't Linda Cardellini's contract up this year as well? So...if they really decide on a full 15th season...who are they going to concentrate on? I mean...without her and Mekhi, not to mention Goran and Maura...the show would need completely new characters and frankly, I'm too tired to start all over again...But then again...I do think it won't be the case.

[zelda]

Tonight it's STATUS QUO...and like many others, I don't care at all.

First time since I started watching ER 13 years ago!

HOW DEPRESSING!

JEANIE coming back ?
I don't bat an eyelid!

The 25 seconds promo SADLY AMPLIFIED that...

And don't get me started if there is a thrilling hot love affair between SAM and GATES within the last 3 EPIs.

Feeling sad and demoralized.

[Misty]

First of all, Jeanie was never really a crowd favorite was she? I know I never really liked her, and she was never a powerful character, like Doug or Carol. If they brought those two back, the ratings would probably go way up. It would bring alot of older fans back, if only for a couple episodes. I guess I shouldn't say I'm not excited for her to come back, but I'm only excited because she was an older character. And I know the producers are trying to bring the previous characters back for a closing or whatever, but bringing Jeanie back is like an attempt at making a powerful episode, but its most likely won't. But who knows, hopefully its a tear-jerker and has everyone wishing for more.