Post by Cornflake Girl on Feb 10, 2007 14:53:04 GMT 10
Life isn't easy for Luka and Abby
Friday, Feb. 9
If there is one reason viewers stay loyal to “ER” after endless seasons of rotating casts, soap opera plots and hackneyed “can’t miss” scenarios, it is Luka Kovac and Abby Lockhart (Goran Visnjic and Maura Tierney). Visjnic originally was brought on the show to temper the departure of hunktor George Clooney, Abby, to replace one of the lady docs or nurses (who can remember anymore?).
It was a wonderful relationship for viewers who like love on the rocks: there was something about how Luka, a Croatian doc who immigrated to the States after the violent death of his family, and Abby, a divorced depressive alcoholic nurse, found each other. When they made each other smile, it almost seemed to pain them. Plus, with their dark hair, low voices and humorous height difference, they were a hot couple. But then, Abby coupled with Carter (Noah Wylie) and Luka spun off into some sort of personal hell that involved prostitutes, drinking, going to Africa and dating Sam the nurse (Linda Cardellini). Abby got dumped by Carter, became a doctor, and then briefly dated a bearded cutie who inexplicably disappeared once he shaved.
The last seasons of “ER” finally delivered the sweet payoff for those of us who hoped that these two lost souls would find each other once again. They got together and had a baby, which seemed to deliver some sort of insurance on the relationship. The amnesia of the characters and writers of the show can be frustrating for viewers (you sometimes expect the characters to say “I’m being held hostage again?”) but the general dynamic of the relationship seemed to be maintained. Abby and Luka still had communication problems but now tried to work through them - in many ways, the relationship mirrored Miranda and Steve in the final episodes of “Sex and the City.” Shortly before the birth of their baby, Luka proposed to Abby, who demurred - yet they stuck together.
Despite finding each other, life was not easy for the couple. First, both were seriously wounded when prison escapees took over the E.R.. Then, Abby gave birth prematurely to baby Joe, who was a critical case but pulled through. Then, Luka found himself stuck with stalker Curtis Ames, played by Forrest Whitaker, a disgruntled former patient who blamed Kovac for his partial paralysis. Ames eventually exacted his revenge by forcing Luka at gunpoint to place his hand in a vise and squeeze until it crushed his bones. This could have been a career-ending injury for Luka - that was Ames’ aim, after all - but in true “ER” fashion, Luka returned to the ER with a bandage and a grimace but no sign that his life at the hospital would end.
On last night’s episode, Abby treated patient Simon, played by “Six Feet Under”’s Freddy Rodriguez, who wanted to get out of the hospital in order to perform his stand-up act. His determination, despite his terror, inspired Abby to come home to Luka and ask him to propose to her one more time. Abby’s flusteredness and Luka’s smile felt like a real ER moment, not a recycling of old situations for new but bland characters. The episode ended with Luka getting down on bended knee. It feels like it’s been too long, but finally “ER” actually delivered a can’t-miss episode that brought goosebumps. We’ll see where it goes from here.
Link
Don't you just love that Sam was included in Luka's personal hell?! I seriously laughed.
Nice to see them acknowledge that Luka and Abby (MT & GV) are basically what keeps people coming back to ER...it is about time they got more praise...nothing mentioned about Gates/Stamos for once.
Friday, Feb. 9
If there is one reason viewers stay loyal to “ER” after endless seasons of rotating casts, soap opera plots and hackneyed “can’t miss” scenarios, it is Luka Kovac and Abby Lockhart (Goran Visnjic and Maura Tierney). Visjnic originally was brought on the show to temper the departure of hunktor George Clooney, Abby, to replace one of the lady docs or nurses (who can remember anymore?).
It was a wonderful relationship for viewers who like love on the rocks: there was something about how Luka, a Croatian doc who immigrated to the States after the violent death of his family, and Abby, a divorced depressive alcoholic nurse, found each other. When they made each other smile, it almost seemed to pain them. Plus, with their dark hair, low voices and humorous height difference, they were a hot couple. But then, Abby coupled with Carter (Noah Wylie) and Luka spun off into some sort of personal hell that involved prostitutes, drinking, going to Africa and dating Sam the nurse (Linda Cardellini). Abby got dumped by Carter, became a doctor, and then briefly dated a bearded cutie who inexplicably disappeared once he shaved.
The last seasons of “ER” finally delivered the sweet payoff for those of us who hoped that these two lost souls would find each other once again. They got together and had a baby, which seemed to deliver some sort of insurance on the relationship. The amnesia of the characters and writers of the show can be frustrating for viewers (you sometimes expect the characters to say “I’m being held hostage again?”) but the general dynamic of the relationship seemed to be maintained. Abby and Luka still had communication problems but now tried to work through them - in many ways, the relationship mirrored Miranda and Steve in the final episodes of “Sex and the City.” Shortly before the birth of their baby, Luka proposed to Abby, who demurred - yet they stuck together.
Despite finding each other, life was not easy for the couple. First, both were seriously wounded when prison escapees took over the E.R.. Then, Abby gave birth prematurely to baby Joe, who was a critical case but pulled through. Then, Luka found himself stuck with stalker Curtis Ames, played by Forrest Whitaker, a disgruntled former patient who blamed Kovac for his partial paralysis. Ames eventually exacted his revenge by forcing Luka at gunpoint to place his hand in a vise and squeeze until it crushed his bones. This could have been a career-ending injury for Luka - that was Ames’ aim, after all - but in true “ER” fashion, Luka returned to the ER with a bandage and a grimace but no sign that his life at the hospital would end.
On last night’s episode, Abby treated patient Simon, played by “Six Feet Under”’s Freddy Rodriguez, who wanted to get out of the hospital in order to perform his stand-up act. His determination, despite his terror, inspired Abby to come home to Luka and ask him to propose to her one more time. Abby’s flusteredness and Luka’s smile felt like a real ER moment, not a recycling of old situations for new but bland characters. The episode ended with Luka getting down on bended knee. It feels like it’s been too long, but finally “ER” actually delivered a can’t-miss episode that brought goosebumps. We’ll see where it goes from here.
Link
Don't you just love that Sam was included in Luka's personal hell?! I seriously laughed.
Nice to see them acknowledge that Luka and Abby (MT & GV) are basically what keeps people coming back to ER...it is about time they got more praise...nothing mentioned about Gates/Stamos for once.
