TVSquad

(S13E05) ER tends to get some pretty big names as guest stars. Sally Field has a recurring role as Abby Lockhart's mother, and Danny Glover has appeared has Greg Pratt's Dad. Alan Alda appeared in several episodes, and so did Bob Newhart. Last season, James Woods appeared as a mentor of Abby who was stricken with Lou Gherig's disease.

This season is no different. In this week's episode (and for five more afterwards) we are treated to a guest appearance from Forrest Whitaker, fresh off of his role in The Shield (and as Edie Amin in The Last King of Scotland, at a theater near you). However, he's not one of those warm and cuddly guest stars you normally see. No, he's pissed at County General in general, and with Doctor Luka Kovac in particular, and he wants his day in court to prove how poorly he was treated.

His attorney for this case? Chandler Bing's on-again, off-again girlfriend Janice. No, seriously! Read on, if you dare.

There were two major plots this week, and they focused on Carol and Doug Abby and Luka. The major plotline was Kovac on trial against Curtis Ames (Whitaker), who went into the ER with a cough and ended up having a debilitating stroke. The course of events is shown through flashback, with each person's side of the story displayed. It was interesting to see how Kovac and Ames saw the course of events. I wasn't really too sure whose version to believe. I leaned more towards Kovac's version because his and Chuny's characterizations were what we normally see. In Ames' version of events Chuny is seen as being extremely cold, and Kovac is shown as being a bit of an incompetent.

What I didn't like about this whole trial plotline was the jury room scene at the end of the episode. Rather than deciding on the merits of the case, they were bitching and moaning about how doctors get all of these kickbacks from drug companies, and how the whole medical institution is corrupt. Does that really happen in jury rooms? From what I saw in Twelve Angry Men I don't really think that's the case. Anyway, it looks like Kovac won't be getting the not guilty verdict that his attorney says they'll get.

Back to Ames' attorney. Yes, that was Maggie Wheeler, who played the recurring role of Janice on Friends. At first it was hard to tell because the accent she had on Friends was totally gone. Plus, she looked much older and serious in ER than she ever did on Friends or Everybody Loves Raymond (where she also had a recurring role). She was a pretty tough attorney here, grilling Kovac as to whether or not a catheter he placed in Ames (for antibiotics) caused a blood clot which eventually resulted in Ames having a stroke. I'm not too sure if she'll appear in additional episodes of ER or not, but it would be interesting to see her again.

I did say there were two plots this week. The secondary plot was Abby's return to the emergency room. Did you see her? She actually smiled a few times. This is clearly an Abby from another dimension. Anyway, there wasn't much to talk about in this plotline, other than the patient who caught on fire in the operating room. You don't see that too many times, do you?

No new ER next week. So, I'll see you in 14 days.