TVSquad

(S13E06) So, in the case of Ames vs. Kovac, the jury found in favor of the defendant. Shocker. What, Luka gets to keep his job? What will ER do now? Hi, I'm Jen, and I am reviewing ER this week for Rich Keller, who has a really cool gig tonight. In the interest of full disclosure, despite my opening snarkiness, I am a fervent, weekly fan of ER, and have been for years.

Despite the fact that I love ER devotedly, I will be the first one to admit that sometimes it is a little obvious. Let's start with Neela, since the show opens with her. I'll get to the steamy sex dream later. But of course, in order to insure that she stays in the ER (because that is the title of the show, and not Hospital), we have to have Dr. Crenshaw as the rude bald guy who is going to guarantee that she drops her surgery rotation. I actually hope she sticks with it because that would be a welcome change. Isn't it enough that she had to give up a really prestigious internship a couple of years ago in order to return to County General?

But ER's Modus Operandi (MO) is that Nobody Gets To Be Happy. In fact, to tell you the truth? I was shocked that Abby and Luka's baby was allowed to live. But maybe they thought killing their baby so soon after Carter's was getting to be a little repetitive. It looks like Pratt may get to be happy: He has a great date, and his brother is moving in with him. I'd like to see him get some happiness. But, man, if anything happens to Abby and Luka's baby in any future episodes? I may have to stop watching.

Does anybody else suspect that putting Neela through the rigors of surgery is a plea to satisfy Grey's Anatomy viewers? (And does anybody think we like Grey's Anatomy because it's about surgeons???)

I don't mind having Neela get it on with Gates. That's hottt! But please, don't do it just to postpone her inevitable relationship with Ray. We got some more insight into Gates' relationship with the blond he was sleeping with a couple of weeks ago. But it isn't clear what his relationship with her is-- they seem to be friends with benefits, rather than married or in a relationship. Interesting... Gates was also pictured in uniform with "Keith," who is the father of her children and Gates' boyhood friend. Interesting that his best friend died in Iraq and it seems that Gates served there also. Does he have inside information about Neela? Did he know Galant? Interestinger and interestinger (yes, I know that isn't grammatically correct-- did it on purpose). So, does this mean Neela actually has a chance with Gates? What do you think? Do you want to see Neela with Gates or Ray? Neither or both?

Go ER for Kerry's stunning plug about the need for a national health care plan! That was well-timed before the elections. Not that we are voting on national health care next week.

I didn't care for the portrayal of the Asperger's Syndrome patient, though maybe I am just in denial: My ten-year-old son has Asperger's. I know that sexual inappropriateness can be symptomatic of Autism, but I am going to have to do more research about what to expect when my son enters puberty!

That was total bull when Luka decided to overrule Mrs. Smith about telling her husband that his pancreatic cancer had spread to his brain. That wasn't his call to make. It's funny-- I am a medical editor, so I have read literature that shows that as recently as 30 years ago, doctors didn't want to tell patients they were dying of cancer. They thought that kind of information was too destructive. However, the paradigm has now shifted: Patients have asserted their rights to have access to their medical diagnoses and to be treated by doctors with dignity and respect. Does that really extend to insisting on handing out hopeless diagnoses against the family's wishes? That is one of the things I love about this show though-- it routinely raises those kinds of ethical questions, and isn't afraid to leave them unanswered.

But yay, Luka, for being a human being after all. I watched the scene between Luka and Ames and wondered what the point of it was, but then got to see it in the next scene (and, oh for heaven's sake, in the scenes for next week). Despite the volume of patients doctors see, patients ultimately, at their core, want to be treated by human beings first and foremost. As much as they want excellent medical care.