1df1
Subj : Nobody's ... script editor
To   : alt.tv.er
From : npardue
Date : Fri Sep 30 2005 06:16:46

From Newsgroup: alt.tv.er

Lordy ... that sucked!

I'd inititally missed the first 15 minutes or so.  I got home from work
at 9:30 and DH asked me to run him over to the nearby fastfood place
where his car was stalled out. If it wouldn't start, we'd have to dash
over to Target for jumper cables and then jump it.  I popped my tape in
first and then we headed out. By the time we got the jumped cables,
resusitated his car and I got home again it was 10:15. I walked in just
about the time Inez was suspecting she had just 'delivered a foot.'

I think the show laid an egg. (BTW, after it was over I went back and
viewed the beginning on tape.)

Ok, what I liked.  Let's the good stuff out of the way firs.  I liked
Abby's line about the second opinion. (In fact, that whole little
subclot was rather cute.) I really liked the scene where Luka tells
Abby that Sam's moving out. {Luka really does look especially good so
far this season!) I liked Dr. Coburn; Amy Aquino really did a good job
here. (Though I didn't care much for her new hair style. 50's
throwback?)

What I hated would fill a novel, so I'll try to be concise.

The whole main plot with Claire and her baby was just about the most
incomprensible thing they've ever shown.  And the problem was, the
rudimentary idea could have been interesting.  A surrogate gestation
where neither the gestational mother nor the geneitc mother ends up
wanting the baby.  But instead, we got this completely nonsensicle plot
full of stupid people acting (in the case of Claire) like idiots, or,
in the case of the regular cast, like out-of-character idiots.

How the hell does a woman get to be a surrogate WITHOUT realizing (and
agreeing to the fact) that a c-section MAY be necessary? While I'm the
first to agreee that there are way too many c-sections done in this
country, I also recognize that there ARE cases where they are vital ...
and a footling breech is one of those cases.  Dr. Coburn should have
known that.  Ray obviously knew that. Sam should have known that.  So
why didn't Coburn push harder for Claire's consent? Explain in more
detail what is going on?  Instead she gets about 3 lines explaining
that the cord could be compressed and there's a '25% change of
problems' and then, when Claire still says no, she just walks out and
says to Ray "SHe doesn't consent, we can't force her!"
And Sam.  Yes, it is important to explain the risks of surgery to the
patient. Yes, Ray should have done it.  But simply stating all the
horrible things that could, potentially happen, without any indication
of relative risk ... especially to a patient who already has said
repeatedly that she doesn't want surgery at all .. (and a woman who is
clearly a few bricks shy of a full load anyway!) is really stupid.
What exactly was Sam's movitation for trying to disuade Claire?  Just
because Sam herself doesn't want more kids doesn't mean that other
women shouldn't be allowed to want them or have them.
And Ray.  Screaming at patients REALLY doesn't help them make good
choices.  All last season we were shown that Ray is a guy who really
doesn't care much about his patients; is more interested in moving
patients out, making a good superficial impression, and picking up his
paycheck at the end of the week.  And now, suddenly, he's Super Doc,
totally wrapped up in the wellbeing of this little baby. (To the point
where, at the end, he spends the night in the NICU with him. "He
shouldn't be alone...."  Umm... aren't there doctors and nurses in the
NICU.) Why was he up in OB with her anyway?  (Incidentally, while I'm
glad they FINALLY moved her up to OB for the delivery ... but why was
she in the ER for most of her laobr?  She was uninjured.  The moment
they recogized the breech she should have been moved upstairs.
(Remember in "Great Expectations" Carol had to be prepped for surgery
as soon as her second twin turned breech. Claire should have at least
been up in the L&D ward, where skilled OB nurses and docs are
available.)  And not only was he up in OB, he was standing there
telling Dr. Coburn (an OB doc with over 2 decades experience) what she
needed to be doing. Coburn should have kicked him out LONG before she
did.  Hell, she shouldn't have allowed him to come upstairs in the
firstplace?
THEN, he goes and tells Tina and Rod that the baby will 'probably' have
neurogical damage.  That's not his job!  He's neither the OB nor the
pediatrician.  THEY are the ones who should be telling the parents
what's going on, NOT the ER doc who examined Claire after the accident
but had (or should have had) nothing whatsoever to do with the birth.

Ok. The rest of the eppy.  THe plot with the little boy with the
metabolic disorder was interesting. (And didn't that red headed
'friend' look like "Danny" from The Partridge Family?) Medically
anyway.  Unfortunately, it was used only to give us another helping of
"Dr. Lockhart, God's gift to medicine."  A couple of seasons ago,
wasn't Abby bitching that she just 'wasn't getting it.'  That neither
the clinical stuff nor the classwork was going well for her?  So why is
she suddenly all-knowing and infallable?  Yeah, confidence helps a lot,
but come on .... (Though she skipped over the "A" in her mnemonic.)
And the friends told Abby that they were skipping school. But isn't
this July? (New residents just starting, just a couple of days after
the previous eppy.)  Why would they be in school?

The female GSW and her daughter served only to be an anvil for Pratt's
story ... and Pratt's story is (sorry Uncle Copter) about the most
uningaging 'pesronal' story to have passed through in a long time.

Morris during his first two seasons was an amusing minor character who,
while completely unbelievable, was at least administered to us in small
doses as a nice bit of comic relief.  As cheief resident he's beyond
insufferable and it's just ludicrous that there was not a single other
senior resident on staff who would have done a better job. (They didn't
even look at outside candicates.  Remember that Kerry came on board as
chief resident from a different hospital way back in S2.)

Today we get a second crop of really-stupid-interns. (I guess the first
batch from last week all quit in disgust?)

While they're working on the GSW lady, someone (don't recall who) told
Pratt to call it, that they should 'save the blood for someone who has
a chance.' How often on the show do we see them pouring 6 ...10 ... 15
units of blood into patients who have massive injuries and been down
for hours?  "Saving blood" has never been a concern for them before.
(Though todays POV is probably more realistic.  Blood, espeically O-neg
blood, is not an unlimited commodity.)

Luka might be able to actually SEE if Sam and Alex are home, rather
than just yelling for them, if he'd turn on the light!

And earlier, when Luka and Alex are talking about Sam's new place, Alex
says that it isn't close to Luka's, since it's just a few blocks from
the hospital.  But in S9 didn't we see Luka cross-country skiing to
work. HE doesn't live far from the hospital either. (Though I suppose
if Alex 'wasn't far' in the other direction, it might add up to be a
bit of a hike.  Still, surely Alex knows how to take the el. If he
really wants to visit Luka, he could do so.

Bah.  If I had the ability to do so, I'd probably just edit my tape
down to those few nice "Luka" scenes, and erase the rest. But I can't.
Ah well.

Naomi

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