Friday, May 09, 2003

Last night's episode of ER was exemplary -- the kind of riveting episode that used to be so common in the show's early seasons, with just the right balance of medical thrills to personal-life stuff. The gimmick last night was that the show tracked the day shift and the night shift on the same day, alternating between the two and focusing on Dr. Carter (day) and Dr. Pratt (night). In many ways their shifts mirrored each other, and during one bravura sequence Carter worked to save a patient from an accidental drowning, and Dr. Pratt -- twelve hours later -- worked to discover whether this same patient had suffered brain damage. This sequence culminated in Dr. Carter telling the girl's father that she very well might not live, and if she lived she very well might not fully recover -- intercut with Dr. Pratt telling the same guy that his daughter had survived and was going to be fine.

The whole episode was masterful, and I love the fact that even after two hundred episodes, ER can still bring it. And that wasn't even the season finale.

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