Patman

This episode is told in flashback format, starting with the end, but then peeling back how events lead up to what amounts to Luka's meltdown. Enjoying the show so far...

bothanspy

Okay, I missed the first ten minutes, but I got the general jist. What happened at the end? I thought Luca got the cut from the midget. Was that the med student on the gurney at the end. I'm really confused. Was the actual story all BS?

SPY

Goldberg74

Hated it.

... but then again I've always disliked Luka's character.

OT: Does anyone else notice that not one person in the ER is married or has any close family around. Isn't that a bit odd?

Patman

Now that was messed up day for Luka.

Poor Gallant, the 3rd wheel.

Yep, Luka gave Harkins (the med student a ride) home after his extended shift, but he started driving like a maniac because he was mad at himself for missing the leukemia diagnosis.

Harkins demanded that Luka let her out of his car, but by then, a homeless person with a shopping cart was in the road, so Luka swerved right, into the side of the road, into a part of a building, and I think Luka also clipped the other car, which had a father and son, Luka helped the son breath by clearing his airway from a broken clavicle.

Harkins assisted Luka, and then after the son was taken away in the first ambulance, Luka was talking to the second ambulance that made it to the accident site, and suddenly Harkins passed out.

We're led to believe she's sustain internal injuries, like her liver is messed up as Weaver is trying to stabilize Harkins, but we don't know if she makes it due her injuries from Luka plowing into the side of the building.

Jeeden

The first ten minutes showed him coming in the ambulance to the ER. He "cleared" her to the EMS people so they didn't put her on a backboard and they really should have according to Susan and Weaver.

Then they flashed back to him roaring around the streets in the Viper, ....poor car...man doesn't deserve it...anyway, he wasn't paying attention and was yapping about the kid that was brain damaged and ran into another car. He jumped out, saved the boy's life, acted like he wasn't the driver to the kid's father, then as they went away in the ambulance you know who collapsed onto the street. I think that brings it up to the first ten minutes.

It was an ok episode. I would tell weaver where to stick it sideways if it was my day off and I might not be up to 100% and was a doctor.

LOVED Susan all dressed up at the party. Biggest mistake of Carter's life to not hook up with her.

tanman

I didn't see it. was there a roof top scene

Josh-da-man

How did it end? (I missed the last fifteen or so minutes.)

Jeeden

Showed a point where Luka was leaving the ER early knowing that he was having a bad day, then the old man coming into the ambulance bay and him going back into the ER to screw up everything from that point on. Then it showed Susan's party the night before, him being drunk, Carter and Abby leaving early, Luka trying to be mushy with Abby, then Harkins asking him to dance and stay with her. Then she brought him home to his place, he hit on her, she wanted to stay on the couch, he said he liked helping people, but only strangers and not tomorrow. Then they went back to the begining "end" and showed her being worked on and Gallant saying "Luka, what happened", he just said "she needed a ride home"

Tscott

I have to ask- what was the point of this gimmick?

This sort of structure works best when there's a revelation at the start that would change the perspective of how things ended up. But the plot was very straightforward and I had already figured out everything that happened in the "last" half of the episode.

Also, I hate that there was no resolution on the status of the med student.

kcdny

Left us hanging on Harkins which wasn't right. How come I have a strange feeling that next episode they will act like nothing happened, still with no resolution and focus on Gant & Chen and maybe some Romano thrown in.
Crap I should be a writer for the show, how do I copyright my post? I can sue them

MrX

I didn't care for this episode. I think this was a gimmick to do something different. The only thing that you thought happened that didn't was Luca and Harkins sleeping together.

Buck Turgidson

Next week is a rerun, so it's Cliffhanger Time.

I'm sorry have to swim against the prevailing stream here, but I still like this show a lot, and I liked this episode very much.

Gcomeau

I thought it was a cool episode. It was ala Memento. I just wonder what happens next week?

redskull47

Didn't they do a storyline very similar to this with Doug Ross' character? I could swear there was an episode where he brought in one of his one night stands who'd overdosed in his apartment or something like that. Telling the story backwards doesn't help disguise the fact that it's pretty much the same plot. Besides, Seinfeld did the "backwards episode" better.

If they need more ideas for "stunt" shows, they could always do a musical or an all animated episode.

CharlesC

I loved this episode, very very good!

For all that think it was just a gimick:
I think that the 'backwards' style lends itself to explaining how a series of apparently harmless bad decisions can lead up to a really bad situation.

From the previews last week I was expecting Luka to do something incredibly stupid, something that screamed out "I'm mentally unstable!!!!". But instead he did a bunch of things that I personally can relate to. Who hasn't partied to hard the night before, drove too fast, got mushy with an ex while drunk, worked when you shouldn't have, etc...

Great moment when the girl asked him to pray too, really nice character touch.

Patman

I think the point of the episode is that the choices you make can have some very strange consequences.

If Luka would not have followed the old Croatian man back into the ER, Harkins would not have suffered her injuries from Luka's reckless driving. He'd probably be back in his place sleeping off his night of boozing it up. That's when his day just go to hell.

I thought it was a worthwhile format to get the point across. The point doesn't quite have the same impact if you tell the story sequentially.

tofu

If I was a medical intern, would I really want to come work at this hospital?

The format was interesting. At least, you could follow the timeline by looking at the cuts on Luka's face as the episode went forward.

The Bus

Well, the leukemia wasn't his fault... The guy said he was feeling better and wanted to rest it out -- so Luka was NOT as responsible for his death as we al had thought.

HistoryProf

I think i've officially abandoned ER after many years of faithful viewing....last night couldn't have been less compelling, and i moved on to Insomniac at 10:30....the show just seems to have lost it...too many characters are gone, and they don't seem to have any real cohesion anymore....

rfduncan

Did they sleep or have sex? Luka was totally smashed and fully clothed when Harkins answered the phone the next morning. Also he mumbled something about "only with strangers" referring to his hooker thing.

Overall I enjoyed the episode, but thought the storylines were a little too complicated for the device. I have trouble discerning JANE (the hockey accident) from DUANE (the kid in the car Luka clipped in the beginning). I thought I'd misheard the kid's name.

On a side note, Jane's father was played by John Kapelos (the janitor in Breakfast Club and the oily bohunk fiance, Rudy Rizczech, in Sixteen Candles. I wonder is he and Gedde Watanabe (a.k.a. Long Duk Dong) did some off-screen catching up.

bboisvert

The audience is thinking throughout the whole thing that they had sex the night before, but as the story unfolds, you realize that she just made sure that he got home safely and slept on the couch.

The episode actually wasn't as terrible as I thought it was going to be.


In my opinion, this is the first season of E/R to finally start losing steam. As others have said, too many characters have left and too many others no longer seem to have anything to do. As much as I've enjoyed the ride, I wouldn't mind seeing them finish this up soon -- maybe even this year.

kcdny

How's the competition Without A Trace? Anyone ever catch it? Too bad it's not on next week while ER is in a rerun but it's Survivor finale night on CBS.

Norm de Plume

Lame show, with the gimmick seeming to have no purpose at all.

I would like to see them get rid of those two obnoxious front desk fatties.

MrX

I agree. It's not as interesting as it has been in the past. I don't see it ending any time soon though. It's still a ratings monster and with Friends ending this year NBC needs it on Thursday.

Kal-El

I liked it. You could totally see Galant pissed at Luka cuz he's thinking what everyone else is.