Er 11/11/04
#1
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Er 11/11/04
"In an episode of ER that we'll always remember..."
Charlie (Ray Liotta) shows up at the ER, pretty much a mess from a lifetime of hard drinking, combined with a prison sentence for murder, and a suitcase of regret.
Initially Pratt has some really hard feelings about the heroic measures he thinks are being wasted on this bum Charlie. Kovach keeps confronting Pratt about the root cause for Pratt's reaction. Eventually Pratt witnesses, along with a room full of ER personnel, Charlie's estranged son literally hung up on him and their relationship for good. Charlie pretty much gives up hope of recovering from his assorted maladies after his son's rebuke. As the ER staff makes Charlies last hour as comfortable as possible, Charlie becomes the surrogate happenstance for Pratt to say goodbye to his own estranged father.
The irony of the value of life comes full circle for Pratt, who, not even 45 minutes before Charlie's passing, had no use for Charlie. But the parallels between of the relationships between Charlie and his son, and Pratt and his father, give each man some form of closure from unexpected circumstances.
Charlie (Ray Liotta) shows up at the ER, pretty much a mess from a lifetime of hard drinking, combined with a prison sentence for murder, and a suitcase of regret.
Initially Pratt has some really hard feelings about the heroic measures he thinks are being wasted on this bum Charlie. Kovach keeps confronting Pratt about the root cause for Pratt's reaction. Eventually Pratt witnesses, along with a room full of ER personnel, Charlie's estranged son literally hung up on him and their relationship for good. Charlie pretty much gives up hope of recovering from his assorted maladies after his son's rebuke. As the ER staff makes Charlies last hour as comfortable as possible, Charlie becomes the surrogate happenstance for Pratt to say goodbye to his own estranged father.
The irony of the value of life comes full circle for Pratt, who, not even 45 minutes before Charlie's passing, had no use for Charlie. But the parallels between of the relationships between Charlie and his son, and Pratt and his father, give each man some form of closure from unexpected circumstances.
Last edited by Patman; 11-11-04 at 10:54 PM.
#2
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It won't be an episode "I will always remember", but it was pretty good.
Ray Liotta was good and the ending was heartfelt. Mekhi Pfifer (sp) should take some dramatic crying classes though.
Ray Liotta was good and the ending was heartfelt. Mekhi Pfifer (sp) should take some dramatic crying classes though.
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I've only caught a couple episodes of ER since the first year or so, but that was definitely the best episode I've ever seen. Even though it was kinda dumb that they had to put him on speaker and I pretty much knew what was going to happen, the phone scene was really powerful. That episode almost makes me want to watch more ER, but I know I'd just be disappointed. I'm really glad my newspaper recommended watching this episode, though.
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Yes excellent episode!
Rat Liotta was terrific.
Was anyone else reminded of an episode of Homicide LOTS where a guy (Vincent Donofrio currently in L&O CI) was trapped (squashed actually) between a subway car and the platform?
He remained alive but medics and eventually he, knew that he would not make it.
Rat Liotta was terrific.
Was anyone else reminded of an episode of Homicide LOTS where a guy (Vincent Donofrio currently in L&O CI) was trapped (squashed actually) between a subway car and the platform?
He remained alive but medics and eventually he, knew that he would not make it.
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Originally posted by Phil L.
Was anyone else reminded of an episode of Homicide LOTS where a guy (Vincent Donofrio currently in L&O CI) was trapped (squashed actually) between a subway car and the platform?
He remained alive but medics and eventually he, knew that he would not make it.
Was anyone else reminded of an episode of Homicide LOTS where a guy (Vincent Donofrio currently in L&O CI) was trapped (squashed actually) between a subway car and the platform?
He remained alive but medics and eventually he, knew that he would not make it.
#11
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Originally posted by Phil L.
Yes excellent episode!
Rat Liotta was terrific.
Was anyone else reminded of an episode of Homicide LOTS where a guy (Vincent Donofrio currently in L&O CI) was trapped (squashed actually) between a subway car and the platform?
He remained alive but medics and eventually he, knew that he would not make it.
Yes excellent episode!
Rat Liotta was terrific.
Was anyone else reminded of an episode of Homicide LOTS where a guy (Vincent Donofrio currently in L&O CI) was trapped (squashed actually) between a subway car and the platform?
He remained alive but medics and eventually he, knew that he would not make it.
#14
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I'll "always remember" the first several times they did this same storyline as well. :P The only example I can think of, though, off the top of my head was several years ago.. Guy came in with some kind of weird chemical-type burn, only given a few hours to live, had a little girl he hadn't seen in years, Carol helped him compose a letter to her, etc. Of course it was a little different, and the burn guy wasn't nearly as cool as Liotta.
I really liked it though. True, sometimes this show is still as good as it "used to be" and you can't say that about a whole lot of shows that have been on this long.
I really liked it though. True, sometimes this show is still as good as it "used to be" and you can't say that about a whole lot of shows that have been on this long.