Watching ER

Former ER star Julianna Margulies is due sometime this winter. If you don’t remember who Margulies is, you really are not a fan are you? What are you doing here then?

Anyway, Margulies was famed Nurse Hathaway and George Clooney’s main/on-again-off-again love interest on ER. She returns to the small screen this fall in a new courtroom drama which I have talked about before so please keep up.

Ms. Margulies, the first time mom-to-be, is a fairly private person and is so far keeping the details under wraps but as of right now, the pregnancy will reportedly not be written into Canterbury’s Law, and therefore we can look forward to numerous stratigically placed items, funky wardrobe, and more up close shots.

Congratulations Julianna! However hush-hush things are, I am sending positive baby bump vibes your way.

celebrity baby bump, Julianna Margulies, Canterbury’s Law, ER

No I am not kidding. I just finally found my way to Wikipedia’s ER site. If you’ve never been I highly recommend it.

Little known facts about the acclaimed Medical drama such as when our favorite actors departed and how they left, to the number of Emmy Nods our dear beloved ER has earned. (I won’t spoil it for you by telling all. The number is just amazing.) I will mention though that records have been broken… That’s all I’m sayin…

One thing I do want to share is that it is revealed that ER was orginally slotted to be a movie and Steven Spielberg was on board for it.

Can you imagine if Steven Spielberg had actually directed ER into the big screen? How many sequels do you think we would be up to by now? I shudder to think of the possiblities (not bad shudder, good shudder) but I do get the willies thinking of all the gross ER things that the big screen can show that we won’t see in TV land (OH THANK YOU SO MUCH!) I admit it. I am the faint of heart.

Let’s think about this for a moment though. Would Anthony Edwards, Julianna Marguilies, and now heavy hitter, George Clooney have been included in big screen production of ER?

Fortunately for all of the ER fans, Spielberg went on to Jurassic Park (who knew?) and we have had 14 fabulous seasons of watching our Docs save and lose lives and lovers. However, if you pay close attention and know your ER medical drama trivia, you will know that Spielberg did have a hand in some early episodes.

By the way, did any of you catch Thursday night’s repeat of Murmurs of the Heart? Forest Whitaker still does a chilling of job of becoming Curtis Ames. I still can’t get throught the opening with Abby.

Check out Wikipedia’s ER site and brush up on your ER knowledge.

In the meantime I am going to rent a few ER DVD’s and watch the special features section, where all the good secrets are spilled.

Wikipedia, ER, Television Medical Drama, Movies, Steven Spielberg, Forest Whitaker, Emmy Nominations

ER this year? I know they weren’t nominated for Best Drama Series, but Forest Whitaker has been nominated for his guest role on the show this last season.

In case you forgot about Forest and his reoccuring guest spot as Curtis Ames, he played a stroke patient who takes Luka to court for malpractice. Losing his case, he begins to stalk not Luka but Abby and baby Joe. In a final seat-gripping, nail-biting, conclusion, Forest kidnaps Luka and holds him at gun point demanding that Luka give him back his life or suffer the pain Ames has had from the loss of functionality in his arm. I think I paced the floor through the whole thing.

If you missed this mini drama in a drama, then you had to be under a rock. This was the most talked about guest appearance on ER in a long, long time. Forest played Ames to frightening perfection. If ER and Forest miss receiving this Emmy, I might just eat my keyboard.

For those of you who missed it, this is well worth watching again:

Forest Whitaker, Curtis Ames, Luka, Abby, Emmy Nominations

I don’t know about you but anytime one of my favorite actors makes a… Well, (ahem) Dingbat (for lack of another word that I can’t use here), of themselves, I feel embarrassed for them and a little outraged for their complete lack of professionalism.

Such is the case of John Stamos who by now you all know has been tossed around on the web like a flaming hackey sack for his bad behavior on one of Australia’s morning talk shows. His slurred speech and out-of-it behavior had the tabloids on both ends of the globe buzzing about possible drunkeness.

Stamos fired back that unlike David Hasslehoff, he has no drinking problem.

Not long after that videos surfaced on the web to back up John’s fuzzy interview causing Stamos and his PR people to go into panic mode and blame the whole thing on jet lag.

Possible but from Cleveland, OH to Sydney, AU fans weren’t buying it.

Now completely caught up in a would-be scandal, Stamos is revealing that the bad performance on Australia National TV was brought on by side effects from the prescription sleep aid, Ambian.

Uh, Ok but excuse me, Dr. Gates, but shouldn’t you have already learned about the possible side effects of sleep aids early on in your medical training? Just curious.

John Stamos drunken like behavior, sleep aids, Austrailia News Media, Jet lag, Actors

Shane West, The new front runner for The Germs?Shane recently starred in the movie, What We Do is Secret about the late 70’s punk rock group, The Germs, in which he played the late lead vocalist, Darby Crash. The film is to have documented part of Crash’s life before committing suicide. Hmmm that’s an image of West I want stuck in my head. (Kidding, seriously. His head, body, anything is just too pretty to mess with).

Well, we know he can sing right? So it’s no secret (pun intended) that The Germs have brought Shane West on as the new lead vocal for the band and therefore have reunited for a tour.

So I guess it won’t matter much if his pilot didn’t get picked up or not now huh?And I guess it doesn’t matter if he has legs or not now either on ER. Seeing as how he is touring with The Germs.

I never was into punk music so I am not familiar with the group and I am sure that they are still before my time in one way or another so I’m not too choked up that I missed this.

On a different note, this does speak for Shane West’s talent as a a singer. He did some singing in the short run Once and Again, on ABC before donning the white coat on ER.

Shane West, The Germs, What We Do is Secret, Actors, ER, Movies

If you missed seeing Parminder back in the movies, have no fear, she will be in a new movie titled, Fallen Hero..

She will be joined by Lost’s Naveen Andrews, the very mysterious (to me anyway) Sayid. (What am I saying, all the characters on Lost are mysterious).

At this time there is no release date for this film nor is there any word on Parminder’s role in the movie. But I do promise to keep an eye on this as it’s been listed as a foreign film. So I am already interested in seeing what the movie is really going to be billed as.

However, the story covers a soldier’s return home (played by Andrews) to India numerous years after the war and how he deals with his life post war, his struggles to reclaim his life, and war memories and experiences.

As you remember, Parminder is most well known for her role as “Jess Bhamra” in Bend it Like Beckham.

It will be interesting to see the range of her talents in Fallen Hero.

Parminder Nagra, Naveen Andrews, Fallen Hero, Post War Drama, Movies, Neela

Last season we saw Stanley Tucci don the white coat at “ER”. Is it because his hospital show closed?? (haha - sorry not funny).

Well someone must have liked him enough because Stanley Tucci is signed to become a regular on “ER” this fall.

Last season, Tucci appeared as Dr.Kevin Moretti, and was only slated for a few episodes. (More like testing the waters to see how Goran Visnjic’s white coat fits). But we already knew that right?

I for one like Stanley Tucci and can’t wait to see him in the new role. It might be what ER needs to bring it back off of life support. Ok, so the show really isn’t on life support or anything but it has had some pitfalls as of late (anyone care to rehash the 6-week hiatus we all had to live through - perhaps that was a test to see if we could make it through the summer).

Tucci is an enormously talented actor. I am glad to see him joiining the cast. Here’s to a positive start to the 14th season - Even if we have characters in critical condition, Coping with being an amputee, and beloved characters doing God Only Knows what in their home countries!

Stanley Tucci, Goran Visnjic, ER News, Favorite Characters

The latest to come out of TV land is that ER is scheduled for a go this fall. The first season will find Doctors treating the victims of the war protest from last season’s finale. Neela will be in surgery for most of the episode and a certain doctor (can you guess?) will have to let someone else take over Neela’s surgery because of how he feels about her. The premiere also promises the return of a recurring character named Paul Grady who plays a young, likeable intern. What we want to know is, will Neela make it?

Does anyone know who plays Paul Grady? I have been looking and I can’t seem to find this actor anywhere.

It looks like ER once again, will bring the real world to the set. I have been reading on some sites, and other blogs that ER is too preachy with its storylines and having the art imitate life or current events a little too close. To those people, I ask, “How can they not?” Let’s face it, there IS A REAL WAR. Our Healthcare is lacking for those who really need it. The show wouldn’t be what it is, without all those factors. It has to hit close to home. I don’t think the show was ever designed as “fluff”. It hasn’t been since the beginning.

What do you think? Could ER use more or less “fluff”?

Spoilers, gossip, characters, War, season premiere

In a story this week on DailyIndia.com, George Clooney gives credit for his success not to himself but to ER.

Wow! So it has nothing to do with his charming smile, fabulous good looks and irresistable voice? (Am I the only one who can drool on contact at the sound of his voice?) Hmph. I never woulda thunk it. He claims that it was all luck.

Well, now I have to love him more. Humble is extremely sexy.

It may have been luck that ER received the timeslot that they did but after that, it was all the writing and the actors. You can have good writers and bad actors and no one will watch but it takes the perfect balance of the two in order to make something a success. Don’t you think?

As Dr. Doug Ross, Clooney rarely showed a humble side. He was the pediatrician everyone wanted (especially the single moms). He crusaded for the kids and went beyond the call of duty to save them.

Now for my apology. In my first post, I noted that ER had been on for 17 years, that’s incorrect. My math is horrible and thus this is why I blog. The show has actually only been on for about 14 years. I know, seasons, years… you would have think I noticed it before now but no…. It took me this long. Again, I apologize. If anyone noticed and was too nice to point it out, thank you. If you didn’t notice then I don’t feel so bad and weren’t you in my Sophmore Math?

It still doesn’t change how old I feel now.

George Clooney, ER, Dr. Doug Ross, Actors, NBC, Apologies, Success, Sexy

Don’t you just love a celebration? I do. And wouldn’t you just love to celebrate with Noah Wyle? Who wouldn’t? I mean he is just yummy. He invented McDreamy.

On June 4th, Noah Wyle (Dr. John Carter) celebrated his 36th birthday. Really? He is much too hot for 36. That math has to be wrong.

For anyone who doesn’t remember John Carter (How could you call yourself a FAN? Shame on you!) He played the young intern in the first season and was cast as a regular character. He stayed with the role and made it one of the most memorable and longest running on the show before finally leaving in season 12.

The most memorable of Carter’s relationships on the show was not his love interests, but his relationship with his grandmother. I know, sappy? Probably but its things like this which make a character more human to me.

Another ER celeb having a birthday this week is Shane West (Dr. Ray) Another McDreamy Doc but in a bad boy sort of way.Shane will be 29 on June 10th. Here’s hoping that Dr. Ray sticks around the show for season 14, gets new legs, and runs off with Neela!

Happy Birthday to 2 of my favorite ER men! Here’s wishing you all the best and a great year!

Birthdays, Celebrity news, Noah Wyle, Shane West, Neela

Julianna Marguilies will be joining Fox this fall in a new courtroom drama called Canterbury’s Law in which she plays the main character Elizabeth Canterbury a defense attorney.

Is anyone other than me excited? I should think so. We watched Julianna be Carol for so long, it’s hard to imagine her as anything but. Though in this courtroom drama we will get to see a little Carol-esque when she bends the rules to help those who are guilty until proven innocent. The new show isn’t scheduled until Mid-season so don’t be disappointed when you don’t see it start up right away. However, if you’re nosey like me, and you can’t wait for mid-season (are you kidding me, I don’t think I’ll make it to July), then go to Fox and check out a clip of the new show by following this link.

YAY! I don’t know about the rest of you but I am thrilled to see Julianne Margulies back on the small screen, not only on a regular show again but as the lead character. After years of doing guest appearances and plays she is finally back in front of the camera and this time as a lead.

Will you tune in to see Canterbury’s Law? I will.

ER, Julianna Margulies, Fox, Canterbury’s Law, Fall Season 2007, courtroom drama

If season 14 were to be ER’s last, what story lines would you like to see developed? This is just one of the questions fans all over ER fan message boards are asking each other.

And with good reason too, some rumors are floating about that season 14 could very well be the last.

One of the biggest story lines that fans would like to see is a definite hook-up between Neela and Ray. With Shane West (Ray) admitting that he would no longer be a season regular, that story line is sketchy at best. Though because his new show was not picked up, he may be more of a regular than a guest after all.

If ER did make season 14 the last, I would predict that they close County. That would be the only logical way to do it. Episodes in the past have touted the hospital’s money troubles and cuts so it would be plausible to have the Hospital close, if not the entire Hospital, then at least the ER. This would also make for a very topical story line since so many hospitals across the United States are also facing similar problems.

What do you think? Any speculations on a final season?