Two Ladies & Their TVs

We love our shows so much we created a blog for it.

ER 11/11/04

This one was probably the best of the season.  Ray Liotta's wonderful (although the NBC promos don't do his career justice; his role of a lifetime was in Goodfellas), and he gave a great, understated performance.  I liked the real-time setup, too; it made it seem more real... duh.  Nobody played the hero here, either, and THANK GOD Shane West and his smushy face didn't clutter up my t.v. for more than a minute this week.

Pratt was indeed a royal prick at the beginning of it, but I'm really tiring of it, and was glad to see him simmer down and slink back into his human costume.  But that short conversation with Luka?  Pratt asks him why he rides him so much, and Luka simply answers, "You're good... you could be great".  Oh, pluh.  Last time he said that to someone, she kissed him.  Well, I guess I should be thankful Pratt didn't slip him the tongue.

No real need to dissect anything else, it was really good.  I sort of wished I'd cried, though.  I actually expected to, since I'm so friggin' weepy usually.  But I was wholly absorbed all the way through. 9/10.

Posted by: athenawj at 21:50 | link | comments (7)
it s all drama

Comments:

#1  11 November 2004 - 22:20

 

I saw bits at the beginning and the end; even with the tidbits I saw of Ray Liotta, it was apparent he was doing a great job. He's such an under-rated actor.

So, it got me curious; would you mind giving a synopsis of his character?

merserene

#2  11 November 2004 - 22:29

 

His name was Charlie Metcalfe, and he was basically suffering from pretty much everything that could happen to an alcoholic: kidney failure, liver problems, internal bleeding, altered state, etc. I never got why he initially came in, although it was most likely because he felt ill.

He'd been in prison for awhile, following the murder of his wife and his descent into alcoholism, culminating in (what I gathered) a bar fight in which he killed a man. His son lived with his wife's parents for awhile, then they stopped bringing him for visits, and they lost touch. One of the nurses called the son while Charlie was in the ER, but the son basically said, "Nice knowing you", and hung up. He was a good guy whose life simply spiraled out of control. While at first he said he wasn't ready, he eventually told them that he wanted to be a DNR.

There were no over-the-top histrionics or destruction of scenery; like I said, he delivered a very poignant performance.

athenawj

#3  12 November 2004 - 23:28

 

I've never cared for Ray Liotta, but I admit that he had me pretty engrossed last night. I missed the first 20 minutes or so, like I usually do for some reason.

And, defending Pratt, I thought the moments in which Charlie identified that Pratt didn't know his dad were fairly profound. The tears on Pratt's part were nice, too.

That said, I know Pratt is tiresome; I just like the way he broods:)

It was a good show.

StacyT

#4  13 November 2004 - 05:51

 

Oh, Stacy, in the first twenty minutes Pratt really let it rip. Charlie had mentioned where he was from, Pratt knew a prison was there, and Pratt goaded him into telling that he'd been there, and what he was in for. Then he made all sorts of nasty comments in the trauma room until Sam called him a prick and Luka yelled at him to leave. It wasn't until Luka talked to him in the hall that he calmed down and apologized. He'd felt that treating Charlie was a waste of everyone's time, especially his.

So, me calling him a royal prick this time wasn't just because of personal dislike for the character. ;)

athenawj

#5  13 November 2004 - 11:31

 

Wow, I see your point. I really do have to get my rearend settled down at the start of these shows so that I can see what's really going on. I guess that was the setup for the Pratt tears that came later, eh? Kind of contrived sounding to me.

I did it again last night. I only caught the last fifteen minutes of Enterprise, but at least it repeats tonight.

StacyT

#6  13 November 2004 - 13:18

 

Last night's Enterprise was good. They wrapped up the Eugenics/Augments arc, but what a great performance by Spiner. There were definitely shout-outs to "Wrath of Khan" and to TNG.

merserene

#7  13 November 2004 - 15:21

 

Goodie! Silly of me but I'm really excited about watching tonight.

I saw Spiner's performance in the last fifteen minutes and thought it outstanding. It's really great to see acting "from the heart" from him. Other than TNG I've only seen him in "Independence Day" (less-than-stellar), and that Matthau/Lemon cruise ship affair (downright awful). I do have a soft spot for Data and always will.

Yay! Something to look forward to.

StacyT

Comments: