Vintage Episode Discussion: 11.22 "The Show Must Go On" {May 19, 2005}
 

From TV.com:

Clip: Carter Leaving

That's all we could find :shrug: If any of yall have clips(particularly of Carter leaving and the porch collapse) feel free to share :D

Otherwise, yall know how this works. Discuss, share clips, quotes, caps, favorite moments. Let's see whatcha got ;)

Man, this ep. So many awesome things in it. Haleh's famous line: "Lucky for us, Interns bounce." :lol: Then Morris inviting himself to Ray's friend's party and getting sick on the booze. Then the porch collapse. That literally made me jump in my seat. But the aftermath was Ray's shining moment and one of the major factors in him choosing medicine over music and seeing it as a career, not just a way to pay the bills so he could play with his band. And it gave the three interns a chance to shine, too, since almost everyone was at Carter's going away party.

And oh, Carter. It was very bittersweet to see him leave, but he was going after what he wanted and that made it a little easier to take. I love the scene with Abby, Ray, and Neela, where he talks about the letter and gives them all advice. And I love the end with the three of them, where they're writing their own letters. And Neela's great line: "Do you think it's weird if I start it 'Dear Neela'?" Such a great episode. Definitely one I rewatch. :D

Caps (Sorry, they're mostly Roomies. :P)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...ayNeela275.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...ayNeela259.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...ayNeela211.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...ayNeela192.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...ayNeela189.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...ayNeela180.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...ayNeela150.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...ayNeela298.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...0On/Ray134.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...0On/Ray105.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...0On/Ray104.jpg

~Ash :)

Okay, I really think that I need to watch the "newer" seasons too. I stopped after Mark's death, but now I'm really interested. Thank god that Christmas is coming soon!

A lot of people don't like the newer seasons because the characters are different and therefore there isn't quite the same 'feel' as the earlier ones. I won't lie, the writing in the earlier seasons is definitely superior overall, but the later ones do have their moments. And most of the newer characters do get their chance to shine and come into their own.

Ray was a brash, irresponsible treat 'em and street 'em intern, looking to clear a board so he could get to his next gig. Medicine wasn't a career for him, it was something to pay the bills so he could perform with his band. Until this episode. In this episode, these weren't just patients he was treating, they were his friends. People he knew. And I think it changed the way he saw the people they treated, and the way he thought of his job. No, he didn't grow up and become the perfect intern overnight, but he made huge steps in the right direction and it set the stage for "Nobody's Baby" (another chance for us to see Ray grow as a character).

This episode was also the beginning of the odd-couple, cool big brother/dorky little brother relationship that Ray and Morris ultimately ended up having. It's one of my favorite things about the later seasons (apart from the Roomies and the roller coaster ride their storyline is).

This episode also bookends nicely with "21 Guns". If you can watch the two of them back to back, you should. Again, Ray is stepping up and taking charge, only instead of being drunk and puking into a trash can, Morris steps right up with him and the two of them take care of Jerry and basically keep the ER running until Weaver shows up because there are no senior residents and no attendings: Luka's out of commission, and Pratt's at Gallant's funeral with Neela. But it showcases how far both Ray and especially Morris come as characters in just one season.

Okay, wow. Rambly Ash is rambly. :P The point of the ramble is that the later seasons are good in their own right, too. Not as good as the earlier seasons, but they definitely have their moments and yes, you should watch. :blush:

~Ash

Wow, thanks for bringing that over Ash :D It really sounds interesting!!!

I have to say that I watched some episodes of the later seasons, when they were airing here in Austria. But I don't like the German synchronisation, so I was really bored when I watched the episodes. And I couldn't get into it...there were so many new faces and I just thought, man, how great was ER when the original cast member where in it...

And then I stopped watching again.

But now with you telling me all about Ray and Morris and how their charakters build up, it seems really interesting. I just have to watch the seasons in a row, maybe then I'll get hooked again, who knows ;)

The Show Must Go On was a cracking episode :) I loved, loved, LOVED Carter hearing the voices of Mark, Benton, and Carol as he was walking out of the ER for the last time. The slideshow at his farewell party was cool too. I liked seeing the photo of Carter with Doug, Mark, and Peter. It was great seeing all the originals remembered in this episode.

But yeah, there were other great points to this episode too. The house collapse was insane, and it was actually one of those episodes which people were talking about in my school the next day :eek:

Although, the ending of the episode bugged me a bit. It is where Sam and Luka are driving out of Chicago to find Alex. I always find it strange that in like 3 consecutive season finales, Sam leaves Chicago for some reason. :rolleyes: At the end of Season 10, she decided to move away with Alex after everything that happened with Steve; as I've said she left looking for Alex at the end of Season 11; and at the end of Season 12, Steve kidnapped her and Alex and drove them across the state! :confused: I nearly dropped dead from shock when Sam actually stayed at the hospital/in Chicago in the Season 13 finale. :lol:

Yeah, the Sam part bugged me, too. I think she was one of the people who needed more screentime and development than she got when she first came in. Though, the baby storyline was originally supposed to be hers, and then they switched it to Abby, so I think they didn't know what to do with her for a while after that. :shrug:

And I loved the montage with the voices, too. And the slideshow at his going away party. Only thing I wish they'd included was one of him and Deb. The Jinter shipper in me wanted it, but they were also very close friends as well as colleagues. He was the one she called when she went into labor and he was there to support her when she gave up her baby, so that kind of annoyed me a little. But it was still a great episode.

~Ash

I remember the porch collapse and kinda remember Carter leaving. I should go down to the DVD shop and see if they this season because I'd love to watch it again.

I really liked the relationship between Archie and Ray, too.

Roomies caps are great! :)

Oh really? I never knew that.

Yep. It was supposed to be Linda's storyline originally, but it was changed. I think that was part of the problem with Sam through the latter half of S11 and most of S12 and 13. They didn't know what to do with her after they switched her storyline to someone else.

~Ash

Yeah, I definitely noticed a lack of juicy storylines going her way in those seasons, which surprised me given how much she had going on while she was with Luka. I really don't remember much that happened with Sam in between breaking up with Luka and getting together with Gates.

She had a thing with the male nurse, and Alex started a fire in her building. And her grandmother was recurring for a while. It really wasn't much. :(

~Ash

De-topping this sincce it's been up for a while. I think we can suspend this through the holidays and begin anew next week.

Does anyone have any suggestions for the next episode? Or perhaps a character you'd like to see spotlighted? We haven't done one of those in a while.

I would like to do a character spotlight on Weaver.

As for an episode discussion - how about The Storm?

Weaver on character spotlight sounds great!

I also would like to discuss The Storm!