By this point in ER's tenure, the show's writing really starts to suffer. There are still some good episodes here and there, but you can see the writers falling back too frequently on two cheap devices common in American television:
1) Sex and interoffice romances.
2) Racial and ethnic stereotypes.
Now, ER has always had trouble with Asian and Asian American characters. This is not unique to American film or television. But considering the medical field has quite a few Asians and Asian Americans working in it, the near absence of Asian and Asian American characters is appalling. And when they do feature them, they're nearly all stereotypes who then ultimately get twisted into some other type. On ER, they're also almost exclusively females, so they get a diversity two-fer.
Here, we get the sort of two-dimensional Fu Manchu type as a boss who is sleeping with his nanny, who is the two-dimensional walk 10 steps behind her master sort. This isn't to say such people don't exist, but if you watch ER (and Law and Order and other acclaimed shows), this is one of a few stereotypes you see over and over. And then there's a White savior moment with Carter stepping in to do something about it, likely way overstepping his bounds as a physician. Chen is there to validate it, but it's obvious who's in charge.
We get more soap opera antics with Abby. It's a shame that nearly all the female characters on the show are presented as emotionally unstable and manipulative of men to get them what they want. Abby at least knows she's troubled and, at times, tries to warn others, but later we'll see the mercenary Sam Taggart, who seems to have some kind of personality disorder no one else recognizes.
There are some bright moments here, but they're undercut by the writers not going all in. For instance, while Don Cheadle's med student character, Nathan, obviously has trouble recognizing the limits of his authority, he does raise important questions about why physicians are so quick to write patients off when other treatments might be available. Is it ethical for them to withhold such information just because they've decided it's not worth pursuing other avenues with a patient? I thought the oath they take is to do no harm to the patient. Isn't withholding treatment harm? Especially if it's about money?
But the episode stacks the deck, with an 87-year-old patient in poor health, and, of course, since Elizabeth Corday is involved, they can't have her look bad. So, any meaningful exploration of the subject is quickly squelched in favor of showing Nathan to simply be overzealous. It's also interesting how he's treated rather sharply by Corday and others, which while in the 90s or early 2000s might not have registered, may be viewed differently today, as people are more cognizant of the optics where White authorities dismiss or berate minorities more than others.
Ultimately, this is a meandering episode. It's still better than many that will follow, but ER is showing its age or, rather, fatigue.
1) Sex and interoffice romances.
2) Racial and ethnic stereotypes.
Now, ER has always had trouble with Asian and Asian American characters. This is not unique to American film or television. But considering the medical field has quite a few Asians and Asian Americans working in it, the near absence of Asian and Asian American characters is appalling. And when they do feature them, they're nearly all stereotypes who then ultimately get twisted into some other type. On ER, they're also almost exclusively females, so they get a diversity two-fer.
Here, we get the sort of two-dimensional Fu Manchu type as a boss who is sleeping with his nanny, who is the two-dimensional walk 10 steps behind her master sort. This isn't to say such people don't exist, but if you watch ER (and Law and Order and other acclaimed shows), this is one of a few stereotypes you see over and over. And then there's a White savior moment with Carter stepping in to do something about it, likely way overstepping his bounds as a physician. Chen is there to validate it, but it's obvious who's in charge.
We get more soap opera antics with Abby. It's a shame that nearly all the female characters on the show are presented as emotionally unstable and manipulative of men to get them what they want. Abby at least knows she's troubled and, at times, tries to warn others, but later we'll see the mercenary Sam Taggart, who seems to have some kind of personality disorder no one else recognizes.
There are some bright moments here, but they're undercut by the writers not going all in. For instance, while Don Cheadle's med student character, Nathan, obviously has trouble recognizing the limits of his authority, he does raise important questions about why physicians are so quick to write patients off when other treatments might be available. Is it ethical for them to withhold such information just because they've decided it's not worth pursuing other avenues with a patient? I thought the oath they take is to do no harm to the patient. Isn't withholding treatment harm? Especially if it's about money?
But the episode stacks the deck, with an 87-year-old patient in poor health, and, of course, since Elizabeth Corday is involved, they can't have her look bad. So, any meaningful exploration of the subject is quickly squelched in favor of showing Nathan to simply be overzealous. It's also interesting how he's treated rather sharply by Corday and others, which while in the 90s or early 2000s might not have registered, may be viewed differently today, as people are more cognizant of the optics where White authorities dismiss or berate minorities more than others.
Ultimately, this is a meandering episode. It's still better than many that will follow, but ER is showing its age or, rather, fatigue.