err...

TV Is e.r. dead?

"But this season's initial episodes arrived as such a nonstop plod through dreariness, unlikelihood and noncommunication that it's been hard to hold out hope for recovery. "ER" no longer has a center with the departure of sole remaining original star Noah Wyle, so all the other characters simply float off into the ether of absurdity. That whole Luka-Sam "romance"? Two characters who can't voice their fears and thus alienate each other might be provocative in a literary novel or an art-house film; but in weekly serial TV, they're dead weight. What was with Goran Visnjic and Linda Cardellini crazily chasing all over the Midwest after her runaway son? And not speaking to each other while they did it? Could there be less logical goings-on for less expressive characters?"

I've had an incling for some time that e.r. isn't very good, but I've stuck with it. I think that it always needs to return to its core strength -- telling heartfelt medical related stories. Everything else is padding.