I am – Hercules!!

ER 9.6 FAQ

What’s it called?

"One Can Only Hope"

What does TV Guide Say?

Tensions between the nurses and doctors hit a fever pitch as a petition against Luka leaves the ER short-staffed; Abby's brother (Tom Everett Scott) returns with some all-too-familiar manic tendencies; Chen gives in to Pratt's less-than-tender loving care after a violent patient gets under her skin; and Nathan (Don Cheadle) irks - then impresses - Corday and Carter by talking a terminal patient out of giving up. Harkins: Leslie Bibb. Pratt: Mekhi Phifer. Leon: Marcello Thedford. Chuni: Laura Ceron. Haleh: Yvette Freeman.

* = stuff from Herc’s Sept. 11 spoilers.

* Did somebody say “Olaf the Troll”? The Illinois Powerball jackpot is up to $87 million, and admissions clerk Jerry will take to reselling lotto ducats to fellow County staffers.

* Now that John and Abby have officially coupled, sensitive widower Luka Kovac has apparently transformed into a rabid womanizer, and endures an ugly breakup with County’s second-hottest ER nurse, Chuny Marquez. Kovac’s behavior even sparks a petition signed by all the female ER nurses (save Abby).

Yep. In a meeting with Weaver, Romano and the female Nursing Director, Abby hears the news first: Kovac is supsended pending an investigation. This is the best scene in the show, albeit a short one. When Chuni’s tryst with Kovac comes up, Romano can only remark “So it’s true. You’re all suckers for the accent.” Abby tries to find Kovac to break the news, but Weaver gets to him first. And thus begins Dr. Kovac’s downward spiral. It just gets worse in the next few episodes. . .

* Abby’s brother Eric (Tom Everett Scott), like his mom, suffers from a mood disorder, and turns up in Chicago in love with a young woman he just met. (Eric also confides to Carter that Abby was famous at her Catholic school for wearing a Sex Pistols T-shirt over her jumper.)

Abby is confused about Eric’s behavior and eventually puts the pieces of the puzzle together. His erratic behavior (he’s rented a plane and is flying around the country with his new girlfriend; he calls Abby in the middle of a trauma to find out where she keeps her blender so he can make milkshakes.) She confides to Carter that she supsect he is manic, like his mother. In the last act, the quirky foursome go out to a country bar. But before that, you get to see a Carby kiss in the lounge; the chemistry, of course, not suprisingly missing. Someone put Carter with Chen before we all die of naseua!

* Corday expresses serious doubts about the surgical future of Parkinson’s-riddled middle-aged med student Paul Nathan (Don Cheadle). Nathan takes his concerns about Corday’s concerns to Romano.

* Nathan proves himself a hero again when he befriends a 26-year-old named Alison whose rare and painful genetic disorder causes her to sign a DNR.

* Corday will treat a 14-year-old who was apparently drugged and raped. The twist is the teen doesn’t appear to remember what happened to her, and the girl’s father doesn’t want Corday to let the kid in on the bad news. Mrs. Greene will also help a jumpy rookie cop with a nasty gash in her hand.

Perhaps the heart of the episode. Nathan does his best to get in Lizzie’s good graces, but she seems more interested in teaching Harkins the finer points of trauma. A bit of repeating from last week’s episode, Corday is reluctant to let Nathan experience the real deal in terms of his surgical rotation. Don’t miss the verbal spars between Nathan and Carter when Nathan suggests alternatives for the DNR patient. She warms up to him more and more throughout the episode. A great scene at the end: Nathan and Corday on their way home. She leaves him on the El Platform because he’s frozen up again, and watches him from the train.

* Jing-Mei is jumpy too after she encounters a belligerent biker patient who calls her a “yellow bitch” and threatens to “come back and cut you up!” Pratt decides it’s his job to calm her down.

Pratt takes Chen back to his apartment and they, unfortunately, start fooling around. But Greg’s mentally challenged roomate Leon busts in just before things get too steamy with new that he won 100 dollars in the lottery. Chen, embarrasses, flees and leaves Pratt upset with his friend. Again, cross your fingers and hope the writers realize that Chen and Carter are the only docs on the show with chemistry.

* Big Susie will deal with a elderly woman with noisy digestive issues, and send Abby’s brother out in search of lottery tickets.

Not much Susan Lewis this time around.... a shame because she’s really started to bloom this season.

How about some spoilers for upcoming episodes?

Ask and ye shall receive:

* In the Christmas episode, Luka sleeps with Harkins and then crashes his Viper sending them both to County. The episode is in an unusual format, flashing backwards and backwards in time. This may be Kovac’s defining moment this season: in episodes preceding this we find out he’s slept with a prostitute and cashed a large check that a dying patient gave him.

*In episode 7, we find out Weaver is pregnant. She’s decided to start a family with her feisty firefighter girlfriend Sandy Lopez (Lisa Vidal). But, *sigh*, in episode 11 she miscarries and reluctantly lets Abby assist her, but continues to work.

*Sally Field’s return: Abby does some snooping in her brother’s medical records and realizes the doctors have misdiagnosed a breakdown he recently suffered. She makes some calls, gets him court martialed, he disappears, she goes on a road trip with Gallant to find him. That’s when she meets up with her mom Maggie and the drama begins.

Zambano’s rating for “ER” 9.6?

***

The Hercules T. Strong Rating System:

• ***** better than we deserve
• **** better than most motion pictures
• *** actually worth your valuable time
• ** as horrible as most stuff on TV
• * makes you quietly pray for bulletins

I am – Hercules!!