ER recap: Fear (Season Eleven, Episode Four) (original air date 21 Oct 2004)

THIS WEEK'S PROGNOSES:

• The writers: Perpetual plagiarism.
• Neela: A new beginning.
• Lockhart: None more black, and none more sexy.

The dramatic moment — A woman is screaming. And someone is banging on the door of her apartment. That's always a good way to start a show. Anyway, she has kids, and seems to know the guy who's banging on the door, so it's all bad. Of course he breaks in, as she and her kids are trying to run away, and he's threatening to kill the kids. Cue the theme song.

(Weaver... Carter... Lewis... Elizabeth Corday. That's the beginning of my sing-able theme song. I had to stake my claim before Corday leaves, and then I'll record the thing later.)

An SUV — Speaking of Corday, she's on the phone. And her cute kid, Ella, is talking to her from the back seat. She's asking about Daddy, a.k.a. Mark Greene or Green or whatever, and then she asks about another picture, which is of her grandparents. She thinks they're dead too. Elizabeth looks concerned: yes, because she's never, ever wondered about that before. Gee, should I raise my kid a whole continent away from my family? Yes? Okay, fine. Oopsie, Mark died. Gee, should I raise my kid a whole continent away from my family? Hmm, I dunno.

Elizabeth's furrowed brow will have to speak all of that to us, because that's about the extent of her introspection tonight. And ours, probably.

The El — Alex and Sam are on their way to wherever. Alex doesn't want to go to the Science Museum. Shut up, kid — the Science Museum rocks! Never mind: Sam's more interested in talking about Luka, and the idea of moving in with him. She's not sure, and neither is Alex, and it's all uncertain, and I'm bored.

Jumbo Mart — Neela is still trying to be a cashier. The OCD med student is there, trying to pay by arranging his coins into tidy columns. And who should come to the rescue? That's right, Dr. Lockhart, who manages to make a black T-shirt look like the foxiest thing on Earth. She pays so that OCD boy doesn't have to keep counting. And then, because I am blessed among women, we get a brief shot of Abby from behind. And her jeans. And what's in them. I'm okay, really.

Abby and Neela have a little conversation about how great their respective jobs are: Neela loves getting 10% off all her very valuable purchases, and Abby loves doing a ride-along in a windowless vehicle. And then another shot of those fabulous jeans, as Abby strolls out the door and Neela continues to peck at the cash register keys. Two unhappy women, with the key to each other's bliss: why must you torment me so?

Weaver's world — I'm not sure I like that pink shirt, Kerry. And I don't like the way you're lecturing Carter about the HIV-positive organ transplant, whilst simultaneously absolving him of all responsibility even though he's actually trying to take it. But I do like Dr. Weaver's glasses, because I'm a geek. Anyway, while she blathers on about Carter using work to get over whatever's bothering him, a rather attractive woman tries to hop on the elevator, but Kerry says she's late and refuses to hold it. Okay, that's it: the writers officially suck. Go ahead: take Dr. Legaspi away, and then take Sandy and (almost) Henry away, and make Kerry dote on Carter. But do NOT make her miss this kind of opportunity. She's a woman, not a stone, glasses or not, aggression or not. She needs some lovin', STAT.

Oh, hey, this'll work: as the elevator doors open, there's Susan Lewis, looking rather nice even though I'm not usually a fan. And she wants her job back. So Kerry makes an offer, which Susan accepts (sorry, it's not that kind of offer), and then Kerry dumps a pile o' work on her and Susan stands and stares. Ah, ER: where people learn how painful life is and keep coming back for more.

The ride-along — There's Dr. Lockhart, looking fine — but I can't concentrate on that, because there's a kid lying in the street. It looks like that asshole from the opening scene threw her out the window. Either that, or we've got a variation of Beloved on our hands. The little girl thinks Abby is an angel, and I'm not inclined to argue.

Pratt's pedagogy — I'm tired of Pratt. The End.

Oh, look, it's Jing-Mei. Why? So she can romance Pratt? Please, no.

The ambulance — Abby tells the ambulance guy to let the mom go along, because Abby is cool like that.

Jing-Mei's misery — I'm tired of Jing-Mei too. The End.

The little girl — Mom says the little girl's name is Kali, after the Hindu goddess. That's nice. But it also means "destruction," says mom, so Chuny takes her to the waiting area. Howard, the OCD med student, is there. I don't care: look at Lockhart in her EMT jacket. Mmm.

And then Abby tosses off the jacket and dons a lead apron, because she's really a doctor, and this ride-along stuff is a waste of time. More importantly, I get to see the black T-shirt again.

A long table — Dr. Corday is making her case to the board or the review committee or whoever they are. Elizabeth knows she's done the right thing, but everyone else is thinking about the law and the money and the whatever. And Kerry sides with the enemy, telling Corday she's breached hospital policy and the law and blah blah blah. Kerry, you drive me crazy, and I love you anyway, dammit.

The other kid — The woman's other daughter, Tamira, has some troubles, but not quite as many as Kali, or so it seems. Luka decides to comfort her by talking about The Wiggles, which confuses the other doctors, but not us, because we all know he's a softie and probably watches kids' shows every chance he gets.

The first kid — Kali's doing better. That's because we can still see Abby's black T-shirt, and because the kid still thinks Abby's an angel. Yeah, me too.

The other kid — And of course, because things are going better for Kali, they go worse for Tamira. Corday's not planning on her dying. Okay, then neither am I.

The management — Dr. Lewis is having a little trouble keeping up with things, partly because Neela burned her bagel. She did what?! She's supposed to burn Abby's bagel!

Kerry is not surprised that Susan's struggling, because Kerry is a robot and knows that humans are inferior to machines. No, actually, it's because her hair is weird. Yeah, it's always weird, but especially today.

The first kid — Mom shows up. Kali seems kind of delirious. Meanwhile, Abby's black T-shirt is still showing, even though nobody else's shirt is showing underneath the slicker/scrub/whatever thing. That's because only Abby looks that good. And only she can calm the mom, who is understandably freaking out.

The bumps — Earlier, while I was ignoring Pratt, he and the med students were examining a guy with lots of bumps. Turns out the guy has advanced lung cancer that has metastasized to his skin. Oh.

The new cute thing — Kali is not doing all that well, so Pratt decides he can save the day. But Kali's brother, Saige, wants to talk to the black guy, so Pratt goes out. And in walks someone interesting: a social worker, who makes Carter's eyebrows fly up and makes Abby's blood race (yeah, I know Abby's not in the room, but it's a long-distance thing). I'm sure you think I'm exaggerating her presence, but she does make an entrance:

Carter: "I wanna know where the damn social worker is."
The new girl: [as she comes through the door] "Covering two hospitals by herself till midnight. That's my excuse for being late: what's yours for being an ass?"

Exactly!

The other kid — Corday and Dubenko do battle. I hate to say it, but Dubenko seems to know what he's doing.

Some quiet time — The mom, Nichelle, talks to Abby and the new social worker, who have probably already arranged a date. Sorry. Nichelle is talking about how evil the abusive guy is, and she seems kinda wrecked, and who wouldn't be?

Pratt's wisdom — Sorry, I'm still bored. Wait: all of a sudden Abby's there in her black T-shirt and jeans. What? I'm only human! Or, well, lesbian.

The cops tell Abby that they don't have a lot. And then we find out that the new social worker's name is Wendall. Well, okay, but would it have killed you to introduce yourself as "Dr. Lockhart's dessert"?

The hallway — Dubenko tells Corday that the HIV-positive organ transplant was groundbreaking stuff. I knew he was kinda okay. But it doesn't help Elizabeth any: Weaver still wants to see her, and that's the same as being called to the principal's office.

The first kid — Kali wants to see her angel, Abby. I have to say that if there's a heaven, Abby will be there at the gate with those jeans, telling me I did okay, and that Carter's an ass. Anyway, Abby is trying to keep Kali with us, but it's not working. And I really don't mean to belittle any of it: this is a sad thing, and I want this kid to make it, no matter what happens to the black T-shirt.

They all work on Kali, even Howard the OCD med student, who is really bugging everyone, and is clueing everyone in to his OCD. Okay, that's enough: Howard's not interesting. Let's send him into nowhere-land with Pratt and Jing-Mei.

The chart board — Luka and Sam are still trying to get together. It doesn't seem very important.

Too much trauma — Kali is not doing well, and Howard is freaking out about a possible transposition in her number or designation or whatever. Again, too much Howard.

Scrubs central — Pratt helps the brother into some scrubs (the kid wet his pants when he saw the cops, which is only reasonable), and we find out that "he was never there," meaning the kid's father. What? Was I right about the Beloved thing? I swear I write these as I watch.

Kali's last moments — The new social worker brings the mom in to say goodbye to Kali. I've been watching this show for so damn long, but I've not seen anything like this: letting the mom in to say goodbye as it happens, and letting it happen as it does. Even though Carter's there with his annoying ways, it's good TV, and there's Abby with her set jaw and big heart. And there we all are, with the truth of it, in spite of everything.

The rip-off — Kerry plays bureaucrat and gives Corday the speech. She wants to essentially demote Corday, which of course is unacceptable to Elizabeth, and Kerry's pink shirt is not helping anyone. Corday says that she thought maybe "friends might have fought for me," and Kerry doesn't seem to feel one bit guilty about it. Wait: actually, she does recognize that Corday did the right thing, but she's too focused on "staying open and getting through each day," as Corday puts it. Kerry asks, "Isn't that enough?" and Corday's face says no, but she does understand.

The locker room — Abby tells Howard to get help. Out in the hallway, Howard hollers back at Abby. Susan sees the whole thing, wants to know what's going on, and really only cares about her management duties. Welcome to Weaver-land, Dr. Lewis.

The epilogue — Carter is caring for Kali. Okay, I get that he's feeling this rather personally. Abby stomps in, sounding like she's wearing big shoes, and asks if he's okay. He turns the question back to her, so Abby confesses that "today was hard," and tries to give Carter some sympathy. Two unhappy people who cannot connect: why must you torment me?

Pratt pokes his head in and says that the brother told him that Dad died a year ago. So who did this to the kids? I don't want to know.

On the phone — Dr. Lewis tries to find someone to replace Howard. Hey, why not try the Jumbo Mart? Nah, that would be too obvious.

A hallway — Pratt, Abby, Carter, and that foxy new social worker try to piece together the puzzle. Abby gets called away for the ride-along, so the others talk about the mom's psychosis. Great: I don't want to be right about the Beloved thing. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, please read everything by Toni Morrison, now. Thanks.)

The admit desk — Dr. Lewis talks to a potential resident who doesn't speak English. And another candidate shows up, very pierced and tattooed. Oh, so we're supposed to prefer Neela because she speaks English and is not edgy? No. Let's prefer her because she's smart, competent, and promising. Oh, and because she can make Lockhart very, very happy.

A dark room — Carter and the social worker talk to Nichelle. She confesses that her husband is dead. And then we flash back, to the woman imagining that her dead husband is trying to break in. But of course there's nobody at the door, and Nichelle convinced Kali and Tamira to jump out the window, and this is like Beloved, but much, much less profound and much, much less... much less. And somehow almost as hard.

Chuny interrupts to tell Dr. Carter that Dr. Corday got her answer. Whatever.

The Jumbo Mart — Neela argues with a customer. Just in time, Abby waltzes in, with her hair down and her black T-shirt on, and her plea to go get "something to drink or get something to eat, or... " — and I vote for the last option. Before that can happen, Susan Lewis walks in and orders a coffee and a first-year resident. Abby explains the situation:

Abby: "Well, Neela's going through this delayed adolescent rebellion slash premature midlife crisis thing right now..."

But of course Neela would rather be a doctor than label jalapeños. And of course she's really trying to find a way to go get that drink with Abby and that black T-shirt.

The lake — Corday is gone. Like we didn't know? But "It's been lovely,"she says, and that's true, and so has she, and we'll miss her. And piss off, NBC, as the British would say.

NEXT TIME ON ER: A repeat, apparently: there was a West Wing preview instead. Hey, there's an idea: CJ and Abby? Nah, I'm sticking with the Abby/Neela thing for now, and when I say CJ and Abby, it means CJ and Abbey Bartlet.

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