An Ode to ER
I love ER! The medical drama that was so hot during the mid and late 90s ranks as one of my all time favourite shows. And now I can watch the whole first season on DVD after finding it in Baru Feringghi last night.
Imagine this: despite returning home from Penang at 3am last night after splurging on pasta, latte and DVDs with friends, I just couldn't resist watching some ER. Boy, it was such a trip down memory lane!
I used to be so obsessed with ER. Believe it or not, after watching the show religiously when I was in secondary school, I actually wanted to be a doctor! There I was 15 years old, still living back in JB, and watching all these cool people saving lives and treating people in the hectic emergency room. I liked the drama but most of all I liked the madness of the whole ER.
No other episode portrayed the madness of life in the ER better than the pilot episode. It starts with the chief ER doctor, Dr Mark Green (played by the impeccable Anthony Edwards) waking up at 5.30am in an ER bed to treat patients. The episode also ends in the same way, showing how during these doctors' marathon-like shifts, they have to grab any opportunity to get some sleep.
Dr Green puts the whole show into focus when he pep-talks with the wide-eyed new intern, John Carter (a very very young Noah Wyle):
"We work at an emergency room. Our job is to treat the sick and save people's lives. Everyday we see people who are injured and bleeding. We cannot keep our feelings to ourselves because that could make us sick. That could get into the way of doing our job.
It feels so different now watching ER at this point in my life. Back then, I was watching it as a naive little boy living with his parents, living a sheltered life. But last night I was watching it as a person who has gotten a taste of such hectic situations. I now work as a reporter, and I can relate to these doctors who have to do two, three or even several things simultaneously. Like the ER doctors, I have to be very very very certain about myself and my actions during my work.
I now watch ER as a reporter, a person who has had two years work experience, two Umno general assemblies, a general election and one mother of all tsunamis.
When the ER theme song came on, I was like, experiencing goose bumps! I used to love the song so much, and listening to it now made me feel all nostalgic inside.
So what if I didn't become a doctor. I tried to study sciences during form four and five, but I realised I wasn't good at it. But I continue to love watching ER- especially watching all the characters and how their lives have changed through the years. John Carter I guess has changed the most: he came in all young and eager- just out of medical school, now he's the only original cast members still on the show.
So here's a shout out to the original cast of ER, all of whom were nominated for their peformances during the 1995 Annual Emmy awards.
Dr Mark Green (Anthony Edwards)
Dr Doug Ross (George Clooney)
Dr Peter Benton (Eriq La salle)
Dr Susan Lewis (Sherry Stringfield)
Nurse Carol Hathaway (Juliana Margulies)
Dr John Carter (Noah Wyle)
I love ER! The medical drama that was so hot during the mid and late 90s ranks as one of my all time favourite shows. And now I can watch the whole first season on DVD after finding it in Baru Feringghi last night.
Imagine this: despite returning home from Penang at 3am last night after splurging on pasta, latte and DVDs with friends, I just couldn't resist watching some ER. Boy, it was such a trip down memory lane!
I used to be so obsessed with ER. Believe it or not, after watching the show religiously when I was in secondary school, I actually wanted to be a doctor! There I was 15 years old, still living back in JB, and watching all these cool people saving lives and treating people in the hectic emergency room. I liked the drama but most of all I liked the madness of the whole ER.
No other episode portrayed the madness of life in the ER better than the pilot episode. It starts with the chief ER doctor, Dr Mark Green (played by the impeccable Anthony Edwards) waking up at 5.30am in an ER bed to treat patients. The episode also ends in the same way, showing how during these doctors' marathon-like shifts, they have to grab any opportunity to get some sleep.
Dr Green puts the whole show into focus when he pep-talks with the wide-eyed new intern, John Carter (a very very young Noah Wyle):
"We work at an emergency room. Our job is to treat the sick and save people's lives. Everyday we see people who are injured and bleeding. We cannot keep our feelings to ourselves because that could make us sick. That could get into the way of doing our job.
It feels so different now watching ER at this point in my life. Back then, I was watching it as a naive little boy living with his parents, living a sheltered life. But last night I was watching it as a person who has gotten a taste of such hectic situations. I now work as a reporter, and I can relate to these doctors who have to do two, three or even several things simultaneously. Like the ER doctors, I have to be very very very certain about myself and my actions during my work.
I now watch ER as a reporter, a person who has had two years work experience, two Umno general assemblies, a general election and one mother of all tsunamis.
When the ER theme song came on, I was like, experiencing goose bumps! I used to love the song so much, and listening to it now made me feel all nostalgic inside.
So what if I didn't become a doctor. I tried to study sciences during form four and five, but I realised I wasn't good at it. But I continue to love watching ER- especially watching all the characters and how their lives have changed through the years. John Carter I guess has changed the most: he came in all young and eager- just out of medical school, now he's the only original cast members still on the show.
So here's a shout out to the original cast of ER, all of whom were nominated for their peformances during the 1995 Annual Emmy awards.
Dr Mark Green (Anthony Edwards)
Dr Doug Ross (George Clooney)
Dr Peter Benton (Eriq La salle)
Dr Susan Lewis (Sherry Stringfield)
Nurse Carol Hathaway (Juliana Margulies)
Dr John Carter (Noah Wyle)
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