ER 9.7 FAQ

What’s it called?

"Tell Me Where It Hurts."

What does TV Guide say?

Kerry starts spreading her good news, as Abby gets heartbreaking information about her brother (Tom Everett Scott) and his exit from the military. Meanwhile, Kovac hits a new low in his search for a sexual high; Corday and Nathan reach an impasse regarding his future in medicine; and Chen helps Carter treat a Chinese immigrant being exploited by her employer.

what is TV Guide not telling us?

Kerry's pregnant, which explains her odd behavior in the last few episodes.

What's the "heart breaking" information about Abby's brother?

He's bi-polar, like his mother, and is AWOL from the Air Force. Some tense scenes when he is arrested and accuses Abby of betraying him.

What's up with Kovac?

After a hard day at work, he goes home with a prostitute he meets at a bar.

Bottom line?

A well rounded episode that seems to be setting up the major players for crucial storyline climaxes in the coming weeks.

What lies beyond?

In the next month you'll get to see Kovac face his own personal demons (aka sleep with a med student/crash his Viper), watch Abby go on a soul-searching journey (aka emotional rollercoaster scenes with Oscar Winning Sally Field), and see the brilliant Laura Innes (finally!) get a storyline of her own as her pregnancy is put in jeopardy.

Weaver? I thought this was the Abby Lockhart Family Hour.

Me too. But tonight, we get to see the sizzling Lisa Vidal return as Firefighter Lopez, Weaver's girlfriend from last season. But, it's a blink and you'll miss it scene. Weaver tells Lewis she's pregnant with Lopez at her side. You have to wonder why these actors (Innes and Sherry Stringfield) are woefully underutilized. Their scenes always stand out. Weaver hugs Lewis after telling her the good news; a very subtle yet effective scene in a sometimes overdrawn flashy show.

Mr. Zambano’s rating for “ER” 9.7?

****

Chat With Wanda (11/11/2002)
POSTED:  November 12, 2002 @ 3:00 PM C
SOURCE:  Chat With Wanda
>> Hey, any news on ER?
Some of you may have heard this by now, but sad news for Weaver. She has a miscarriage in episode 11.
>> On ER, does Leslie Bibb really die? She hasn't even gotten a chance! I guess it is a way for the writers to truly make Kovac the black sheep though.
Slight (life-or-death) change of plan on that. In the episode I'd read (number 10), Bibb's character, Erin, is in a car accident (with Luka driving), and she flatlines. I'd heard she was written off so she could do a pilot for an ABC legal drama. However, it looks as though the plans changed (perhaps the pilot fell through?), because in the following episode, Erin is back from the dead--up and walking around, although with some difficulty. So, look for a big (perhaps unintentional) cliffhanger at the end of episode 10.
>> So, the accident: Is it Luka's fault? 
Yes. He's drives recklessly and the accident--which badly injures a family--is totally his fault. He and Erin have been sleeping together, and they're the subject of ER gossip. Apparently, it's against the rules for attendings to shtup med students. Who knew?

Chat With Wanda (11/04/2002)
POSTED:  November 5, 2002 @ 2:47 PM C
SOURCE:  E! Online:  Chat With Wanda
Wanda's Spoiler Trick or Treat Game (Spoilers True or False):  Abby goes on a road trip with Gallant, and Luka goes after the new girl (Leslie Bibb). That's true.
On ER, when do we find out about Weaver's pregnancy? When do her coworkers discover her condition?
It all shakes down in the seventh episode (two away). In that same ep, Abby learns her troubled bro (Thomas Everett Hott...er, Scott), has gone AWOL because of emotional problems. This leads to the aforementioned road trip with Gallant. She jets off to Nebraska to find him and ends up running into Mom (Sally Field).
Do Pratt and Chen ever hook up?
Did you see the promos? Next week it's bada-Ming-Na, baby.

Chat With Wanda (10/21/2002)
POSTED:  October 23, 2002 @ 10:00 AM C
SOURCE:  Chat with Wanda
What's coming up on ER?
Luka continues on the fast track to puka. After the nurses rally to throw him out (they sign a petition, with the exception of Abby), Luka does not clean up his act. In the seventh episode, he is confronted by the husband of a woman he has been sleeping with and later leaves a bar with a prostitute. In the ninth ep, even more Luka loveliness: He accepts a "tip" from an elderly lady patient (who dies not long after) for $10,000, then cashes it while his latest young date waits in his car for him.
You said a few weeks ago that Weaver on ER is going to be pregnant. Is this still the plan?
Affirmative, little mama. Weaver's girlfriend, Sandy (the EMT), is back in the picture, and they decide to raise the baby together.
What can you tell us about Don Cheadle on ER?
The Don Cheadle guest arc--which starts with the Halloween episode--sounds fantastic. He plays an older medical student who has changed careers after being diagnosed with Parkinson's. He was a successful businessman but decided to try to do something worthwhile. Trouble is, trying may not be enough. The tremors he has as a result of the disease certainly interfere with his attempts to pursue a specialty in surgery.
Is there any reason Abby and Carter have not smooched onscreen since lockdown. I mean, they have had scenes together but no kissing.
I don't know the reason, but I can tell you that initially, the scenes had far more steaminess, and for some reason, it was edited out. I will try to get to the hot little hiney of this.
Anything else on ER?
More Chen-Pratt fireworks, and we meet the new girlfriend of Eric (Tom Everett Scott) when Carter and Abby go out on a double date with them. Abby has a few big-sisterly concerns about the new woman.

EPISODE 10 SPOILERS:  "HINDSIGHT"
2 members of the ER staff are involved in a car accident. (I'll save
everyone the speculation now - it ain't Carter and Abby)
FROM:  EpneBelle

Chat With Wanda (10/14/2002)
POSTED:  October 15, 2002 @ 2:09 PM C
SOURCE:  Chat With Wanda
INFO:  Any ER news? Especially concerning Carter and Abby's relationship? How about Abby and her (hot) brother Eric? Eric is having some mood swings, but he's unwilling to acknowledge that he might have bipolar disorder. Eventually he has a breakdown, going AWOL from the air force. It's a dramatic story for November sweeps, with Sally Field reprising her role as Abby's mother.

Chat With Wanda (10/7/2002)
Posted:  October 8, 2002 @ 5:53 PM C
Source:  Chat with Wanda
Any spoilers for ER, especially regarding Luka?
He gets freaky--in the ER--and it just might cost him his job.
Can you tell me about future storylines for ER's Dr. Lewis?
Soitenly. In the next episode, Deb, Susan and Abby have a wild night out. At least, it's a wild one for Deb. She shakes her groove thang and crowd-surfs at a local bar. In the next episode, Susan catches an earful from Carter for accompanying Abby to a watering hole.
Please tell me that annoyingly skinny Leslie Bibb isn't going to get in the way of Carter and Abby lovin'?!
No worries, love. She'll have her hands full with another good doctor--er, a formerly good doctor.
When will the ER gang find out about Kerry's pregnancy?
Not for a few more episodes. And she's going to make even more of an ass of herself before they do. Next week, she goes on TV, and it's a disaster.
What's in store for Dr. Corday?
She snaps out of her apathetic trance and has more interaction with Dr. Romano when he returns to work in episode five. Romano won't be able to perform his normal surgical duties, so he's relegated to a role of delegator. It's extremely frustrating for him.
I'm pretty sure I saw some sparks between Pratt and Deb on ER. Yay or nay?
Hip-hip, Hoo-yay! We see more and more intimate moments between the two in upcoming eps. This week, when a psycho dude pulls a gun on Deb in the ER (we saw that preview), Pratt will be there to comfort her. But don't expect this to last long, as Ming-Na is expected to leave the show later in the season.

Chat with Wanda (9/30/2002)
Posted:  October 3, 2002 @ 2:39 PM C
Source:  Chat With Wanda
You've been a bit prudish lately with the ER scoop. Give it up!
What, don't I even get dinner first?! Okay, here's something I haven't yet mentioned. In a November sweeps episode, Luka's job is on the line when nearly all the nurses demand disciplinary action against him. This season, he's quite the ladies man, and his bad attitude and sexual antics (in the workplace, ooh-la-la) are seen as jeopardizing patient care or something. Yeah, now who's the prude?!
On ER, will Sandy be back? I'm hoping Weaver gets to have a love life.
Oh, she'll have a love life--and a family life. Later on this season, Weaver and her girlfriend Sandy decide to start a family. Weaver is pregnant.

Chat with Wanda (9/23/2002)
Posted:  September 24, 2002 @ 1:21 PM C
Source:  Chat With Wanda
On ER next season, is it true sweet Luka is going to be a jerk?
He's a player, yes. Fast cars, fast women...Fast track to plummeting ratings? You decide. Either way, ER is going to have some serious competition from Without a Trace, the new missing-persons drama from the producers of CSI.

Fresh Blood: Those ER docs might be dropping like flies, but the cast's attitude has hardly flat-lined. "There really isn't a doom-and-gloom sense about the place," Noah Wyle says. "We have some great cast additions, and they're really committed to being there." Namely, Philly's Tom Everett Scott, who stars in eight episodes as Abby's brother Eric, an Air Force cutie who's hiding a secret only mom may understand--good thing Sally Field reprises her role November 21. And Leslie Bibb (Popular) is likely to catch the eye of Luka (Goran Visnjic) while his former fling (Maura Tierney) gets downright steamy with the new head doc (Noah Wyle). And speaking of Carter's newfound power: "There's going to be a rivalry between Kerry and me, because we're both in positions of authority now," Wyle says. "John Carter doesn't take any shit anymore." ER returns September 26.

Episode 6 & 7 Info
Posted:  September 18, 2002 @ 10:21 AM C
Source:  EpneBelle
EPISODE 9.6  "THE LOTTERY"

A disciplinary hearing is scheduled for Luka, after the nurses (minus Abby)
sign a petition against him.

Whoa boy...some people are gonna be pissed. LOL! What the hell did he do? I
must have missed a spoiler or something.

Carter and Abby have a night out with Eric and his new girlfriend, whom Abby
has concerns about.

Abby has concerns...what a shock. LOL!

Pratt tries to reassure a shaken Chen after a bad day.

EPISODE 9.7

Nathan begins to become unsure in the face of Elizabeth's discouragement.

Abby turns to Carter for support "as her world closes in around her" when Eric
goes AWOL and is later arrested.

Luka is confronted by the husband of a woman he's been sleeping with, and later
leaves a bar with a prostitute.

Oh, and Weaver's pregnant.

Chat With Wanda (9/16/2002)
Posted:  September 18, 2002 @ 10:12 AM C
Source:  Chat With Wanda
Oh great TV goddess, do you have anything juicy on ER? 
Good news for Carter/Abby fans: From what I've seen so far, they're huggy-humpy-lovey for awhile, getting more and more serious as the season progresses. In what looks to be a November episode, Carter bonds with Abby's brother (Thomas Everett Scott), who's thinking of moving to the area and is supportive of her ongoing difficulties with her mother. (Sally Field returns on November 21.)

Chat With Wanda (9/9/2002)
Posted:  September 10, 2002 @ 2:00 PM C
Source:  Chat with Wanda
Is it true that Sally Field is coming back to ER?
Yes. She returns for a "multiple-episode arc" in midseason. Her storyline will coincide with that Abby's brother, Tom Everett Scott, who is also hiding a mood disorder.
Anything more on ER? Is Tom Everett Scott a regular?
No. He'll star in eight episodes, but he has not been added as a permanent cast member. The WB's Do Over just tapped him to play the adult Joel Larsen, so he might not be able to sign on permanently to ER, even if they end up wanting him. Unless, of course, the show is cancelled--and sadly, although Do Over is actually very funny, its chances up against Survivor and Scrubs are not good.

Chat With Wanda (8/26/2002)
Posted:  August 28, 2002 @ 10:36 AM C
Source:  Chat With Wanda
Enough Friends, already...how about some ER or West Wing?
You're a fickle bunch today, aren't ya?! Okay, how about the 411 on Don Cheadle's character. D.C. begins his tenure during November sweeps, as a mature medical student. He has Parkinson's Disease and is determined not to let his disability overwhelm his life. Luka is dismissive of him, but he impresses everyone on staff, especially Dr. Romano.

Chat With Wanda (8/19/2002)
Posted:  August 20, 2002 @ 9:27 PM C
Source:  Chat With Wanda
Wandy, Wandy, Wanda--any new ER dish? I mean besides about Carter?
Hmmm...Is there anyone else on that show? Oh, wait, um, what's that guy's name, the gorgeous one with the voluptuous wife whom I always try to trip on the red carpet...

Oh, yes. Goran Visnjic! He's finally getting a storyline, so watch out, ladies. Luka has turned over a new leaf and is a consummate playboy--he has the Dodge Viper, the bachelor pad, the string of women, including one (a total stranger) he has sex with immediately, no questions asked. He's having a good time, putting himself first for a change. The job and everyone else--including exes--come a distant second.

Another Corday Romance?
Posted:  August 17, 2002 @ 1:25 PM C
Source:  Chat With Wanda
Another ER Fling for Corday? Don't bet on it. Even though it sounds like one of the ER cast members wants to kindle the flame.

A few weeks ago at a Peacock-net party, Alex Kingston laughed at rumors of a love connection between Dr. Corday and Dr. Romano (Paul McCrane) during the upcoming season.

"Oh, come on," Alex said with a jovial eye roll. "It's because Noah Wyle spread this rumor, not maliciously."

Alex seemed legitimately in the dark about any upcoming Corday-Romano love connection and made her own preference perfectly clear: "The thing is, Paul and I really love working together, but I feel there's more fun to be had without them being romantically linked. There's more fun in flirtation and the sort of love/hate relationship they have than if they finally end up together. It's much more interesting to keep the tension alive."

Based on the scoop I'm hearing about a first-ep helicopter accident, you can bet your right arm there'll be plenty of that.

Season 9 Episode 4
Posted:  August 16, 2002 @ 11:48 AM C
Source:  epnebelle
Episode 9.4:  "DON'T CALL ME MIKEY"
Luka pulls a Malucci in the storage closet.

Abby morphs into Carol some more by unwillingly becoming nurse manager.

Kerry screws up big time on live television.

Elizabeth manages to find her former bedside manner again.

Carter bitches at Susan for barhopping with Abby.

Chat With Wanda (8/12/2002)
Posted:  August 12, 2002 @ 11:58 PM C
Source:  Chat With Wanda
I heard that Philly's Tom Everett Scott is taking a role as Abby's brother on ER--true?
Yep, it's true. Tom Everett Scott (also of That Thing You Do! and the dearly departed The $treet) is playing Abby's brother, Eric, for eight episodes. Supposedly, Scott Foley's name was tossed into the hat at one point but was scrapped when his show A.U.S.A. was picked up for midseason on NBC. Not sure if it's changed, but the original plan for Tom's character Erik was a little something like this: He's in the Air Force and is a really likeable, relaxed and friendly guy. But Abby suspects that he's suffering from a mood disorder (à la mom) that he's able to hide from others.
Does Dr. Romano lose his arm in the first ep?
Yes. In a helicopter accident, which he partially blames on Luka.
Does Noah Wyle look as fine in person as he does on TV?
Better. Yep. Tally that up as the eighth wonder of the world.
Your ER spoiler sucked this week! 
Which one? The Tom Everett Scott? Did you guys already know? Tell me--stat!
Ummm...yeah, Wanda. The ER news was somewhat old. Nice try, though.
Oh! This just in: Kellie Martin is leaving the show.
Kidding. Okay, how about this: Carter and Abby fans have very little to worry about, at least in the first few eps. And there isn't much to worry about with Leslie Bibb either, apparently. Expect smooth sailing (and steamy showering) for awhile.
Oh, man! I'll miss Lucy. I heard a rumor that Erik Palladino was leaving, too!
Well, I'm not one to gossip.

Raciest Scene Ever to Appear on ER??
Posted:  August 10, 2002 @ 11:10 AM C
Source:  Chat with Wanda
Anatomy of a Script Crime: Wocka-chicka-bow-wow. Wocka-chicka-bow-wow. Hear that? It's the sound of the raciest scene ever to appear on ER. A source close to the show tells me that in the original script for the season premiere, the ER scribes included a hot 'n' heavy skinny-dipping scene with Abby (Maura Tierney) and Carter (Noah Wyle) bumping snuglies. Very TV-MA.

But sadly, it looks like the scene will get the ax before it hits the air. All together now: Booooooooo.

The upshot, however, is that producers appear to be keeping the steamy, second-ep shower scene I told you about in last week's chat. So, it looks like Noah wasn't yanking my spectacle chain when he said Abby and Carter fans "will get what they've been waiting for." Just don't expect it to last long. This is television, after all. If it's too good, it's too gone.

Chat With Wanda (8/5/2002)
Posted:  August 5, 2002 @ 12:19 AM C
Source:  Chat with Wanda
Wanda, I saw today's video clip. Is the showering couple Josh and Donna from West Wing? Please say yes.
Wish I could. But it's another set of peacock flirty birds. In the second script of the season, word is that Abby and Carter of ER will be playing doctor in the shower. Very steamy, apparently. Have cold cloths standing by.
Wanda, tell me more about this severed arm thing on ER. It sounds horrid.
What, losing a limb? Nahhh...good times! (Kidding. You knew that.) The accident will be devastating for all involved, and it will add a new twist to Romano's character for the new season. And lots of tension between him and Luka--Romano blames Luka for the accident, because they were in a nasty fight at the time.
Wanda, can you tell me if it was Luka's fault?
No, it's not his fault, but the argument does lead up to the accident, and it might not have happened if they weren't so worked up.
Hey, Wanda! Anything else on ER? Please, please, please!
Did you hear about Don Cheadle? He's stepping in for four episodes, beginning on Halloween, to play a medical student on a surgical internship.

Season 9 Episode 2 & 3
Posted:  August 3, 2002 @ 2:23 PM C
Source:  Usenet - alt.tv.er
From:  Epnebelle
Episode 9.2 "DEAD AGAIN"
Abby and Carter: laughing...talking...showering...

Romano's in physical therapy, telling Weaver not to get too comfortable in his
job.

Gallant's turn to take a crack at the psych rotation.

Pratt's arrogance devastates a family.

Luka steals glances over at Abby and Carter.

Elizabeth returns to County, and it appears she forgot to bring her bedside
manner back with her.

Episode 9.3 "INSURRECTION"
Syringes thrown, guns pulled, vibrators whizzing into the hallway... 

Hello, Abby's brother.

Susan, Deb, and Abby have a girls' night out...Deb dancing on speakers and
crowd surfing.

Luka tells Abby he's happy for her.

Slow security reaction is suddenly an issue after 8 years *snicker*.

Wanda Chats With Wyle
Posted:  August 3, 2002 @ 3:03 PM C
Source:  Chat With Wanda
Another Triangle--Stat! Think you've seen the end of Abby and Carter's troubles on ER? Think again, my friend. "You can count on it," Noah Wyle said when I asked if we'd see another gimmick to keep apart the newly smoochified couple. "We'll start off happy, and then something's going to happen." Hmmm...Don't suppose it has anything to do with Leslie Bibb (Popular) joining the cast, eh?
Noah is well aware of the anguish his character's love life caused last season. "[Abby and Carter] is a relationship we couldn't have built any slower. We were sort of waiting to pull the trigger on that for a very long time...and then that whole Susan Lewis thing really pissed off a lot of people. It made sense why Carter would do it from my perspective, but I think people saw it for what it was, which was a bit of a ruse to keep Abby and my character apart. And to help reintroduce Sherry Stringfield's character back to the show with something slightly sexual."

Chat With Wanda (7/29/2002)
Posted:  July 31, 2002 @ 1:13 PM C
Source:  Chat With Wanda
Anything on ER?
Didja hear the casting news? Leslie Bibb (Popular, The Skulls) is popping in for a five-episode (possibly longer) arc. She plays Erin Harkins, a med student, who appears in the second episode and works with Gallant. (Also making a Popular comeback this season is Sara Rue, who's pretty much the funniest headliner of ABC's new comedies. She stars in Less Than Perfect, with Andy Dick.)
Anything on ER, in particular the best couple, Ab and Carter?
Stay tuned until Friday's column. I talked to Noah Wyle and will transcribe the interview once my knees stop knocking. Ay, chihuahua.

Chat With Wanda (7/15/2002)
Posted:  July 17, 2002 @ 1:13 PM C
Source:  Chat With Wanda
Wanda confirms yesterday's spoiler post:
Wanda, you spectacled beauty, I've heard about some nasty bloodletting on the ER premiere. What can you confirm?
That I am neither! Tee-hee. So, you just stop with the compliments, you silly dog, you. Oh...were you talking about the bloodletting? Ahem. Yes, I've heard the same.
Anything yet on Must-See shows? Like ER? I'm dying here.
NBC's turn isn't until next Tuesday (oh, the humanity!), so it's going to be a little wait for tidbits on Scrubs, Friends and The West Wing. But I do have something rather chilling on ER: In the season premiere, "Chaos Theory," Romano gets into a hideous workplace accident, and his arm is severed. They work to reattach it, but it's possible he won't regain enough function to work as a surgeon. Meanwhile, Elizabeth has been in England but decides to return to Chicago.
Who cares about stupid Romano? What about Carter and Abby?
You know, it's a sad world when people care more about a cliffhanger kiss than a nearly fatal lost limb. Thankfully, I'm equally pathetic! A.&C. are going full steam ahead in the first ep! Happy-happy, joy-joy!

Season 9 Spoilage
Posted:  July 16, 2002 @ 11:09 AM C
Source:  alt.tv.er & Ain't It Cool News
Some interesting info about the Season 9 season premiere.  First:
"CHAOS THEORY"
So we have a nice global season premiere...Chicago, England, Africa...

We have Carter and Abby still in the damn room.

Pratt and Chen still in the damn room.

Susan and Luka soaked with Romano's blood.

Second:
How do you top losing the lead character of your top-rated drama to inoperable brain cancer?
Reliable sources indicate that in the first episode of "ER’s" ninth season, a major character will undergo a trauma so shocking it can only be shared with readers via the miracle that is inviso-text: During a hectic and harrowing emergency rooftop evacuation of several critical patients, one of County's staffers will walk into a helicopter’s tail rotor and instantly sever his or her arm above the elbow, bathing the scene with that character’s blood! (We’re not talking Malik or that paramedic girl we seem to see every week either; this is a character we've seen in the title credits.) Not only does the remaining cast have to deal with one more major medical emergency, they lose access to desperately needed helicopter transport: the pilot fears his tail rotor has been damaged! He's afraid to even move the aircraft off the helipad, preventing replacement choppers from landing!
The horror emerges as 9.1 picks up where 8.22 ended: with Country General crippled and quarantined due to the outbreak of a mysterious mutated monkey virus. The staff is desperate trying to get dying patients away from the “hot zone” the hospital has become.
The only character we’ll reveal is not subject to grave physcial harm is Elizabeth Corday, who we’ll learn has already moved to London with daughter Ella – and is quickly reminded of why she left in the first place. She learns that her fellow brits remain less accepting of women as surgeons, and colleages mock her mercilessly for all the horrible American verbal habits she’s picked up.
>> I was thinking that Romano is the one who gets his arms severed.
>> Exciting!

Chat With Wanda (6/24/2002)
Posted:  July 2, 2002 @ 6:03 PM C
Source:  Chat With Wanda
There must be something on ER! Carter and Abby?
Family plays a big part again this year--both Carter's and Abby's (although so far, no sign of Sally Field). Abby's brother, Eric, appears early in the season. He's in his late twenties, and she suspects he's suffering from a mood disorder that he's able to hide from others. He's in the air force and is a really likable, relaxed and friendly guy.
Any more tidbits of ER info would be greatly appreciated.
Sure thing. Mekhi Phifer is definitely coming back to ER, and he becomes one of the main players. We discover that Pratt has a roommate who's mentally disabled due to a childhood accident, and Pratt is his caretaker. The roommate sticks around for at least a few episodes.

Chat With Wanda (6/10/2002)
Posted:  June 11, 2002 @ 6:03 PM C
Source:  Chat With Wanda
How's it looking on the ER front? Any Carter-Abby or Elizabeth-Romano action?
The writers are definitely flirting with an Elizabeth-Romano flirtation, although nothing set in script stone, yet. I'm curious, what do you all think of an E/R pairing?