Newsgroup: it.fan.tv.er
Titolo: [English] Commento dal sito americano alla puntata su lucy

Mi scuso in anticipo perchè posto questo articolo in inglese.
Ieri stavo leggendo questo commento alla puntata appena trasmessa
in italia (commento che viene fatto per ogni puntata americana,
allegato al riassunto sul sito delle FAQ di A.T.E. - loro sono
solleciti come noi ;oP). I commenti di Phyl mi sono sempre
piaciuti e ho apprezzato anche questo (soprattutto in un paio di
punti - benton, weaver, il parallelo familiare) anche se in
alcune cose non concordo. Ci sono sottolineati dei particolari
interessanti che a noi magari sono sfuggiti (come ad esempio
l'analisi della parole di benton o stralci di dialoghi in
inglese)  e per questo ieri ho pensato valesse la pena postarlo.
(ometto qualche parte superflua)
The Review
by Phyl Behrer
When they are good they are very, very good.
To all who argue that this drama is only about the medicine, I
would point to this episode as proof that it is so much more than
that. Though trauma ruled the night and the medicine was the
driving force, we saw the characters, their humanity, their
faults, and their frailty and that's what I will remember about
"All in the Family." Sure, the procedures were fascinating, but
oh, the reactions of the staff were spellbinding. 
In speaking with buddies last night over IM, the same theme was
repeated: Please let us see emotional and professional
repercussions. Please don't return to life as usual. Please show
us how this horror might shadow the characters. Only about
medicine? I don't think so.
The show was properly titled: "All in the Family." There was
family fun at the party, with the staff enjoying the last of
their Valentine's celebration before heading back to work. There
were family relationships as we saw Malik being teased, Chuny
talking about a failed love affair, Luka asking questions here
and there, trying to get better acquainted. There were many
family squabbles: Accusations, trying to discern responsibility,
trying to place or deflect blame. Here is a family of old and new
employees and their reactions and the way each character played
his or her role in the tragedy had a family feel to it
throughout.
This episode was nearly flawless. In fact, there were only two
small and truly insignificant things, which I'll mention later,
at which I wrinkled my nose. In all, the writing, directing, and
most importantly, the acting was some of the finest I've enjoyed.
It was one of those episodes that left me wanting more during
every commercial break, that made me look at the clock and feel
happy we had so much time left to enjoy it. Again, as with last
week's, this won't be an episode that I'll watch over and over
again as a personal favorite, but it is one of the two or three
best episodes this year, and perhaps in the top ten of all
episodes created. (Fairly Perceptive Spouse says top five).
As P.D. (la persona che fa i riassunti nel sito) has, I'm
departing from our regular format because there is just too much
to comment on. So for this week, we'll talk about each major
character.
#Kerry: No, she was never a beloved character for me, but she's
the one I am most impressed with this season, and particularly in
this episode. What a heartfelt, spot-on performance by Laura
Innes. I am impressed at how well Jack Orman dissected Kerry and
enabled Innes as an actress to pull out every human element of
this character. What a range of emotions and facets of Kerry we
saw through Orman and Innes:
-The no-nonsense administrator: Walking into a party, perhaps
feeling like the only adult in the place, wondering how her staff
can continually be unprofessional, giving them a bit more space,
having to act like the parent. Once again. 
-The lonely woman: Her comment to Carol, "Must be nice to have
someone to go home to" was especially touching to me, because
from Kerry's perspective Carol's life probably seems so full; she
has her children to love and to cherish. I'll discuss Carol's
point of view later, but for Kerry, what are her dreams? Does she
want a family and a husband? Does she rue a choice she might have
made in her past, a choice we may not even know about? Tonight,
Innes' Kerry made me wonder about that. 
-The rock: She kept it going, she moved past all horror to do her
job -- almost. Yes, she's always a professional, always thinking
about the patient, and she took time to compose herself, putting
her terror at what she'd seen on the shelf, sucking it up, and
doing what she had to do until she could do no more. 
-The vulnerable human being: She tried valiantly, but in the end,
she crumbled. Her face spoke of the responsibility she felt, of
the fact that she as the head of the emergency room was
responsible for the conduct and the safety of her employees. She,
as the head of the household, made the decisions and had the
power, but also had the accountability that goes along with
power. She never shrinks from this, does she? 
-Defeated warrior: Her look to Mark at the end of her day was
heartbreaking, and it looked to me as though she were begging him
with her eyes to take over because she had expended every last
bit of emotional and physical energy that was in her. So, he did.
In many ways, he's her other half. Not in a romantic sense, but
in a shared sense of responsibility. They need to augment each
other and be each other's safety net. Kerry asked Mark to pick up
where she could not. The father and the mother of the ER. A
family. 
#Benton: Just when I get to feeling that Peter is floating out
there with no story and no character development, the writers go
and pull something like this that makes me happy Eriq LaSalle is
still on the show. Peter is not a favorite of mine and that makes
my admiration all the more significant, I think. The way he came
charging down the hall made me wonder what his reaction was when
he was paged and got the news about Carter. Peter, losing his
cool, his emotional involvement hindering his phenomenal skill in
surgery was inspired writing and acting.
What was really great to watch and what I love is the fact that
he is always learning. Wouldn't his surgery scene have looked
different if he were in the OR with Romano instead of Anspaugh?
Would he have followed directions, subdued his instinct as
successfully with Rocket there? I don't know, but the fact that
it was Anspaugh acting as the voice of reason - and the fact that
Anspaugh was almost as emotionally invested in Carter - was key.
Anspaugh's experience and professional maturity gave him the
ability to think with a clear head and that was really terrific.
I have always enjoyed John Aylward as Anspaugh, but he really has
shone lately. This is the mentorship for Peter that has been
missing since Angela Hicks left. Peter has always had the ability
to rise above himself, and this time it was such a treat to see
that he needed the steadying influence of someone older to
accomplish it due to his relationship with Carter. This was a
priceless scene.
Extending the family theme, did you guys hear what Peter called
Carter? "Man." Listen to him, over and over again: "C'mon,
Carter, stay with me, man. Stay with me, man, stay with me."
"Man" is just what he calls his little boy, it's his own
affectionate name for Reese. Carter as Peter's "son" may be a
stretch,. In fact, during an edit session, P.D. said he felt
Benton was the impatient older brother figure. He's right, I
think, and I wanted to mention that. In any event, in Peter's own
inept way, he had tried to nurture Carter's career and we now see
that he had a type of affection for him. Notice I didn't say
"nurture Carter." There's a difference. Imagine if Carter, the
medical student, could have met this version of Peter, the
version that Lucy met. How different Carter's experience would
have been.
Regarding his interaction with Cleo, I found it ironic that Cleo
did in this episode exactly what Benton did in the Pilot: Operate
on a patient when he did not have the right to. Of course, he
barked and then Cleo tried to smooth things over, but by that
time, Peter realized that he was so preoccupied with Carter that
he left Cleo in a bad position.
#Luka: I'm happy to see that the staff has given Luka (who is
obviously, in case they never told us directly, an attending
physician) the recognition that he is perhaps the most gifted at
and has a unique ability for addressing families during crisis.
The way Kerry and Mark deferred to him was a wonderful thing. In
a sense, he would have acted as the father in this family, but
for Mark's position. He came close. He is in command, too, during
trauma and is a leader in every sense of the word, holding it
together when his assembled staff could not. I adored the
intensity on his face as he verbally took Lydia by the shoulders
(verbally, mind you) and redirected her focus. Loved this.
I wonder if he has greater aspirations for leadership in the ER?
I felt sorry for him this episode being chastised about the lack
of supervision because even though he's an experienced doctor,
he's the new guy on the block -- I'd expect that Mark had greater
responsibility. The baton was dropped on almost every front, and
I see a combined series of horrible errors which led to the
stabbings, but can find almost no fault with Luka. He wasn't as
informed as he should have been, and had he known things were
left unresolved, I do believe he would have taken care of it. His
line, and Visnjic's delivery of it, was terrific: "I don't know,
Kerry, I never saw him!" regarding Sobricki. I felt least likely
to blame Kovac because although he's been working there for six
months, how many times has he been left in charge? Hard to say.
So I cut Luka slack.
The family reference is, of course, one of the most obvious ones
here for Luka. He lost his family and now in his new, adopted
work family, loses two more people. He was one of the few people
who seemed consistently kind and nurturing (both personally and
professionally) to Lucy, and he was a good example to Carter.
What thoughts are whirling in his mind as he faces this kind of
personal tragedy again?
#Mark: During this entire episode, and indeed throughout this
season and in past seasons, Mark has reminded me of someone who
had risen to a position of authority and yet still always misses
a beat, perhaps never fully trusting himself with that authority
or caring about the details. I don't even know if this makes
sense. Mark has erred big-time in this situation, in my view, and
Kerry's admonition a few years ago that Mark never takes a firm
stand, that he manages on the fly, really came to light here. He
is a wonderful teacher when he wants to be, but he cannot get a
handle on the entire thing. This is why Kerry is the boss, not
Mark.
Yes, Mark felt awful, yes, he put his head down and did his job,
but my wonder is if this incident impacts him at all,
professionally. Again, as with Luka, he isn't solely to blame,
but he gave Luka a sloppy hand-off and didn't batten down the
hatches when he left.
Let me do a stream-of-consciousness [...]
#Carol: She only had brief scenes, but I can talk at length about
Carol because I know her best of all the current characters and
because this is my review and I wanna. [...]
#Anspaugh: You know, this character has a small part, but it is
so vitally important to the show as a whole whenever he appears.
Note he refers to John as "Dr. Carter" twice (and throwing a
"young" in there once for good measure) -- what a compliment that
term of respect is, coming from him. In the "All in the Family"
theme, I see him as a grandfather, Benton as father, Carter as
son. I know, I know, I'm stretching it, but I'm on overdrive now.
He was really wonderful with Peter as he challenged him, taught
him, praised him, and tried to relax him. We see teacher to
teacher to teacher, in a sense, from Anspaugh to Benton down to
Carter. Unfortunately, this could not extend into a fourth
generation with Lucy.
#Elizabeth: My, she is a compassionate surgeon. She was able at
once to forget about what a cad Romano is most of the time and
worked seamlessly with him. Her demeanor with Lucy was lovely. As
other doctors had done with Carter, she explained everything to
Lucy plainly, with no sugar-coating, yet gave her hope thoughout.
To me, in this episode, she was the wise and knowing older sister
figure, the one who soothes and comforts and tries to protect.
She promised Lucy to see her through the trauma and although she
was unable to do it, she hopefully gave Lucy some peace in
knowing that Elizabeth would not abandon her.
In her personal life, Elizabeth has been slowly earning her
mother's respect, yet there are some definite roadblocks in their
personal relationship. At first I thought her mother was cold as
she walked away from Elizabeth to make breakfast when Elizabeth
looked so emotionally drained and distraught. But on second
viewing, I wondered if this mother does indeed know her daughter
and gave her the space that she needed? I felt sorry that she
couldn't be with Mark to grieve, but thought she most likely
needed some time and space to absorb what had happened.
#Romano: Damn. Paul McCrane does it to me again. Romano has lost
his composure, he is a feeling human being, and we have proof.
There he was, scurrying around with so much concern, barking out
orders, and it was powerful to watch. His eyes, intense, staring
at Elizabeth, forcing her to do her best as he wanted to do his
best. His entire demeanor while talking to Lucy was perfect
characterization. 
Yes, the family theme is here, and it belongs here: He is the
father, the uncommunicative father, the one who you think doesn't
care, who you think doesn't watch, who has always had difficulty
expressing his feelings. So when he needs to, he reverts to the
hitch in his voice, the measured tone, the business as usual. And
Romano does it here, being tender in the only way he knows how,
by talking to Lucy as if it's business as usual. "Don't worry,
Ms, Knight, we put far too much time and energy into your
training to lose you now." Was this a cold line? Absolutely not.
Listen to his voice, hear his words. "I'll talk you through it."
It's business as usual, Lucy. I'm not worried. I've done this a
hundred times. I don't know how to comfort you, so I'm going to
use my own brand of humor to relax you, and me, and I'll talk to
you every step of the way. Because I'm straining to keep my grief
and horror from overtaking my usual gruff manner.
This was beautiful writing.
#Carter: I read an article a year or so ago where the producers
were talking about watching the very young Noah Wyle on the first
year of ER and how they were amazed at his acting skills. Amen.
It was disturbing to see him on the table, to see his lips moving
involuntarily. The way Carter woke up and the disorientation in
his eyes was amazing. His eye focus was a little off, which was a
great acting touch by Wyle as he struggled to see, to track, to
understand what had happened to him. Perhaps the most touching
scene of the night was watching him in surgery, before he was
intubated. I liked the way the anesthesiologist talked to him,
and I liked the way Carter barely concealed his fear. He has long
come to grips with the difficulties surrounding his experience
with Peter, and in the end what is left is pure, naked admiration
for his former teacher. No one knows the teacher better than the
student, and Carter gave his ultimate praise for Peter when he
expressed his happiness that Peter would be operating: "I'm glad
it's you." Wyle's intonation, his face...perfection.
The whole entire surgery scene was brilliant, but what struck me
most was how people in the hospital felt about Carter. Of course
they would fight to save any patient, and put their best effort
forth no matter what. But in this case, I found it easy to see
that Carter is well-loved by the people at County. Hear Anspaugh
saying that, yes, Carter could have lived without the kidney, but
he just didn't want to have to tell him if they had to remove it.
Too sweet.
During his final scene, again, we see the pain that Carter is in,
the exhaustion he is feeling, yet as he did in the ER, he asked
about Lucy. Benton tried to ignore him, but Carter knew. It was a
rare moment when it occurred, but I wanted more than anything to
know what he was holding inside. Did he replay his day with Lucy,
his interaction with her, and if so, what did he see? In the end
it looked as if he had convicted himself and wore his guilt on
his brow.
#Lucy: The reaction of this character and the fear emanating from
her eyes was one of the most effective things of all in this
episode. It had to be awful for her to understand all the medical
ramifications, and you could see the exhausted fear on her face.
It did move me, but there's more to it than that. I know I am not
able to give this character and Kellie Martin's performance its
proper attention, partially because she was a patient and
therefore, most of the time, lying passively on the table. But
the other part of my ineptitude is my response to her death.
The thing about this episode is that what should have touched me
the most, that is Lucy's horrifying death, really didn't make me
sad. I'm not proud of this, and I'm certainly not saying this
with any disrespect to the actress or the many fans of
Lucy/Kellie Martin. Understand that I'm talking about my
reaction, no one else's. What I mean is, it honestly didn't
affect me. I turned to my oldest daughter after Lucy died and
asked, "Are you okay?" (She did like Lucy and loves Carter, so it
was a tough episode for her) and she said, "Yeah." And she was
telling the truth. She was really okay, too. I wanted to feel
something, and I know that I'm able to feel it. For example, the
movie "The Color Purple" leaves me sobbing every time I see it,
so I know I'm capable of being moved to tears. But since I felt
nothing at all in this episode, I suppose I wanted to see that my
daughter felt something, but we didn't. 
I know I'm rambling, but this really bothered me. I watched
Love's Labor Lost and was shaken by the death of a complete
stranger, Jody O'Brien, because the script was written
beautifully. This one was too, yet this episode didn't make me
feel sad. I guess I'm wondering about my own impassive reaction.
What I conclude is that the writers never gave me anything to
care about because I never knew what made her tick. Now I know
that there were people who were sobbing over this episode. I
respect that and my comment doesn't mean that my experience was
the norm or that everyone felt that way, but I knew that I
wouldn't miss her, and I won't. I'm sorry, and again, I'm not
saying this to upset anyone, but rather as introspection into
what moves me and what doesn't, and as a statement that the
writers failed to make me care about her. Which could lead into
another rant about proper, consistent characterization. But it
won't.
My final family theme relates to the final scene. Romano, the
head of the family, showing his commitment to duty and his
respect by stitching Lucy properly, taking care of the child.
Kerry, the matriarch, understanding that although the nurses
could finally prepare her body, she had to do it. It was her
last, loving gesture.
Miscellaneous Thoughts:
I know I didn't dwell to much on the characters who had a
supporting role in this episode, but this review is long enough.
I hope I've covered them adequately here. I'm also sure that I
missed some major things and have no doubt you all will let me
know in no uncertain terms what those are. But even I need a
weekend.
-Pablo is back and he gets none other than Haleh to give him a
bath. What a great thing, to see this silly continuity. Yes, more
of this, please. 
-Randi!Watch: Dancing with Dr. Dave, are ya Randi? Okay. Why do I
think that you'll become even more attractive to him if he finds
out you have a record? 
-Malucci could not look at the sternal saw. And, remembering the
gusto with which Kerry launched her study on the saw, it took on
a whole new, personal meaning for her today. 
-I remember watching the Pilot episode and cringing, knowing
Carol would need a Foley inserted, and I cringed tonight for
Carter. No matter how professional you are, that's gotta be a
difficult thing to do for, or to, a co-worker. 
-I forget to do this most of the time, but the actor who played
Paul Sobricki, David Krumholtz, was utterly superb. 
-Yes, it was "The Healers, Part II" in the diner, but I liked it
anyway. 
-Great touch, having Lucy's pulse ox cable still attached to the
machine as they tried to whisk her away. I love stuff like this,
it shows good, careful thought. 
-Teaching rules supreme: See the many examples of senior
physicians correcting, explaining things, stopping the rash,
though informed, decisions of the younger residents. Malucci and
Weaver, Luka and his staff, Anspaugh and Benton. This was great. 
-Randi was wonderful, distressed at seeing Lucy being treated. 
-Abby's reaction -- trying to hold it together, already having
lost a patient, was portrayed so beautifully by Maura Tierney. 
-I loved the fact that Jing-Mei was assertive, getting the police
officer to stop questioning Carter. 
-Also, Jing-Mei showing, not telling, Luka that Carter was losing
too much blood. Nice touch to keep the news away from the
knowledgeable patient. 
-I admire the storytelling in this episode. We didn't need to see
Kerry as she summoned the troops, as she undoubtedly checked Lucy
and Carter for vital signs, as she divided the duties. Our
imagination was so beautifully fueled by what we didn't see. 
-I mentioned that there were only two tiny flaws; the first was
the confusion I felt over Carol's line about being down one
resident and one med student. The second flaw was Romano, after
he tossed the surgical tray in anger, diving back to revive Lucy.
It was a bit over-the-top for me. Not big flaws, mind you, but
something I noted. 
-Look of the Week Contender: Carter, his eyes conveying all the
trust and deep respect to Peter. 
-Cleo in the OR. Bwahahahahahaha! 'Nuff said? 
-Look of the Week Contender: Every facial expression on Kellie
Martin's face as she had so few words. Her eyes were full of
meaning. 
-Conversation of the week:
Chuny: "Oh, no, girl, Alex and I broke up."
Conni: "What happened, I thought he was the man?"
Chuny: "Yeah, so did my neighbor."
-Look of the Week: Kerry, after vomiting from the horror she
witnessed, squaring her shoulders and returning to work. This Was
Wonderful. 
-Paula's Line of the Week -- Malucci, as he's looking at Carol's
ass in response to her comment, "He left at eight; double date":
"I'm off at nine; mighty fine." 
-P.D. Line of the Week -- Lucy's wrenching, whispered "thank you"
to Elizabeth, for both the sentiment and the delivery. 
-Mike's Line of the Week -- Haleh, on what I presume was 911:
"No, I can't stay on the line! Just get them here! Every cop in
the city knows where we are!" 
-Phyl's Line of the Week -- Mrs. Sobricki, to the officers and
Luka: "If he was that dangerous, then why did they leave him
alone?" 
Mae*

perdonatemi ho scordato il tag [LUNGO] :-)
Mae*

 wrote in message
urgi0topr47sqbocb...@4ax.com...
[cutcut]
Mi sembrava davvero molto bello e interessante, ma ovviamente ne ho letto
solo alcuni stralci e di questi stralci ho capito la metà! C'è per caso
qualche anima buona che ha tempo da perdere e me lo può tradurre? Sì, lo so,
chiedo tanto ma tentar non nuoce! ^___^
--
Saretta
L'opposto concorde e dai discordi bellissima armonia.
Eraclito

by Phyl Behrer
uhm... non ce la faro' mai
Enrica... amore mio... la fai una traduzioncina??? :-)
iauz
Invernomuto (
inver...@italymail.com
)
---------------------------------------
Ciccio dovrebbe aver capito ormai che e'
lo zerbino di tutti e che se si allarga 
troppo aumenta la superficie calpestabile...
Tweety (26/09/00)
---------------------------------------
ICQ UIN 3126729
http://digilander.iol.it/invernomuto1/index.html
Dieci giorni in Irlanda (in costruzione)

 "I'm off at nine; mighty fine." 
Questa proprio non riesco a tradurla... In italiano Malucci ha detto 
una cosa del tipo "stacco alle nove, se puo' interessare" alludendo a 
Carol. Ma questo "mighty fine" che significa?
Bello anche il commento sul "man" detto da Benton a Carter, peccato 
che in italiano non siano riusciti a renderlo.

 
dig...@coopetition.it
forse saranno inseriti nel digest mensile.

 Il gioco di parole stava nella rima: Carol ha detto, di
Questo l'avevo capito, pero' non sapevo tradurre "migthy fine". Tu 
dici che e' analogo al nostro "che figata"?