Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Season!, November 11, 2008
How nice of Warner Bros. to release this set immediately following the airing of ER's final episodes!
As a huge fan of the show, I have been looking forward to this release for a long time. Season 10 was the first season I watched all the way through in it's original airing on NBC. It did not disappoint!
In the first episode, we are introduced to a new character, med student Neela Rosgotra (I know I probably spelled that wrong). Her addition, as well as Linda Cardellini as nurse Sam Taggart and Scott Grimes (recurring until season 12) as med student Archie Morris, breathes new life into the veteran series.
Highlights of the season include (but aren't limited to) Bob Newhart in an Emmy nominated role as a suicidal patient who is losing his sight, a devastating disaster at the hospital, a depressed Mother who sets herself on fire, Abby and Neela's hellish NICU rotation, a tragic mistake on the part of Dr. Pratt, and in the intense season finale, Dr. Kovac springs into action at the scene of an accident.
This season is fantastic, but not perfect. There are a few problems that don't ruin the season, but I think it could've been better without them.
One problem is the writer's extend the Africa storyline too much. The second Africa episode of the series, The Lost, was a necessary and
powerful continuation of the cliffhanger that ended season 9. However,
since Noah Wyle wanted some time off to be with his wife (who was pregnant), the writer's decided to reverse the storyline and have Carter stay in Africa and bring Kovac back to Chicago. I just wish the writers would've created a different explanation for Carter's multi-episode absense instead of leaving him in Africa.
Another downside is while in Africa, Carter meets Kem Likasu. In the most dull and draggty episode of the series (one I haven't been able to watch a second time) we are treated to spending another hour in Africa, where the main point is actually given within the first five minutes of the episode: Carter got Kem pregnant. Kem is an annoying character. She's whiny and critical (wait until the episode where she spends some time
in Chicago). Thandie Newton is a talented actress, and I feel sorry
for her that Kem wasn't a better character. Also, as we'll see in season 11, she really gives Carter a run around. I know she had a miscarrage, but please. Her behavior from that point on made her seem extremely selfish.
So those are my main problems with this season. I know it seems like a spent more time talking about the low points than the high points, but trust me, most of this season is VERY GOOD. The only reason I spent so much time on what I disliked is because this season (and the entire series) is so good that low points are very noticeable. But compared to the lowpoints on other TV shows, season 10's minor flaws are nothing.
If you are an ER fan, you already know why this season is so good. If you're a newer fan who has been following the series on DVD, add this to your collection. It will keep you hooked.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good ER season, bad ending!, March 30, 2009
Well ER has to be the craziest Emergency Room in the world. The writers always have to have five things happening at once: Helicopter crashes on the roof and in the ambulance bay, Zug-Zug in the pharmacy,and a trainee operating on a patient in the elevator. BUTT, and a bare one at that, I like it anyway because my sister is an ER nurse and she says it is about one month of big city hospital happenings packed into one episode.
This season only got four stars because they keep cutting out in some episodes to deepest darkest Africa. (Give us a break, and cut out the save the world stuff!) Then they end the season with a car chase and shootout. Not up to the five star status of some previous seasons!
Crusty
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Some Really Bright Spots - In spite of Certain 'Fans', March 23, 2009
The show started to change around Season 9 from something that cared about medicine to something that belonged more on daytime TV.
However, in spite of this, there are some really bright spots in Season 10. In my opinion, it features some of the best episodes until Season 15's "Old Times".
Please do not listen to the previous reviews about Africa and Thandie Newton.
Unfortunately, posting sites on the Internet for this show were sieged by `fans' that wanted to see Carter with Abby in all of their daytime TV soap opera nonsense glory. As a result, their reviews generally portray all non-Abby based episodes as "bad".
Thanks to the mentality of these `fans', the show's 10th season gave us endless Abby whining and drama, as well as the unfortunate and over the top, jump-the-shark attack by a helicopter on the persnickety Romano.
Truly dismal stuff.
However, there are several high quality, original episodes in this season.
"The Lost" is one of the best hours that have been produced on TV in years. It was exciting, fast paced and informative; what good TV should be.
"Makemba" combines the tortured existence of AIDS victims in central Africa with the tender and sweet act of falling in love. If you have ever wanted to join the Peace Corps or Doctors Without Borders, then this episode is for you.
This episode also introduces Thandie Newton which finally gives us a lead actress that is as equally expressive in her body and face as Noah Wyle's Dr. Carter.
The two seem well matched with her being someone that has sacrificed a comfortable life to help others after her father was brutally murdered. And even at County General, she is willing to put herself in danger again to save an apartment full of tuberculosis victims.
We also have a mature relationship for Carter. Gone are the petty arguments and whining that plagued him in Season 9 with Abby, and they have been replaced with a relationship with someone that doesn't hold a grudge simply because they have argued and who wants a family as much as he does.
The airport scene in "Impulse Control" was just recently restaged for Neela's Season 15 exit from the show but, as with most things, the original is the best.
"Midnight" is consistently rated as one of the saddest episodes in ER history and Wyle and Newton do an excellent job of conveying pain in 2 opposite ways. Wyle's is open and raw, whereas Newton's is confined and repressed although she reaches out and caresses and holds Carter's hand from time to time.
Susan's arc with Bob Newhart is also noteworthy.
Although these episodes are few, they really helped elevate the show back to the level of high quality drama. They are worth the purchase price of the entire collection because you are likely to watch them again and again. They really are that good.
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