Under Control (23 Mar. 2000)

Carter returns to the ER and prescribes a controversial procedure for a suicidal patient. Mark Greene is angered when his father refuses treatment for his lung cancer. Elizabeth's mother ...

Director:

Christopher Misiano

Writers:

Michael Crichton (creator), Neal Baer,

Stars:

Anthony Edwards, Noah Wyle, Julianna Margulies

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Anthony Edwards	...	Dr. Mark Greene
Noah Wyle	...	Dr. John Carter
Julianna Margulies	...	Nurse Carol Hathaway
Laura Innes	...	Dr. Kerry Weaver
Alex Kingston	...	Dr. Elizabeth Corday
Goran Visnjic	...	Dr. Luka Kovac
Maura Tierney	...	Nurse Abby Lockhart
Michael Michele	...	Dr. Cleo Finch
Erik Palladino	...	Dr. Dave Malucci
Ming-Na Wen	...	Dr. Jing-Mei Chen (as Ming-Na)
Eriq La Salle	...	Dr. Peter Benton
Elpidia Carrillo	...	Pilar
Ellen Crawford	...	Nurse Lydia Wright
Yvette Freeman	...	Nurse Haleh Adams
Conni Marie Brazelton	...	Nurse Connie Oligario

Storyline

Carter returns to the ER and prescribes a controversial procedure for a suicidal patient. Mark Greene is angered when his father refuses treatment for his lung cancer. Elizabeth's mother returns home.

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 March 2000 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Stage 1, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Constant c Productions, Amblin Television, Warner Bros. Television

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The end credit "In memory of Michael C. Claypool" commemorates the death of the show's set decorator. Claypool died of cancer in March 2000, the second series contributor to die of the disease in the sixth season (the other being Christopher Salamunovich who received a similar credit in 6x01 "Leave It to Weaver").

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Quotes

Nurse Carol Hathaway: [singing to Kate over the phone] I can't give you anything but love, baby...
Dr. Mark Greene: You call that a lullaby?

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Connections

References First Blood (1982)

User Reviews

Classic ER

This, in my opinion, is ER in its very prime, doing what it does best. In this episode, we really get a true feeling for the stress and the constant nature of life as a staff member in the ER. The episode has a certain focus on Anthony Edwards' Marc Greene who attempts to convince his father to take chemotherapy to treat his lung cancer. Edwards' acting is so good that with minimal dialogue, we can really see that he takes his father's negative decision to heart and it gets to him, affecting his work. But in the end, he learns to appreciate the time he has left with his father in stead of sulking.

Also in the limelight is Carter's continual recovery from the knife attack and it's his first day back at work. I feel that Noah Wyle deserves special attention for this episode in particular as he gets the state of mind spot on. We can see that he is suffering, his acting style shows this but he does it in a way that induces dramatic irony, the other characters don't know about it. He is eventually reunited with his grandmother, something which the writers deserve excellent credit for as this simple move shows how vulnerable the character is feeling.

The reason I didn't give this episode full marks is its skimming over of certain stories. In particular, the brewing love story between Peter Benton and Cleo Finch which only receives one scene of air time. It almost suggests that the relationship isn't important or central to what's going on in Benton's life but considering all of his other stories throughout seasons one to six, it would be of high importance. It also seems a little like this is happening just so the writers can give Benton and Finch a story. At this point, it doesn't seem to be going anywhere.

All in all, with some excellent comedy moments classic to ER, this is a very good episode which I enjoyed thoroughly and would recommend to someone who is either watching the series in order or looking for a random episode. However, it does seem like the screen time is being filled out a little with unnecessary stories just to keep certain characters going.