Love's Labor Lost 

Dr. Benton has to deal with the aftermath of his mother's fall and crosses the line with the surgical attending when he insists on scrubbing in for her operation. Dr. Greene deals with Jodi... See full summary »

Director:

Mimi Leder

Writers:

Lance Gentile (as Lance A. Gentile), Michael Crichton (created by)

Stars:

Anthony Edwards, George Clooney, Sherry Stringfield

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Anthony Edwards	...	Mark Greene
George Clooney	...	Doug Ross
Sherry Stringfield	...	Susan Lewis
Noah Wyle	...	John Carter
Julianna Margulies	...	Carol Hathaway
Eriq La Salle	...	Peter Benton
Abraham Benrubi	...	Jerry Markovic
Amy Aquino	...	Dr. Janet Coburn
Dennis Lipscomb	...	Dr. Wilson
Ming-Na Wen	...	Jing-Mei Chen
Beah Richards	...	Mae Benton
Khandi Alexander	...	Jackie Robbins
Colleen Flynn	...	Jodi O'Brien
Bradley Whitford	...	Sean O'Brien
Ellen Crawford	...	Nurse Lydia Wright

Storyline

Dr. Benton has to deal with the aftermath of his mother's fall and crosses the line with the surgical attending when he insists on scrubbing in for her operation. Dr. Greene deals with Jodi O'Brien who is two weeks away from giving birth. With the obstetrics attending unavailable, he decides to try to deliver her baby in the ER, with tragic results.

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Plot Keywords:

mother dies in childbirth | title directed by female | pregnancy | eclampsia | dying in childbirth | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Did You Know?

Trivia

In 1997, TV Guide selected this as the greatest episode of a dramatic show and the 3rd greatest episode overall after The Mary Tyler Moore Show: Chuckles Bites the Dust (1975) and I Love Lucy: Lucy Does a TV Commercial (1952).

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Goofs

When checking the progression of labor for Mrs. O'Brien both Dr. Green and Dr. Carter used regular gloves and not the required sterile gloves. Not using sterile gloves leaves the infant and mother both at high risk of contracting any number of severe infections that the doctors carry around on them throughout the day.

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Quotes

Dr. Janet Coburn: [Looking at Carter who has his hand inside a woman's abdomen] Who is this and what's he doing in there?
John Carter: John Carter. I'm a med student and I'm pressing on the aorta.

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Connections

References Finian's Rainbow (1968)

User Reviews

Best Episode of er......ever.

So good that everyone in the cast (including a young Bradley Whitford, far away from Josh Lyman as you can get) and the underrated Colleen Flynn, are just great. Anthony Edwards best performance in his career. Television doesn't get any better.

Details

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 March 1995 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Stage 11, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Amblin Television, Constant c Productions, Warner Bros. Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

46 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1