Emergency Preparedness Movie Reviews
The remarkably strong first season showed off its sharp ensemble cast through a variety of compelling story lines both personal (Carter's conflicts with Benton, Lewis's struggles with her no-account sister, Chloe, played by Kathleen Wilhoite) and professional (a holiday blizzard and especially the harrowing tale of a pregnancy gone bad, "Love's Labor Lost," which won five Emmy Awards). When Carter is pondering whether his future includes the ER, Green jokes, "It's not bad: Stress, late nights, hard work, no pay--it's hard to beat." It's hard to imagine people choosing to work under those conditions, but they do, and in the process these very human people perform superhuman feats as they face life and death as part of their daily jobs.
DVD features are fairly generous for a TV series box. There are two commentary tracks on the pilot episode, including one by Crichton, and crew commentaries on "Sleepless in Chicago" and "Love's Labor Lost." A new 39-minute documentary discusses the show's genesis, casting, and the "Chicago hospital drama smackdown" with Chicago Hope through interviews with Crichton, executive producer Steven Spielberg, other crew members, and the principal cast members other than Eriq LaSalle. Also included are a very watchable featurette on the show's realism (ever wonder why Ross is always looking down?) and another on post-production, a list of characters (including patients by episode, but why no actor credits?), three minor deleted scenes, outtakes, and a glossary of frequently used medical terms. Particularly notable is that the episodes are shown in anamorphic widescreen. ER was one of the first network shows broadcast in widescreen, but that was years after these episodes, which are shown in widescreen for the first time. --David Horiuchi
Miss the first season of this great show?
ER sweetness
ER The First Season is a reason to buy.
Remember the pre-hip-hop era of aerobic dance when we were doing cha cha, salsa, mambo, grapevines, and hip-swinging, feel-good combinations that kept our heart rates and moods up without taxing our minds terribly much? That's what Lessig gives us in the aerobic segment. The dance moves are just challenging enough to be fun and give us a sense of accomplishment, without being a major learning endeavor. Lessig teaches the routines smoothly and expertly, a move at a time. Her two female assistants, their faces animated, seem to be having a great time, too.
The second workout is a non-stop weight segment using dumbbells. Lessig's routine is an interesting mix of combination moves, such as biceps curls with lunges, or leg extensions with lateral raises, sometimes involving balance. The only problem is that you have no time to change weights between muscle groups, so you have to go light. Each workout has its own warm-up and cooldown, so you can alternate them on different days, or blitz yourself by doing the whole hour. A sample 1,100- to 1,200-calorie diet menu is included. --Joan Price
Good, Solid, Motivating but may not inspire more experiencedWhat I did like was that it's in two parts, cardio and toning. I should say I am an experienced exerciser and have been exercising at home exclusively for the last two years. Prior to that I was a gym junkie and did both cardio and weight lifting on a regular basis. I use a heart rate monitor to level my performance whenever I work out and I recommend all exercisers who want to really know how they are doing get one as well. You will be pleasantly surprised at what is really going on. Don't think because you are feeling tired that you are in the correct heart rate zone or out of it. You need to see the numbers to really undrestand. Having said all that I was not able to get my heart rate into my target zone of choice doing the cardio section alone. I was able to get in the proper zone if this was a second or third cardio segment I was doing but not the first meaning I was already getting fatigued. Another way I could increase my likelihood of getting into the target zone was to wear the weighted gloves. I use two pound gloves and had no problem. As my fitness level improved I found I needed to get something to keep my heart rate in the proper zone and I was not keen on throwing away exercise tapes because I was now in better shape. My sister on the otherhand is not as experienced as I am and she found that this tape got her heart rate in the target zone right away. Minna has a good cueing style and her form is excellent. It doesn't hurt that she looks fantastic so if you like a sculpted look as a an inspiration then she is your girl.
The toning section was ok. It's effective enough for maintaining but if you want growth then you need to supplement. Again I thought her form was excellent and that's important especially for people who are just starting out. I use heavier weights and I recommend that people challenge themselves from time to time. Just because it looks like the presenter is using a 2 or 3 pound weight in a video doesn't mean that's what you should use. Try going heavier and go down as fatigue sets in. You will see better results. It's my opinion that you see lighter weights on video presenters for two reasons: 1) They need to show correct form at all times and it's easier for them if they aren't really working as hard as they could to maintain that control and 2) they don't want to put off beginners who might feel they can't do the workout using large weights.
Overall a good workout but experienced exercisers may need to modify.
Unique, Fun, and Effective
Excellent+fun workout!As a biggener, i find that the tape really helps,but if you're very athletic, you should probably consider this tape just for the fun of it..
Minna is very sweet and allows you to go crazy and make a fool of yourself which is great...way to go Minna=)
Crichton is an excellent writer [author of Jurassic Park and Disclosure] and it shows here in this show right off the bat.
Mark Greene's attempt to balance his passion for doctoring with his personal life is difficult to watch b/c it is so touching. Greene is a great character and we like him immediately. Carol Hathaway and Doug Ross round out the key players here and with good reason. They are human, flawed, sympathetic and wonderful. Even in this first season, Noah Wylie gets out attention as Carter. We love him right away.
THIS DVD reminds us of just how it was the ER became the talk across the country on Friday morning. It is JUST as good as we remembered and it's nice to be reminded.