The End of Emily Owens, M.D.

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

This was the final episode for this show, if you didn't know. The CW has chosen not to extend its life, and I am a little sad. I thought that the series was very slow to start, not really adding anything with staying power until the past few episodes. That said, I'm actually sad to see it go - I was really liking where it was going. Emily and Micah are so cute together, but their relationship would be full of problems. On the flip side, Will doesn't really deserve Emily, but seeing the passion with which they made out as the final scene rolled was heartwarming. We will not know how Tyra deals with living outside her father's home, or if the vacation will really help Gina reconcile with her husband. We just met Micah's sister, the conniving Liz, as their mother makes peace with the fact she will perish. And aside from Emily getting a storage closet as an office, we never saw her work as Gina's research assistant. I don't know that this show really would have had a long life (3-4 seasons would push it, I think), but I would have liked to see a little more. What about you?

Emily Owens, M.D. "Emily and... the Leap" (S01E13): Let's start with the medicine...
Patient 1: Emily and Tyra are having coffee when a woman collapses. They send her to the ER even though she doesn't want to go, and once she's there she is rude and refuses treatment. [obnoxious!] She has a badly infected hand but just wants to go home, eventually leaving on her own. Fortunately, her daughter brings her back in, and the hospital staff learn that the woman is a hoarder. It's so bad that Emily puts a 14-day psych hold on her, but after learning that everything started with a cat obsession, it turns out that the hoarder has toxoplasmosis, a disease spread from cat feces. It may have caused her hoarding personality and schizophrenia and is treatable. [I'm now curious as to how many hoarders suffer from this!] 

Patient 2: A guy who fainted has trouble sleeping. It doesn't look like anything serious, but he crumples to the ground when he's discharged, and a CT reveals a brain tumor. They operate, but when the patient awakens, he doesn't remember the last four years. His ex-wife has to tell him that they're not three months from getting married... they're a year past losing their toddler son to choking on a toy, and are now divorced. However, instead of blaming the woman, the patient is glad that she can live with the guilt, and there's a possibility for the fences to be mended. [this whole scenario was very odd to me. I didn't really know what to make of it, although I've seen it before on other medical dramas.]

Patient 3: A woman coughs so hard that she collapses. It looks like it's no big deal and they discharge her with some antibiotics. But, she has a heart attack and dies on the way home. [wow, that's kinda shocking!] Turns out, the woman had mentioned a history of anti-depressants to Cassandra but not Will, and it wasn't in her chart. The medicine Will prescribed caused the heart attack, but nobody else ever has to know. [oh, that Cassandra!] But, he does the right thing and tells the woman's life partner the truth. 

Now, the drama:
Gina is on vacation, leaving Micah in charge. Micah has a lot going on, as his mother has finally told his unstable sister, Liz, about her condition. [a new character? interesting timing, as we just got a new doctor...] Micah got his mother into an upcoming clinical trial, but she's decided that she's ready to die. Except, Liz pretends to be 11 weeks pregnant in order to get her mother to decide to give the trial a chance. [it fit that hair salon story at least!] Well, the mother does change her mind and even decides to start wearing a wig. [what a rough place to end a storyline!]

Micah's other issue is Emily. He asks her why she was surprised when he kissed her, and she says that it's because he's technically her boss. He tries to influence her to give him a chance, but she's paranoid about how it will affect their professionalism, especially after he over-compensates by asking Cassandra to assist in a surgery. [he is really cute in how he says things.] We learn that Emily is so cautious because her mother is the opposite, though she decides to give dating Micah a try anyway. [half "awwww" and half "hmmmm"]

Jack Rowand/The CW

But, then things change. [of course!] Will tells Emily that Cassandra dumped him after he refused to stop being friends with our protagonist, then says that he doesn't want things to change between them. She says that they have to, and he ignores that she's over him by going to her place and kissing her. She kisses back and they peel off one another's clothes as the episode closes. [yep. I was kinda shocked, too.]

Emily Owens: Micah Makes his Move

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

This. If the substance in this episode had been present in the early episodes, we might not be looking at the end of this series next week. Cassandra breaking up with Will because he won't stop being friends with Emily, Micah doing odd favors for Emily while waiting to make his move, Emily's heart breaking when a patient's condition is worse than expected, and Tyra moving out of her father's house and in with Emily. This is all dramatic gold, people! Yes, it took time for the Will-and-Emily thing to play out so that both Cassandra and Micah could do those things. But why couldn't Tyra have caused more stress for Emily six episodes ago? Why did we have to wait until now for a mass transit accident to bring patients flooding into the hospital? It's Denver! It's been snowing for about three months now! Surely a bus could have crashed before the end of January! It's not like they gave us huge holiday episodes to work around or anything! Anyway, I need to stop analyzing how the writers could have done this medical drama differently. I'll be picking apart Monday Mornings soon enough!

Emily Owens, M.D. "Emily and... the Perfect Storm" (S01E12): Drama first! Tyra runs out of gas and her dad helps her out, though she feels like he treats her like a kid. [...why call your dad then? call a friend!] Apparently, she still lives at home, so to change things she's going to crash with Emily before getting her own place. Emily, meanwhile, is busy reorganizing her new office space as Gina's research assistant. It's a glorified supply closet, but Micah still tries to impress her with a new office chair and a poster. [awww. I loved that!] Micah actually decides to make his move and kiss Emily, but they're interrupted by Tyra wanting to "go home" and Will, who was just dumped by Cassandra because she doesn't approve of his friendship with Emily. Also, Emily tells Will that she's over him, and we learn that she met her musician father once when she was five. [finally! episode 12 and we learn something about her family!!]

The medical parts of this episode stem from a commuter bus accident, and Emily is put in charge of ER triage.

Liane Hentscher/ The CW

Patient 1: A returning soldier with a head wound that turns serious. Emily and Cassandra drain blood from near his brain in an MRI room, but he later has surgery. He doesn't want to  worry his father, who has a heart condition, but the man finds out and walks several miles through the snow to get to the hospital. [wow. also, I liked hearing Cassandra admit that there are things at which Emily is superior.]

Patient 2: A young medical student with a very injured arm. She can't wait until her dad can be there to go into surgery, so she bears it alone. [that's gotta SUCK!] There's complications and Emily had to relay surgical directions to Gina from a specialist on the phone. [if this doesn't make me relive the flory days of ER...] The patient winds up losing her arm, and Emily is heartbroken, as this will likely prevent her from achieving her dream to be a surgeon. [and, of course, all true ER fans flash briefly to Dr. Romano...]

Patient 3: A blind man with an ill guide dog. Emily and Will treat the pooch in Emily's new office, and Tyra and Cassandra wind up helping, too.

Patient 4: A pregnant woman needs an emergency c-section. Her premature baby winds up in the NICU, but she hemorrhages and dies. The father no longer wants the child, so it's up to Tyra and her father to convince him to at least wait 24 hours before making any decisions. [holy moly that must be terrible! you'll always remember your wife's death on your child's birthday!]

Emily Owens: Gina Names her Research Assistant

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

The title was a little off for me... I know that Emily brought up the teapot two or three times, but it didn't really play a major role and I'm not sure if I'd remember what the episode was about by reading the title in the future. It was just last episode that Emily started being whiny over her infatuation with Will again, so I'm glad that she has declared herself over him. Plus, her reasoning is pretty solid: she wants to be someone's FIRST choice. I couldn't tell how far Micah was going to go when he started to talk to her after that announcement, but I have a striking suspicion that we'll be left in the dark about how things would go between them anyway, seeing as only two episodes of the medical drama remain. And DRAMA it is! I couldn't believe the way Cassandra acted when Gina shared that she was selecting Emily as her research assistant! It only got worse after Gina stepped aside and Cassandra pretended the grapes were sour by saying that she lucked out in not having to do babysitting grunt work anyway.

Emily Owens, M.D. "Emily and... the Teapot" (S01E11): The finalists for the research assistantship are Emily, Cassandra, and Will, because they scored the highest on the in-service exam. Will talks up his engineering background, Cassandra brags about her past clinical testing experience, and Emily mentions that she's detail-oriented. Later, the candidates have to talk about why the others don't deserve to be Gina's assistant. [interesting technique.] Will says Cassandra is too ambitious and not a team-player but Emily gets too personally involved with patients and sometimes lacks confidence. Emily echoes Will's sentiments about Cassandra and adds that Will can be impatient. Cassandra reiterates Will's thoughts on Emily, then says Will is not self-reliant. This knocks out Will from the competition, and by the end of the night, Emily gets the position because she gets patients talking and writes down things that they wouldn't otherwise have mentioned. [so, the same reason Cameron succeeded on House? also, I felt that the fundraiser was an awkward time for Gina to announce her choice, didn't you?] Cassandra is rude about it, and when Will decides to talk to comfort Cassandra instead of congratulate Emily, she decides that she's done with him, though she had earlier decided that it wouldn't be long before he chose her over Cassandra.

Liane Hentscher/ The CW

Earlier in the day, Cassandra once again tried to throw off Emily by not passing on a message that residents should say a few words about Gina on camera for the fundraiser, so Emily spends the day worrying about what to say, only to finally give a short message that gets cut from the final video. [meh. and on a similar note, why did the doctor with whom Gina had an affair hit on her in plain sight of her husband?] Oh, and Micah misses the fundraiser because his mother winds up needing emergency surgery. Emily missed the first part of it because she was comforting him. Afterwards, they celebrate his mother's health and her position with some champagne.

Patient 1: Guy has a detached retina, fatigue, and leg numbness. He doesn't keep in touch with his family because they don't accept that he's gay, so he's unsure about his family history. [kinda sucks.] After he has some heart palpitations, Cassandra diagnoses a rare disease in his connective tissue, but she leaves Emily to explain to the adrenaline junkie that he can no longer do strenuous exercise. [boo.]

Patient 2: A teen soccer player with some rib pain and shortness of breath. An x-ray reveals a bullet in his lung, but there are no wounds or scars. Perhaps he inhaled it as a child on a playground, but it turns out that the mother was shot while pregnant but there was no bleeding so she thought she was only grazed. [I'm kinda surprised that the bullet made it into the offspring's lungs!!] The patient's father was in a gang and she didn't want him to know, though she finally tells him the truth before he needs surgery to remove the bullet. And, Emily helps the patient to understand that his mother lied because she cares. [of course. but did you notice how we know next to nothing about Emily's own parents at this point??]

Emily Owens: Going for Will, Again

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

At first I was wondering why this episode seemed so long... then I realized that it's because it actually started building some drama! Cassandra and Emily are now competing for Will's attention again, Micah admits to his friend that there might be something between he and Emily, Gina is worried about her personal life for the first time in apparently years, a prodigal surgeon returns after taking a year off, and Cassandra beat Emily on a big test. The episode even succeeded in making the audience feel for Cassandra, because as terrible as she is to others, she has had tragedy in her past. It's all great, and I understand that some of these events needed to wait a while to begin, but the tenth episode is just too late to overflow with drama. I stand by my comments about previous episodes and why this series failed, but I finally think I might just miss it after it ends in another three installments. There actually may be something left unexplained that viewers care about, and that's a shame.

Emily Owens, M.D. "Emily and... The Social Experiment" (S01E10): After a dream, Emily wonders if Will is a little jealous when other guys pay attention to her, so she starts putting him through little tests. [she seriously lives in a 9th grade world something!] Tyra gives Emily some flirting tips: Step 1: Get caught staring. #2 eye contact and physical touch. Step 3: Accidentally get too close. [I was surprised that it worked so well for Tyra.] Tyra convinces Emily to try the steps with Will nearby, and he immediately warns her that the guy she uses them on is "a dog." The other guy is now interested in Emily, however, and Emily lets Will come to her rescue after all. [Cassandra had to go out on a cabbage? what was that??] Will helps Emily put together a bookcase and she tries "the moves," only he falls asleep when she runs out for some dinner. [sucks.] She drops some stuff to wake him up but he asks to crash, which Emily needs to keep it a secret because Cassandra has been questioning Will's feelings toward Emily. [ha.]

Jack Rowand/The CW

The In-Service Exam scores are in, and Emily got a 94% to Cassandra's 95%. [Will got 90% and Tyra came in at 84%.] Later, Emily meets Gina's husband in the elevator and is surprised to learn that her boss is married. In private, he tells Gina that have no life, she says she'll change, and plans to take a vacation the next month. [hmmm...] A doctor who took a year off after a two-week suspension is back, and struggles to clear the air with Gina, who thinks he's over-confident. [and he seems to be, given what we're seeing here!] Micah confronts Gina about pulling the guy after he apologizes, and she decides to add him after giving a quick oral quiz. [it may be implied that they slept together. I'm a bit shocked here.] Emily learns that Micah and Kelly broke up because "they want different things." Micah also tells the returning doctor that he does like Emily.

Patient 1: A 24-year-old with cystic fibrosis who is set to receive a lung transplant when an organ donor passes away. The family is so excited that they have a Hawaiian-themed party in the room, as the patient wants to learn to surf with his new lungs. [cool goal.] During the surgery, however, they find something in his lymph nodes and he might have cancer. Micah wants to proceed anyway, even though that's not procedure. [why didn't he get into trouble?] The odds for him beating cancer are terrible, and the patient feels pessimistic, though he plans to go through chemo for the sake of his parents. [awww.] Cassandra tells the parents about how her brother didn't get to voice his desires, having passed away at 14, causing the parents to ask the patient what he wants, and he prefers Hawaii. [I really don't know if I want to cheer for this, but okay.]

Patient 2: A psychic has migraines and swollen legs due to diabetes. When she draws her own tarot cards and thinks she might die, she leaves her son a message. [I thought you specifically couldn't read your own tarot cards?] He rushes to the hospital, livid that she used the cards to manipulate him. [true.] She winds up with a heart infection and needs surgery, so she writes a letter to her son in case she dies. She has a complicated surgery but lives, and Emily passes on the letter anyway, opening the gateway for discussion between mother and son. [cheesy.]

Emily Owens: Playing a Character

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Where will this show end? Knowing that only four episodes remain, I both want Will to ask out Emily and for her to start dating Micah, as I think he's a better fit for her. Of course, it also doesn't help that Will is demonstrating himself to be more and more closed-minded with each passing episode. Sadly, that's the only real drama that we might even begin to see wrapped up, and that makes me wonder if this series ever had a chance... WHY don't we have any other drama going on aside from the perpetuating Emily-Cassandra competition? A medical drama without the drama is missing a key component. And I really thought that this show took a turn for the worst when Cassandra and Tyra agree that Emily needs a one-night stand. Can't she be a good girl? Grrrr.

Emily Owens, M.D. "Emily and... The Love of Larping" (S01E09): Tyra thinks that Emily should have sex, and Cassandra agrees, even setting up a blind date for her nemesis. Emily isn't planning to actually go, but once she learns how predictable Will finds her, she decides to give it a try, with Tyra's help on an outfit, of course! [the whole "more hoochie than debutante" was awkward.] She meets Scott, a science teacher, on a double-date with Cassandra and Will.

Photo: Liane Hentscher/ The CW

They drink and dance, but when she kisses him, he has an allergic reaction from the peanuts on her breath! [these things could only happen to Emily, LoL.] After some time getting checked out at the hospital, he invites her back to his place, but she says they're better off as friends. He points out that they don't have much in common and would make bad friends. [ouch!] Micah, who has decided to break up with Kelly, ends up explaining how he's being sued (more on that later), and as Emily leaves the hospital, Will acts a little jealous. The whole experience forces Emily to decide it's time for a change, so she lets Tyra pick through her closet for things to donate to Goodwill. [I can't imagine letting someone else decide what goes! maybe I'm just too picky with my wardrobe?]

Oh, and also on the dramatic front, Gina's husband tells her that she's never available. [yikes.]

Patient 1: The patient won't stop working long enough for rounds, and even after learning she has a heart condition she still wants to work. [reminded me a bit of Phoebe in the "alternate universe" episodes of Friends.] She plans to fly to New York to see her own doctor (against medical advice), but a heart attack changes those plans and she requires a bypass. The audience has the pain of knowing that her husband is planning to leave her ASAP, and may not even wait 4-6 weeks for her to recover! [that sucks.]

Patient 2: An elderly woman comes in with stomach pain but turns out to have ovarian cancer. She needs a hysterectomy and is very concerned about having a wig made by the time her hair falls out in a month. [the woman's obsession with her appearance was a bit much, especially after the model last episode.] After the surgery, the patient is upset that her daughter forgot to pack lipstick, and she goes into cardiac arrest and passes away while the daughter was out for a walk. The daughter wants to sue Micah for malpractice, freaking him out, but changes her mind by the end of the episode. [of course. one chance for some drama and the show decides not to go through with it.]

Patient 3: Emily and Will take on an ER patient who is playing a character. He has cut his arm and loses his sight, and Will thinks the guy is having a psychotic episode, though Emily believes it's just role-play. After an inconclusive MRI, Emily finds a pocket of fluid on his leg. It seems that the guy has clots, and an ultrasound confirms it. [not gonna lie, clots causing temporary blindness kinda freak me out!] He'll be on medication and goes into a hyperbaric chamber, confessing to Emily that he feels powerful when he plays a character and that he has feelings for a coworker with whom he LARPs. [flashback to the second chapter of my thesis where I look at how people who take part in Rocky Horror events use it as a form of escapism and empowerment.] The woman shares those sentiments, and surgery (a clot moved into his lungs), she tells him, too. [happily ever after, I guess.]

Emily Owens: Car Accident and a Jaw Tumor

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

If I didn't know there were only five episodes of this medical drama remaining, I think I'd drop this series. Emily has become too confrontational with Cassandra (and Micah, for that matter), her musings have finally gotten annoying (though I know that happened for most people seven episodes ago), and Will's flip-flop attitude toward their relationship isn't even that interesting. In this episode, Will can't decide if he wants to study for the big exam using Emily's notecard method or Cassandra's app. Has he never managed to come up with his own style of learning in twenty years? Plus, Tyra's "I know enough to pass" perspective on the test made it seem like it wasn't going to be incredibly difficult anyway. The medicine scenes were a bit more jolting than the average for the CW, but they're not the sort of situations that you can really repeat without having the longevity of ER. Are any TheTalkingBox readers still tuning in to Emily's latest drama, or have you torn yourself away quicker than I?

Emily Owens, M. D. "Emily and... the Car and the Cards" (S01E08): Emily is great at taking tests and has a categorized notecard system, which Will thinks of borrowing. [I was one of those kids who just rewrote everything over and over.] Cassandra teases them about being old-fashioned, brandishing her app that contains all 1500 questions that have ever appeared on the in-service exam. In contrast, Emily's cards are based on the 574 questions that have appeared in the past ten years. Will decides to try the app instead, but Emily becomes overly paranoid over her cards, even thinking that Cassandra stole them when she really just picked up the wrong lab coat. [ouch at Dr. Mendari hearing Emily complain about the exam being scheduled after an all-night shift.] Will is awkward all episode and eventually confides in Emily that he was in an accident in high school where his girlfriend died, and he struggled seeing something similar happen. [yeah, I pointed that out before talking about the patient. deal with it.] 

Patient 1: A seventeen-year-old girl (not wearing a seatbelt) was in a terrible car accident, with a pole still protruding from her abdomen. [holy cow!] Emily preps the parents (Will can't bring himself to do it) and brings them to see their daughter, who promptly apologizes for lying over her whereabouts. [of course. we have to add every extra ounce of drama possible.] Everyone must be very comfortable not to jar the patient, but when the pole won't fit in the MRI machine, they have to have a maintenance man saw off part of it. [I'm SHOCKED that doing so didn't hurt anything!] The scan shows that the pole hit just about every internal thing it could, which is bad news. The boy driving has been in trouble with drugs before, so Will tests him, though he turns out to be clean. His nose begins bleeding, and Emily winds up diagnosing him with lupus, which gave him the double vision that caused the accident. [figures.] Meanwhile, the surgery on the girl takes so long that the team rotates multiple times. The end result is that her spinal cord was injured and she may be paralyzed, but she has feeling in her lower extremities after a while. [that would've been sad if they did all that work and she ended up unable to move.] 

Photo: Jack Rowand/ The CW.

Patient 2: A woman with constant jaw pain has a CT that shows a growth. But, she's supposed to be traveling soon and wants to wait on the biopsy. After her boyfriend is out of the room, the model expresses concern about a potential scar on her face. [haha at Emily pretending to be thrilled for her potential engagement.] She has the biopsy (because it won't leave an external mark) and it reveals cancer. Of course, she refuses to have part of her jaw removed and wants an alternative treatment. [not gonna lie, I'm just as shocked as Emily about this!] Emily suggests that even weeks could make a big difference, and then she seeks Micah's counsel. He tells her to stop judging the patient and reaffirms their mentor/mentee relationship is nothing more. [ouch!] She says that it sucks, because she liked being friends. [blah blah blah.] Emily talks to the resident again, and says that it's better to be alive than smart/pretty, but the model still decides to seek out the other treatment first.

Emily Owens: Birthdays for Emily & Cassandra

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

I've known a few "birthday people" throughout my life. I've even been one a few times, though not consistently. Therefore, I found the non-medical parts of this episode pretty good, especially the surprise cello recital! Also, I hadn't noticed that Mamie Gummer has her mother's smile until now, so that's a nice surprise. Emily Owens will be on break until January 1st, when it will run out the remaining six episodes before the series is soon forgotten. I mean, are you really going to remember patients like a prisoner with a bad heart or a deliveryman with a lung tumor?

More importantly to nitpickers like me, it's contrived enough that enemies would share a birthday, but I especially love that they were both overachievers who either started school when they were four years old or skipped a grade to be turning 13 in the eighth grade (instead of in the seventh grade). Making Cassandra someone who broadcasts her birthday while Emily has expended so much effort keeping hers a secret that Will hasn't figured it out in four years (and it must not be online because Facebook AND Twitter are commonly used by the characters on this show) was an nice twist. Cassandra being the one to point out it's Emily's special day, too, was one of my favorite parts, really. What did you think?

Emily Owens, M.D. "Emily and... The Good and the Bad" (S01E07): [let's get to the drama first, then the medicine.] The Chief pages Emily, thinking that she's dating Tyra. Emily corrects him but he still asks her to try to get Tyra to talk to him again. The Chief is worried that Tyra will tell her mother that he had an affair, and Emily suggests that he write her a letter. Tyra is hesitant to read it, but after she does, she goes to talk to her father, and they agree to keep it from her mother. [which is only going to last so long, you know.] Micah's mother asks Emily about medical marijuana, which Emily supports. Micah, however, is not a big fan and isn't sure about it. Micah's girlfriend asks him if he likes Emily, and he doesn't really answer, though it seems that he's just intimidated by Will.

Will wants to celebrate with Emily, going so far as to plan a party at her place so she can't get out of it. [strange to just ditch whatever you might have been doing with your girlfriend, no?] Emily tries to stop the event, but Will tweets it out and people from all departments show up at her place. In trying to have some peace in her own apartment, Emily sits in her room a minute before Will finds her... and convinces her to play a cello solo for the group! [she must not have played that long, it's clearly a first cello - there are finger markings that only beginners have. plus, I'm shocked she went through with it.]

Photo: Jack Rowand/The CW

There's a prisoner in the hospital so the interns are all told not to give away personal information (even their names) or ask about his non-medical history. [sensible.] Will, however, asks the guard about the guy's crimes, and once he learns that the man raped four women and asphyxiated the last one, has trouble being objective. Not only will he not allow Emily to treat the patient alone, but he also tells Mendari not to prioritize the man during surgery to replace a heart valve. [I was surprised that Will would say such a subjective thing about a patient and who "deserves" the skilled surgeon more.] Emily also struggles to be objective (she heard Will ask about the prisoner), and when she gives him a weird look, he talks about how he was framed. Emily later gets freaks out by him when he learns her name and birthday from a florist's gift. [I totally saw that coming.]

A florist deliveryman faints in the hospital, and it seems that he doesn't have insurance and doesn't really want tests. [I guess he has been delivering there for years, based on how concerned everyone is!] Even after his lung collapses, he still wants to leave the hospital for monetary reasons. He consents to a chest X-ray, which reveals a tumor. He doesn't want to have it removed at the hospital, so Emily tries to seek out some pro bono money. The Chief agrees to it, but Emily has to do all of the paperwork. [even HE is aware of this particular guy!] Unfortunately, records show that the patient stole a friend's identity to avoid being deported to Guatemala. Emily decides to wait until after the surgery to report the crime, and when Emily tells Mendari, she throws away the file, saying that "there is protocol, and then there are judgment calls... doctors are not policemen." [blah blah compassion.]

Emily Owens: Will Dates Cassandra

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

What can I say? I guess I lost some of my initial excitement over this medical drama. Not that it matters too incredibly much... after the initial thirteen episodes air, The CW is done with this show and is moving on to something else. In the recent episodes, we've seen Will become interested in Cassandra, stay away from her at Emily's request, and start seeing her on a more serious level. We've seen Emily try to be mean right back at her tormentor but then admit the truth and show her vulnerabilities. We've already seen Tyra's cheating father come clean, a friendship get thrown onto the rocks, and a budding relationship between Micah and Emily fall short. The main characters have all now made their "first cuts," though we only see one party in celebration. The next episode will be a "mid-season finale," but you can bet that the rivalry between Emily and Cassandra will continue right through the remaining seven episodes, though one of the girls will likely win some of Dr. Mendari's approval before then. Who knows, maybe we'll even hear about Emily's time in college or about her family, two areas which have yet to really be showcased on the young-demo series. On the bright side, there's not much to worry about wrapping up at this point, though some sort of stronger conflict may arise before time runs out.

Emily Owens, M.D. "Emily and... the Predator" (S01E04): Emily goes jogging with Will and Cassandra while thinking about how her nemesis is going for her crush.

Jack Rowand/The CW

Emily tries to keep them apart, which becomes easier when Will asks if she'd be cool with his dating Cassandra. Initially, Emily says that she doesn't mind but later confides that he can date "anyone in the world" but Cassandra. [Emily says SO MUCH in her head!] Emily also has to deal with Cassandra continuing to take credit for her work and even trying to keep results from her. [I was surprised that Emily came up with something to ask Will on such short notice.] Cassandra apologizes, saying Emily makes her feel insecure... but that turns out to be a ploy, as Cassandra's motto is that, in the real world, everything counts.

Emily cares for a surrogate carrying twins for her sister, but it appears that the male fetus is underdeveloped. An in-vitro surgery is the only option, but both babies could die in the process, causing the biological parents to choose to avoid the risks involved. The surrogate feels left out, hoping that doing this favor would bring her closer to her older sibling. [I'm not sure what side I'd be on here... I'd need to read more about the rules of surrogacy, I suppose.] After much duress, bio-mom does consult her, and they are able to repair the heart with the operation. 

Emily's other big patient is a newlywed from India who does not feel comfortable with her husband donating a kidney to her as they only recently met. [the romantic comedy obsession was a bit strange.] He admits that he also has doubts about their future but he's still willing to give her his kidney, but she decides that she would prefer to stay on dialysis until another donor can be found. But, she soon experiences kidney failure and goes into a coma, leaving her husband with power of attorney. He donates one of his kidneys and Emily is allowed to make the first cut as Cassandra watches. Everyone goes to the bar afterward to celebrate... though "first cut" pays for the first round! [where's Tyra?]

Emily Owens, M.D. "Emily and... the Tell-Tale Heart" (S01E05): Emily hits a car in the parking lot while thinking about how she spilled the beans to the principal about Senior Cut Day. Despite having left a note, Emily's car is keyed. [that SUCKS.] That's not the worst part of her shift, though, as she goes against Micah's wishes and explains his mother's condition to her, which he was avoiding doing. See, the tumor isn't shrinking and Micah wants to being more aggressive treatment without worrying his mother. And, Cassandra asks Emily why Will is blowing her off, and she says that she doesn't know anything and that she doesn't want to get involved. [everybody hate Cassandra on the count of 3!] Later, she gives Will permission to date Cassandra, and he promptly asks out the meanie.

Emily has two major patients this episode. The first is a young boy with hepatitis who needs a partial liver transplant. Turns out, his father isn't a biological match, and Emily confronts the mother about it - a one-night stand took place and she never told her husband before now. [that sucks.] She reaches out to the biological father but he won't donate, so her daughter volunteers to do so. The other is a diabetic guy who overdosed and was using a fake phallus with fake urine to try passing a drug screening. [horrifying!] Well, Emily isn't supposed to deal with the addiction, just the other issues... but when he talks about how he can't stop doing drugs (he's been doing them since college) and wants help, she tries to get him into a rehab facility. She'll have to put a hold on him in order to stop him from getting out and using again, but he just checks himself out anyway. [wow, her roles in both of those scenarios were really useless to a certain extent. so much for caring!]

Also, Tyra's old ex-boyfriend, Rick, shows up at the hospital, and Tyra's father thinks they're dating. [haha!] He has to play along, but he's actually interested in Emily, though they don't hit it off after having coffee. Plus, Tyra has to stage a break-up and act mad at Emily after her father sees Emily with Rick. [I love Tyra and all, but that girl is DRAMA!]

Emily Owens, M.D. "Emily and... the Question of Faith" (S01E06): Emily gives Dr. Mendari a somewhat negative evaluation, and after Cassandra and Will are shocked that Emily included constructive criticism (not knowing that Mendari would actually see them), she rushes to the Chief's office to get back hers. But, she runs into Tyra there, and the Chief decides to come clean about his affair. [awkward!] Tyra's angry and decides not to "come out of the closet" as she had planned. She won't speak to Emily for quite a while, though she does decide to tell her father about her identity a little while later. Emily steals the wrong evaluation, but Tyra makes up with her by the end of the episode, even stealing the correct evaluation to save Emily the discomfort. Of course, Emily goes to tell Mendari about what she said in it first, not knowing that Tyra swiped it for her. [so TWO evals were missing? wouldn't that look weird?]

Other drama includes Cassandra apologizing for being b!tchy, which Will encouraged her to do, and Emily telling Cassandra the truth about how she crushed on Will, he rejected her, and she couldn't deal with him being into Cassandra. So, Cassandra invites Emily to watch Will make his "first cut," but Cassandra soon gushes about her sex life with Will, and also makes Emily miss a meeting. [HATE her!] Poor Will has other issues going on, though, as he breaks protocol to give a patient medication before test results come back, and Micah reprimands him. Oh, and Emily and Micah (who has been dating someone for two months, apparently) talk about how they're both only partial believers in God. 

Emily's cases include an ill infant infant with an obsessive mother. Emily notices some leg contortions and orders an ultrasound. The child will need a barium enema to help his intestines, but there seems to be a larger concern at hand - the child is intersex. [that's surprising.] Emily calls Social Services to help the parents process the fact that their child has male organs on the outside and female organs on the inside. Some tests determine that the child is genetically female and may identify that way later in life. But, because of complications, the doctors suggest that they wait until the child is older and clearly identifies one way or the other to have the operation. [yeah, that is a little bit awkward, but the father was WAY crazy about it.] But, the father demands that his child is a boy and orders surgery to remove the female reproductive system. Unfortunately, the baby has a complication from the first procedure and must undergo surgery to remove part of the intestine. Because of this, the father decides that they shouldn't risk his life now and they must wait until the child can decide how s/he will identify, and they re-name their child neutrally. [that was quite the leap!] Her other big case is with a patient who has had so many heart surgeries that he has developed an allergy to anesthetic, so he'll be conscious but using an epidural during the procedure. [I was just as shocked as the girls were!] Cassandra assists in the procedure while Emily talks to the patient to keep him calm. But, when he flat-lines for a few minutes, his faith is shaken, causing his wife to freak out, as God has been the basis for their relationship. Dr. Mendari is upset that Emily told the patient about the near-death experience, as she has a long-standing relationship with him. [not a big fan of Mendari, either!] Luckily, Emily handles it by talking with the wife.

Fun Friday: Character Demographics This Season

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

For seventeen years now, GLAAD has been tracking the number of LGBT characters in scripted programming. You can see their entire report here, which is full of fantastic facts and figures. I wanted to share some highlights, though, as the numbers are pretty interesting.

Their estimate for the 2012-2013 television season (defined as any show premiering 6/1/12-5/31/13) is that 4.4% (of 701, meaning 31) of all regular characters (on new shows and returning shows) on the five major networks are LGBT. An additional 19 recurring characters are LGBT as well. Cable adds another 35 regulars and 26 recurring.

Where We Are On TV 2012-2013 Season
http://www.glaad.org/files/whereweareontv12.pdf

For comparison, they counted only 1.1% of all regular characters on network programming being LGBT in 2007.

Some other facts from the report that stood out to me:

- Women make up 45% of television characters this season.

- Of the network LGBT characters, 61% are gay men, 20% are lesbian women, 14% bisexual women, and 4% bisexual men. On cable, 49% are gay men, 27% are lesbian women, 15% are bisexual women, and 8% are bisexual men. Of the cable LGBT characters, 4% are transgender, a category not addressed yet this year on network TV.

- Glee and True Blood tie for the highest number of LGBT characters at six each!

- Showtime has 12 regular LGBT characters, the highest of any cable network.

- The CW only had one LGBT character at the start of the 2011 season, but now they have four. Speaking of The CW, 83% of their characters are white. (For comparison 72% of NBC's characters are white.) Latinos are specifically under-represented, with only 4% of the characters on network programming being Latino, despite the US being 16% Latino!

- Last year, only five LGBT characters were "people of color," (POC) but this year there are 14.

- The only network shows this year to have LGBT POC are Bones, Don't Trust the B---- in Apt. 23, Emily Owens, MD, Glee, The Good Wife, Grey's Anatomy, The LA Complex, Malibu Country, The Office, Smash, and Suburgatory. Four are Latino, three are Asian/Pacific Islander, and seven are Black.

- On cable, LGBT POC can be found on Anger Management, Army Wives, Enlightened, House of Lies, Major Crimes, Pretty Little Liars, Single Ladies, Superjail!, Teen Wolf, True Blood, and White Collar.

- The number of disabled characters (a population we've looked at before) decreased this year, to just four - one on each of the four largest networks. GLAAD counts characters with "non-apparent disabilities such as cancer or HIV/AIDS" (as does the ADA). [Because the number is so low, I'll name them for those interested: Dr. Robbins on Grey's Anatomy is an amputee, CSI has a character using prosthetic legs, Parenthood has a character with Asperger's, and Artie on Glee uses a wheelchair. Dr. Robbins will be one of only two LGBT characters with disabilities, the other is the diabetic Thor on Nurse Jackie.]

How do these numbers compare with what you thought they were or where you think they should be? 

For starters, I know that I was surprised to see there were shows featuring six LGBT characters, and I'm surprised at how many of the depicted LGBT characters are white.  

Emily Owens: Blackmailing, Lawyering, Teaching

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Everyone is saying that the CW will cancel this show. I've been trying to decide if I care or not... I still think that the premise is good and the potential is there, but I'm not sure that anything is actually happening. Part of me can't stand that the show is hopelessly stuck in 2012, with the nurses flocking to Facebook AND twitter to share every bit of gossip they can get their hands on. Another part hates that Emily is constantly talking to herself... while I understand the point of her doing so... she's just not that interesting. Also, does the itty-bitty theme music remind anyone else of early Boy Meets World? And, for an episode to refer to an "outbreak," I expected more danger and quarantining... or something.

Emily Owens, M.D. "Emily and... the Alan Zolman Incident" (S01E02): Emily talks about being in the ninth grade and telling her crush, Alan, that she liked him. She tells Tyra that Will rejected her (to explain why she's nervous-giggly today), then says that he drunk-dialed her once and said that he should date a girl like her. She tries to diffuse the tension, saying that she's past it and now likes Micah... just in time for Cassandra to overhear. [annoying!] By the end of the episode, Emily later tells Will that she's not over him, but she does delete the voicemail from Will, though she instantly regrets it. [LoL... the last time a crush said something to me I wish I could have saved was probably four or five years before I even had a cell phone.]

Emily gets an OCD patient, which is a prank from the nurses for faux-flirting with Jessica. [are we still on that?] After hearing how the patient's OCD medication stopped working and seeing her handwriting, Emily thinks a brain tumor might be the issue. To rush approval for an MRI, she avoids the chain-of-command and goes to blackmail the Chief-of-Staff for what she saw the other night. [Emily. stop. no endearment qualities for this.] The tumor is revealed and can be removed, which should help her quite a bit... but she dies on the table. [awww.] Plus, Emily gets into trouble for going over her attending's head. [duh!]

Emily has to tell a patient that his heart is failing and he will not be able to have surgery, but he really wants to live a few more years, so Emily tries to schedule the procedure anyway. But, when his insurance company doesn't approve it, Emily's OCD patient suggests she reference the Affordable Care Act and age discrimination laws to get them to back down. This works and the surgery takes place, but the old man ends up needing an even more invasive procedure anyway.

Micah confides in Emily about his mother's pancreatic cancer, and Emily apologizes for the rumor spreading about her being after him. She even sits with his mother during her first round of chemo.

Photo: Michael Courtney/The CW

Emily Owens, M.D. "Emily and... the Outbreak" (S01E03): Emily makes a list of Will's flaws, like immaturity. An oral pop quiz has Cassandra beating Emily when our protagonist zones out and doesn't hear a question. [one of the many things that happens because we always hear what's in her head!] This is important because Dr. Mendari is looking for a research assistant, and everyone wants to but his or her best foot forward. Cassandra falters later, though, when she freezes when she's supposed to make an incision on a gallbladder patient. [I thought it was nice of Emily to take the high road and attempt to cover for her, though.]  

A gymnast must remain inactive for a week because of a concussion, but after a seizure, she requires even more tests. Meningitis results are negative, but she develops a rash. Eventually, the girl confides to Emily and Cassandra that she snuck out to a party at a farm one night. So, they realize she has a fungal infection... but she may have damaged her inner ear (aka balance) because of it and the treatment. But, she turns out to be fine and goes back to her uber-competitive world, as her father is very committed to this goal for her. [this plotline went nowhere!] 

Emily has to give a shot to a teen with gonorrhea, then go to the high school and talk to the kids about safe sex because eight kids from that school have come in with STIs. [Why did some random high school girl try to befriend Emily in the hallway?] The girls start cutting up immediately, asking questions about positions and how long Emily was a virgin (until she was 20). [really? because I kinda believe she's a virgin now...] The girls decide to jump the guy who spread the infection, and he winds up in the ER with lacerations. He won't get tested, and he's not planning on using condoms, either. He also lies to his mother about why he was jumped. Emily realizes that he gave a urine sample because of his bruised ribs, and he gave permission to test the sample initially (for internal bleeding), so she and Will run an STI test and give him the results, which his mother sees. They treat him and Emily asks him to apologize to one girl who's been waiting there. [not the best wrap-up, guys.]

NEW SHOW: Emily Owens, MD

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

The only CW show that really piqued my attention this fall is their medical drama, Emily Owens, MD. I liked the idea that the protagonist got away from the cliques and popularity contests of high school only to re-encounter her nemesis ten years later when she begins her surgery internship. Plus, she's crushing on another co-intern with whom she attended medical school, so it's like a young and competitive ER, right? Only... it's not. Not yet, anyway. The pilot has Emily (who looks old for the part, by the way) talking to herself quite a bit, her crush already shooting her down, and Emily already learning the source of her enemy's nefariousness - jealousy, of course! All in all, it wasn't a bad intro for the series, but I'm going to need less narration, less dirty play, and less advice from the patients!

Oh, and if you followed this show ever since it was entitled, First Cut, that name referred to the first cut made on a cadaver in Gross Anatomy.

Emily Owens, MD "Pilot" (S01E01): Emily has never been a "cool kid," and she's nervous about her first day of her internship at a Denver hospital. She knows one of her colleagues (a guy, Will) from med school, and another from high school (her tormentor, Cassandra). She soon makes friends with the Chief-of-Staff's lesbian daughter, Tyra. [now here's a character I can get into!] Cassandra plays nice until everyone starts complimenting Emily, when she decides to point out Emily's heavy sweating and how that led to the nickname, "Pits." [:(]

[I found the stereotypes about the types of medicine interesting... stoners go into anesthesiology, jocks into orthopedic surgery, rebels into ER, mean girls into plastic surgery, All-American girl-next-doors into OB, geeks in neurology, pediatrics is sanctimonious church-goers. And surgery is for everyone else, so those people tend not to get along.]

A twelve-year-old-girl, Julia, fainted in gym class for a second time, and Emily gives the diagnosis, while although correct, only earns her extra paperwork. [sucks.] As she's getting ready to discharge her, the girl passes out, so Emily has to take charge of the situation, which requires paddles, medication, and using a syringe to remove fluid. Emily's pager goes missing (Tyra finds it for her and in exchange wants Emily to find out if where Jessica's sexual interests are... but Emily is a bit too awkward and winds up straight-up asking her if she goes to straight bars or gay bars, LoL!), so she's late getting back to the patient, who now needs surgery to help her heart. Julia wants Emily to be in surgery with her, and Emily is allowed to, though she receives a lecture first. Emily ends up having to assist because of a complication, which is a big deal for a first day! 

Photo: Jack Rowand/The CW

Another patient needs help, as she can't remember her daughter's name, and Emily and Cassandra are put in charge of finding the daughter so she can sign some forms. Cassandra ditches Emily, who tries calling anyone with a name that could match the signature. When a woman does follow up on a message, she doesn't want to deal with her mother any longer because of her health decline. Cassandra comes in and saves the day when she tells the woman that she knows what it's like to care for an ailing relative - her brother suffered from cystic fibrosis. [I honestly thought that Cassandra would be the type to make up something like this to empathize with a patient, but this seemed pretty genuine.] This pushes the woman into seeing her mother.

A third patient a drunk driver who got his brother pretty banged up. Well, Emily notices that he has marks from a passenger's side seatbelt, but he claims he drove, because he's the screw-up, not his brother. Emily talks to the "good brother" and tries to guilt him into coming clean, and he does. [weak! save it for another time!]

And, some random drama tidbits: Micah's mother has pancreatic cancer and likely won't live a year, in pain the entire time. [sucks!] Emily tells Will that she likes him, but he just tells her that he doesn't see her like that. [awww.] Cassandra tells Emily that she was jealous of Emily in school, and that's why they're enemies. [figures.] Emily sees the Chief-of-Staff kissing Jessica in the stairwell.

Fall 2012 Network Shows: GOTTA WATCH!

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

By this point you've probably already seen a little bit about which shows each major broadcast network has picked up and when they're planning to air them. Some sites have covered them show by show, others network by network, and at least two decided to break it down night by night. Well, we're going to go with preliminary interest - what we can't wait for, what we don't think is worth the time, what falls somewhere in the middle, and even what we don't think will last. Of course, this is subject to change, especially come late July when so much more comes to light! We'll take a look at the GOTTA WATCH today, which are the series that we're definitely going to try.

My first pick is 1600 Penn (NBC), which NBC has picked up for 13 episodes. As you might have guessed, it's set in the White House, and it's a family comedy. Stars include Jenna Elfman, Bill Pullman, and Josh Gad. Not only am I excited about the cast, I think it has great potential to be a funny show. It's a mid-season slot, so no idea how it'll fit in with what will air around it quite yet.

(Photo by: Chris Haston/NBC)

Next is Go On (NBC), the Matthew Perry-as-a-sportscaster show where he's struggling with a recent loss, and joins a support group as his boss demands. I like Matthew Perry a lot, and I'm banking on him more than the premise... which hasn't worked out so well in the past, but we'll see! Look for it Tuesdays at 9pm, which sounds like a good place for it.

Then we have Elementary (CBS), the Sherlock Holmes contemporary drama with Lucy Liu. Not a fan of Lucy Liu, but I do love Sherlock Holmes. I'm not sure how the contemporization will work out, but the idea is strong enough to draw me in. I've also been dying for a Thursdays-at-10pm drama ever since ER ended, so maybe this will fit the bill! 

Malibu Country (ABC) has Reba McEntire moving from Nashville to Malibu with her three kids and mother. On the surface, it sounds like any old family show, especially the dozens which have been set in Southern California. BUT, I do think that Reba is funny and like her style, PLUS, I want to support ABC's attempt at reincarnating TGIF, and this will come on after Last Man Standing, one of my favorite new shows from last year.

One of the bigger gambles, I think, will be The New Normal (NBC), with Andrew Rannells and Justin Bartha, who play a gay couple hoping to have a child through surrogacy. It's a comedy, so it won't be too heavy, and it will come on just after Go On, so it might not have much of a lead-in, depending. I think it'll provide a nice contrast from Go On, and that's part of the reason I've chosen them both. However, the concept just grabs me.

(Photo by: Robert Trachtenberg/NBC)

Partners (CBS) is a sitcom from the creators of Will & Grace. Here we have two architects, one straight and one gay, who are falling apart when one proposes to his girlfriend. I like the architects and the BFFs, but I'm not sure I'm in love with a proposal being an impetus for the show... oh, and am I seriously taking on yet another Monday show? Yep, if it winds up being as promising as the preliminaries make it sound!

Emily Owens, MD (formerly known as First Cut, CW) is a first-year intern at Denver Memorial Hospital, alongside her HS nemesis and her med-school crush. It's the only one of the CW pilots that I think I can stand, and while I find the basics to be a bit... droll... I'm willing to give it a try, though it'll likely be a DVR option only... it's up against Go On, among other things.