Motherhood (ER)

"Motherhood" is the twenty-fourth and penultimate episode of the first season of the American medical drama ER. Written by supervising producer Lydia Woodward and directed by Quentin Tarantino, the episode was first broadcast on NBC on May 11, 1995.

"Motherhood"
ER episode
Carol and Susan take a break to sunbathe on the roof of the hospital, in a scene critics found reminiscent to Reservoir Dogs.[1]
Episode no.Season 1
Episode 24
Directed byQuentin Tarantino
Written byLydia Woodward
Produced by
Featured musicMartin Davich
Cinematography byRichard Thorpe
Editing byJim Gross
Production code456623
Original air dateMay 11, 1995 (1995-05-11)
Running time47 minutes
Guest appearance(s)

In the Mother's Day-themed episode, Susan Lewis helps her sister Chloe give birth, John Carter learns the true outcome of his surgical internship application, and Peter Benton is told tragic news about his mother. Writing the episode, Woodward said she didn't create the script with Tarantino in mind, but that she did try to "gross out" the screenplay as well as pay homages to him after learning he would direct. For his work on the episode, Tarantino received $30,000 from NBC.

In its initial airing, "Motherhood" received the highest rating of the week, in front of episodes from Friends and Seinfeld, and was watched in a total of 21.8 million homes according to Nielsen Media Research. However, the episode received mixed reviews from critics, who said that for ER, the directing style of Tarantino didn't stand out.

Synopsis

Late at night, Chloe (Kathleen Wilhoite) tells her sister Susan Lewis (Sherry Stringfield) that she's been experiencing frequent contractions due to her pregnancy. At the hospital, Chloe gives birth while singing "Broken Wings", and names her newly-born daughter "Little Susan" after her sister. On Mother's Day, Susan learns from her mother Cookie Lewis (Valerie Perrine) that she will have to help Chloe take care of her daughter. Meanwhile, John Carter (Noah Wyle) learns that he has not been accepted to the surgical internship he applied for, and Peter Benton (Eriq La Salle) learns that his mother has died. Additionally, Doug Ross (George Clooney) takes a long time to decide whether he wants to move in with his girlfriend Diane Leeds (Lisa Zane), who later rejects him.

At night, Benton expresses his grief over his mother's death and Chloe sings "Blackbird" to help her baby fall asleep.

Production

"Motherhood" was written by ER supervising producer Lydia Woodward, and directed by Quentin Tarantino, who had decided to come on board after George Clooney (the actor who was portraying Doug Ross on ER), gave him the idea to direct an episode for the show after the pair finished filming From Dusk till Dawn. Writing the episode, Woodward said that she didn't create the script with Tarantino in mind, but did try to "gross out" the scenes featured in the episode after learning he would direct.[2][3]

For his work on the episode, Tarantino received $30,000 from NBC.[4] Filming it, Tarantino said he "liked the ER style" and the use of Steadicams to shoot long takes. On set, the director encountered a problem with executive producer John Wells, who told him to go back and reshoot a scene, which Tarantino said taught him that in television, the choices were not up to the director, but the show's producers as it was "their show. I'm directing the episode, and then I'm leaving".[5]

Reception

Viewership

According to the ratings system developed by Nielsen Media Research, "Motherhood" was the highest-rated television episode of the week from May 8 to May 14, 1995, in front of episodes from Friends ("The One with the Ultimate Fighting Champion") and Seinfeld ("The Face Painter") that aired the same week.[6] With a household rating of 22.9 and an audience share of 37, the NBC episode was watched by 33.1 million viewers in a total of 21.8 million homes.[7][8]

Critical response
The directing style of Quentin Tarantino received mixed reviews from critics, who said it did not stand out.

The directing style of Quentin Tarantino, who had been nominated for two Academy Awards weeks prior to the episode's airing for Pulp Fiction, for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay (the latter of which he won with Roger Avary), received mixed reviews from critics.[1] In a positive review, a critic from the Detroit Free Press said that the episode was "high-powered, fast-paced, [and] darkly funny", and said that the episode contained "sudden moments of intense, emotion-grabbing sentiment."[9] Writing for The Boston Globe, Frederic M. Biddle said that NBC's choice of hiring a film director like Tarantino was risky, but ultimately said that the "gift of mischief dazzles."[10]

Additionally, television critic Hal Boedeker simply called the episode "memorable", and said that it revealed "unexpected tenderness" from the director.[11][12] In a positive note, David Zurawik from The Baltimore Sun compared Tarantino's dark humor to the jokes found in M*A*S*H and St. Elsewhere,[13] while Richard Helm, writing for the Edmonton Journal, said that he felt Tarantino was "[fighting] the temptation" of applying his "reputation on shock violence and dark humor" to the episode.[14] On a mixed review from The News-Press, Kinney Littlefield said that Tarantino's directing style on the episode was "edgy" yet "tame", stating that for ER, it didn't stand out.[15]

However, in a negative review from the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Tom Jicha wrote that the director turned the show into a "nightmare", stating that Tarantino "needs episodic TV work like Donald Trump needs pizza commercials", but overall said that the episode wasn't worse than others from the season.[16] Witing for The Indianapolis Star, Steve Hall gave the episode two and a half stars out of five, and said Tarantino's unique style of directing was "almost undetectable", stating that the episode was "typical of the series".[17] In his weekday column on the Lansing State Journal, Mike Hughes said the episode wasn't special compared to others on ER, writing that "Tarantino is smart enough to avoid overwhelming the show. He adds his few touches, but mainly lets ER be itself."[18]

References
  1. Joe Reid (11 May 2017). "Today in TV History: Quentin Tarantino Brought Some Blood to the 'ER'". Decider. Archived from the original on 25 January 2021. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  2. Jake Rossen (14 January 2016). "When Quentin Tarantino Directed an Episode of ER". Mental Floss. Archived from the original on 24 January 2021. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  3. Anna Holmes (25 August 1995). "Quentin Tarantino directs an episode of "ER"". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 26 January 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  4. Jackie Frere (2 August 2019). "40 Behind-the-Scenes Photos on Set With Quentin Tarantino". Esquire. Archived from the original on 24 January 2021. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  5. Gerald Peary (1998). Quentin Tarantino: Interviews. Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi. ISBN 978-1-578-06051-1.
  6. Lynn Elber (18 May 1995). "NBC tops Nielsen ratings, leads in May sweep". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. 43. Retrieved 26 January 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Prime-Time Ratings Top 10 TV Shows". Green Bay Press-Gazette. Green Bay, Wisconsin. 18 May 1995. p. 39. Retrieved 26 January 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Nielsen ratings". USA Today. 17 May 1995. p. 3D.
  9. "Tarantino's punk flair meets its match in 'ER'". Detroit Free Press. Detroit, Michigan. 11 May 1995. p. 41. Retrieved 25 January 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. Frederic M. Biddle (11 May 1995). "'ER' gets a twist of Tarantino". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. p. 72. Retrieved 25 January 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. Hal Boedeker (11 May 1995). "Quirky Tarantino directs tonight's 'ER'". York Daily Record. York, Pennsylvania. p. 30. Retrieved 25 January 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. Hal Boedeker (11 May 1995). "Quirky director does 'ER' proud". The Orlando Sentinel. Orlando, Florida. p. 37. Retrieved 25 January 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. David Zurawik (11 May 1995). "Blood count rises with Tarantino directing 'ER'". The Baltimore Sun. Baltimore, Maryland. p. 57. Retrieved 25 January 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. Richard Helm (11 May 1995). "ER plus Tarantino a can't-miss combo". Edmonton Journal. Edmonton, Alberta. p. 56. Retrieved 25 January 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. Kinney Littlefield (11 May 1995). "Tarantino's 'ER' tame, but edgy". The News-Press. Fort Myers, Florida. p. 52. Retrieved 26 January 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. Tom Jicha (11 May 1995). "Tarantino nurtures Mother's Day 'ER'". South Florida Sun Sentinel. Fort Lauderdale, Florida. p. 63. Retrieved 25 January 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. Steve Hall (10 May 1995). "Quentin does "ER"". The Indianapolis Star. Indianapolis, Indiana. p. 31. Retrieved 26 January 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. Mike Hughes (11 May 1995). "Flaws are actor's specialty". Lansing State Journal. Lansing, Michigan. p. 29. Retrieved 26 January 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
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