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Impulse Control

Now What?
The Lost
Dear Abby
Shifts Happen
Out of Africa
The Greater Good
Death and Taxes
Freefall
Missing
Makemba
Touch and Go
nicu
Get Carter
Impulse Control
Blood Relations
Forgive and Forget
The Student
Where There's Smoke
Just a Touch
Abby Normal
Midnight
Drive

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A song from this CD was featured in this episode.  Check out more music that was featured on ER on the ER Music page.

Episode 215 "Impulse Control"
Original Air Date: 02/12/04
Written by: Yahlin Chang
Directed by: Jonathan Robert Kaplan
Guest Stars:

  • Thandie Newton - Kem Likasu
  • Oliver Davis - Alex
  • Logan Hudson - Ethan #1
  • Skyler Hudson - Ethan #2
  • Marin Hinkle - Kathy Shepard
  • Richard Kline - Arnie Nadler
  • Coburn Hartsell - Dean
  • F.J. Rio - Miguel Rivas
  • Rheagan Wallace - Layla
  • J.K. Simmons - Gus Loomer
  • Rengin Altay - Kitty
  • Matt Barr - Billy
  • Paul Keith - Paul
  • Spider Madison - Elevator Rider
  • Chad McKnight - Officer Wilson
  • Larry Michelson - Roger
  • Sumalee Montano - Duvata Mahal
  • David Pompeii - Man
  • Michael Rebresh - Driver
  • Danny Soso - Max
  • Jacqueline Williams - TSA Guard
  • Martin Garcia - Airline Employee
  • D.J. Howard - Airline Official
  • Cat Hammons - Counter Girl

Staff:

  • Scott Grimes - Dr. Archie Morris

  • Troy Evans - Frank Martin

  • Yvette Freeman - Haleh Adams

  • Brian Lester - Paramedic Dumar


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In this episode, we start out with Alex and Sam leaving their apartment. Alex is going to school and a sleepover, and Sam is going to work. Alex is complaining that the people he is sleeping over at, are weird. Sam tells him to be nice, and they walk on. Sam drops Alex off at carpool, and she reminds Alex how to reach her. Alex asks if she is going to see Luka, and she tells him I guess so. She shuts the car door, and begins to walk to work. At County, Abby is trying to present patients to Weaver, but it makes it hard when a man slams his face against the drug lock-up, claiming he is dieing. Weaver tells Abby to make sure the patient is not pregnant. As Weaver walks on, a man walks up to her, and introduces himself as Arnie. He works for human resources, and is at the hospital to check it out, and spend a day there for observations. Risk Management sent the guy to the ER because of the Romano law-suit. (Romano was killed in a helicopter) People greet the man, and ask him a few questions. Malarkey is at the front desk eating french fries, by Sam. He squirts ketchup on the fries, and on her paperwork. She tells him something, turns back around, and he begins to choke. He shoves her paperwork down, to get her attention. She puts her arms around his stomach, pulls, and the french fries land on the window. At Carter’s house, Kem wakes up in front of the fireplace. She goes downstairs, and finds Carter cooking breakfast. She finds him without the beard, and likes it that way. She rubs his chin on the picture. Carter took a day off from the hospital, and he wants to show Kem around the city of Chicago. At the hospital, Abby is complaining to Susan about Weaver’s reprimand, and Malarkey walks by, touching Susan’s stomach, and asking if she minds. She slaps his hand away, and answers," Yes". Susan talks to Abby about Chuck, because Chuck is pushing to get married, but Susan doesn’t really know what she wants. Arnie interrupts their conversation, to ask Susan if she gets a lot of inappropriate touching at work. Abby and Sam go to work on a crabby guy named Miguel. Apparently, Miguel fell off of the ladder, and his knee is badly scraped. Arnie walks up to Sam, and asks her about the ‘incident’ that happened earlier with Malarkey. Kem and Carter are ice skating. Carter is tying up Kem’s skate, so they can go.

Back at the hospital, Luka is teaching Neela how to do a pap test. Later on, Luka goes to Sam and asks her over for dinner. Sam explains that Alex is at a sleepover, and says yes. A man comes in who was driving a hummer. Apparently, he had heart problems, and blacked out. His hummer hit another car. It was a brand new hummer. The people who he hit was a mom, dad, and two children. Neela calls Sam for help with the pediatrics on the child who has a blocked airway, and the man feels it’s a shame. He doesn’t know that he had hit that car. The mother wonders about her daughter, and Malarkey tells her they never brought in a girl. The mother’s son, is tubed because he had a blocked airway. Carter beings Kem to a house as they walk along the streets of Chicago. Carter says he bought it, and Kem said that she likes it. Back at the hospital, Abby is trying to find the woman’s daughter, but so far is having no luck. She runs out of the room to see her family, and Luka drags her back into the room. She is asking questions about her family. Carter bought Kem an ice cream cone, and she is still licking it, after two hours of it not melting. Abby is still trying to find information on the woman’s daughter, but is having no luck. She tries and tries again, but can’t seem to find anything on it. Sam is sitting by next to the girl who Luka was doing the pap test on. Apparently, when her boyfriend and her are doing it, he is a little rough with her. She and Sam talk about it. Abby, after tries and tries of searching for the woman’s daughter, gives up. She walks to Sam, and quietly tells her that no one can find anything on the daughter. Carter gets out of the shower, and snuggles in bed with Kem. Carter and Kem start to talk about the little baby, because Kem is pregnant. They talk about how healthy they think the baby is going to be. The crabby man from earlier, Miguel, is complaining to Pratt that he has been waiting for nine hours, and can not get any help. The man who hit the family in the Hummer is walking around the halls. He stops, and tells Sam poor guy in there, about the husband in the car accident. Sam tells him he did that when he blacked out, and the guy faints. Luckily, Luka shocks his heart back into rhythm.

Abby found the woman’s daughter now. She is being treated at Mercy hospital, and is trying to get a transfer. The woman is being led off to see her son. Abby learns that Miguel has TB, and has been in County General Hospital about fifteen months ago. But, when she frantically runs to Pratt, she learns he dismissed him. Sam calls Alex at home, and tries to tell him that he doesn’t have to go to the sleepover, and then suddenly realizes that she never taught Alex how to check the voicemail. The girl that Luka was doing a pap test on is pregnant, and her boyfriend is there. They are fighting because the boyfriend doesn’t want the baby, but the girlfriend does. Sam finds him there, and runs to call 911, but he puts her hand on her hand, so she can’t touch the phone. Because of this, she reaches back and punches him. Miguel is mad because he got caught leaving the hospital, and now has to wear a mask. Pratt wants Miguel arrested, but Abby insists that he just forgot to go to his treatments, and he will get better. Sam wants to talk to Arnie, but Arnie runs off, so she walks over to the counter, where she is told to wait for Weaver. Malarkey makes a rude comment. Weaver talks to Sam about the incident, and Weaver reminds Sam it could go into a legal lawsuit. This is Kem’s last day in the United States. She is going back to the Congo in Africa, and her and Carter and snuggling in the limo on the way to the airport. Carter does not want Kem to leave, but Kem insists that she has to because of her job. Miguel is fighting about wearing the mask, so a guard jumps and holds him down. Arnie just shakes his head and scribbles on his clipboard. Carter doesn’t want Kem to go, and Kem doesn’t want to go, but she can’t stay. Kem has to go to the Congo in Africa because of her job.

At the hospital, the man with the hummer is hooked up to the machine that tells the heart rhythms in the last twenty four hours. It seems that he had a heart attack and blacked out, which caused the crash. Because of the impact of the crash, his heart started working again. The crash saved his life, and killed others. He looks over and his face saddens as he looks at the little boy in the trauma room. The woman is with her son, and now, Kerry tells Sam to stop doing CPR. The little boy is dead. The woman is talking with a doctor about how she feels with her kids, how she never planned getting pregnant, and other things, too. Gus is telling Luka how he retired, and his wife told him he could buy his Hummer, so he did. With Carter, at the airport, he pays nine thousand dollars just to see Kem for the last time again, before she goes off to the Congo in Africa. The man’s wife wanted to spoil him, by getting him the Hummer. The man feels bad, and wonders why he should be spared. The mother is sharing her thoughts with Sam, and Sam can only listen to what the mother has to say. Just then, Abby walks in, and brings the mother her daughter whom she thought was missing. The mother carries her daughter outside and sobs with joy and sorrow.

As Carter just thinks he missed Kem, Kem shouts Carter’s name, and they both hug each other for one last time. Then Carter walks away, and Kem boards the plane. Abby and Sam meet up at the restaurant across from County General Hospital. Sam explains to Abby that she couldn’t do an abortion, because she never got up when they called her name, and she was late the second time, and that she was fifteen when she got pregnant with Alex. Sam waves good-bye to Abby, and Sam and Luka meet up. Meanwhile, the girl who Sam was treating earlier asks to speak to her, and goes off to the side to speak to her. Miguel from earlier, signs a form that says he is going to go to the treatment centers. At the hospital, Weaver is mad that Carter is not there to start his shift. So, Pratt asks her to sign the form on Miguel, the guy with TB. She glows Pratt for his notice of the TB, but as Weaver walks away, Pratt says it was Abby’s catch underneath his breath. Arnie walks up to Weaver, and tells her to fire everyone for being hostile, and rude. Weaver ignores him, and is not going to fire everyone in the hospital. Kerry sees Carter in the lounge, walks into the lounge, and scolds Carter for being late. Kerry gets a page from Sandy, that she has been with a squealing baby for twelve hours. So, Kerry proceeds to go home. Sam goes home to an empty apartment, because Alex is at the sleepover, and sits down on the couch, trying to watch TV. She can’t seem to concentrate, so she gets up, but trips over one of Alex’s anatomy dolls. Sam knocks on Luka’s door, inviting him to dinner with her. He says yes.

Reviewed by ERisTHEbestTVsho on March 26, 2004

NBC Review

NURSE SAM CONFRONTED BY NEW LIFE AND SUDDEN DEATH; DR. CARTER ENTERTAINS GIRLFRIEND AS THANDIE NEWTON GUEST-STARS -- Life and death assume an even higher profile as single-mother Sam (Linda Cardellini) treats an abused and newly pregnant teen (guest star Rheagan Wallace) as well as a wife (guest star Marin Hinkle) who sees her injured family melt away after a car accident -- while Dr. Carter (Noah Wyle) takes a holiday to show Kem (guest star Thandie Newton, "Mission: Impossible 2") the wonders of a wintry Chicago. Elsewhere, a risk-assessment expert (guest star Richard Kline) is hired to observe the E.R. and is shocked at the abounding mayhem -- especially when Sam roughs up a patient's friend. Abby (Maura Tierney) and Dr. Pratt (Mekhi Phifer) restrain an undocumented man (guest star F.J. Rio) who wants to check out despite testing positive for tuberculosis while Sam is quizzed by her son Alex (guest star Oliver Davis) about her interest in Dr. Kovac (Goran Visnjic). Laura Innes, Sherry Stringfield, Sharif Atkins and Parminder Nagra also star.

TV Guide Review

February 12, 2004: Impulse Control: Kerry tries to protect a mom from losing her son after a car wreck that has Abby rushing to find his sister at another ER and the driver reeling from his role in the tragedy. Meanwhile, Pratt pulls a fast one on a TB carrier who refuses treatment; Carter and Kem share her last day in Chicago mapping out their future; Sam's violent side is triggered by a patient's abusive beau; and Luka receives a sexy late-night visit from a colleague.