THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, December 7, 1995 TAG: 9512070033
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Larry Bonko
LENGTH: Medium: 86 lines
SO, WHAT'S THE deal with this Dr. Kerry Weaver character on ``ER''? Why does she walk with a limp? Use a crutch? What's made her so darn disagreeable and as cold as the Arctic ice cap?
We may never know, even if ``ER'' is on the air for 10 years, which could happen. In ``ER,'' the Peacock Network NBC has the hit of the decade, a show that reaches more than 35 million households Thursday nights at 10.
Even in reruns, the ratings for ``ER'' are fearsome. New episodes of ``ER'' come in at No. 1. Reruns come in at No. 2.
``It's the show every actor would like to be on. It has wonderful writing, great style and is remarkably truthful,'' said Laura Innes, the Northwestern U. graduate who plays chief resident Weaver. In real life, she's married and the mother of a 5-year-old son.
Around the emergency room, she's the one the others love to hate.
Weaver is so. . . efficient. When she takes a day off, her co-workers party.
``Not a people-pleaser,'' said Innes, from Burbank, Calif., during a break in filming. She was originally signed for six episodes but will do much more.
``My character caught fire,'' she said.
Will we ever know more about Weaver? Did the injury or illness that left her handicapped also make her tough as nails, determined to succeed in the arena of emergency room medicine where, at times, two sound arms and legs are not enough? Why is she always picking on Dr. Susan Lewis, the character played by Sherry Stringfield?
Questions. Questions.
Did you see the episode when Weaver was caught in the middle of gang-bangers who were tearing up the ER? They sent her and her crutch sprawling, tore an earring off her head.
That was the perfect opportunity for the show's writers to work in the why and how of the doctor's handicap.
They chose not to do that.
We're getting to know more about George Clooney's character, the moody Dr. Doug Ross. His father popped up on the phone in a recent episode. We know all there is to know about Stringfield's Dr. Lewis - about her zonked-out sister and her less-than-loving mom. We were there when nurse Carol Hathaway (played wonderfully by Julianna Marguiles) bought a house in need of much repair.
Weaver? A zero outside the ever-swinging doors of the emergency room.
Innes herself has no idea what makes Weaver tick. The writers have given Innes no history of her character - no back story, as they say in Hollywood.
``For the moment, she's a person that others in the ER know at work but can't quite figure out. They're always guessing what she's like away from the hospital. All I know about her is that she is a wonderful doctor.''
Will that ever change?
Innes has no idea. ``I'm not sure how the writers will deal with her in the future,'' said Innes. Don't expect the obvious, she said, because that is not the way it's done on ``ER.''
The Weaver role was not written for Innes. It was up for grabs among many actresses who auditioned. In the end, the producers chose Innes after seeing her in supporting roles on ``My So-Called Life,'' ``Party of Five'' and ``Brooklyn Bridge.''
Since Innes is not a regular cast member on ``ER,'' there is some question if she will be around long enough for the writers to give her a life outside the hospital. Innes is also cast in a sitcom, ``The Louie Show,'' in which she plays opposite comic Louie Anderson.
It could be on CBS as early as January. If you've seen her play Bunny on ``Wings,'' you know that Innes can handle comedy. Love her voice.
This has been Innes' breakthrough year. She's another actor who took years to become an overnight sensation. Ain't TV great?
One minute you're a semi-anonymous working actor. The next minute you're in the hottest show on television. Two minutes after that, producers want you for everything. Nice, huh?
``It's all come together for me,'' said Innes. Her background is in theater in Chicago, Seattle and New York City. All that prepared her for a series in which the pace is hectic, the amount of props considerable and the work schedule punishing.
``ER'' is no stroll in the park for actor or director.
When the actors are scrambling to save the lives of people who have been separated from their limbs, there are prop guys out of sight shooting fake blood at them. ``It comes up like a geyser,'' said Innes.
But who's complaining? Like Laura Innes said: Actors would die for the chance to die on ``ER.'' by CNB