I remember the moment when I realized film could make horror beautiful and thus even more horrifying ("Apocalypse Now") or a stage actor could be so mesmerizing you forget he's on a stage ( Derek Jacobi in "Breaking the Code"). But not like I remember the moment I understood how powerful and long-lasting an hour of television could be.
The 20th episode of the first season of "ER" is titled "Love's Labor Lost," but if you meet a woman over 30, or any OB-GYN, all you have to do is put your hands on your lower belly and say "that 'ER,' " and they will smile grimly and nod. If "Jaws" made a generation afraid of the ocean, "Love's Labor Lost" . . . well, if it can't be blamed for declining birth rates, it no doubt contributed to sales for every pregnancy guide ever written.
As with any episode of "ER," there was a tangle of story lines, but the only one that mattered begins when a couple, played by Bradley Whitford and Colleen Flynn, come in. The woman is close to her due date, and she's suffering stomach pain and frequent urination. Dr. Mark Greene ( Anthony Edwards) tells her it's probably just a bladder infection and sends her on her way. Other stuff happens -- Dr. Benton's mother had a broken hip, which causes him much concern -- and the pregnant woman has a seizure in the parking lot. Nothing seems terribly dire even then -- she stabilizes and after speaking with her OB-GYN, Greene decides to induce.
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