Emergency Room
| Series | |
|---|---|
| Work In Progress | |
| Original Broadcast Date | |
| 1988 | |
| Cast | |
| Arthur Miller, Tim Jerome, Larry Block, Paul Mantell, Lester Nafzger, Joe Frank | |
| Format | |
| Real People, Panel Discussion, Improv Actors, 60 minutes | |
| Preceded by: | To The Bar Life |
| Followed by: | Stories For Nothing |
"You gonna do that for long?"
Emergency Room is a program Joe Frank produced as part of the series Work In Progress. It was originally broadcast in 1988.
Synopsis
Recordings from an emergency room. A man with a shotgun wound is interviewed. Staff talks about what was done when the man arrived. A policeman calls the man's family. Actor panel discussion: a surgeon talks about the advantages of carrying one's organs externally, synthetic organs, leaving the body behind and becoming machines. Monologue: Second person narrative describing surfing, a diabetic killing oneself with a chocolate gun. Emergency room: an angry, drunken man who's been beaten is questioned. Panel discussion: fluid transfusions for couples, cryogenically preserving people by launching them in orbit, zipper suturing, external skeletons, the spirit drug, flattening patients and shining light through them. Monologue: a man who dies while climbing stairs in a blackout has an out of body experience. He travels down a long dark tunnel and emerges into a festive dinner party attended by dead family members. They do the carnival dance. More emergency room audio: an old man is interviewed, ear swabbing, a discussion of the alcoholic regulars. Panel discussion: sterilization techniques, the fairness of triage, the "bakery theory," treating victims and assailants. Joe and actors: the fastest piano player is challenged to a piano-off. Emergency room: a shocking pink psych ward, amazing human resiliency.
Music
- "C'est Le Vent Betty" - Gabriel Yared (from Betty Blue (37°2 Le Matin), 1986) | YouTube [2:21]
- "True Dub" - New Order (from True Faith (Remix), 1987) | YouTube [10:31]
- Original music by Richard Peaslee [11:16]
- "Carnival" - John Handy (from Carnival, 1977) | YouTube [34:53]
- "A Time On The Beach", "Caldwell", and the fastest piano player interview were originally from Laughing Back - A Movie For Radio
Additional credits
The original broadcast credits state: "With Arthur Miller, Tim Jerome, Larry Block, Lester Nafzger, and Joe Frank. This program was mixed by Jeff Sykes."