written by Jack Orman

directed by Jonathan Kaplan

I don't know about you, but I felt like there were two parts to this episode: 1) Carter, and 2) the chaos of everything else in the ER.

We were treated to a wonderful summing up of Carter's downfall from last season in the "previously on ER" clip. And the opening teaser for the seventh season picks up right where we left off, in May, with Carter and Benton arriving at the rehab center in Atlanta.

And what a sight Carter is. We all knew he was falling apart in May Day, but by the time he's reached Atlanta, he's in bad shape. Diaphoretic and tremulous, Peter is wonderfully concerned, and I just loved Eriq La Salle in this scene. Peter is told by Margaret, the admitting nurse, that he needs to leave, that Carter needs to check himself in, and he has done his duty as a friend -- and then some.

So Carter is on his own. On first viewing I had a issue with Carter drooling over the banister, but on second viewing I realized something -- he's at the very end of his rope here. Sure, the Carter we used to know would have gotten a Kleenex or a handkerchief, but this isn't the Carter we know. The casting of Margaret was right on -- her comment in regards to where Carter could score if he wanted to was perfect, very appropriate for the situation. She was saying, "If you want to be here, be here. If not, go back out and back to what you were doing before. But face what it is that you would be doing if you left." Street drugs. It's harsh, but effective.

I'll come back to Carter later, since his storyline felt much removed from everything else that was going on in the episode.

After the opening credits we are back to real time (well, sort of -- September, anyhow) in the ER, and we are in the midst of chaos in typical ER fashion. Broken glass, Cleo chasing a psych patient, Kerry yelling for security (and as much as I hate Kerry screaming all the time, bless her heart for thinking that security was actually going to show up…) We learn that the transport department, along with the janitors, are on strike. Patients, both dead and alive, are stranded, and garbage in every form is piled up, making the ER look like a war zone. Did I like this? No. I felt the chaos throughout the episode and it made me jumpy, not excited, to have a new season of ER. Sure, there were some interesting things happening in the midst of everything, but the chaos made it hard to focus on anything. But then again, that's the point of a premiere, right? Get the viewers attention -- after all, it's been a long summer of reruns and the Olympics.

Luka dealing with a dead wife. Well, someone get me a helmet because I'm going to need it among all the falling anvils. Yes, we get it -- he's going to work on every dead wife from now until Goran's contract is up. I would like to see him doing something else, to be honest. He has a great rapport with children -- can't we give him a less devastating plot to deal with?

Deb is pregnant. And she sure doesn't look too happy about it. Ming-Na did a great job in this episode with her facial expressions, and I am happy to report that I'm actually looking forward to seeing her this season. It will be interesting to see how her pregnancy will play a role over the next few months. Let's just hope she's not stuck treating every pregnant patient in crisis over the next few episodes. We're going to see enough of her dealing with her concerns, and there's no need to torture her like that.

Abby is my hero. She really is. I used to think that the day she stormed out of the hospital would be a day for celebration. And in this case it is, but not for the reasons I used to believe it would be. Abby is on a tear with her ex-husband, who really is a jerk of the highest order. My only complaint about Abby ripping her ex a new one was that she didn't actually do any physical damage to him. I would have broken a few of those golf clubs over his head, but that's just me.

And for a brief moment, let me just comment on the conversation with Abby and Luka in the drug lockup. Hm. Is this what the writers call chemistry? Maybe I don't see it yet, but I've heard that these two will be a couple, so I'll be looking for some more interaction between them before I can make a decision in my mind.

Rocket Romano has become my favorite person to hate on television. First, he's obnoxious with Kerry when she confronts him about the strike, but that's really just Romano being nice. He doesn't get really good until he's dealing with Peter. He loves to play games, doesn’t he? His interview with Elizabeth and Peter, asking Peter where else he's applied -- the expression on his face was wonderful, and his impatience was fantastic. There's nothing like feeling like the person who is interviewing you really doesn't have the time or inclination to give you much attention. Gotta love it. My only question: what was with the knife? For a terrifying minute I thought it was the knife from Carter and Lucy's stabbing, but this was a curved blade. I just wasn't really into seeing a knife of any kind, to be honest.

Mark, Mark, Mark. Shades of Jodi O'Brien. You can handle it, huh, big guy? Yes, the dealings with football star Mike was graphically gory and bloody. (Premiere. This is the premiere. Add more blood!) But I really was not impressed. Mark made a mistake, which seemed to be forgotten in the wake of getting a pulse after the big struggle to save Mike's life. This felt like "Mark, the hero" but let's just remember, he made a medical error (understandable, considering the conditions they were working in -- this should have happened in the OR but that was impossible) and I'm just glad the patient didn't die.

Let's not forget Mark and Elizabeth and the poison ivy. Or maybe we could forget that part of the episode. I know I'm trying to.

And now, onto the climax of the episode: the riot. Do I even have to go over this? I actually was upset when I saw everyone destroying the ER, because my first thought was, "Oh no, they're going for a whole new set, and I LIKE the set like it is!" So much violence, so much anger and so much broken glass. Honestly, I could have done without just about all of it. I know there's the need for high drama, and nothing screams high drama like broken glass and people beating the crap out of one another, but come on. So many of the characters got reduced to caricatures, especially Kerry (and I really do hate when she spends the whole episode yelling at people). Luckily, the preview for next week has her looking a little more thoughtful and quiet. Thank God.

Back to Carter, since he was interspersed throughout the episode. Carter has completed his 90 day rehab and is on his way back to Chicago. I found him to be very appropriate, very Carter like -- feeling like he has conquered this addiction and wants nothing more than to get back to his life. But we all know that there will be a lot waiting for Carter when he returns -- this will not be an easy transition back. And I'm really looking forward to watching every moment of it.

I thought about Carter's behavior on the plane -- his lie about being a teacher made sense. Maybe it was the first thing that came to mind. He sure as hell didn't want to talk about anything, and with good reason. Those talkative seatmates can be brutal, especially when you're just getting out of rehab. The smoking in the bathroom scene was interesting, and I only wondered why the Nazi flight attendant decided not to fine Carter after he handed over the cigarette butt.

His car ride back with Ryan the medical student was interesting, and so nicely played by Noah Wyle. Ryan practically is Carter from the pilot episode, and I know that was done intentionally, and for once, I don't mind. Carter has come a long way since then, and gone through a lot of major life issues. He is no longer that fresh-faced, eager student.

The end of the episode, with Carter looking at the chaos of the ER from the outside, was really lovely. Even the slow motion as he was walking away was wonderful, and I'm not a fan of slow motion.

Homecoming, overall, was a nice welcome back to the ER -- at this point I was ready for any new episode of ER, regardless of the quality. I wouldn't call this the best season premiere I've seen, but it wasn't he worst, either. Still, I'm looking forward to next week.

• Carter, I know you're going through a rough time and all, but that goatee was just icky. Thank God we didn't have to look at it for long.
• Kerry and Malik and the Axe: Now everyone is saying Malik really did do it! This scene was priceless. Truly.
• Mr. Fletcher, the renal patient: "She sure sounds like your wife" (re: Cleo). She sure does. Please don't let that be foreshadowing. I would rather die.
• Speaking of Cleo, who appointed her the Queen of the Minority committee?
• So that was the new Indian medical student. Okay.
• Romano and my favorite line: "I'm not going to jump you, you homophobe." You know, Rocket, that's the first thing I would worry about with you in a restroom. Ick. But great delivery by Paul McCrane. Great delivery by Paul McCrane in almost every line.
• I really did not need to see Mark scratching down under. I really, really did not need to see that. I'm going to have nightmares for weeks. Although Elizabeth's facial expression when she realized what she had touched last was rather cute.
• Almost every Carter facial expression was so perfect, it made me ache for him. I'll say this a hundred times, but every time I think Noah couldn't be any better, he goes and surprises me and is even more amazing. Someone please give him an Emmy this year for something, or I'm going to create my own riot.
• Malucci, great of you to jump in to try to stop the riot. That's what you get for trying to be helpful -- cold cocked, and then whacked over the head with a football helmet. You're going to have quite a headache tomorrow.
• And speaking of Malucci's headache, maybe Kerry will give him some Tylenol and check him every hour for signs of a concussion. She was mighty concerned about him. And I thought that was sweet.
• Kerry, jumping back in horror from the toppling cart of supplies. This has been discussed to death, I'm sure, but I thought about this later and realized that it was interesting for two reasons. One -- this is her ER, of which she is the Chief. To see it topple like that (literally and figuratively) must be pretty terrible. And two -- is it just me or is this a small sign that Kerry is not comfortable with violence since discovering Carter and Lucy? If I'm right, this was nice.
• Good sound editing: someone dubbed out the "shit" that Laura Innes uttered. Read her lips. You can see what she's saying.
• And one last Kerry thing that I adored -- the Crutch as Weapon. Gotta love it. She wielded it well. I bet she could handle a light saber, too -- someone should consider casting her in the next Star Wars movie.

• My favorite line/scene of the week:

See you all next week!