(S13E03) Okay all of you people out there who said last week's episode of ER was full of dour mopers. We have now moved past the whole Abby 'will the boy live, or will he die' storyline and have returned back to what made the show the long-standing hit it has been . . . the day-to-day workings at County General. Sure, the people have changed, but the concept stays the same.

If I wanted to get technical I would say that this episode was the official start of the 13th season because it was such a change of pace from the first two episodes. Not only did we get to see John Stamos in his first full appearance as Doctor Tony Gates, but we also got to see the new hierarchy of the emergency room, were introduced to a slew of new interns and residents, and welcomed back someone who was on the show a loooonnnggg time ago.

So, let's charge those paddles to 250 and get going with this week's review.

Of course the main thing to talk about is John Stamos. This is not Uncle Jesse. As intern Tony Gates, Stamos has shed the family-friendly persona he developed during all of those years on Full House for someone who only listens to one person's advice . . . his own. While he is very smart, and competent, he is also extremely arrogant and willing to take unnecessary risks. This is displayed as one of his patients crashes after Tony injects him with too much of a particular medicine.

He doesn't get away with this though, as Doctor Pratt is constantly getting into his face. Pratt is now a seasoned attending at County and he lays down the law for Tony. In one scene, they are practically ready to come to blows. And, even when they confront each other in a calmer manner later in the show you can still tell that Gates is going to continue to do what he does in order to save lives. Gosh, I remember an intern by the name of Greg Pratt who did the same stuff to Doctor Greene only a few short seasons ago. I wonder if Greg's reactions are because he remembers the way he acted. By the way, I think Pratt is going to have a lot of air time this year as he becomes the new Carter.

Now, let's talk about guest-star John Mahoney. For years he has played the tough, no-nonsense guy in movies and television. For 11 seasons he played crusty Martin Crane, Frasier Crane's dad on Frasier. So, seeing him play a sensitive drag queen was interesting. I thought he played it well. You could see the love he had for his partner, and the disappointment he felt when his partner's family asked him to step out of the room. On the other hand, he makes a fairly unattractive drag queen.

All right, what else on this week's episode:

• Very little of Luka and Abby. I think we all got our share of them during the first two episodes, so it was good they were barely in this week's episode.
• Neela is now a full-time surgical intern, with an a$%hole for a boss. The guy is giving her scut work so he can break her out of the ER rut and build her into a surgeon. He's like Benton, except short, white, and bald.
• Glenn Plummer is back as Timmy Rawlins. If you remember back that far, Timmy was a recurring character on the show from the pilot episode and he's back to take Jerry's place while he flies up to Alaska and becomes a bar owner on Men in Trees.
• Have Grimes stop hanging around the admission desk and start doing some doctoring. He was really good in the season premiere when he helped save Jerry and I want to see more of him.

Done for this week. More Pratt and Gates next time around.