Sometimes you forget...

I remember watching some episodes of Season 15 of ER online and seeing that they replaced a black guy (Mekhi Pfifer) with a black woman (Angela Bassett). The show almost always seemed to replace a departing black person with another. When Benton left, Pratt came along (in the same season). In fact season 8 and 9 were peculiar in that 2 young black men were introduced (it seems like as every older character departed they almost were always replaced by younger characters). And then both those young black men (Pratt and Gallant) left, at different seasons. Pratt leaving in the first episode of the last season and being replaced by a black woman.

When I discovered they finally put a black woman as a doctor on the show, I thought to myself...FINALLY! But then I was like "why did they have to wait til the last season to do that?"

And then I decided to watch an earlier episode from the better years having not watched ER in over a year or two since I hadn't had the time. It was then I realized just how much I had totally forgot about two actresses: Gloria Reuben, who played Jeanie Boulet and Michael Michele (I am never going to be able to get past her name without flinching) who played Cleo Finch.

At different times during the first 8 seasons these two woman were the resident black female doctors and both were at different times in love with Peter Benton. Of course Michael Michele's character ends up marrying Benton.

Both Gloria and Michael Michele are biracial in real life. Which actually gives me a bigger connection to them than Bassett.

But I still see them as black too (while also being biracial). But its interesting how quickly you forget. I can't remember if Cleo ever had any daunting story lines like Jeanie and Cate Banfield (Bassett) did.