Catherine Banfield
Encyclopedia
Catherine "Cate" Banfield is a fictional character in the American medical drama ER
, portrayed by Angela Bassett
. She is an attending physician with a mysterious past with County General. Bassett's addition into the main cast opening credits was in the 2nd episode of season 15.
, but with Pratt's death, Banfield was brought in as his replacement. She first appeared in the second episode of Season 15 and immediately puts the whole ER on edge with her tough attitude. It was mentioned that she flew to Indonesia to help that country deal with the 2004 tsunami disaster. On her first day, Nurse Haleh mentioned Banfield looked familiar as if she's been at County before, which Banfield immediately denies. Her first day as Chief tested her skills as an able and efficient leader when a bio-terrorist released a bag of weaponized Ricin in the ER, necessitating an evacuation and quarantine. She briefly met and clashed over a gunshot case with Abby Lockhart
, who was finishing her last shift on her last day at County General. Nonetheless, Banfield made amends with her new acquaintance before Abby departed for Boston.
In the episode "Heal Thyself" the treatment of a little girl who almost drowned in the Chicago River triggered painful memories, yet in the end it helped Banfield figure out how to save the girl from a certain death, thereby in her mind redeeming herself from the mistakes she made with her son.
Later in Season 15, Cate and Archie Morris
get snowed in at a conference in Omaha. Banfield ends up getting drunk and makes a wild scene of entertainment in the hotel lobby. She smiles and actually laughs for the first time (probably the first time since before the accident). The two end up having to share a room together before flying back to Chicago. Cate begins to open up more to Morris how they tried to have another baby a few years back but miscarried.
) and their 5 year old son Darryl. Banfield had a more youthful look with longer black hair. She is smiling, which was never seen by the show's audiences until this point. During a day out in the city park, Darryl was struck with a mysterious seizure. Cate at first didn't see it as anything serious and argued against calling 9-1-1, even though her husband Russell insisted. After Darryl began vomiting blood, Cate brought her son to County General and was diagnosed by Dr. Mark Greene in Trauma 1. Her son Darryl, who had leukemia, died from advanced complications that arose with his illness. Cate's initial denial and delay contributed to one of the factors that led to Dr. Greene not being able to save Darryl. This explains how Nurse Haleh had recognized her before and the chilling moment Banfield had on her first day stepping into Trauma 1. In the last scene of the episode, Banfield and Greene talk about what happened near the Chicago River and how the ordeal proved to be completely damaging in Cate's mind and to her relationship with her husband.
ER (TV series)
ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
, portrayed by Angela Bassett
Angela Bassett
Angela Evelyn Bassett is an American actress. She has become well known for her biographical film roles portraying real life women in African American culture, including singer Tina Turner in the motion picture What's Love Got to Do with It, as well as Betty Shabazz in the films Malcolm X and...
. She is an attending physician with a mysterious past with County General. Bassett's addition into the main cast opening credits was in the 2nd episode of season 15.
Life at County and Career
Banfield was hired in 2008 to become the permanent Chief of the Emergency Department, replacing Dr. Skye Wexler who was serving as acting chief. The board had decided to offer the permanent position to Dr. Gregory PrattGregory Pratt
Dr. Gregory "Greg" Pratt is a fictional character on the US television show ER, portrayed by Mekhi Phifer from April 4, 2002 to September 25, 2008...
, but with Pratt's death, Banfield was brought in as his replacement. She first appeared in the second episode of Season 15 and immediately puts the whole ER on edge with her tough attitude. It was mentioned that she flew to Indonesia to help that country deal with the 2004 tsunami disaster. On her first day, Nurse Haleh mentioned Banfield looked familiar as if she's been at County before, which Banfield immediately denies. Her first day as Chief tested her skills as an able and efficient leader when a bio-terrorist released a bag of weaponized Ricin in the ER, necessitating an evacuation and quarantine. She briefly met and clashed over a gunshot case with Abby Lockhart
Abby Lockhart
Dr. Abby Lockhart is a fictional medical doctor on the television series ER. She is portrayed by Maura Tierney...
, who was finishing her last shift on her last day at County General. Nonetheless, Banfield made amends with her new acquaintance before Abby departed for Boston.
In the episode "Heal Thyself" the treatment of a little girl who almost drowned in the Chicago River triggered painful memories, yet in the end it helped Banfield figure out how to save the girl from a certain death, thereby in her mind redeeming herself from the mistakes she made with her son.
Later in Season 15, Cate and Archie Morris
Archie Morris
Dr. Archibald "Archie" Morris is a fictional character portrayed by Scott Grimes on the television show ER.-Early career:The character of Dr. Morris debuted in late 2003, in the drama's 10th season, and was notable for providing comic relief. Morris was an inept second-year resident who avoided...
get snowed in at a conference in Omaha. Banfield ends up getting drunk and makes a wild scene of entertainment in the hotel lobby. She smiles and actually laughs for the first time (probably the first time since before the accident). The two end up having to share a room together before flying back to Chicago. Cate begins to open up more to Morris how they tried to have another baby a few years back but miscarried.
Early life
In the Season 15 episode "Heal Thyself", the audience begins to learn about Cate Banfield's haunting past and how her experiences have damaged her emotionally. Set in 2002, 6 years earlier, the flashback episode revealed a happier Cate Banfield with her husband Russell (played by Angela Bassett's real life husband, actor Courtney B. VanceCourtney B. Vance
Courtney Bernard Vance is an American actor. He was formerly a regular on the NBC/USA television series Law & Order: Criminal Intent as Assistant District Attorney Ron Carver. He was also a series regular on the ABC series FlashForward. As of 2011, he appears on the TNT series The Closer as Chief...
) and their 5 year old son Darryl. Banfield had a more youthful look with longer black hair. She is smiling, which was never seen by the show's audiences until this point. During a day out in the city park, Darryl was struck with a mysterious seizure. Cate at first didn't see it as anything serious and argued against calling 9-1-1, even though her husband Russell insisted. After Darryl began vomiting blood, Cate brought her son to County General and was diagnosed by Dr. Mark Greene in Trauma 1. Her son Darryl, who had leukemia, died from advanced complications that arose with his illness. Cate's initial denial and delay contributed to one of the factors that led to Dr. Greene not being able to save Darryl. This explains how Nurse Haleh had recognized her before and the chilling moment Banfield had on her first day stepping into Trauma 1. In the last scene of the episode, Banfield and Greene talk about what happened near the Chicago River and how the ordeal proved to be completely damaging in Cate's mind and to her relationship with her husband.