Perspective is 20/20: Why Peter Benton Remains Divisive for ER Fans in 2018
For me, ER predated my internet fandom community days because I didn’t really have a heavy presence online until about 2009-2010. However, Hulu picked ER up earlier this year and ER made a huge come back online as both new and old fans alike picked up the series. Its internet presence also increased. Many of the identified fan favorite characters and episodes were unsurprising. What surprised me most is the fact that Peter Benton (Eriq LaSalle) is heavily disliked in ER fan communities. I was taken aback because Peter is easily one of my two favorite male characters of the entire series. From online discussions, I ascertained that he might be one of ER's most divisive characters in the sense that so many characters are easy to like or dislike, but Peter causes much more debate. Admittedly, I was curious and started listening in on the discussions. The reasons for disliking him tended to be: he's repugnant, he's a hardass on his students, he's self-absorbed, he's coc...