Princess Empathy at your service.
Whether playing intensely earnest Becca Thatcher on Life Goes On or the spunky, spiritual title character on Christy, Kellie Martin has always been able to forge a natural emotional bond with TV viewers.
Expect more of the same from med student Lucy Knight, the new character Martin portrays when she joins the regular cast of ER as the ultra-popular NBC medical drama begins a new season tonight.
Will we love Lucy?
"She's very ambitious, she's very smart. But she hasn't a clue what she's doing when she gets to the ER," says Martin. "She's great at book learning. But she can't put in an IV. You see Lucy's first day in the ER, and it's a nightmare."
Sort of like the young, fumbling John Carter (Noah Wyle) when ER began four years ago. And that's the point, says Martin. ER producer John Wells wanted a new infusion of that youthful sawbones energy.
"Carter is my resident, so I follow him around. He was naive at the beginning. And that's my character now," says Martin, 22, who took a break from her art history studies at Yale to join ER.
Martin has been a major fan of the show from the start. "At school, everything stopped for ER and South Park," she says. Imagine that, she adores George Clooney and Cartman.
But it's doubtful Cartman will ever go to the hoop like Clooney.
"George plays basketball all day," says Martin of her ER costar, who typifies the down-to-earth atmosphere on the show's set, where Hollywood ego displays rarely erupt.
"They all goof around and play jokes on each other," says Martin of the ensemble's genial esprit de corps. "They have so much fun. I've been on so many dramas where it's not like that."
Part of the fun is not having to do all the work. "I get to have a life," she jokes. "On Christy, it got a little ridiculous. I fell asleep in one scene."
As the title character in Christy, a turn-of-the-century schoolteacher in Tennessee, Martin was forever on camera. The workdays frequently lasted 12 or 14 hours.
So joining ER, and being part of TV's No. 1 series, is a sublime treat. And Lucy Knight is the sort of character likely to add to Martin's reputation as Princess Empathy.
"Lucy's just clumsy enough that people will feel sorry for her," says Martin. "She's funny, but she's smart too. So people will respect her."
But first, a rash of rookie medical mistakes.
Lucy, you got some 'splainin' to do.