Fast forward 15 years and here I am a blubbery mess on my couch. I haven't moved since the very last episode ever started almost two hours ago. I'm not sure why, but I haven't watched it all that much over the last few years-- maybe a handful of times in the last three seasons (before all the hype of the last few episodes-- will Clooney make an appearance or won't he was the BIG question that needed to be answered), but it doesn't really matter. I can still recognize all the faces and names, and the tone hasn't really changed since 1994. It still makes me hope that I never, ever need to be on an ER gurney, damn straight.
Sure, the story lines from this show have been predictable and overly dramatic, and no, I can't imagine that the sheer number of tragedies that have taken place within that particular ER department's walls is anywhere near typical for our country's hospitals. But the characters- oh my, there were some memorable ones, and the last few weeks of viewing have been like flipping through your old yearbooks-- lots of exclamations of "Wow, look at her!" and "Who's that again?" and "Oh my, he looks old!"
And now it's over. Since I haven't been watching it avidly for several years now, my emotional connection to the show isn't as high as if, say, Grey's Anatomy was coming to an end. (Banish the thought! Seriously!) Yet, I still sat here for two hours and cried and cried. And you want to know what thought I'm left with, after all is said and done for this show? I ask this question, but I want to forewarn you that if you haven't seen the final episode this could be considered a mild spoiler of events... from this mama's perspective, there's one thing that really bothered me from this final episode.
Why do you writers feel the need to always kill the mom??? Honestly, that mom could have lived, right? Technically, one could have an inverted uterus and recover after a significant surgery, am I correct? Why in God's name do you always pen the dramatic ending of a dead mom and motherless children? AAAHHHH!
Alrighty, I've gotten that out of my system... mostly. Overall, it was a well-written episode, dead moms excluded, and the connections between characters and shifts and actions were seamless. The cameos of players from back when I was an avid watcher were appreciated, and since I shouldn't end on a rant about pretend dead moms, I'll end with this.
I'll miss you the most, John Carter.
Watching sadly as the era of prime-time dramas is fading away,
I'm with you Dawn. I've been a pretty faithful fan over the years and it made me think of my friends and family who use to follow the show with me. I almost drove to Mt. Airy to watch it tonight with a good friend but thinking of the long drive home made me sleepy. I also loved John Carter, but my favoite was Dr. Green. The scene in Hawaii when he died was so moving. I remember the show ending and me sitting there crying and my husband asking "do you call that entertainment?" (who was he kidding, he was watching over my shoulder.
ReplyDeleteI used to watch ER religiously when it first hit the airwaves those 15 years ago. Clooney will always be my favorite! I haven't kept up with it in recent years either. I laughed at your comment of, "oohh, he looks old." Were you talking about Eric LaSalle? That was my thought when I saw him. As far as your question to the writers---you know why they kill off the mothers---because the writers are MEN! That's why we like Shonda Rhimes' writing on Grey's Anatomy. Finally...a women's perspective! :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm laughing b/c I USED to watch ER "back in the day". When I flipped to NBC for the news last night I saw the very end of the last show. My husband and I were both asking "Does ANYONE seriously watch this anymore?" I guess someone does.
ReplyDeleteAnd I must agree, no one could ever beat Clooney! :)
So . . . my hubby and I watched the series in the very beginning. He was a first year med student and I was pregnant with our first child. Now he is in private practice, and our baby is almost 15. Crazy!! I haven't really watched the show in the last 5 or 6 years. When all the regulars left, it lost its draw for me. Hubby always went nuts with the medical inaccuracies and absolute unbelievablity of many medical situations and some story lines. (He can't watch even 10 seconds of Greys without pulling his hair out.). But we watched last night and reminisced. We think a pregnant mom died on the first episode - so why not have it end the same way it started. Enjoyed the journey. Can't say that for many TV series.
ReplyDeleteIt started the fall after my husband I got married, our first appointment TV show together (probably our only). We named our first son Carter John after John Carter (only name we could agree on). I stopped watching a few years ago but I know several who were true to the end! Carter (our son, not the TV one) loves that his name came from a TV show about doctors!
ReplyDeleteI've seen them all. Whatever I missed I got caught up on by reruns on TNT. I have to say, I was less than thrilled with the ending. Too many unanswered questions. For all the closure I have, they could have just cut to a black screen and started playing Journey.
ReplyDeleteAnd, really! If I were pregnant I would never set foot in that hospital. Let a mother live every now and then!
I remember when ER and Chicago Hope both came out the same year. I connected with Chicago Hope -- not such a good choice for me if I was looking for longevity.
ReplyDeleteSo, even though I like endings, I didn't watch the last episodes of ER. I've seen a few over the years as reruns, but I don't have a real connection to it.
Great post, though.
I haven't watched ER in years but I watched the reshowing of the end tonight. Jerry looks so odd. Very odd. And old :)
ReplyDeleteAnd the thing that bothered me most? Did they have to have two patients with weird penis problems? Really? Did they HAVE to go down that route? I didn't cry though. I think it's been too long.