So long to a good friend
Last night ended the 15 year run of one of my, and I think histories, all-time favorites TV shows, “ER“. Like everyone else, I started watching it when it debuted in 1994 and was immediately hooked. The fast pace, the medical dialogue, the style of shooting, and the great cast made the show different than anything on TV.
Other than Anthony Edwards, who everyone knew from “Top Gun” but not anything on television, the main cast were relative unknowns. George Clooney had been on several TV shows, including “Facts of Life” and a half hour comedy called, strangely, “ER”, but nothing that would make you think he would eventually become “George Clooney”.
Of course, once the show took off and people started to become uber-famous, cast members started to leave. Once Dr. Ross (Clooney) left, many people believed the show was doomed. However, it continued to thrive due to the remaining originals.
Of all the characters, I believe the two most vital were Dr. Mark Greene (Anthony Edwards) and Dr. John Carter (Noah Wyle). Dr. Greene was the soul of “ER”. When he developed cancer and you got to see him gradually decline, you felt as if you were watching a family member. He meant so much to you it was very hard to watch. The episode in which he died, ‘On the Beach’, was probably one of the saddest shows I ever watched. It was the end of an era and every episode after it you felt his loss.
If Dr. Greene was the soul of ”ER” than Dr. Carter the the heart. You had watched him grow up from the wide-eyed first year intern to the grizzled veteran. After the death of Dr. Greene, Dr. Carter was the last remaining original cast member, other than some of the nurses and staff. Along the way, it seemed that anything that could go wrong for him, would go wrong. As my roomates and I said, “Carter is taking it in the shorts again.” To date, my favorite “ER” moment was the episode in which Dr. Carter and Lucy Knight are stabbed by a patient. In this episode and the next, you watch as they struggle to survive.
Once Dr. Carter left, I stopped watching. I caught a few episodes here and there but it was never the same. Watching the finale reminded me of the old shows. I liked the way the brought the old crew back, except I think they totally dropped the ball with the Dr. Ross story line. The ending saw a huge accident rolling into the ER with all docs ready to go. Also there was Rachel Greene, Dr. Greene’s now grown up daughter and a medical school applicant. The last few lines of dialogue between Dr. Carter and Rachel helped tie the pilot episode from 15 years ago in with the finale. They were the same lines Dr. Greene said to Dr. Carter.
In case you missed it, here it is.
