Spring Break
After 15-year run, 'ER' flatlines
Joshua Aromin
Issue date: 4/9/09 Section: Entertainment
After 15 years of burn victims, gunshot wounds, incubations, and a myriad of different doctors and nurses, hit television show "ER" ended Thursday with a lackluster final moment.
During the last season of the hospital drama, NBC hyped up the finale by bringing back past stars to fill their recurring roles one last time. The concept was fantastic and the final season moved gracefully toward a promising finish, but ended abruptly with an unsatisfying last episode.
Previous storylines made more of a bang than the actual last episode. More specifically the death of Dr. Gregory Pratt, played by Mekhi Phifer, was much more powerful than the series finale. And the use of flashback in one episode featuring Dr. Mark Greene, played by Anthony Edwards, made for moments of welcome nostalgia.
The appearance of past actors was pivotal in driving interest toward the final episode, but other than Noah Wyle's reemergence as Dr. John Carter, the cameos in the finale were simply included just to see those familiar faces one last time. Without them, there would have been no reason to tune in.
As "ER" took its final breaths of life in its closing minutes, all available staff members stood at the ambulance bay and waited for several ambulances to arrive which carried burn victims and others with various injuries.
Upon arrival, doctors and nurses together helped the injured as the original "ER" theme music started to play and the camera panned out. After 15 years of high quality TV drama the show ended with a lackluster, everyday moment that could have been seen on any random episode from the other 14 seasons of "ER."
Presumably, the idea was to make life at the fictional County General Hospital persist after its time in front of the camera was over.
The writers behind "ER" decided to end the show on a boring note.
I wasn't expecting County General to explode in some twisted hijacking plot, nor did I expect a mass killer to go on a rampage through the hospital's hallways, but I expected more than what was given.
To end a 15-year-old show with such normalcy is unacceptable. "ER" should have walked away with a bang - a definite responsibility for a show with such a long history.
"ER" made George Clooney famous and also allowed John Stamos to remove himself from his famed role as Uncle Jesse from "Full House." Though the concept was designed to bring "ER" full circle, its overall execution failed.
No doctors riding off into the glorified sunset of scrubs and gurneys. No intellectual final speeches, no tear-jerkers, no mind-blowing revelations, simply just an ending.
It went off in blaze of ... well, a blaze of nothing. It was a 15-year hello that ended in an unrewarding, malnourished two-hour goodbye.
During the last season of the hospital drama, NBC hyped up the finale by bringing back past stars to fill their recurring roles one last time. The concept was fantastic and the final season moved gracefully toward a promising finish, but ended abruptly with an unsatisfying last episode.
Previous storylines made more of a bang than the actual last episode. More specifically the death of Dr. Gregory Pratt, played by Mekhi Phifer, was much more powerful than the series finale. And the use of flashback in one episode featuring Dr. Mark Greene, played by Anthony Edwards, made for moments of welcome nostalgia.
The appearance of past actors was pivotal in driving interest toward the final episode, but other than Noah Wyle's reemergence as Dr. John Carter, the cameos in the finale were simply included just to see those familiar faces one last time. Without them, there would have been no reason to tune in.
As "ER" took its final breaths of life in its closing minutes, all available staff members stood at the ambulance bay and waited for several ambulances to arrive which carried burn victims and others with various injuries.
Upon arrival, doctors and nurses together helped the injured as the original "ER" theme music started to play and the camera panned out. After 15 years of high quality TV drama the show ended with a lackluster, everyday moment that could have been seen on any random episode from the other 14 seasons of "ER."
Presumably, the idea was to make life at the fictional County General Hospital persist after its time in front of the camera was over.
The writers behind "ER" decided to end the show on a boring note.
I wasn't expecting County General to explode in some twisted hijacking plot, nor did I expect a mass killer to go on a rampage through the hospital's hallways, but I expected more than what was given.
To end a 15-year-old show with such normalcy is unacceptable. "ER" should have walked away with a bang - a definite responsibility for a show with such a long history.
"ER" made George Clooney famous and also allowed John Stamos to remove himself from his famed role as Uncle Jesse from "Full House." Though the concept was designed to bring "ER" full circle, its overall execution failed.
No doctors riding off into the glorified sunset of scrubs and gurneys. No intellectual final speeches, no tear-jerkers, no mind-blowing revelations, simply just an ending.
It went off in blaze of ... well, a blaze of nothing. It was a 15-year hello that ended in an unrewarding, malnourished two-hour goodbye.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Francesca
posted 4/09/09 @ 12:39 PM EST
Good title!
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