I just finished watching last night's two hour series finale of ER. I have to say, I am pleased. The show is a celebration - of the opening of The Carter Center - but is also just another episode; the doctors are still worried about their patients. The writers did not try to surprise us or throw too many things our way. Instead it truly was just another day at County. I am not going to do the usual play by play, but instead am only going to highlight the important parts of the episode.- During the opening credits the original theme song was played and all of the cast members, new and old, had their names displayed.
- The show fittingly takes place during a huge rain storm. But as the episode - and therefore the day - goes on, the weather clears.
- A teenager who had been drinking at a sleep over is brought in with a 4.20 blood alcohol level and is in a coma. Tony becomes rather attached to the patient, sitting by her bed, and eventually takes the opportunity to speak with Sarah about the dangers of drinking.
- The episode takes place on Sam's birthday. We find out that Tony and Alex had restored a car for Sam as a present. She reluctantly takes the car because of all the hard work Alex put into it, but did not want to because Tony put a lot of money into it. At the end of the episode, as Tony and Sam stand outside the room of an old woman who just died leaving her partner of 72 years alone, they hold hands, hinting toward a promising future.
- Mark Green's daughter, Rachel, is about to start medical school and wants to work at County. She meets with Dr. Banfield, who is in charge of making the decisions on who to hire. If you remember, Mark was the doctor on the case for Banfield's son when he died. Kate does not seem all that thrilled by the idea of having his daughter work at the hospital.
- There is a reception for the Carter Center opening and there are some friendly faces there. John even talks about why they named the center after Joshua, his son, who was stillborn. He says that he and his wife, Kem, decided that they wanted to make a difference in other people's lives and that it made the loss of Joshua more bearable. Kem even makes the trip from Paris to the opening. We see the husband and wife interact and it is obvious the relationship is strained, though we never find out why.
- Some of the returning stars - Carrie, Susan, Corday - get together for drinks after the receptions and reminisce while catching up on one another's lives. It was nice seeing them all together again.
- There are an old man with a fractured penis. Apparently this is the cool new injury to be discussed on hospital TV shows.
- Carter says he is trying to stay awake because he has a very important phonecall to make, but we do not find out to whom. We also see that though John is not back on the schedule at the hospital, at more than one point during the show he is at the hospital and helps with procedures.
- Guest Star Alexis Bledel of Gilmore Girls fame plays a new doctor on the show. She assists on the care of a mother who delivers twins and then has complications. When the mother dies, the doctor stresses and thinks she may not be able to be a doctor after all. She is worried about not being able to save people. Brenner tells her you can only try.
At the very end of the episode, Sam gets a call about an explosion and informs the ER staff that at least eight trauma victims are on their way into the hospital. The entire staff gets ready and is waiting for the ambulances. Amidst the frenzy, the show just ends. I think this was the perfect ending to such a dramatic series. It was their way of saying that even though there is no more show, the hospital will always be there and there will always be people in need of help.
I am pleased, yet also very sad to see the show end. Your thoughts?
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