Comments on: ER Series Finale: The Good, Bad & Ugly

By: Kiersten

Kiersten — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 18:07:42 +0000

Wow, I am amazed the reason I was looking at this site is to see when the final show airs? I watched this, but did not think it was two hours (I probably missed the first), and did not even realize that itwas the series finale. I have been watching ER on and off for years, liked the show very much, but really think they blew this as a wind up. Oh well, I suppose this is one of the reasons I gave up cable two years ago…. there just isn’t much worth watching out there.

By: Nancy

Nancy — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 21:19:20 +0000

You totally missed the point. The Ernest Borgnine story line was a metaphor–his wife’s demise was the demise of the show.

By: caligirl

caligirl — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 05:04:21 +0000

it sucked!

By: Todd W in NC

Todd W in NC — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 02:04:42 +0000

I’m with TheTVAddict. As someone who watched approx. the first 5 to 7 seasons and only a handful of episodes since then (most of which prominently featured the old characters), I like the moments with the original doctors better too.

I liked how they used Carter, Mark Greene’s daughter, and the mixed opening credits as the bridges between the old and the new. Also, I liked how the final trauma required just about the whole cast to be lined up outside. Although it was good seeing Alexis Bledel on TV again, I’m not sure I understand the logic of casting a significant TV actress in a significant guest starring role on the very last episode.

For a series finale, it was very odd. It was two hours long, but with the exception of Carter’s scenes with old cast members, it didn’t feel too different from any other episode. Most newer TV shows on now include some sort of continuing story arc. So, finales have to provide closure, revelations, teary goodbyes, huge battle scenes, etc. ER is so much about one day being like the next, that no matter when the show would have ended, it would always be about “life goes on.” That makes it grounded, mature, believable, but unfortunately, unavoidably anit-climactic.

By: rolise

rolise — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 14:49:50 +0000

As an original series watcher and having recently been watching the show for the last couple of years again, I was actually satisfied as to where they left the new cast. Archie had become a good doctor and found love (see second to last episode) despite eating too much junk food. Neela moved on. Sam and Gates held hands with hints of a possible reconciliation. Benton was seeking counseling (go back an episode or two). The whole point of the show is that life goes on.

By: theTVaddict

theTVaddict — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 14:15:56 +0000

grumpyoldman,

That’s actually a really great point even though I myself felt the exact opposite. Having very little familiarity with the new crop of Doctors, I enjoyed the scenes with Carter, Corday and Benton far more than the scenes with Gates, Morris and Sam

By: Ace

Ace — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 14:08:18 +0000

grumpy — I thought about that while I was watching the retrospective last night. I was thinking “wow this is awesome, they are focusing on all of the people I loved 5 or 6 years ago when I still watched.” Then I realized that people who still watched the show and were invested in the characters that are on now were probably pretty annoyed. I’m sorry that they didn’t give their newer characters that kind of send off, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy it the way it was.

By: grumpyoldman

grumpyoldman — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 13:43:40 +0000

As a viewer of ER for only the last 5 years, I was bored by all the old cast coming back. I wanted to see closure for the current bunch of characters. At that, this episode was a miserable failure.

By: Nick

Nick — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 13:30:07 +0000

Well, we know the ratings will be blockbuster. So it’s a good thing Dawn Ostroff is not in charge of NBC. She gets a little hung up on Series Finale ratings, and decides to renew dead shows for another year based simply on the farewell tune-in numbers. The 7th Heaven decision simply foreshadowed one bad decision after another with this lady, and now she’s decided to make her network into Lifetime 2.

Que sera sera.