LET’S be honest — the “ER” leaving us to night after 15 epic years is not the same riveting hospital drama that America fell in love with in the ’90s, earning 122 Emmy nominations.
All of its must-see Thursday night friends already passed on, including “Seinfeld,” “Frasier” and, of course, “Friends.”
NBC should have let it go at least five years ago. But, with every new season, the show kept coming back from the dead.
Fans drifted away over the years as each of its original stars, including George Clooney, Julianna Margulies, Eriq LaSalle, Noah Wyle and Anthony Edwards did the same. And we all wondered with amazement at the new-season promos each fall, “That’s still on?”
The answer, improbably, was always yes. Until now.
A blend of likeable (and strikingly good-looking) personalities and gut-wrenching life-or-death storylines drew us into the show back in 1994, but as each popular character took his or her leave, the soul of the show faded a bit.
And to fill the emotional void, “ER”s creators added impossibly soapy plots. How many bombs, smallpox epidemics and hostage scenarios could Chicago’s County General endure?
The show became a burden rather than an escape.
That’s not to say that, back in the day, we didn’t shed a tear as we learned Dr. Greene (Anthony Edwards) had died.
Or that we didn’t gasp in horror when we saw Lucy (Kellie Martin) and Carter (Noah Wyle) had been stabbed by a schizo patient.
Or that we didn’t cheer with glee when Dr. Ross (George Clooney) left for Seattle to reconnect with nurse Carol Hathaway (Julianna Margulies).
Or when sadistic Dr. Romano (Paul Crane) had his arm sliced off by a helicopter rotor.
This 15th season of the show has intermittently featured victory laps by many of the old favorites from when “ER” was a hit.
In classic series finale fashion, tonight’s two-hour final episode (preceded by a one-hour retrospective) will bring back even more beloved former regulars for the opening of Carter’s new clinic.
So cheer up, stat. “ER” will be in a better place now: syndication.
Nicole Homewood writes about TV for
nypost.com.