"ER" And in the End... (2009)

User Rating:

8.6/10   

Director:

Rod Holcomb

Writers:

Michael Crichton (creator)
John Wells (written by)

TV Series:

"ER" (1994)

Original Air Date:

2 April 2009 (Season 15, Episode 22)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

As Carter prepares to open a new hospital, some old friends/colleagues gather. Rachel Greene, Mark Greene's daughter, applies for an internship at County. |

Plot Keywords:

Series Finale | Medical | Emergency Room | Doctor | Hospital

Cast

Noah Wyle	...	Dr. John Carter
Laura Innes	...	Dr. Kerry Weaver
Sherry Stringfield	...	Dr. Susan Lewis
David Lyons	...	Dr. Simon Brenner
Alex Kingston	...	Dr. Elizabeth Corday
Parminder Nagra	...	Dr. Neela Rasgotra
John Stamos	...	Dr. Tony Gates
Linda Cardellini	...	Nurse Samantha Taggart
Scott Grimes	...	Dr. Archie Morris
Eriq La Salle	...	Dr. Peter Benton
Angela Bassett	...	Dr. Cate Banfield
Alexis Bledel	...	Dr. Julia Wise
Ernest Borgnine	...	Paul Manning
Sam Jones III	...	Chaz Pratt
Thandie Newton	...	Makemba 'Kem' Likasu

Runtime:

120 min (including commercials)

Language:

English | American Sign Language | Spanish

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Company:

Constant c Productions

Trivia:

In one of the early scenes we see Scott Grimes being woken up by a nurse (Ellen Crawford) in a similar way Anthony Edwards was woken up in the pilot.

Goofs:

Continuity: Near the end, when Susan is talking with Nurse Chuny, another nurse enters to tell Archie than the old lady (Beverly) is there again. When Archie gets to the room, Chuny is already there with the patient.

Quotes:

Rachel Greene: [as victims are arriving] Dr. Carter?
Dr. John Carter: What? I'm sorry. What?
Rachel Greene: Are you okay?
Dr. John Carter: Yeah. A little deja vu.
Dr. Archie Morris: [as Morris wheeling in a patient] Carter. You working?
Dr. John Carter: Absolutely!
Dr. Archie Morris: Come on!

Movie Connections:

References "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (1992)

Outstanding end to an outstanding series

In many ways this is a typical episode of ER, showing a cross-section of stories and how the usual cast members are affected while further developing the background stories of each series character. There are nice (even if sad) wrap ups to some ongoing story arcs, but more than anything else, as the episode comes to an end one is reminded that this show reflects real life so well, and that while you may be looking at a snapshot of a period of time in the ER, the real story will keep going even after you are not watching. And in that sense, this typical episode is such an excellent close to this series. Some more cynical than I am might suggest that this leaves the producers an opportunity to bring back future episodes (1 year after ER closes! Guest appearance by George Clooney!!) but I hope that that kind of thing won't happen. The ER series wasn't perfect by any means, and although I watched it religiously at the beginning, I admit my attention wavered at times for months as the cast or focus of the show changed, or as my own real-life interfered with my TV viewing. I didn't necessarily get all my questions answered about what happened to X (insert a cast member's name here)? but overall, a very satisfying end to a remarkable series.