Well, it is the final series of ER. It has been running for thirteen years and viewing figures have dropped, naturally. Not because I think its standards or acting level or anything like that has fallen, but simply because people get tired of a show and want something new and exciting. The original cast has long gone and on watching the episode the other night the only two actors there who I recall from Series one were two of the nurses.
When ER first hit our screens it was simply sensational and breathtaking. The non stop action, the blood, the guts, the music, the sheer bravura pace of it all was quite stunning. My first experience of watching a hospital drama was years ago when, at the age of 11 I watched Emergency Ward 10, on an old battered second hand black and white telly which we owned. Gosh, this was the height of sophistication and drama and tension and it gripped the nation. We had the usual saintly nurses, then there was one, there always is, who is no better than she should be and who is fancied by all the doctors and is usually having an affair with one of them. In these very chaste days there was no rampant sex on the gurneys in the back rooms, more a chaste kiss in the sluice or the kitchen, and if Matron found any fraternisation, you were out deary, no arguments.
If I remember rightlly the name of this particular nurse who set hearts a thumping in Emergency Ward 10, was Jill, or that might have been the name of the actress. Not sure. One thing I do remember is that there was a very very young John Alderton (Little Dorrit, He Knew He was Right, Upstairs Downstairs) in this series and I believe in real life he and this actress got married.
I digress. I have never been a huge fan of medical series per se. I have watched Casualty and Holby City on the odd occasion to see what I was missing, and realised that I wasn't missing much but I have friends who swear by both and never miss an episode so each to his own. So I was not madly excited when I heard about ER but the fact that it was written by Michael Crichton and backed by Spielberg's production company, Amblin, and the word on the street that it was wonderful made me switch on and that was it, I was hooked immediately.
The earlier series had the saintly doctor Mark Green, the young intern Dr Carter and of course, the utterly divine George Clooney (here is a picture just in case you have forgotten how wonderful he was/is). Totally unknown when he joined the cast as Doctor Ross, a previous star of many a failed tv series and star of the movie The Attack of the Killer Tomatoes (true) this was his moment when he entered the stratosphere and millions of women watched each week to drool. I was such an one and when it was learned after a few years that he was leaving, the collective trauma was immense and the show's demise was predicted. How could it possibly survive with Dr Ross?
Well, it did and proved that it was not just a vehicle for one person. Though I missed the Divine George, I was able to transfer my affections to a new bit of eye candy, one Goran Visjnic, who I think is one of the most gorgeous men I have ever clapped eyes on and it was bye bye George hello Goran. Just call me fickle. I wrote about this in an earlier post here
Anyway, it is now all coming to an end and, yes the last series flagged a bit, but it was still head and shoulders better than many other shows on TV and the last episode ended with a bang, literally. ER always left you with a cliff hanger and in this case Dr Pratt and a nurse were arguing over who was going to accompany a Mafia informer to police custody as he lay injured and the ambulance left. We never saw who it was and the ambulance blew up. So when the first episode started, who was it, the nurse or the doc? In the event it was neither and we poor saps thought oh thank goodness and then relaxed. But this is where ER always gets you. We thought all was going to be well and then Dr Pratt, who was injured but not seriously, took a turn for the worst and the entire episode was the fight to save his life. You did not know if this was going to succeed or not. By the end I had damp tissues clutched in my hand and my withers had been wrung once more and ER was back on form and is obviously going to make this last series count.
I gather that previous actors are going to make guest appearances and as mentioned in an earlier post, there are rumours that George Clooney may be one of them, but he has denied it. We shall see.
In the meantime I have another 20 episodes to watch and relish. All the previous series are out on DVD and are on special offer in various shops so I really think I may have to get them and then they can sit alongside 24 and West Wing on my shelves, my other addictions. I met with my daughter Helen last night and as a fellow addict of the previous mentioned series, she has admitted to another serious problem with House and has all of them on DVD. When this first started it was on digital and I did not have access and by the time I got it sorted, I had missed a couple of series and let them go by. Well, now I can sit down and see what I think of these as Dr Daughter had loaned them to me. Hopefully, these should keep me going for 2009 until the autumn when Season 7 of 24 will be available on DVD. Thus are my days measured out.....
Nothing on TV tonight that I want to see, so I may sit down and watch another episode of Hercule Poirot with the wonderful David Suchet. I am watching them all right from the start.
Oh yes didn't I tell you? I have all these as well.
Then I have all of Sharpe to watch, Hornblower and Jeeves. If we have a wet summer, I am ready.
