I had wanted to write about ER’s final season for a while now, but to be honest I still hadn’t watched a single episode yet. So this past weekend The Blot held a mini ER marathon watching the first five episodes of the NBC drama’s 15th season. It’s kind of sad to think ER will finally be ending its historic run because after 15 years it’s hard to remember a time the show wasn’t on TV. I’ve been faithfully watching the hour drama since episode 1 (I was 14 years old at the time), so I can really say the show has been appointment television all of my quasi-adult life.
I never usually bank so many episodes on my DVR, but I turned off the season premier after starting to watch it a few weeks ago. You see while I knew Mekhi Phifer was leaving the show after 8 seasons, it kind of pissed me off they were killing his character, Dr. Gregory Pratt. I don’t know why shows feel like they need to kill off characters for an emotional departure, but in this case it was entirely unnecessary considering this is the medical drama’s last season.
Once I was able to get over the death of Dr. Pratt, I came to the realization that this season has actually been really good. In many ways ER: The Final Season has turned into ER: The Next Generation with the show getting a huge dose of new faces (the show now boasts 6 new medical students and a new ER Attending). It has also been a true final season with a series of heartfelt good-byes and the return of some very familiar faces, combining for a great send off for the NBC Thursday night staple. Along with Dr. Pratt, we’ve also said our final good-byes to fan favorites Dr. Abby Lockhart (Maura Tierney) and Dr. Luka Kovac (Goran Visnjic) who have both been on the show since season 6.
While the good-byes were to be expected, the biggest surprises this season have been the returning faces. Already we’ve seen the return of Shane West’s Dr. Ray Barnett, who left County General two years ago after being struck by a car and the amputation of both legs. It’s a real shame West left the show because his return spotlighted the great onscreen chemistry he had with Dr. Neela Rasgotra (Parminder Nagra).
But the biggest surprise which will hopefully bring in many former viewers is the return of Dr. Mark Greene (Anthony Edwards). Edwards will be returning from the grave in a special flashback episode this Thursday, which will also explain new ER doctor Cate Banfield’s (Angela Bassett) history with the Chicago ER. You can also expect original cast member Noah Wyle to return for a 4 episode arc as Dr. John Carter towards the end of ER’s final 19 episodes.
If you’ve ever watched ER over the past 15 years then I highly recommend jumping back on the bandwagon one last time. I am positive you won’t be sorry that you did, because I’m expecting a very entertaining and emotional sendoff for the show’s huge cast of characters.ER airs every Thursday at 10/9c on NBC.