Somewhere along the way, I ...
Question: Somewhere along the way, I was sure I heard that
ER would wrap things up in February. I thought that sounded early, but then I considered that maybe instead of having reruns on or plugging another show in for a while they would just run the episodes all the way through and end in a sweeps month (February). I then read in a recent issue of TV Guide that the two-hour finale is in May, which would make sense. Was I totally wrong about February or did I just misunderstand something? Hope you can clear things up.
Answer: I recently checked with NBC, having some confusion on the scheduling issue myself, and all that was confirmed for me is that
ER's final season will consist of 19 episodes, which will not take us to May unless the show goes into repeats or goes on hiatus at some point. Given the show's iconic status, I'm thinking NBC could stunt for a while with a greatest-hits-of-
ER countdown, but that's just a guess. Regardless, it makes most sense to me that NBC would try to maximize the sentiment of this landmark departure and attempt to give
ER a big farewell splash at the end of the season in May. I guess we'll see.
And to be fair, given the bashing above, Anthony B. wrote in to lament: "I get upset every time I see a commercial flaunting the fact it is ER's last year. Why is it ER's last year? They have come back with some great stories and new blood. I think they still have a lot to tell. Who do I contact to tell them this doesn't have to be ER's last year?"
Well, you can write to NBC and Warner Bros. studio, but it probably won't do any good. This is as good a time as any to point out that no TV show is meant to last forever — maybe not even The Simpsons and Law & Order — and ER in particular is so far from being the phenom it used to be that it no longer makes financial or ratings sense to keep it on life support it has been clinging to the last few years. When I learned Maura Tierney was leaving, that was all I needed to hear. She was the only reason I could still bear to watch.
