A Somewhat Classy Ending

[Darren Thornton]

=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0Whoa! This is indeed a sad occasion. I have
to ask. What will happen to this newsgroup? Some exist for series no
longer in production. =A0 But experience has shown that it can be
challenging. Posting here has been a lot of fun. =A0 I hope you enjoyed
my little observations.
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0How would this rank among other parting
episodes? =A0 It probably wasn't the greatest. But I've seen much worse.
=A0 Who else leaves County feeling somewhat satisfied? =A0 Was a part of
you wanting to keep going? =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0Don't tear down the sets! =A0
Norman Lear kept the Bunker house in storage. But we got that awful 701
Hauser Street. =A0 It was probably the first time I ever saw Maura
Tierney. =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0At least we didn't end on a
cliffhanger. Remember ALF, Benson, and Dallas? =A0 Two got reunion
movies. =A0 Carter and Kem's relationship was left hanging. =A0 You
almost expected Benton and Elizabeth to hook up again. =A0 I'd thought
that Reese would remember her.
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0TNG got a good finale. But they started shooting
a movie days later. =A0 Deep Space Nine could have been better.
Enterprise might have worked as a two hour finale. =A0 Adding Riker and
Troi took away from the main cast. =A0 Roseanne had a horrible finale.
Yet Newhart's was funny. That ending was my 2nd guess.
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0MASH's finale (hopefully, my final
comparison) was probably too long. The National Enquirer gave away most
of the story. =A0 Who's The Boss went back full circle. =A0 Ditto for
The Cosby Show. =A0 That final dance was a nice step. =A0
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0Mad About
You was too convoluted. Making the Lyle Lovett ceremony invalid ruined a
great moment. =A0 Note that Barnacle Boy got to fix things.
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0I like finales where things get resolved.
=A0 The Fugitive got cleared. =A0 But don't change too much. =A0 Growing
Pains and Empty Nest had folks moving away.
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0Did anyone get the impression that
County was closing? We had that snippet of Carter's speech. Yet the
whole thing seemed to take a snipe at County's limited resources. =A0 It
looked like the whole staff would go work at the Center. =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0
=A0 We definitely came full circle. Lydia got to wake up another doctor.
=A0 It's been awhile since I've seen the pilot. Was Beverly the woman
Greene treated? We got Rachel literally following in her dad's
footsteps. =A0 Once again, this was the story of John Carter. =A0 How
fitting that he suited up for that last emergency!
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0
=A0=A0=A0=A0It was great, but a little mean, to have the old theme song
back. =A0 How did that make the newer cast members feel? Talk about too
little, too late! If TPTB had put as much thought in the past few years,
we might not be saying goodbye. Then again, that writer's strike may
have bought them an extra year.
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0The preceding clip show was nice. We saw Jorja and Maria.
=A0 Too bad their characters never stopped by! Ditto for Luka. =A0 Chas
giving a tour was a nice touch. =A0 Susan and Kerry looked nice. Both
were more dressed up than usual. How often do we see this much kissing?
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0Most of the nurses were still around. If only
Wendy and even Bob had showed up! =A0 There should be a rule on TV. =A0
Sometimes characters don't work out. =A0 But you can't pretend they
didn't exist. =A0Yes, I know it's all fiction! Happy Days' finale had
Howard mentioning raising TWO kids. =A0 We never forgot about Chuck.
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0
Things were still busy at County. =A0 Frank and Jerry still
made a great comic team. =A0 Randi didn't stop by. =A0 Most of the new
doctors were off. =A0 Once again, Tracy appeared overdressed. Do many
female ER doctors wear dresses and nylons on the job?
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0Some other characters were around.
Many episodes involved rain. Don't forget the beloved el. =A0 I wonder
who got to take the basketball goal home. Folks went to Jumbo Mart. =A0
Too bad there was no mention of Doc Magoo's. =A0 Even the watering
hole's been used many times.
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0Then we had the patients. =A0 Tony dealt
with a drinking game gone bad. =A0 How often would a doctor let the
friends see the results? =A0 He confronted the "hosting" father. =A0 I
was expecting a rerun of Ross' talk to that lawyer mother. =A0 But he
and Sarah had another talk.
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0Another mother died. =A0 Was this supposed
to be a homage to "Love's Labor Lost?" Who else didn't like that
episode? This show was usually suited for ADD patients. Spare the
flames. =A0 Staying on one case was stifling. =A0 Don't forget the
unhappy ending.
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0I felt a little sorry
for Alexis. Her character had potential. Ironically, WB once offered a
premiere package. It included the first episodes of: ER, The
Flintstones, Waltons, Gilligan's Island, and Gillmore Girls.
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0
Giving bad news is an unfortunate part of being a doctor. The OR's
attitude was pathetic. Why didn't they tell someone downstairs? Could
you imagine Neela or Dubenko doing this? She made another cameo. Yea
for noting that our mutual state is more than bayous!
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0All that blood gave us
another grossout scene. =A0 Does this happen much with the uterus?
Thankfully we were spared more graphic scenes. =A0 Gross on another
level was the randy guy. =A0 Some female family doctors leave this stuff
to the men. =A0 This would have been a good case for Cate. Watch out!
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0There was also the boy who swallowed a
rosary. =A0 Being Protestant, I'm only vaguely familar with them. =A0
There are Catholics in my family. =A0 Does anyone know the percentage of
Hispanics in Chicago? This show has definitely shown that it's a very
diverse city.
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0Similar swallowing bits have
been done before. =A0 The first episode of Empty Nest had a boy who
swallowed a diamond. =A0 His mother wanted to wear it to a function. =A0
Dr. Weston said that the boy's function would have to work first. =A0
Some of the ladies might know this better. But didn't one of Judy
Blume's books have a boy who swallowed his brother's turtle?
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0Mr. Manning lost the love of
his life. It was another sad ending. Their daughter seemed superficial.
Is there any chance of an Emmy nomination for Ernest Borgenine? =A0 He'd
probably needed more appearances. This show hasn't gotten much
recognition there in awhile.
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0Part of the problem is
incredible competition. =A0 Also, the quality has varied too much. =A0 I
still think that they got robbed in Season One. =A0 At least Julianne
won.
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0I really wish that they'd kept a door
open for movies in the future. =A0 Get good stories and enough original
people to make it worth our while. =A0 We got too many previews of the
new shows. =A0 I'd rather seen Amy stay on SNL. =A0 Will anyone boycott
Southland in protest of ER's ending?
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0I was glad that
Cate stayed in the background mostly. =A0 She'll probably introduce
health foods in the lobby. =A0 Those donuts and pizza may be a way of
staying in business.
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0You'd almost think
that she'd want nothing to do with Mark Greene's memory. =A0 Yet she
asked Carter about him. =A0 Also, Rachel may be around. She'd matured a
lot. Would you have expected her and Elizabeth to be that close?
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0Sam had a
good birthday. =A0 Usually the parent gives the kid a car. =A0 Things
have improved with her mother. =A0 Alex managed to not be annoying. See
what happens when you get less airtime! =A0 Maybe she and Tony will get
back together.
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0Brennan echoed Greene's words to
Carter. =A0 This was most likely a coincidence. =A0 Morris remained his
usual self. =A0 Medicine has come a long way. =A0 Gandhi should have
died of the AIDS years ago. But there were 20 more years. He apparently
heard that Tim McGraw song. =A0 We last saw Jeanne alive and well.
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0This has been a long post. But there's a lot
more we could all say. Too bad there was no homage to "Hell and High
Water." =A0 Thankfully we still have reruns and DVDs. =A0 Some may
decide to write the continuing adventures themselves.
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0Personally, I hope we haven't
heard the last of County General. Ditto for this group. =A0 Carter spent
most of his fortune on the Center. Suppose it had once housed another
Chicago hospital. =A0 County used to compete with the place. Oh well,
bye for now. Thanks so much for reading. I hope to catch all of you
later.

Sincerely,
Darren Thornton

[m***@gmail.com]

         Whoa! This is indeed a sad occasion. I have
to ask. What will happen to this newsgroup? Some exist for series no
longer in production.   But experience has shown that it can be
challenging. Posting here has been a lot of fun.   I hope you enjoyed
my little observations.
        How would this rank among other parting
episodes?   It probably wasn't the greatest. But I've seen much worse.
  Who else leaves County feeling somewhat satisfied?   Was a part of
you wanting to keep going?             
              Don't tear down the sets!  
Norman Lear kept the Bunker house in storage. But we got that awful 701
Hauser Street.   It was probably the first time I ever saw Maura
Tierney.                   
              At least we didn't end on a
cliffhanger. Remember ALF, Benson, and Dallas?   Two got reunion
movies.   Carter and Kem's relationship was left hanging.   You
almost expected Benton and Elizabeth to hook up again.   I'd thought
that Reese would remember her.
        TNG got a good finale. But they started shooting
a movie days later.   Deep Space Nine could have been better.
Enterprise might have worked as a two hour finale.   Adding Riker and
Troi took away from the main cast.   Roseanne had a horrible finale.
Yet Newhart's was funny. That ending was my 2nd guess.
           MASH's finale (hopefully, my final
comparison) was probably too long. The National Enquirer gave away most
of the story.   Who's The Boss went back full circle.   Ditto for
The Cosby Show.   That final dance was a nice step.  
                    Mad About
You was too convoluted. Making the Lyle Lovett ceremony invalid ruined a
great moment.   Note that Barnacle Boy got to fix things.
          I like finales where things get resolved.
  The Fugitive got cleared.   But don't change too much.   Growing
Pains and Empty Nest had folks moving away.
            Did anyone get the impression that
County was closing? We had that snippet of Carter's speech. Yet the
whole thing seemed to take a snipe at County's limited resources.   It
looked like the whole staff would go work at the Center.        
  We definitely came full circle. Lydia got to wake up another doctor.
  It's been awhile since I've seen the pilot. Was Beverly the woman
Greene treated? We got Rachel literally following in her dad's
footsteps.   Once again, this was the story of John Carter.   How
fitting that he suited up for that last emergency!
              
    It was great, but a little mean, to have the old theme song
back.   How did that make the newer cast members feel? Talk about too
little, too late! If TPTB had put as much thought in the past few years,
we might not be saying goodbye. Then again, that writer's strike may
have bought them an extra year.
     The preceding clip show was nice. We saw Jorja and Maria.
  Too bad their characters never stopped by! Ditto for Luka.   Chas
giving a tour was a nice touch.   Susan and Kerry looked nice. Both
were more dressed up than usual. How often do we see this much kissing?
         Most of the nurses were still around. If only
Wendy and even Bob had showed up!   There should be a rule on TV.  
Sometimes characters don't work out.   But you can't pretend they
didn't exist.  Yes, I know it's all fiction! Happy Days' finale had
Howard mentioning raising TWO kids.   We never forgot about Chuck.
         
          Things were still busy at County.   Frank and Jerry still
made a great comic team.   Randi didn't stop by.   Most of the new
doctors were off.   Once again, Tracy appeared overdressed. Do many
female ER doctors wear dresses and nylons on the job?
            Some other characters were around.
Many episodes involved rain. Don't forget the beloved el.   I wonder
who got to take the basketball goal home. Folks went to Jumbo Mart.  
Too bad there was no mention of Doc Magoo's.   Even the watering
hole's been used many times.
          Then we had the patients.   Tony dealt
with a drinking game gone bad.   How often would a doctor let the
friends see the results?   He confronted the "hosting" father.   I
was expecting a rerun of Ross' talk to that lawyer mother.   But he
and Sarah had another talk.
          Another mother died.   Was this supposed
to be a homage to "Love's Labor Lost?" Who else didn't like that
episode? This show was usually suited for ADD patients. Spare the
flames.   Staying on one case was stifling.   Don't forget the
unhappy ending.
                I felt a little sorry
for Alexis. Her character had potential. Ironically, WB once offered a
premiere package. It included the first episodes of: ER, The
Flintstones, Waltons, Gilligan's Island, and Gillmore Girls.
       
      Giving bad news is an unfortunate part of being a doctor. The OR's
attitude was pathetic. Why didn't they tell someone downstairs? Could
you imagine Neela or Dubenko doing this?  She made another cameo.  Yea
for noting that our mutual state is more than bayous!    
                All that blood gave us
another grossout scene.   Does this happen much with the uterus?
Thankfully we were spared more graphic scenes.   Gross on another
level was the randy guy.   Some female family doctors leave this stuff
to the men.   This would have been a good case for Cate. Watch out!
         There was also the boy who swallowed a
rosary.   Being Protestant, I'm only vaguely familar with them.  
There are Catholics in my family.   Does anyone know the percentage of
Hispanics in Chicago? This show has definitely shown that it's a very
diverse city.
              Similar swallowing bits have
been done before.   The first episode of Empty Nest had a boy who
swallowed a diamond.   His mother wanted to wear it to a function.  
Dr. Weston said that the boy's function would have to work first.  
Some of the ladies might know this better. But didn't one of Judy
Blume's books have a boy who swallowed his brother's turtle?
              Mr. Manning lost the love of
his life. It was another sad ending. Their daughter seemed superficial.
Is there any chance of an Emmy nomination for Ernest Borgenine?   He'd
probably needed more appearances. This show hasn't gotten much
recognition there in awhile.
              Part of the problem is
incredible competition.   Also, the quality has varied too much.   I
still think that they got robbed in Season One.   At least Julianne
won.
           I really wish that they'd kept a door
open for movies in the future.   Get good stories and enough original
people to make it worth our while.   We got too many previews of the
new shows.   I'd rather seen Amy stay on SNL.   Will anyone boycott
Southland in protest of ER's ending?
                  I was glad that
Cate stayed in the background mostly.   She'll probably introduce
health foods in the lobby.   Those donuts and pizza may be a way of
staying in business.
                  You'd almost think
that she'd want nothing to do with Mark Greene's memory.   Yet she
asked Carter about him.   Also, Rachel may be around. She'd matured a
lot. Would you have expected her and Elizabeth to be that close?
                    Sam had a
good birthday.   Usually the parent gives the kid a car.   Things
have improved with her mother.   Alex managed to not be annoying. See
what happens when you get less airtime!   Maybe she and Tony will get
back together.
            Brennan echoed Greene's words to
Carter.   This was most likely a coincidence.   Morris remained his
usual self.   Medicine has come a long way.   Gandhi should have
died of the AIDS years ago. But there were 20 more years. He apparently
heard that Tim McGraw song.   We last saw Jeanne alive and well.
        This has been a long post. But there's a lot
more we could all say. Too bad there was no homage to "Hell and High
Water."   Thankfully we still have reruns and DVDs.   Some may
decide to write the continuing adventures themselves.
              Personally, I hope we haven't
heard the last of County General. Ditto for this group.   Carter spent
most of his fortune on the Center. Suppose it had once housed another
Chicago hospital.   County used to compete with the place. Oh well,
bye for now. Thanks so much for reading.  I hope to catch all of you
later.
  Sincerely,
   Darren  Thornton

I don't agree. I don't think this is about the writers strike or any
of that. The show has been on 15 years! It was time to call it quits.
Several of the actors agreed. You can't keep the show on the air
forever. At some point you have to call it quits. And sadly it was
time.
I don't agree that using the old theme song was disrespectful to the
new actors either. I think they might have felt honored to have it
play. Many of these actors watched ER before joining the cast. So to
them I think it was nice to hear it.
I am not sure I want to see ER movies in the future. What would they
show? The same old thing. Many shows in the past have said they would
do movies after the show ended and yet never did. Friends said they
would do a reuninon show and they haven't and now it is too late. I
would like to see an ER reunion show but not a movie
Boycotting a show NEVER works. Trust me. Networks don't care. And it
will not bring ER back. It was time to end it. let it go.
Who's Cate? There is no such person. As for Elizabeth and rachel? Why
not be that close? Yes she was angry with Rachel for what happened to
Ella. But how long can you hold that against someone? Ella is healhty
and well. Being angry at someone forever wont' change what happened.
It was nice to see them be close again. They do have Mark and Ella in
common.
It is sad that people are trashing the show. And it's finale. Did you
want things wrapped up in a neat little package or what people? You
can't have everything! Is this how we are going to treat one of the
best shows on tv? Because it ended and you were not ready for it to?!

[MDH]

Post by m***@gmail.com
I don't agree. I don't think this is about the writers strike or any
of that. The show has been on 15 years! It was time to call it quits.
Several of the actors agreed. You can't keep the show on the air
forever. At some point you have to call it quits. And sadly it was
time.

The writers strike did get them the 15th season as I understood it. Last
season was going to be the end, but NBC wanted to let them go out on
their terms, so they gave them, initially, an abriveated season.

Post by m***@gmail.com
I don't agree that using the old theme song was disrespectful to the
new actors either. I think they might have felt honored to have it
play. Many of these actors watched ER before joining the cast. So to
them I think it was nice to hear it.

Especially since they all got to be in it too. Part of me wanted to see
EVERYONE from the past 15 years, but that would have taken too long, and
probably cost too much. I'm sure someone, eventually, if it's not
already out there, will do an extended intro clip and put it on youtube
with everyone in it.

Post by m***@gmail.com
I am not sure I want to see ER movies in the future. What would they
show? The same old thing. Many shows in the past have said they would
do movies after the show ended and yet never did. Friends said they
would do a reuninon show and they haven't and now it is too late. I
would like to see an ER reunion show but not a movie

Only way a movie would work IMHO is if it was based on one of the
orriginals where they are now. Maybe at some point Carter sucumbs to his
illness and they come back together for a funeral or something. And that
just doesn't seem like a movie anyone would want to watch. They could,
in theory, spin off Doug & Carol, or Peter, or even Liz & Rachel, but I
don't think any of the actors would want to do it. Maybe a retrospect
thing like the one they did before the finale in 5 or 10 year, like
M*A*S*H* did. But no more time spent in County, unless it's a cameo.

Post by m***@gmail.com
Who's Cate?

Cate Bansfield, ya know, Angela Basset's character.

[sharon]

"Darren Thornton" <***@webtv.net> wrote in message news:14225-49D6F01E-***@storefull-3273.bay.webtv.net...
snip
.
Did anyone get the impression that
County was closing?
Not at all, quite the contrary. I got the impression that the place will
continue on and on, we just won't be seeing it.

We had that snippet of Carter's speech. Yet the
whole thing seemed to take a snipe at County's limited resources.
I cannot imagine any County hospital has enough extra cash to fully staff a
clinic the size of the Carter Center. Carter said there were something like
36 exam rooms. That would be space enough for at least a dozen full time
docs, and many dozens of support staff. I presume Carter approached County
about providing some limited assistance, but it would be unrealistic to
think that the County was going to be able to fill the place with staff.

snip

. Once again, Tracy appeared overdressed. Do many
female ER doctors wear dresses and nylons on the job?

No, especially not while working a night shift in Chicago in April. Most
female residents of any sort don't wear skirts or dresses most days, it's
just not practical attire for the job.


Then we had the patients. Tony dealt
with a drinking game gone bad. How often would a doctor let the
friends see the results?
How often would the parents hosting the party bring a bunch of kids in their
pj's to the hospital to wait in the first place? I don't have any kids, but
I would think that the parents of those kids would've come and gotten them
the minute they heard what had happened. It was obviously a plot
contrivance. BTW, John Wells wrote this storyline in memory of his
ex-wife's niece, who died in just this way. Her friends left her in the
bathroom overnight after she vomited and passed out and, the next morning,
she was dead.

snip

Was this supposed
to be a homage to "Love's Labor Lost?"
I think that was the point, the only difference being that, this time, the
ER docs didn't misdiagnose her and they sent her upstairs so the OB's could
kill her.

snip

Giving bad news is an unfortunate part of being a doctor. The OR's
attitude was pathetic. Why didn't they tell someone downstairs?

Why hadn't they found her husband and told him at least? As I recall, they
said she'd died after an hour of being coded. In general, if someone codes,
the unit secretary would be searching high and low for the next of kin. The
husband should've been brought up to the OR waiting area right away. In
real life the ER is pretty busy, the shift changes frequently and the staff
is used to not following up on patients, so there's no reason for the OR to
call the intern on the case or anyone else working there.

snip

All that blood gave us
another grossout scene. Does this happen much with the uterus?

That amount of blood was actually fairly accurate, right down to the sound
of it dripping onto the floor. Uterine inversion is pretty uncommon, it's
often linked to allowing the med student, or in this case, ER intern, to
deliver the placenta. Yanking on the umbilical cord to force the placenta
to deliver before it's ready is a rookie mistake. Inversions are also more
common in multips (women who've had other kids) and in the case where the
uterus was very stretched, ie twins or a large baby. Coupled with the
abnormal placenta, which was stuck to the uterine wall; an inversion is a
possible complication, which is why inexperienced people shouldn't be
delivering the placenta unless directly supervised by someone who can make
sure they are using proper technique and not forcing the issue. Another
good reason not to have an ER doc deliver your twins.

BTW, the wife spoke to the husband about picking up the kids from school,
so, unlike LLL, this was daytime on a weekday. A hospital the size of
County would have about 20 OB residents in the program who would be working
every weekday. Therefore, Coburn's assertion that someone needed to be
'freed up' to come down to the ER made no sense at all. For that matter,
there had to have been another OB attending or 3 hanging around at that
hour who could've helped. If Coburn was doing a cesarian, she had a
resident assisting her. Surely that resident could've been sent down to the
ER as soon as the C/S baby was delivered, Coburn can do a cesarian by
herself. More plot contrivance.

There was also the boy who swallowed a
rosary. Being Protestant, I'm only vaguely familar with them.
There are Catholics in my family. Does anyone know the percentage of
Hispanics in Chicago? This show has definitely shown that it's a very
diverse city.
I don't know the percentage, but there's a substantial hispanic population.
My sister used to live in a Mexican neighborhood near Wicker Park (where
Carol's house was). The grocery stores, dry cleaners, restaurants, etc.
all had bilingual signage.
.
Is there any chance of an Emmy nomination for Ernest Borgenine? He'd
probably needed more appearances.

James Wood and Ray Liotta got noms for single eppies, though their
characters were featured more.

snip
Sincerely,
Darren Thornton

Thanks to you, Darren, for posting your reviews all these years.

Sharon