It is&nb sp;the end of an era! E.R. The original medical drama is ending after 15 seasons on the air! On Thursday night, NBC featured a two-hour finale of the epic show that has crept its way into our national consciousness (and no, this is not an exaggeration. It did have the irresistible George Clooney and the ever-adorable John Stamos as cast members, after all).
E.R. had a good, long run. After 331 episodes, the producers and actors finally hung up their hats, but only after doing some major butt kickage in Thursday night ratings year after year, AND winning twenty-two Emmy awards.
Even if you weren’t a fan of the show, you have to admit that E.R. had a huge impact on television. In easy-to-read list format, here are the reasons why it changed the way we view TV:
1. “E.R.” was one of the first TV shows to really make use of special effects. Think about it—the blood spillage looked pretty darn real back in the day! The producers showed the world that a television show could have the same high-quality visual effects as a movie, thereby paving the way for some awesome special effects on the silver screen.
2. The show shattered the misconception that the audience was a bit slow on the uptake. Instead of being spoon-fed plot lines, the audience was thrown directly into the drama without any unnecessary introductions. We experienced medical jargon, confusing love-triangles, and hospital chaos all at once, and we loved every minute of it.
3. “E.R.” started the careers of some pretty big-name actors. The show cast George Clooney into the spotlight, as well as Angela Bassett and Anthony Edwards. The show featured so many famous guest stars, including Forest Whitaker and Kirsten Dunst, that each episode felt like a presentation of the Emmy Awards.
4. Two words: medical drama. As one of the first shows to display the harsh life inside a hospital, “E.R.” ushered in the age of the reality drama. The show spawned its archrival, “Chicago Hope”, in the 1990’s, and pre-dated popular shows like “City of Angels”, “Scrubs” and “Nip/Tuck”.
The somber Thursday night finale was based on the tragic death of executive producer John Wells’ teenage niece, who died of alcohol poisoning back in December. In doing so, he hoped to prevent the thousands of deaths every year that occur from alcohol-related incidents.
And on that sad note, ends one of prime-time’s longest-running series! At least we’ve still got “Grey’s Anatomy” (for now, anyway) to console us.
