Watching ER

Good morning folks!

It felt good to get that first post out of the way last night. It’s like opening night jitters at the Improv isn’t it? (I wouldn’t really know but I am speculating).

I guess I made a tiny error (really miniscule actually) in my post last night.

Apparently ER was on a different night other than Thursdays, when it debuted, it was on Monday. I don’t know how long it stayed there (a mute point really) but I just wanted everyone to know that there are people in the world more obsessed with ER than me (shocking but true).

Speaking of obsession, Is NBC obsessed with taking out its top 3 actors on ER every so many years? I’m curious.

According to TV Guide, both Abby and Luka will be leaving the show next fall. There isn’t much being said about how the couple will go out as it’s still in the works but my thoughts are this.

Give the people a good ending.

NBC held out on us for 6 weeks with no new shows, no updates… No nothing. As a mom of 4 who looks forward to her Thursday night peace and quiet (ok after 9pm, every night is supposed to be peace and quiet but I said there were 4 kids, so go with me on this), I LIKE sitting in front of my TV and tuning into ER. It is something I look forward to. I flip from Grey’s Anatomy over to ER (can we say double dose of Medical drama?) It’s a ritual I have come to love and don’t like it being tampered with.

I was not the only one who felt this way when NBC smacked ER fans with the dry spell. Fan sites and message boards everywhere were up in arms with speculation rumors of the show not returning, and finally the confirmed rumors of Goran Visnjic not returning.

So what does that mean for the fans? Who is going to step up as the front runner characters. My money is that Mekhi Phifer (Pratt) will become lead man (his character has been showcased quite a bit this last season). Then there will be Neela (Parminder K. Nagra) but not Ray, as it is being said he won’t be returning as well.

All of this shuffling reminds me of when the guy who played Dr. Ross left (what’s his name… Oh yea George Clooney), then Julianna Margulies, and then Anthony Edwards, clearly the show’s heavy hitters. For a time, ER didn’t seem like much to tune into… In fact, to me, it seemed like the NBC Gods took ER through a character/plot limbo. Oh it was still good but not the FABULOUSNESS we were accostomed to.

Is NBC going to do it again? Leave us to twist in the wind, waiting to see who takes center stage to lead the talented group of actors? I certainly hope not. It sure didn’t do much for them to leave us drooling for 6 weeks.

Which by the way, can’t a gal even get a good rerun in the offseason? The Thursday night line-up for tonight is missing ER. Just thought I would point that out.

TV Guide, coming this fall, rumors, NBC, actors

Did you know that ER has been on NBC for 17 years this September? I did but I didn’t think about it until now and it makes me officially old. I felt old before but this is feels worse.

Hi all, I am Nikki, your blogger for Watching ER.

I anticipated the pilot episode for ER (I know you all remember the token scene of Noah Wyle sitting in the alley with his head resting on his stethoscope. A girl could really go for a guy like that, and oh how so many of us did). I was left thirsting for more. It was my first taste of a medical drama and it had hooked me like an addict needs a fix.

It was back in the day when I had finished my first semester of college and was living in SC, the only woman in a house full of Navy men (yes ladies it can happen to you!) When ER first debuted and we were introduced to the doctors and nurses that would become a regular fixture of “Must See TV” on Thursday nights and one of NBC’s go-to shows for ratings and awards.

To say that I was single-handedly responsible for turning a bunch of sailors into ER fans might be a little presumptuous and pompous of me, but I will take credit for being able to commandeer the television for an hour in order to view NBC’s brand new show. I won’t add how the rest of the house, filed into the living room with me and jumped up on commercials to make munchies. I won’t rat out the manly men who dished with me during the show about newcomer Noah Wyle, Top Gun’s talented Anthony Edwards, and sexy Julianna Margulies and all of the other fabulous cast members who paved the way for what ER is today.

Not much has changed in 17 years. I still need the fix. The characters have become my family and I can’t go through a tragic episode with a dry eye. When Mark died, I sat and sobbed through the entire thing and then again during reruns. I prayed for Abby when the baby came early and she was in a pool of blood on the floor. I was angry with Carrie when she fought for custody of her son after the death of her life partner, and I waited with Abby at the bottom of the apartment building while Luka bargained for his life against a deranged stalker. It’s television moments like those, the actors, and writers that make me shake uncontrollably when summer comes or I am faced with a long hiatus.

Let’s see what NBC has in store for us this fall. Stay tuned to Watching ER as faithfully as you have watched ER for 17 years. I hope you will enjoy reading and particpating in the discussions as much as I will blogging for you.

For now, I leave you with this:

ER, Pilot, Welcome, NBC