So long, good friend

I haven't watched an episode of ER in 3 years. When Carter left and I was pregnant (and thus couldn't stay up that late), our relationship ended. But last night was the series finale. And for an hour before the show, they had a bunch of the old actors reminiscing and showing old scenes from the show. We watched it, and wow, it was like reconnecting with an old friend.

For 10 years, from 1995-2005, I think I missed 2 - that's TWO - episodes of ER. I don't typically get so entrenched in TV shows, but I was obsessed. I felt emotionally attached to the characters, and I was glued to the screen every Thursday evening for 60 minutes - (or at least had the VCR set, worst case scenario).

And I'm not a crier, especially not for TV and movies. But Holy COW, I have shed some serious tears watching this show. I will never forget how I bawled the time that Carter got stabbed and fell to the ground, only to see Lucy stabbed and lying on the floor across from him. While my friend Maureen and I watched the credits roll by in silent tears, the phone rang and our friend Cathy was crying on the other line. And I got chills every time I heard that song that was playing when it happened.

I remember really sincerely looking forward to watching the show every week, and I would be downright giddy while it was on. And people used to talk about it on Fridays, remember? Lots of people used to watch it, which was obviously why it was on so long. The show used to be in the Thursday line-up with Friends and Seinfeld - can you imagine?? Classic shows that have been long off the air, and ER, of all of them, went 15 years.

I was reminded last night, however, of one downfall of watching the show. On the finale, a woman was in a car accident while driving herself to the hospital to give birth to twins, her 4th and 5th children. Of course, in true ER form, she bleeds out all over the place and ends up dying in the OR, leaving her husband with these 5 small children to care for. That kind of thing will keep me up for several nights, and will stick in my memory for a long time. I think that ER has actually played a detrimental role in the management of my anxiety over the years. Various scenes and lines from the show about all the potential trauma that could happen to someone will play out in my mind on a regular basis. Especially when I'm pregnant or giving birth. I can probably drum up 10 different birth-related traumas from various episodes of that show. Oh, have mercy, why does my mind resonate on these things for so long?


And the characters - such classics! I was truly sad when they killed off Dr. Romano. He was the biggest Jerk to ever walk the planet, but boy, was he entertaining. And Dr. Greene, who didn't love him? Elizabeth, Dr. Benton, Carrie, Doug. I know this sounds pitiful, but I felt like I knew these people!

So I just thought it was appropriate to pay a little homage to this show that so strongly affected me. Thanks for years of great entertainment, so long!