Vote for why you think it jumped
Death (Dr. Greene)
Exit...Stage Left (Dr. Doug Ross)
The helicopter takes off Romano's arm
Death (Dr. Romano)
Never Jumped
Shark Bytes
I personally stopped watching after Dr. Greene. I agree with you Matt that the poor guy had been though hell in a short time. The thing that irked me was that there was no mention of Doug and Carol when Mark died. Mark was there when Carol delivered their twins pete's sake! I agree with you on that also Matt. They should do some sort of closure before they end the series. When I hear that Anthony Edwards was coming back for a show I thought...oh no. Is he rising from the dead? Never died but was hiding from the mafia?
The moment for me was Romano's second helicopter accident. It was downright cartoonish, enough so to make Wile E. Coyote blush, and it seemed to signal that the writers just didn't care about their characters anymore. Even more of a shame that there was probably one last good story arc left to be written about him and Dr. Corday.
But, as everyone here is saying, it's been a gradual process. ER works when it's able to be more than the sum of its parts. Nowadays you have some fairly likable characters with decent potential, but there's no sense of team unity, of camaraderie. The show could've survived losing Ross, Benton, Greene and Carter if it had just managed to keep that going. And if they hadn't killed off Pratt last-minute, maybe a new team would've evolved around him as the fledgling leader. But the show in its current state leaves things feeling all too disparate.
That said, it dipped into ridiculous territory on more than one occasion. Even the death of Mark Greene, which spawned some of the series' best episodes, has an overblown "big picture". In the last three years of his life, the man lost both his parents, experienced marriage problems galore, and saw his sweet daughter morph into the most overdone caricature of a wild teenager only a year after hitting puberty. Don't forget the part where she almost killed her infant sister with a tab of Ecstasy! How many mirrors did this guy break?!
Generally, and you may inherently run this risk with a large cast, but all too often the writers are willing to treat characters like punching bags. Just reading about Sam Taggart's story arc in the Season 13 finale (which I never saw) makes me groan. Gallant dies because he's in the army and therefore has to. Abby, Luka, Sam, Neela, have all gone through far too much overblown insanity to be functioning members of society. Characters like Malucci, Corday, and Deb Chen got shrugged aside and written off as if there were never any expectation of audience attachment to begin with.
Basically, the writers seem to be in the job of manufacturing drama, rather than expressing how people in a hopsital work as a team, counting as their chief enemies exhaustion, high patient traffic, and disorganization, rather than tanks, hostage situations, and wars in Africa.
To go out on a high note, they should keep things simple and subtle, focus on the team-building element (especially as the new med students get trained) and cram in as many comeback cameos as they can - preferably including Doug Ross and Carol Hathaway paying some sort of long-overdue tribute to the late Dr. Greene.
But, as everyone here is saying, it's been a gradual process. ER works when it's able to be more than the sum of its parts. Nowadays you have some fairly likable characters with decent potential, but there's no sense of team unity, of camaraderie. The show could've survived losing Ross, Benton, Greene and Carter if it had just managed to keep that going. And if they hadn't killed off Pratt last-minute, maybe a new team would've evolved around him as the fledgling leader. But the show in its current state leaves things feeling all too disparate.
That said, it dipped into ridiculous territory on more than one occasion. Even the death of Mark Greene, which spawned some of the series' best episodes, has an overblown "big picture". In the last three years of his life, the man lost both his parents, experienced marriage problems galore, and saw his sweet daughter morph into the most overdone caricature of a wild teenager only a year after hitting puberty. Don't forget the part where she almost killed her infant sister with a tab of Ecstasy! How many mirrors did this guy break?!
Generally, and you may inherently run this risk with a large cast, but all too often the writers are willing to treat characters like punching bags. Just reading about Sam Taggart's story arc in the Season 13 finale (which I never saw) makes me groan. Gallant dies because he's in the army and therefore has to. Abby, Luka, Sam, Neela, have all gone through far too much overblown insanity to be functioning members of society. Characters like Malucci, Corday, and Deb Chen got shrugged aside and written off as if there were never any expectation of audience attachment to begin with.
Basically, the writers seem to be in the job of manufacturing drama, rather than expressing how people in a hopsital work as a team, counting as their chief enemies exhaustion, high patient traffic, and disorganization, rather than tanks, hostage situations, and wars in Africa.
To go out on a high note, they should keep things simple and subtle, focus on the team-building element (especially as the new med students get trained) and cram in as many comeback cameos as they can - preferably including Doug Ross and Carol Hathaway paying some sort of long-overdue tribute to the late Dr. Greene.
Totally unjumped with heal thyself. What a tribute to Michael Crichton. Eriq's words at the beginning were moving, but that whole Anthony Edwards thing was the real tribute. It started slow, but needed to be set up for a second half of ER the likes of which hasn't been seen since love's labor lost. Weaver and Romano's appearances were "cute", but somewhat gratuitous. All in all, rest in peace, Michael Crichton, you did good.
Last night's 11/13/08 ER episode featuring Dr. Mark Green's (flashback) return to the ER was one of the most emotional episodes ER has had in some time. Just thinking about it makes me teary-eyed.
Angela Basset's performance was good as usual, but it was her (real life) husband's performance, Courtney B. Vance, that should be nominated for an Emmy. As an actor it's not difficult to play an emotionally detached character with a perpetually perturbed demeanor, since the emotional range is minimal. But Mr. Vance's character heartbreaking reaction, by crumpling against the wall in the ER and sobbing unconsolibly upon losing his son is worthy of an Emmy. As a viewer you couldn't help but want to reach out and try to comfort this man.
Also without saying, a Supporting Actor's Emmy award should be given to Anthony Edwards for his reprisal of Dr. Mark Green. Mr. Edward's portrayal of his beloved charachter was flawless. After a 6-year absence from the series, Anthony Edwards executed his scenes without hesitation and was on-point in every regard. Truly a remarkable job and one that should be acknowledged and commended.
Two fine actors that make their acting craft admirable and enjoyable to view. I am glad ER is ending with strong episodes - much like when it first started - and finishing its long-run on a high note of quality programming.
Angela Basset's performance was good as usual, but it was her (real life) husband's performance, Courtney B. Vance, that should be nominated for an Emmy. As an actor it's not difficult to play an emotionally detached character with a perpetually perturbed demeanor, since the emotional range is minimal. But Mr. Vance's character heartbreaking reaction, by crumpling against the wall in the ER and sobbing unconsolibly upon losing his son is worthy of an Emmy. As a viewer you couldn't help but want to reach out and try to comfort this man.
Also without saying, a Supporting Actor's Emmy award should be given to Anthony Edwards for his reprisal of Dr. Mark Green. Mr. Edward's portrayal of his beloved charachter was flawless. After a 6-year absence from the series, Anthony Edwards executed his scenes without hesitation and was on-point in every regard. Truly a remarkable job and one that should be acknowledged and commended.
Two fine actors that make their acting craft admirable and enjoyable to view. I am glad ER is ending with strong episodes - much like when it first started - and finishing its long-run on a high note of quality programming.
The show was good until Carter went to Africa, and after that... the Irreality. There is no need to kill all the characters to end a series. I bet, in the finale there is going to be a huge nuclear explosion and everyone is going to die in this Fantastic, unreal and exaggerated ER
A common argument I see against shows like ER, Sopranos or The Shield is their lack of realism. Well, I don't know about you, but I watch television specifically for its lack of realism. Personally, I think ER would be pretty dull if the characters spent 45 minutes of every hour of the show doing tedious paperwork and lancing boils on geriatrics. It's television, allow it some poetic license
I don't think there was one defintive shark jumping moment. I think the jump was slow and steady. It started with Doug Ross' exit and the ultimate was when Dr. Green died. In fact, one could argue the jump started BEFORE Doug left. Remember the Amanda Lee storyline? Just awful.
But once the Original Cast all began their mass exodus the show was not the same. ER was special because of the chemistry the entire cast had with each other. And I loved how Haleh, Lydia, Connie and Chuny all fit in to the storylines. I loved how the nurses used to stick together to keep the doctors from getting to uppity.
You look at the show now and the cast doesn't have the MAGIC the original cast had. The only one who really sticks out is Abby and she gets the best and most well written storylines. The rest of the cast get what ever is left over. Wasn't really like that back in the old days.
But once the Original Cast all began their mass exodus the show was not the same. ER was special because of the chemistry the entire cast had with each other. And I loved how Haleh, Lydia, Connie and Chuny all fit in to the storylines. I loved how the nurses used to stick together to keep the doctors from getting to uppity.
You look at the show now and the cast doesn't have the MAGIC the original cast had. The only one who really sticks out is Abby and she gets the best and most well written storylines. The rest of the cast get what ever is left over. Wasn't really like that back in the old days.
The jumping involved Romano and a helicopter. I just can't decide if it was when he lost his arm, or when the helicopter fell on him.
I always say I'd never go to that hospital. Why would you? Bomb threats,knife wielding murders, small pox, killer helicopters, hostage, situations,kidnapping, exploding ambulances, Why would that hospital still be open? Who in the hell would go to there?
I haven't watched ER in ages...I definitely think it lost a bit when Dr. Ross left. For me, I didn't like the long, drawn-out death of Dr. Greene's father...that's when I ended up checking out (I just found myself losing interest until I quit watching it altogether). I just could never imagine watching ER without Dr. Greene...I'm not surprised to see it has the most votes, although I thought the show jumped before then.
Even though this is FINALLY the final season for this show...I can't bring myself to tune back in to watch any of it. I really loved this show at one time, but I think this one definitely stayed on the air at least 5 seasons too long!
Even though this is FINALLY the final season for this show...I can't bring myself to tune back in to watch any of it. I really loved this show at one time, but I think this one definitely stayed on the air at least 5 seasons too long!
I have to agree with the above posters. I have never seen so many employees die in one place--and so violently at that! What was the point of killing of Dr. Pratt before the last season? The worst part is that he did not die instantly but he had to linger on for the entire show between life and death. He should have been allowed to finish the show and see it to its end. I will NOT be watching this season. Of course they could actually chalk up the experience to a dream of an autistic child. I am venting here because lambasting the writers of this show in its last season, has no consequence or purpose.
I hadn't watched this show in years. I stopped watching with the melodramatic death of Dr. Green. I turned it on once & see a helicoptor fall on another doctor. I justed watched it last week. I don't know any of the cast. And another doctor dies. I am sure i missed a few doctor deaths in between. So if someone wants to leave they kill off the character? I would like to know how many doctors get killed in the E/r in real life. Sounds like a dangerous place to work.
Thomas
Thomas
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