Now THAT's How You End a TV Series

It's not often I feel the need or urge to comment on anything related to television. If I did it would probably be mostly to complain. There just isn't a lot of good stuff on these days and I could count on one hand the amount of unmissable shows. In case you hadn't heard, Thursday night they aired the final episode of E.R., ending its 15-year run. And here's where I give you the opening to insert your own personal "Who cares?" or "I stopped watching this show 10 years ago" comment. I'm not going to pretend I'm a big fan of the show either or that its best years weren't behind it, but any way you look at it 15 years is a long time. To fully put this in perspective, Bill Clinton was serving his first term in office when it premiered. That's pretty damn impressive.

I won't bore you with a long, detailed review of the finale even though the episode was anything BUT boring. I realize everyone stopped tuning in and caring years ago, even if the 17 million indicate a lot more people tuned in Thursday than are willing to admit it. I always found the idea of series finales fascinating. More specifically, the idea that a show can run for a number of years, run out of gas, then limp to the finish line because the writers and producers threw their hands up in the air and just gave up. For every M*A*S*H that finishes in a blaze of glory there seem to be ten The X-Files. It's as if they have no clue that the final episode will be the last thing viewers remember and a bad send-off can tarnish the legacy of its entire run.

In E.R.'s final season the producers proved that they do have a clue and that they cared. Here's hoping the other networks were watching and taking notes because they just taught a master class on how to end a series. Fan of the show or not, they pulled out all the stops and what they pulled off is commendable. The amount of detail and dedication they put into closing this out was astounding, and all this for a show that very few were watching anymore! I'm not sure whether he was inspired by the recent death of creator Michael Crichton or he just knows how to deliver under pressure but writer/producer John Wells clearly summoned up every ounce of creative strength he had to make sure the show went out on not just a high note, but the highest one.

For their part, NBC was smart enough to treat it like an important TV event in an age where important TV events are becoming scarce. It may not have been but the point is that it was treated as one and because of that it felt like one. Besides giving it a one-hour retrospective and 2-hour finale they went all out, balls-to-the-wall and brought back EVERY SINGLE MAJOR CHARACTER from the show's run. Noah Wyle, Eriq LaSalle, Julianna Margulies, Sherry Stringfield (who apparently hasn't aged a day), Laura Innes, Alex Kingston and Paul McCrane all returned to reprise their roles in the final season. Of course, the big joke here is "What else did they have to do?" but, hey, I'm just impressed the producers even thought to ask. See what happens when you TRY.

But wait....we're not done yet. They didn't stop there. They actually went out and brought back Clooney. I don't know whether to be more surprised they had the guts to ask or that accepted with supposedly very little hesitation. If this isn't enough, they even somehow found a way to work back in Anthony Edwards back into the show via flashback in a really clever, believable way despite the fact that his Dr. Greene passed away years ago. Yes, they even dragged corpses back for this. Even if you're not or have never been a regular viewer (which I admittedly haven't been) you have to applaud the lengths they went to here to give the dedicated fans a celebration to remember. Why can't this happen more often? Instead, producers sabotage their own shows to screw the networks and everyone loses.

All of these creative decisions already far exceed reasonable expectations for a departing show (even one this long-running), but they STILL weren't finished. Rather than distractingly jam all these characters into the final episode in a forced, cliched way like any other program would, they knew to spread the wealth, sprinkling the returning characters into various episodes throughout the last episodes in such a way that it didn't needlessly call attention to itself or feel like a gimmick. When they showed up it felt real and organic, rather than something manufactured to grab ratings. Nor did they give in to the temptation to use the bigger names in such a way that it would steal the thunder from any of the current cast members, potentially short-changing their story arcs. And at a time when NBC could have easily been planning a funeral this was finishing so strong they actually added 3 more additional episodes to the final season.

Throughout its run E.R. has been known for its frequent use of big name guest stars but for the finale they took a HUGE RISK by casting a fairly well-known but mostly untested actress (Alexis Bledel) against type and giving her an absolutely enormous role in the show's last 120 minutes on the air. It should have resulted in disaster but she came off like a pro and seemed so comfortable in the part you'd think she'd been a series regular for years. Of the reviews I've read of the episode and people I've talked to, all of them have universally praised Bledel's performance, unheard of considering guest stars are frowned upon in finales where we're so accustomed to the focus being on series regulars. But they're right. She hit it out of the park under tough circumstances.

There's always that tendency when a "name" guest stars on something like E.R. to say that they're slumming it but with Bledel and the 92 year-old (!) Ernest Borgnine (who will probably earn an Emmy nod for his work) it sure didn't feel like it. They actually raised the caliber of the episode and likely earned a few more fans and some respect in the process. But that's not what I liked most about the episode. Most impressive of all was that they knew that Noah Wyle's Dr. Carter should have be the focal point of the episode because he was the character and actor who meant the most to the show throughout its run and he was who all the action should revolve around. It wasn't that obvious a choice and I could easily envision a lesser writer missing it. He was there at the beginning and there at the very end, giving back and doing what was done for him in the pilot. Full Circle.

In a surprising stroke of genius, they even brought back a minor but important character that perfectly tied the legacy of the show together while simultaneously paying tribute the roots of the show. I couldn't believe they actually thought to do it and there were tons of little details in a similar vain. Even the last line uttered in the episode and final shot MEANT SOMETHING. Just the right amount of loose ends were tied up and enough left unresolved. And if I got chills from the final scene I could only imagine how the longtime, diehards reacted. I've talked to a couple of casual viewers who told me they thought the finale was so strong they've questioned NBC's decision to cancel it and think that it was fleshed out so well that there was an opening for a spin-off. There was this feeling that there could be a little more gas in the tank, but best end it now. And that's exactly how a final episode should leave you feeling if its done its job.

Like I said, I'm hardly a frequent follower of the show but I just had to pause and give NBC credit. They didn't have to do it and certainly gain little from a monetary standpoint considering the show was going off the air no matter what. They also could have easily showboated Clooney's appearance but didn't. This and their recent renewal of Friday Night Lights (enjoying a creative resurgence that's another blog topic in itself) for two more seasons gives me hope that these network executives may have brains after all.

Moving forward, what Wells did could act as a blueprint for other shows drawing to a close. For a while I've thought about making a list of the best series finales and it would be interesting to see where this would show up on it. The general consensus seems to be that it was good, but that's it. I couldn't disagree more. Everyone has been shortchanging how hard this was to pull off. It's really tough to encapsulate what makes an entire series special (especially one with over a decade's history) in a single two-hour episode but they somehow managed to do it in a restrained, classy way.

Next year, ABC will face a similar challenge when they have to close out Lost. The pressure is really going to be on there since people are actually still watching that show and its rabid, cult fanbase expect only the best, as they should. Besides being a drama that's run for far shorter a time, the rules are also way different for sending it off. You have to wonder if anything they deliver could possibly meet expectations. And that's why these finales are so tricky. With apologies to Ben McKenzie, something tells me 15 years from now families won't be gathered around the TV watching the final episode of Wells' new cop drama Southland, the show "replacing" E.R. The constant promos clobbering us with hype for that upcoming series may have been the only black mark on an otherwise stellar presentation from NBC.

The episode made me consider whether E.R. really needed to go away. Did it really drop THAT MUCH in quality or did we just take it for granted? It's always been one of the shows that if you were flipping through the channels you'd keep watching because you knew it was at least smart and always technically sound. That's a lot more than you can say for most other shows on the air right now. That the finale actually had me asking myself this question speaks to how well it was executed. Because of this more will be willing to overlook the fact that the series stayed past its expiration date and embrace its legacy. I never thought it was THAT influential a program, but now I'm not so sure. But it should have ended. The timing was right and the final show confirmed it in a way we wish all shows could. 15 years IS a long time, but there's something to be said for going out on top.