We all know that ER is famous for its deaths. Not only of the patients that are served by Chicago's County General but of its staff as well. Particularly in its emergency room. Fact of the matter is, there have been so many deaths of ER personnel that I'm surprised that a police investigation hasn't been opened to determined if they were natural or a bit suspicious. Some of these deaths have been shocking, such as Lucy Knight's during season six. Others were long in coming, like Mark Greene's peaceful death in season 8.
As ER began its fifteenth and last season on Thursday fans were presented with the death of another long-standing character, Greg Pratt, who decided to travel on the ambulance that exploded at the end of last season. My question is this: did his death come too soon?
There's a good chance that the decision to terminate Pratt in the season premiere was Mekhi Phifer's since he had expressed a wish to leave the show after nearly a decade. However, should this death have taken place at the beginning of the season, or at all? I understand that ER has made it somewhat of a tradition over the last few seasons to put its doctors in mortal peril at the end of each season, but the results have usually been positive and the doctors have recovered. By ending Phifer's role as Pratt right at the beginning of the season just seemed a bit too convenient.
Granted, it allows the return of Noah Wyle to the series as well as the introduction of Angela Bassett to the show (as another attending who has issues with the ER staff. Big surprise.), but it leaves an empty anchor spot on the show, especially since Maura Tierney will be departing shortly. As the last season of ER will be a shortened one there won't be a chance to establish the status quo. What this could mean is that the show goes out with a whimper rather than a well-deserved bang.
So, what do you think? Should Pratt have remained alive, at least for a bit of time, until the staff had time to adjust to the new status quo? Or, was his death the best thing to lead ER into the best season of its history?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
9-29-2008 @ 1:16PM
Blair Mitchelmore said...
I don't watch ER, so this doesn't really affect me, but having a post titled "Greg Pratt's fate" and then having it warn of spoilers is pretty much a guarantee that people who watch the show and haven't seen it are now spoiled.
Some tact in titling would be smart. Maybe "Is ER too glib about killing characters?" or "Was the ER death last week too soon?" or anything but "So do you think Greg Pratt was killed too soon last week? Oh by the way, spoilers."
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9-29-2008 @ 1:37PM
deebopalula said...
REALLY!!! I haven't watched ER since Clooney left, but I read the post title and realized that a character named "Greg Pratt" had been killed off. And then you follow that with "SPOILER ALERT!"?? Sheesh - What are you guys at TV Guide smoking these days?
9-29-2008 @ 1:43PM
deebopalula said...
Oops - tv SQUAD, that is - LOL!
9-29-2008 @ 2:06PM
CJ said...
You know, don't read a TV blog if you haven't watched your TV show by now. I don't.
9-29-2008 @ 2:43PM
bcarter3 said...
The show aired FIVE DAYS AGO. There's no reasonable way that commenting on it could be considered a spoiler.
But since the people objecting "don't watch ER" or "haven't watched ER since Clooney left", their messages seem to be simply complaining for its own sake.
9-29-2008 @ 1:43PM
JLTorrente said...
Well... I prefer spoilers than non-reviews... I'm so sad with this blog... it used to be my favorite one but lately has been SO poorly managed that I'm looking for some similar alternative, where are the True Blood and Entourage reviews? :(
I bet that Prison Break, Sarah Connor, and Life will NOT get a review... and the Heroes one will be a poorly written piece of waste.
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9-29-2008 @ 4:57PM
Digby said...
If you find a similar alternative let me know
9-29-2008 @ 2:22PM
Vito said...
I agree with everybody:
- TV Squad should do a better job of protecting spoilers
- Don't complain too loudly if you are spoiled since that's the chance you take reading a TV blog
- What is up with TV Squad lately? No Bones reviews in 2 weeks. Boo!
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9-29-2008 @ 2:30PM
Dan said...
Most replies about ER seem so desperate to tell us all that they have not watched ER since... ooh... forever.
and that it's past its prime. blah blah. blah.
So, why read threads about it?
And yes. Putting spoilers warning after a major spoiler is rather silly.
I'm from the UK, so have yet to see this.
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9-29-2008 @ 2:34PM
ThatHollie said...
I feel that everyone on the show should be killed off every week, and then they should all be back on the next episode without any explanation. Since this is the last season, making casting changes is just like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic anyway.
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9-29-2008 @ 2:41PM
kat said...
you guys are funny...pratt was killed off seasons and seasons ago. if you don't watch the show, how do you know what you're talking about?
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9-29-2008 @ 3:01PM
kat said...
i'm an idiot. i'm thinking of gant(i think).
9-30-2008 @ 11:49AM
lauch said...
First of all...ER has been dead to me for years.
Secondly, if you don't want spoilers to shows, then don't read blogs about shows. You can complain all you want, but it's their job to get "breaking news" about your shows..and some of that includes spoilers...whether they warn you or not.
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9-29-2008 @ 2:45PM
RichK said...
I took the Spoiler Alert down a few hours ago. Look, I know you're upset about the changes to the site, but I have nothing to do with them. If you can be a bit patient we will be having an announcement on Wednesday about the site and where it's heading.
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9-29-2008 @ 6:37PM
deebopalula said...
Thanks for that info Rich. Much appreciated. I look forward with interest....
9-29-2008 @ 2:57PM
keidalgrim said...
Sheesh, I thought it might just be little ol' me, but I guess not. Something has gone very wrong at TV Squad. I can't say how long the stink has been in the air, but it's been a while now. Some of the best shows out there are receiving no attention whatsoever in this space. That, and the coverage the loathesomely (yikes, did I just write that) average shows are getting is just ho-hum boring.
And yeah, if you're gonna follow up a title like "Pratt's Fate" with a heads-up Spoiler's Alert, your time as a writer has come, my friend.
Delicious and oh, so sad.
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9-29-2008 @ 3:12PM
Isabelle Carreau said...
Pratt is actually one of the reasons why I stopped watching the show at the end of Season 13. He was one of the characters I found annoying and I prayed every week that he would not be in the episode so that I could enjoy the show. I do not wish death on anyone, even TV characters, but I'm glad Pratt was written out.
Pratt or no Pratt, I will watch the special episodes of the season, including the one with a lot of flashback sequences with Dr. Greene.
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9-29-2008 @ 8:53PM
StillBash said...
Same here. I didn't feel anything when they had the get-together in the bar at the end of the episode. It was a big nothing for me...
9-29-2008 @ 3:14PM
slcjhc said...
Thanks for letting us know that we can expect an annoucement on Wednesday. Even those who have not voiced their concerns have noticed the lack of reviews and have wondered.
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9-29-2008 @ 3:30PM
JW said...
I am not a regular follower of ER, but I do catch it sometimes in the mornings on TNT, and I am going to try my best to watch the last season. I think with Pratt gone, I don't really know what to expect know, they didn't even leave a cliffhanger at the end of the show. I liked Pratt, but I am sure anyone that watches ER has a favorite character that got killed off. I think it's silly to kill off someone because the actor wants it done, Maura Tierney wanted her character killed off a while back, and it hasn't happened yet. We don't know what is in store yet, so it's 50/50 on whether Pratt should have been killed off. If you haven't watched Thursday's episode by now you got no reason to complain about a "spoiler", if the episode hadn't been aired yet I could understand, but most people have seen it by now.
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