TVSquad

Yeah, you read it right. This will be season 14 of NBC's ER, and probably its last. There were rumors that the show would be renewed for another two years, but they never came to fruition.

Last season brought a number of changes to the Emergency Room over at County General. We were introduced to John Stamos as Tony Gates and Busy Philips as Hope Bobeck and said good-bye to Laura Innes as she left the series and her role as Kerry Weaver. By the end of the season we saw Luka Kovac leave his role as ER chief to be replaced by the more intense Dr. Kevin Moretti (played by Stanley Tucci), Ray Barnett lose both legs to a car accident, and Neela (our favorite object of attention) being trampled upon during a peace rally gone bad

Want to know what will happen to your favorite docs during the (supposed) last season of ER? Well, you can find out after the jump. Oh, by the way . . . .SPOILER WARNING!!!! You have been duly alerted.

(S13E23)

Dammit! ER blindsided me again! A few months ago they did it when Dr. Weaver resigned from County General. And now, in the the 13th season finale, they did it again with Ray Barnett. From the previews on last week's show we knew that Neela was going to find Ray in another hospital, so that wasn't a surprise. But, when he rolled his wheelchair to face her, well . . . Holy Crap!

(S13E20) Lights out. A-ha. Blast, blast, blast!

Oh, hello there. Didn't see you come in. I must admit you caught me singing. See, the title of this week's ER reminded me of Lights Out, the Peter Wolf song from the early 1980's. That, of course, reminds me of Wolf's former band,the J. Geils Band, which reminds me of their song Centerfold, which reminds me of MTV. That reminds me of how sucky MTV has become.

But, we're not here to talk about the glory days of a music-video channel. We're here to talk about this week's episode, which was another good one. Really, this has been a solid season for this classic medical drama. If they decided to pull the plug on the show at the end of this season I would feel quite satisfied that they left on an up note. Luckily, we have at least one more season of the show to enjoy before it goes to the Eternal Land of Syndication. In the meantime, let's talk about what went on this time around.

(S13E19) Even after 13 seasons and 285 (!) episodes ER can still get to me once in awhile. There will be that one storyline, that one character, that will just hit a raw spot with me and generate a overwhelming feeling of sadness of sympathy. This week's episode had one of those story lines.

It involved a son, who never took care of himself and was dying of heart failure, and his father, who was well into his bout with Alzheimer's Disease. As the episode progressed the son died with the father there to watch. His reaction to his son's death was a bit heart-wrenching to watch. Maybe it's because I have a young son of my own and I would never want to be in a situation where I watch him die before my very eyes.

(S13E13) I think ER may have reached a record here. I've lost count, but this could be the five millionth time that the staff at County General have encountered a pair of step-brothers whose father only loves one and not the other. And, the six millionth time that the father seemed to be a bastard. Also, unless I'm mistaken, this is the infinity plus one time that a doctor has confronted that parent and told them, in no uncertain terms, that he was an a**hole. It goes back to the very first days of the show when Dr. Ross (the dashing and dapper George Clooney) would berate a parent at least once an episode.

Man, I've been watching this show too long! This week, the Ray-Neela-Gates love triangle continues, Pratt is in trouble with the law, Abby discovers why Eddie is really in Chicago, and Laura Innes says good-bye to ER.

So, what are you dawdling around for? Let's get going!

(S13E11) McCreamy. Yes, in a, um, subtle jab to another popular medical drama on an opposing network, Neela is introduced to a doctor who has a certain addiction to, well, spanking his monkey (that's the medical term, of course). The interns in the surgical department have nicknamed him McCreamy. He tries to shake Neela's hand after she finds out about his secret, but she makes a hasty getaway.

Okay, that wasn't the main plot of this week's episode, but I wanted to mention it first just so I wouldn't forget it. No, this week was the annual Christmas episode. And, like past seasons, this episode featured hope, good cheer, and some misty eye moments. That, and it was pretty much Abby and Luka free. We only saw them three times this episode. We also learned that Curtis Ames had filed a restraining order against Luka after the good doctor threatened to kill the stroke victim in last week's airing. Luka, Luka, Luka, won't you ever learn?

(S13E10) A few weeks ago one of our avid readers (may have been my brother, actually) said I should mention the radical change that Kerry Weaver has gone through this season. She's a kinder, more gentle Kerry that is on the screen now; a radical change from the authoritative, power-hungry doctor she was since she stepped into County General during the second season. It could be that her recent hip replacement, along with her son, have made her realize that there is more to life then being someone who rules over others. And the fear of homosexuality back in the sixth season? Well, that is completely and totally gone, as seen this week when Kerry snogged the producer of her television segments.

With that out of the way, let's get to the bulk of this week's review.

(S13E07) Hey there! Before I begin I want to thank Jen Creer for filling in for me last week while I was out. You da, er, woman, Jen! And now, let's begin.

I'm not a big fan of the 'one patient' episodes that ER gives us a few times each season. Personally, I love the breakneck pace of seeing a number of patients that the show has been famous for. But, this time it was different. Most likely because it was the doctor who was treating the patient . . . Archie Morris. After wishing for a focus piece on our selfish, red-headed doctor after seeing him at work in the season premiere we finally got one this week.