TVSquad

No, George Clooney did not show up for the series finale of ER.

But it was a pretty good finale anyway. It's impossible to please all fans of a long-running show in a series finale because we expect too much, and what we expect can change depending on whether you've been watching it since the beginning or just started four years ago. Do they focus on the old cast members coming back and focus on the people who have been there for the past few years? Do they tie up all loose ends neatly in a bow or leave things open-ended because that's how life is? ER managed to do both last night.

After the jump, the good and bad about the last episode of ER.

So yes, George Clooney was indeed on ER last night.

The episode, overall, was very good. The banter between Carter and Benton was great, and it was great to see Eriq LaSalle again, and the way they reintroduced Doug and Carol into the plot was really well done and didn't seem forced or stupid. The show deserves points for that. It didn't work 100% though. Here's what I loved and what I didn't love about the episode.

If you've been watching NBC this week, you've probably seen all the promos for tonight's episode of ER. The episode is called "Old Times" and will feature former stars Juliana Margulies and Eriq LaSalle (joining Noah Wyle, who has been back for a couple of weeks). But one star who is supposed to be on the show before it ends in early April, George Clooney, isn't in the promos for tonight's episode. Does that mean he's not on until a later episode?

Probably not. Producer John Wells is telling fans to make sure they watch tonight's episode, and Margulies has already said that she has filmed scenes with Clooney, so it's a good bet that he's on tonight's episode. Also, if you notice that at the very end of the promo, the screen suddenly goes black when Margulies says hello to someone she sees. Above is a pic of Clooney on the set when he filmed his scenes in January.

Wow, just the other day we told you about George Clooney coming back to ER for an episode this final season, and now it has been confirmed that his on-screen wife is coming back to the show too.

Juliana Margulies, who played Nurse Carol Hathaway on the show before she and Clooney walked off into the sunset in a surprise scene in her last episode, has agreed to come back to the show too. She and Clooney are going to film their scenes later this week. Margulies joins Anthony Edwards, Laura Innes, Alex Kingston, Paul McCrane, Abraham Benrubi, who have already made return engagements this season, and Noah Wyle, William H. Macy, and Eriq LaSalle. who are still to come (Gloria Reuben made an appearance last season). You know who'd I'd like to see return to the show one last time? Sherry Stringfield. Susan Lewis was one of my favorite characters.

The last episode of the show airs April 2.

Awww, Juliana, you don't want to come back to County?

Seems like we've been hearing news about old ER members coming back to the show for its final season, and now comes word from Juliana Marguiles. The actress says that she won't be coming back to the show because she thinks that Carol Hathaway left on a good note and she really can't see how they could top it. A lot of fans would probably say they don't want them to top the character's last appearance, they just want to see the character one more time before the series fades off into the sunset.

I'm not sure what George Clooney fans are called. Clooneys? Cloonsters? Cloons? Whatever you fans are called, you're probably going to be very happy about this news.

In an upcoming TV Guide interview, ex-ER star Noah Wyle (who will be appearing in several episodes this last season) says that Clooney said he will "absolutely" appear in the show in an episode, at least if his schedule permits it (though I'm sure he'll make the time). This has been off again and on again for so many months, but I think Clooney will do it.

Remember what a jerk Eriq LaSalle was as Dr. Peter Benton on ER? You know, a real hard-ass. Well, it turns out his dynamic performance as that character may be because he wasn't acting. At the Hallmark Channel press tour, LaSalle got ticked off when asked about ER.

He was meeting the press to answer questions about his TV movie, Relative Stranger, which will air next January. When LaSalle noticed that there were a plethora of questions about ER -- for him and co-stars Michael Michele and Michael Beach, both of whom had also been on NBC's long-running medical drama -- Eriq flared.

"Okay, I mean look, it was a defining moment, you know, for a lot of us as artists. You know, it was a show that was a little bit ahead of its time. We had a great time doing it. I don't know what else to say. I talked about the show so much. I prefer to talk about Relative Stranger."

Of course, getting George Clooney to come back would be a dream come true for ER producers, but they are trying to bring back old favorites for the final season (probably) of the hit NBC drama.

So far, only Noah Wyle has officially signed to come back to the show. He'll be on for several episodes, and in the ER not Africa (thank God). But producers have also talked to Julianna Marguiles and Gloria Reuben about coming back, and would love to also grab Eriq LaSalle, William H. Macy, and Laura Innes.

Eriq LaSalle, who played Doctor Peter Benton on ER from 1994 to 2001, returns to NBC's prime-time schedule in January. This time, though, he won't be acting. Rather, he will be behind the cameras as he directs an episode of Law & Order: SVU.

LaSalle will be reunited with SVU cast member Mariska Hargitay, who portrayed Cynthia Hooper during the fourth season of ER, and Michael Michele, who played Doctor Cleo Finch (and Benton's girlfriend) for two seasons on the medical drama. In the episode itself, which will air January 9th, a messy marital estrangement and subsequent custody battle (are there any others on SVU) will pit Valerie Sennet (Michele) against her estranged husband Miles Sennett (Blair Underwood) and result in some secrets being discovered by detectives Benson (Hargitay) and Stabler.