TVSquad

Did you see "The Wall" last night on ER?

I don't know if this so-called "legendary" wall has ever been mentioned on the show before (if it has, I apologize), but I thought it was a rather out of the blue piece of symbolism for the show to have in its final episodes. Neela said that she had heard rumors about the wall but wasn't sure if they were true or just a myth, which I don't really understand because we're talking about a wall in a lower floor room with name tags on it, not the mythical land of Narnia.

All the big names were there from the quick shots I could see: Greene, Ross, Lewis, Gallant, Lockhart, Pratt. Was Carter's tag up there or did he take it off the wall when he came back this season?

This originally was going to be yet another post on how George Clooney might come back to ER one last time in the final season of the show (executive producer John Wells says he hasn't asked him yet). But we've been back and forth on that so many times that we really don't know what's going to happen. However, TV critic Terry Morrow did ask Wells if any characters on the show would be killed off in the show's last season, and Wells says that yes, at least one person on ER will die before the show ends. He didn't, however, say whether it's a current cast member or if it's someone new that will be introduced this season.

So assuming that it's a character we already know, who do you think it should be? After the jump, a poll. Should a helicopter fall on Morris? How about Neela getting shot by a patient? Maybe an explosion in the emergency room can kill everyone except Frank? Are they bringing Noah Wyle back just to kill him with a Sno-Cone machine?

(S14E01) So, here we are.

After 13 years, numerous cast changes, various relationships, and a number of staff deaths, we come to what will probably be the final season of NBC's medical drama ER. This show has come a long way since Doctors Greene, Lewis, Benton, Carter, and Ross (and Nurse Hathaway) entered our Thursday nights. Some of the journey has been rocky (Season 7 was one of the rockiest, in my honest opinion). But, for the most part the trip has been a very good one.

(S13E23) SPOILERS AHEAD!!!! Don't blame me if you read about what happened.

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!

(S13E15 / S13E16) Since I was away last Thursday and ER wasn't covered I decided to review both this and the previous week's shows. And, as there's much to cover let's get started right away.

If you were to sum up last week's episode I would have to say it was all about living life and taking chances. There were two main stories: one about a comedian whose chance at stardom is shot down by cancer, and another about Greg Pratt's survival as a doctor while appearing before the medical board. The comedian's plight really got to me, more than the usual patient that comes into the Emergency Room. Here was a guy who struggled to get to Chicago, home to some of the best comedy clubs in the nation, only to get side-tracked by a life-ending illness. I thought about myself when I watched that. Here I am, husband, father of four, TV Squad poster extraordinaire, currently embarking on an Improv career that will one day, hopefully, get me out of my little cubicle world. Like that patient my world could be turned upside-down just like that (insert snapping finger noise here).

What surprised me the most about this story line was the reactions of the doctors that treated him. Abby, who has been known to stay the course when making a diagnosis, was trying everything to get her patient to the comedy club. Archie Morris, who you would think would be propping the guy up on a stretcher to get him to the gig, was extremely conservative to the point that he was actually at odds with Abby's decision. I was a bit shocked at Morris' reaction . . . our little red-headed boy is growing up right before our eyes.

(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?

(S13E08) Greetings, all you ER-heads! Just a quick note of clarification. Last week's review was mislabeled as episode six. It was actually number seven of the 13th season of ER. We are now back on track with the numbering.

Now that business is out of the way, let's bound ahead with this week's review. I would label this as a standard episode. Nothing earth-shattering occurred, no huge character developments. Just another episode to move the season along. Not to say it wasn't good, because it was. I guess you could say it was a placeholder episode, taking a breath before something bigger occurs.

Let's highlight a few important points, shall we? First, the plot with the homeless boy who comes in with rabies. Maybe I'm wrong, but it felt very mythical. Almost Lord of the Rings-like. There was the 'Blue Lady' with the secret name who was the heroine, and the 'Blood-Face Lady' who was the villain. Heck, with all of his curly hair the boy named Teller looked like a young Frodo Baggins. I wonder if we'll see those kids again in a future episode.