TVSquad

No, NBC isn't thinking about giving the show another season, but they are definitely thinking about making this current last season of the show last just a little bit longer.

How are they going to do that? The network is planning to have the last 4 episodes of the show be 5 hours long each.

OK, I'm just kidding about that. Actually, they're thinking about increasing the number of episodes of this final season of ER from 19 to 22. A full season for many shows is usually around 22 episodes, so this wouldn't be anything special, but they did plan to have a shorter season of the show all along so this 3 episode increase is good news for fans. And probably the network too, since it still gets good ratings each week, even though it's been on the air since 1994.

The same thing happened last season. Everyone thought that the ratings would go down and that it would be the last season, and then the show started to do great in the ratings, even beating other NBC shows they tried.

I have come to an epiphany when it comes to American Dad and Family Guy: a studio audience is needed. I came to this realization after attending both the Comic-Con panels for these respective shows, which showed clips from their respective series. Scenes that I would have generally smirked at or given a chuckle made me laugh out loud along with the rest of the audience. Which brings me to one of two conclusions: either laughter is contagious, or I am just a lemming.

Either way, an enjoyable two hours was spent with casts from both shows as they did some table readings, provided some clues to upcoming episodes,and provided clips from some previously run and new episodes of both shows.

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?

Casting news from ER: Stanley Tucci, star of the very short-lived CBS drama 3 Lbs last year, will join the show later this year for a multi-episode stint.

He's going to play "a brilliant ICU turned ER chief," in just one of many big changes that are coming to the show. TV Guide wonders if this means that Goran Visnjic will be replaced, since it has been reported that Visnjic might not return next season (though producers are trying to get him to agree to star in a few episodes here and there).

This is interesting casting, going for an older guy instead of a resident hunk (sorry, nothing against Tucci's hunkiness). This guy deserves a weekly show. I remember a TV movie from years ago, a pilot for a series produced by Tom Selleck, that had Tucci as a detective. The show never made it, so I hope this works out.

[via TV Tattle]

(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?

(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.

What's happening on ER these days? It must be something big because the NBC hospital drama made a huge comeback last week, beating out a repeat of Without a Trace with 15.4 million viewers. Yes, it was a repeat. But, even the repeats on CBS have been kicking NBC's butt lately.

I gave up on ER years ago, even before George Clooney left, because I couldn't handle having a major emotional breakdown each week. I tuned in for a couple of key episodes over the years: i.e. when Lucy and Carter got stabbed in the kidneys, when Doug left, when Carol left, and when Dr. Green died.

So tell me, is it any good?

Scott Grimes is actually one of the few famous people I can say I knew somewhat well at one time. Back sometime around 5th grade or so, Scott was in my class in a small grammar school in Dracut, Massachusetts. I remember his first forays into the acting world, as he sang and performed well beyond a young kid's talents in school plays, then public television talent shows and eventually commercials. I remember at one point, he'd gotten a gig with a popular (at the time) toy car company, and how jealous we were that they gave him a bunch of the cars for doing the commercial. Times sure have changed for Mr. Grimes since those days.