flat line er

when carol hathaway left county and flew to seattle in haste to meet up with prince charming, i thought, that was it, i'm not going to tune in to any more er episodes. but nine years later, despite a drop in the ratings and the advent of other medical dramas such as grey's anatomy, i was still an avid viewer. i might not have caught every episode but was still acutely aware of the story arc of every major character. death was a recurrent theme for some of the leads, dr. green yielded to brain tumor whilst doctors romano, gallant and pratt all passed away in horrible circumstances. some moved to other states to make fresh starts while carter plied his trade in africa and developed amyloidosis leading to end stage failure of his remaining kidney.

there were several romantic hook-ups. some of those i wasn't really keen on from the beginning. abby and carter seemed like a sweet pair but that break-up letter was pretty brutal. the nerve of the guy. however between the two, abby was able to conquer various stumbling blocks to find bliss with a hot croatian while carter returned to county, got a transplant and inaugurated the joshua carter building. his marriage situation however seemed vague. his wife travelled all the way from paris and for her to leave the next night?

but er's strength is not merely dependent on staff triumphs and imbroglios. the medical plots drive the series through a decade and a half. the struggle between life and death, the worst case scenarios, the debate between medics and surgeons, the blood, the amputated limbs, frank and jerry, anspaugh, weaver, romano-- so many names, tons and tons of exigencies that had been etched in the fiber of our viewing habits. it's sad there are no more new episodes. i would love to see a few bits of brenner. but in this age of flux, we all know it's time to let go.