This is also where Neela (Parminder Nagra) placed her nametag when she left towards the end of the season. I was never a huge fan of her character but her exit was fitting and appropriate as we see her place her nametag on the wall where everyone who had ever left (for good or bad reasons) had theirs placed. Another major plotline involved Abby’s (Maura Tierney) final appearance in the ER in the episode “The Book of Abby”, in which she decides to leave without really telling anyone.
It provided amazing performances for both Bassett and Vance, though, and was one of the best episodes of the season. It had happened right around the time that he was being diagnosed with a brain tumor that eventually killed him, and the early effects of that were clearly seen. Weaver (Laura Innes) made appearances, Edwards’ being the biggest. This was the story that was told in the amazing episode “Heal Thyself”, acting as a flashback, of course, in which Edwards, Dr. Mark Greene (Anthony Edwards) having been the one who tried to save him. Vance) lost a son years ago, it having happened right there in the ER and Dr. Her ghosts from the past motivate her she and her husband Russell (Courtney B. One of the other main arcs besides that of Carter’s involved new ER chief Catherine Banfield (Angela Bassett), tough and resilient as a lot of chiefs were throughout the years. I can’t really fault any of the plotlines this season. When Tom Arnold in a jester's hat wants you to do something, you better fucking do it. It’s solid through and through, harkening back to the old days of the show and in a few cases making one think the show could have lasted even longer. It might be why ER lasted so long, but my point is that the 15th season was not tainted by any of this.
Big networks, however, tend to let their shows go on a little bit longer because creativity and originality isn’t always important when you have a show that can maintain the status quo and still retain an audience. Networks and showrunners mostly know when to quit, know when an audience has had enough or more importantly, know creatively when to pull the plug and when all avenues of possible greatness have been traveled. It’s why these days so many shows, dramas anyway, might only last 5, 6, maybe 7 seasons. A dip in quality is expected when you’re on top for so long and tend to not know when to quit. I really don’t believe the show got bad or unwatchable. But I fail to be cynical and see it all that way. That may have been true for a time after Anthony Edwards left, as silliness tended to be a little more prevalent after that point and the things that happened seemed a little further from reality. Lots of folks like to jump up on their soap boxes declaring that a show has “jumped the shark” or seen better days. The 15th season, I can tell you, was one of the finest the show ever saw. And it single-handedly created my passion for television. I realized, of course, that there were many great dramatic shows in the 80s/early 90s, but I think it’s safe to say that ER changed television forever for the better.
#Er season 15 tv#
With the inception of ER, I realized that TV could (and should) be something a little more important and impactful. That’s essentially what I grew up on in early life.
The extent of a lot of my intake was TGIF, various cartoons, or a lot of other sitcom type shows. It’s most likely the first real drama I ever watched, as it debuted when I was almost 11 years old and before then hadn’t truly watched a lot of dramatic television. (warning: some of you reading this may consider it spoilerish)ĮR is quite possibly my favorite show of all time. No one had the heart to tell Sally that she wouldn't have a future playing softball.