Last night was the series finale of ER. I have to admit I shed a little tear for what was truly a seminal show in television history. When ER debuted in September of 1994, TV was changed forever. As a viewer, the show was unlike any other show on television. It was truly groundbreaking television. I watched ER for 10 of its 15 years on the air, ritualistically every Thursday night at 10PM. It was one of those classic TV shows, whose audience share (in the 40's) will unlikely be duplicated again. It was shot unlike another show on TV with long Steadicam tracking shots, great writing (which also included great dialogue), amazing guest stars, the strongest ensemble cast on TV and made most of its cast into stars. ER was the first 1 hour drama that aired live, twice! I laughed, but more often I cried every week, but beyond the Emmy's and well deserved accolades, ER means more than that to me.......
I started working at Warner Bros. in 1996, almost a year and half after ER had begun airing. 1994 was the golden age of television at Warner Bros. At the time, Warner Bros. had the #1 drama series on the air with ER and the #1 sitcom on the air with FRIENDS. I was honored that I would be working on these 2 shows in the international marketplace. Both shows are very special to me.
I used to walk by the ER soundstage (Stage 11) on the Warner Bros. lot all the time after having lunch at the commissary. I remember being slightly startled the first couple of times I went to lunch at the commissary and saw all sorts of "bloody" extras having their lunch. The only time I was actually on the soundstage was when we would hold international press junkets with the cast. It's during those press junkets that I met George Clooney, Anthony Edwards, Juliana Marguiles and Noah Wylie. George Clooney used to be part of my own personal studio tour when friends would visit. You could always count on George Clooney and the cast to be playing basketball in between takes at the basketball court outside the Warner Bros. gym. Also walking around the lot I would always walk by the exterior set on the other side of the studio lot, where patients would come in from the ambulance bay and on a gurney, slam through the hospital doors and right into the ER. I remember walking to the Warner Bros. gym at night and seeing New York Street closed off while ER was shooting exterior night scenes. I remember looking out of my office window one afternoon and seeing a huge explosion and a fireball rise into the sky from the lot. Armaddeon? No it was just ER shooting a helicopter explosion from an upcoming episode.
But more than the stars, memories and sets, I worked on these shows in international television. In truth, they were easy shows to sell. Every broadcaster around the world wants the #1 U.S. TV show. But more than that, honestly, ER helped me buy my home, car, and supported my salary. Indirectly, but it's true, that without TV from Warner Bros., I might not have any of this. These were more than shows to me, they were passion projects I would have worked on for free, but fortunately Warner Bros. paid me to work on them.
And bravo to John Wells for such amazing writing and directing all these years. This year, the ER episode that featured the return of George Clooney & Julianna Marguiles was excellent writing and a true ER episode. The series finale was another excellent episode from John Wells. As the creative voice of the series, he is one of the most prolific television writers working today.
My fondest memory of ER was when Ewan McGregor was guest starring on a couple of upcoming episodes. Since he was a big European star, I remember our international publicist, Sally Thoun, taking me with her on the set to meet Ewan McGregor. It was such an honor, not only to meet an actor who's work I admired in Shallow Grave, but who had just been cast as Anakin Skywalker in the upcoming Star Wars The Phantom Menace. Another dream come true for me. Thank you ER for a decade of great television in every way.
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