E.R. will always hold a special place in my heart. The biggest reason I feel such nostalgia for the show is that it started right before I got married. I associate its debut with my impending nuptials and beginning a new life with my husband and daughter. Six more kids, three moves, two housing purchases, and many other twists and turns in our lives later -- E.R. was still there. Until tonight.
Over the years, my husband lost interest, but would sit down to watch once in a while. Though my interest vacillated -- waning with the departure of Clooney, waxing with the arrival of Visnjic -- I seldom missed seeing a new episode on the night it aired. I'm pretty sure I have seen every single one.
There was so much to love about the show. The characters drew you in, the medicine was authentic and the dilemmas were topical. The show tackled everything from the potentially lethal dangers of forgoing immunizations to the role that health care providers play in abuse intervention. There was plenty of fun, romance and drama to bring me back each week.
Of course, there were a lot of times I wanted to throw a brick through the screen -- usually because of the obvious pro-abortion stance of the show. While an early episode showed Nurse Carol -- after Dr. Ross dismissed a girl's hesitation to abort -- taking the time to talk to her and eventually bringing in the girl's mother to facilitate a life-affirming choice -- more often than not, the pro-life perspective was antagonized.
Those who championed life -- who suggested better solutions than abortion -- were presented as religious zealots, control freaks or unsympathetic neanderthals.
Sure, Carol also yelled at a woman who tricked the staff into performing a free ultrasound so she could then abort the girl she didn't want. And another time a doctor fought through a couple's fear to do right by both of her patients -- the mother and her unborn child -- and told them with patience both would be alright and there was no need to abort. But for every one of these rare instances, there were myriad pro-abortion story arcs.
In an episode where an abortion clinic was bombed (eye-roll!), the few positive pro-life messages were drowned out by the pro-abortion cacophony. A scene had Dr. Weaver proclaiming the atrocious conditions she witnessed in Africa convinced her that "choice" was the answer. (Funny, I would have dedicated myself to improving those conditions, not destroying the children as the remedy. Most Africans view every child as a precious gift, even those conceived as a result of an enemy's rape-as-warfare.)
Another night, a mom-of-many seemed overwhelmed by her brood and fainted from her latest pregnancy. Did the staff help her by finding some kind of parenting or childcare assistance? No, they declare -- after knowing and talking to them for all of a few minutes -- that the husband was "controlling" and that the woman really wanted an abortion. So she was secretly aborted against her husband's wishes. Infuriating.
I considered boycotting more than once. I did when House had the good doctor convince a woman -- bearing a child conceived by rape -- that her child didn't deserve to live and that she shouldn't punish herself by carrying him. She aborted. I stopped watching in protest. The following season, I happened to see when Dr. House performed surgery on a a pre-born and the tiny hand reached out and grasped his finger. The cynical surgeon was deeply moved and showed signs of reconsidering his viewpoint. Almost all was forgiven and I started watching again.
But as for E.R. -- I would still tune in the following week, and they would expose the latest medical danger or highlight the latest technology or procedure -- educating their audience in a way no brochure or PSA ever could. And I was in love again, and would keep tuning in.
But tonight the love/hate affair ends, and I have mixed feelings. I'm fairly certain no show will ever captivate me in quite the same way again. Or have as much a connection to my family life. But in a way, it's alright that it's ending. My marriage happily endures -- and so will E.R. in the land of reruns. And overall, the world is a slightly better place because of both of them.
Thanks for the memories.
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