Reid About It

The NBC drama "ER" has finally ended its run, fifteen years after staking its claim to Thursday night.

In all honesty, I haven't watched the show regularly in this decade. Still, it's hard to believe the show that anchored NBC's Thursday night lineup since 1994 is gone. For comparison's sake, ER began the same week as Friends, which has already completed its run, spawned a sequel (Joey, the modern day AfterMASH), and become a mainstay of syndication.

Of course, ER also debuted alongside Madman of the People, Models Inc, and The Critic. Fifteen years is an even better run when viewed in those terms.

ER debuted under the banner of Michael Crichton, fresh off his Jurassic Park success. The show was number one in the ratings within two years, and made George Clooney a household name, medical dramas cool again, and Eriq La Salle famous for something other than being the "Soul Glo" guy in Coming To America.

ER was in the top two for the first five years of its run, and in the top ten for the first decade. Phil Rosenthal points out we may never see another drama like it again. With NBC giving the 10-11 (EST) to Jay Leno five nights a week, there's less room for new dramas than ever before.

Even with declining ratings, the show still had drawing power. It had award winners on set and behind the scenes, and a parade of former cast members came back for the final season to pay tribute to the show that either started their careers, or was still at the top of their resumes.

Everyone's got their favorite episodes, "Love's Labor Lost" was the one that grabbed me and hooked me in. They did an Emmy-winning live episode just to show they could, and the fate of Rocket Romano was sad, ironic, and yet somehow hilarious. Here's a compilation of some of the best.