"ER" Old Times (2009)

User Rating:

8.5/10   

Director:

John Wells

Writers:

Michael Crichton (creator)
John Wells (written by)

TV Series:

"ER" (1994)

Original Air Date:

12 March 2009 (Season 15, Episode 19)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A girl drops off a sick baby at the ER and then leaves; Carter may get a kidney transplant; Gates and...

Plot Keywords:

Seattle | Kidney Transplant | Organ Transplant | Urine | Heart Transplant

Cast

Noah Wyle	...	Dr. John Carter
George Clooney	...	Dr. Doug Ross
Julianna Margulies	...	Nurse Carol Hathaway
Eriq La Salle	...	Dr. Peter Benton
Parminder Nagra	...	Dr. Neela Rasgotra
John Stamos	...	Dr. Tony Gates
Linda Cardellini	...	Nurse Samantha Taggart
Scott Grimes	...	Dr. Archie Morris
David Lyons	...	Dr. Simon Brenner
Angela Bassett	...	Dr. Cate Banfield
Susan Sarandon	...	Nora
Ernest Borgnine	...	Paul Manning
Christian Clemenson	...	Dr. Kurtag
Hedy Burress	...	Joanie Moore
Yvette Freeman	...	Nurse Haleh Adams

Company:

Constant c Productions

Trivia:

Ernest Borgnine's character is named Paul Manning, a tribute to the ER writer and producer who passed away in 2005.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Julianna Margulies mispronounces the name of the city "Spokane." She says "SPO-kayne" rather than "spo-KANNE." Anybody living for so many years in the state of Washington (or Oregon or Idaho) would know the correct pronunciation.

Movie Connections:

References "SportsCenter" (1979)

A perfect episode... SPOILERS INSIDE -- YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I gave up on ER a few seasons ago; it had turned into too much of a soap opera for my tastes. However, when I heard that the show was down to its last few episodes, I decided to check out the last few episodes... particularly b/c I have always had a thing for Noah Wyle and I'd heard that he was going to return in some way.

I just finished watching "Old Times" and I must say, it's one of the best episodes of the show. Ever. The fact that Carter ends up receiving a kidney transplant at Northwestern was a nod to Noah Wyle's collegiate alma mater; the entire episode was full of such nods to the history of this amazing show. And the addition of Susan Sarandon in such a beautifully understated one-off supporting character... wow. Just, wow. There is a scene where one sees Juliana Margulies, George Clooney, and Susan Sarandon together on screen. Wow. It is clear that these gifted actors knew they were making "one for the ages" -- the reverence which each of them brought to their individual performance is beyond words. Again, I say, wow.

The entire episode hinges on the death of a boy in Seattle, the decision made by his grandmother (Sarandon's character) to proceed with organ donation, and the concept that you never know who will benefit... the boy's heart and kidney are couriered from Seattle to Chicago by none other than Neela and Sam. And the kidney goes to Carter. Neither Neela nor Sam know that the kidney went to Carter; the episode concludes with a footnote scene where Hathaway and Ross are asleep, the phone rings, and Hathaway's final line is "the heart went to a woman in Chicago with a daughter, and the kidney went to some doctor."

Truly a tour de force episode. Eriq LaSalle even managed to not annoy the hell out of me. The production values, the segues and editing, the understated acting, all of it, was in a word: perfect.

One final point: this episode shows why organ donation is so important, and how many lives can be saved by one person who gives the gift of life. The life you save may be a doctor who could go on to save hundreds of lives. Give it some thought. DONATE. Please.