ER: "Old Times"

ER was Old-Home Week -- nostalgia heaven. And it was wonderful. "Old Times" was truly "800cc's of liquid gold", as Peter Benton might say.

The most beautiful thing about seeing all of the original characters lied within the construct of the story. Everyone had their own little bubble of the universe and were nicely oblivious to anything and everything going on outside of it. Doug & Carol -- happier and more content than ever, it would seem -- saved Carter's life, yet they went on, completely unaware of their connection.

"And the kidney too -- went to some doctor. Not bad for a day's work, huh?" -- Carol Hathaway

If the stories had overlapped and Carol knew that the kidney was going to Carter or Carter knew that Doug was the doctor of the kidney donor, the entire episode would have fallen flat. The stories would have felt unbelievably contrived, both on a character level and on a medical level. But in staying true to how the world of medicine operates, the entire episode gelled together and felt natural, from beginning to end.

Speaking of natural, the chemistry between Eriq La Salle and Noah Wyle hasn't diminished in the slightest. The rhythms and abiding affection are still there, as is the utter joy that comes from seeing Benton lightly rib Carter. And how wonderful was it to see the original renegade surgeon himself carefully run through a pre-surgery checklist (that ultimately saved Carter's life)? Fifteen years ago, Dr. Benton would have balked at the idea of a checklist, but he's clearly grown up and his priorities have shifted. He's always been a great doctor, but I'd hazard a guess and say he's now one of the best.

Seeing Carter call Kem after his surgery -- at Benton's incessant urging (See? Priorities.) -- was also a nice throwback. Hearing him ask her if he woke her up reminded me of all of the other times when they spanned different continents and would be calling each other at all hours of the day and night. Neither Carter nor Kem minded then, and I'm sure they don't mind now, despite the rift in their relationship.

One of the episode's highlights came in the realization that George Clooney was unequivocally Dr. Doug Ross and not George Clooney. I feared that his mega-status might pull me out of his moments onscreen, but instead, I forgot about his mega-status. He was simply Doug. George might now be a bona fide movie star -- charisma, power, larger-than-life persona -- but first and foremost, he's damn talented. And I think that once he put on those scrubs, he transformed back into Doug. And it was beautiful. (As beautiful as the electricity was between he and Julianna Margulies.)

My favorite moment, though, was the conversation between Doug, Neela, and Sam, and the ultimate awareness that they are all only connected by a building now and not by people. It made sense that Doug wouldn't ask about Carter because Doug would be under the impression that Carter was still in Africa. And it makes sense that neither Neela nor Sam would mention him because he's not working beside them at the moment, but is instead at Northwestern awaiting a kidney. Neela and Sam wouldn't mention him because they're medical professionals and his privacy is foremost. Doug asked who was still around, and even though they all know Susan Lewis, they wouldn't bond over her because she's not on any of their radars. While Greene may be the heart of County, and Ross and/or Gates may be the pulse, Kerry Weaver is the connective tissue. They all know her because as it stands with the end of this series in sight, Laura Innes will go down in history as ER's longest running consecutive cast member. Noah Wyle may have appeared in more episodes, but Innes threaded through all of the various cast of characters and she links them, and it was only appropriate that she was the first person that Doug asked about. In the end, though, it's the skeleton that holds a body together, and as many will go off to bright futures, County General will stand firm. County has housed them all, and it will go on to house many more.

Randoms...

• While it jarrs me to see Susan Sarandon now playing the grandmother roles, I must say that in her limited screentime, she was quietly devastating and my heart broke for her. I envision this show adding at least one more Emmy nomination to their historical cache.
• Ernest Borgnine seemed wasted, but I believe that his story continues through the series finale, so hopefully we'll see him get the material worthy of his considerable talents.
• One bone of contention: Carter's needing a kidney is a complication of his stabbing all those years ago. Another complication of his stabbing was his ensuing drug addiction. His recovery was very important to him and something that became etched into the fabric of his character. So... fentanyl? I understand that transplant surgery is unbelievably painful, but fentanyl is a narcotic and Carter is a drug addict. And a doctor. You'd think that he would have actively searched out another alternative. And having Benton be the one to hand it to him was somewhat of a slap in the face given that it was Benton who ultimately convinced Carter to go to rehab. Meh.

Thoughts?