17 Endings for ER

I've been watching ER for years. Reports that George Clooney might appear in the series final got me wondering what the end would really be like. This got me thinking about a bit from Wayne's World, where they played around with different endings, so why don't we do that here?

1. There is the obvious ending. This would be the one where the budget is cut so bad that County General Hospital is shut down, never to open again. This could somehow be tied to the bad economy with various social commentary.
2. They could do the Dallas Bobby Ewing move. Dr. Green (Anthony Edwards) gets out of the shower only to realize that all of the episodes since his death were just a dream. This would also be a way to bring the actor back who's character died of cancer several years ago.
3. They could also try the Newhart ending. One of Bob Newhart's shows ended with him in bed with his wife on a previous series and the series that was just ending was a dream. I'm not sure how this cold work out but I'm sure there is a way.
4. Maybe the could do a Michael Crichton tribute. The famous author that created the series and is known for Jurassic Park and other books, who died late last year, could be put into the story some how. They could find images and do some kind of CG sequence with him creating the series, they could also do a documentary style episode that showed things behind the scenes and showed some history of the show.
5. Lets not forget the Butterfly Effect. Some far flung event could draw many of the ER staffers away, forcing the closure of the hospital. Dr. Carter might make a desperate plea for help in Darfur or somewhere else.
6. How about the Terminator ending? Abbey and Luka's son comes back from the future because someone is saved in the ER that changes the course of human kind and they must be allowed to live.
7. How about the Star Trek ending? There is a shortage of qualified medical personal in the Federation, so the staff is beamed away. The show ends leaving us the possibility that they could come back.
8. They could do the Jurassic Park ending. We see a bunch of dinosaurs stomping around. The camera pans in on one sleeping. The dinosaur is dreaming of a hospital in the future.
9. Maybe the could apply the Michael Jordon ending- A promotion involving the Chicago Bulls and it world famous former star brings M.J. to County. He notices some of the crew playing hoops and decides to form his own Harlem Globetrotters maybe with a reality television twist starting with the folks at County. President Obama could even stop in for a game of one on one.
10. How about the Presidential ending? George H.W. Bush is giving a speech in Chicago and a stroke brings him to County general. Of course he will be visited by George W. Bush, other past presidents and dignitaries, maybe even President Obama. Bottom line is that all the secret service and security precautions close the ER and the hospital to the public.
11. The could do the "Must See TV" ending. NBC reminisces about a time when they had Seinfeld, Friends, and ER in their Thursday night primetime slots. The Friends cast is having a reunion in Chicago watching Seinfeld performing and due to some poisoning at the venue, they all need to be rushed to the ER. To make things more interesting they do things backwards (via that Seinfeld episode where they all went to India for a wedding).
12. ER goes American Idol. Morris decides that he has to give American Idol a try. This inspires the crew to go Hollywood and chase their wildest dreams.
13. The Dr. Carter returns. Dr. Carter (Noah Wyle) comes back to County and reminisces about all his days in the ER. Since he was on the show for most of its run, they could use flashbacks and so on to bring back some of the other actors that have left. In reminiscing, someone could ask whatever happened to this and that character.
14. There could be the HMO nightmare. One of the gigantic corporations that owns and operates hospitals buys County. There could be the usual commentary and dialog about patient care suffering and the staff decides to leave in protest.
15. The X-Files effect- Mulder and Scully come to County because an alien is being treated there. Strange things happen all around and the F.B.I. closes the hospital to the public.
16. The Ending Ending- We see a film crew going around the hospital and the staff being interviewed. We find out that ER has been the chronicle of life in a major American metroplitan emergancy room looking at treatment of patients and the lives of the doctors and nurses there. In the closing shot we see a camera on another camera filming a scene and we here the director shout "cut", the light goes out on the camera we have just been watching, the camera man walks away and then the camer filming this goes out, fade to black.
17. The unexpected ending- ER has been a ground breaking series and they have done a lot of things that hadn't beed done on other television series. Chances are very good that they'll come up with something totally unexpected.
    

I've really enjoyed the series over the years. Since moving to Germany a few years ago, the episode are always aired several months behind the U.S. because they all get dubbed into German, so I'll need to wait a few months after the American viewer to see what really happens. I'm curious to see the end but will be sad to see it leave. So, how will it end? Do you have any ideas, why not tell us about them in the comments. Fade to black (just for now).

Photo Credit: Hospital courtesy of Woopidoo2