"Twee – R"

Last night was the end of an era. Well, at least for me anyway. And perhaps for the 16.2 million people who watched the last episode of “ER.” 

This show came out the year that I graduated from Nursing School and during that first fall season of me living in my own apartment. That same year was also the season premiere of “Friends” and the second season of both “Seinfeld” and “Mad About You.” For me, after having spent many Thursday nights in college at the bar, Thursdays on NBC in the fall of 1994 was the return of my “Must See TV” moments.

 “ER” came out at the perfect time for me. I was finally getting used to being on my own. I had probably just gotten off my intense orientation period as a new Registered Nurse at the hospital. Watching the show just brought out all the drama and excitement of what can go on during any given shift for me at work. While I didn’t work in an actual ER, working the afternoon shift on a post-surgical floor certainly did have that same quick environment. Not only were we getting all those patients back from the operating rooms for post-recovery care, but we were also getting those patients that came through the ER earlier in the day and now were finally assigned a hospital bed. And since we dealt with many of the chronically sick patients with gastrointestinal (GI) problems (Crohns, Ulcerative Colitis, and any garden-variety of patients with cancer of the GI tract) … the afternoon shift was the one responsible for providing them with their 24 hour caloric intake through their IV lines (otherwise known as Total Parental Nutrition). And trust me … those were a pain to “hang.”

So basically what I’m getting at is that watching “ER” resembled the chaos of what could happen when I was at work. And being 22 years old at that time, all that excitement was  … well, it was Pretty. D*mn. Exciting.

 And the “original cast.” Yeah, there was something about that group of characters that I fell in love with. It didn’t help that I already had a crush on Geo.rge Cloo.ney from his days on “The Facts of Life.” But Anth.ony Edwa.rds, Sher.ry Stri.ngfield, Er.iq Las.alle, Jul.ian.a Mar.guili.es, and No.ah Wy.lie … not only were they excellent actors, but the way they portrayed their characters was incredible.

I must admit the last 5 years I only caught a handful of episodes here and there. And that’s mostly because all, but No.ah from the original cast were long gone. However, this past season, I made an effort to try to watch all of them. That one episode where Dr. Greene “returns” as a flashback was awesome. And not only was Dr. Greene there, but Dr. Romano also made a guest experience. And we won’t even go into the Dr. Ross and Carol episode … I was just ecstatic that they all made the effort to come back for one last reprise of their roles.

In any case, I plopped myself down in the front of the TV last night at 7 pm CST to watch the retrospective. I forgot how groundbreaking the show was in terms of the way it was shot and the quick paced dialogue. I realize now that some of the other shows I’ve loved have since utilized those techniques. “Push.ing Dai.sies” has used the steady-cam shots in quite a few of their scenes. And of course “Gilm.ore Girls” had that razor sharp dialogue. While I know those two shows have nothing to do with medicine or health care … to this day, I just haven’t found a medical drama that combines those two elements like “ER” did. 

While watching the show last night, I sat in front of my MacBook and did another new favorite activity (besides FaceBook and blogging) … and that’s Twi.tter. Below is a few of those Twi.tter Tweets I posted last night …

• Weird seeing Rory Gilmore as an intern at Cook County ER …
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• Oh. Em. Gee. Just realized who that Med Student is … yep, Rachel Greene. WOW! ER has come full circle.
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• See? Was I right or was I right?! Brings a tear to my eye …
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• Love how Angela Bassett’s character is interviewing Mark Greene’s daughter. What a great way to tie their stories together …
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• Love it love it love it! Love how Carter is mentoring Mark’s daughter. Just like Mark did for Carter on his first day. Oh how I’ll miss ER.
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• I’ve been following ER since I first graduated from Nursing School … *gasp* FIFTEEN YEARS ago!
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• *RIGHT ON* Nurses ROCK!
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• Sigh … Thanks for fifteen great years, ER. I’ve loved “growing up” professionally with you.

For those of you that don’t understand the concept of Twi.tter, it’s a way to quickly let a network of friends or “followers” know what you’re thinking or doing. It’s similar to what Fa.ceBooke.rs do when they update their status. But the catch is … in Twi.tter, you’re limited to only 140 characters.

I admit it was confusing for me as to why I’d want to do yet another computer-related social activity. However, once I got the hang of it … I was addicted! (It also doesn’t help that there’s an application on Fa.ceBoo.k” that automatically updates your status with whatever you posted on Twi.tter.)

And really, what started out as a basic means to update people on what a person was up to (commonly known as “Tweets”) has now grown into a phenomenon. Because now … not only are individuals using it as a social medium, major companies and corporations are using it to get a “pulse” as to what their consumers are saying about them. After all, Twi.tter is essentially publicity for them, whether good or bad.

I could, or rather my Hubby could go into much more detail about what other uses there are for Twi.tter … but I *WILL* tell you what I’ve used it for. And that’s to use it as free “advertising” to direct people to my blog. Yay for higher blog subscriptions!

So there you have it. All you ever wanted to know about “Twee – R” and more. 

Tell me folks … do you Twi.tter, too?

And if you caught last night’s “ER” series finale … what did you think?