I love the way NBC's
ERis winding down. Rather than wait for next week's two-hour finale to serve its veteran and current characters, the series has been doing it every week, with moments that are touching, revealing, surprising and eminently satisfying. Shane West, as Dr. Ray Barnett, made a surprise appearance to cap last week's show with a perfect grace note.
Tonight's penultimate episode (10 ET) is another must-see treat. But next week, ER will end. The week after that, Southland will premiere, continuing a tradition of ambitious quality Thursday NBC dramas that goes back 28 years. Yet no matter what, that streak won't make it to 29...
For most of the 1970s, NBC's final hour of prime time was a mess. Eight shows, over eight seasons, came and went quickly from 1973-1980, including such memorable (or forgettable) flops as Kate Loves a Mystery, the horrendously ill-conceived spinoff of Columbo. Finally, in January 1981, NBC threw a midseason desperation pass that changed everything: Hill Street Blues.
Critics saved it that first year, and the Emmys did the rest. Hill Street changed the cop show, and and the drama series, and TV history forever. And when Hill Street went off the air, NBC moved another Steven Bochco series, L.A. Law, into the Thursday slot, where it thrived until ER replaced it in 1994.
ER has been there ever since. And when it leaves next week, another John Wells drama series, Southland, premieres. But whether it becomes an instant hit, or slides away at season's end, Southland will not stay put in the 10 p.m. ET Thursday slot for NBC, and carry the time-slot streak of quality drama past its 28th year.
That's because, this fall, Jay Leno will be there instead. Nothing against Leno, but NBC has just voluntarily sacrificed one of its proudest, most marketable legacies of the past 30 years. There's a big difference between Must-See-TV and May-As-Well-Watch-If-Nothing-Better's-On-TV -- even if NBC doesn't seem to recognize it.
Or care.