Robin Miller
2017-08-11 00:54:03 UTC
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I really liked this show. I'm not sure why I decided to try it, maybe
because I've often enjoyed medical shows, maybe because I was curious to
see Michael Shanks in a different role after Stargate. For whatever
reason, I tried it, and I liked it, and I watched it religiously. I was
pissed that NBC crapped out during the first season and didn't even
broadcast the last few episodes, making them available only on their
website. I tried tunneling in to the CTV website during season two using
a VPN but the results weren't satisfactory, so I decided to wait for an
American channel to pick it up. I was surprised that it took as long as
it did, and then Ion waited a full year before actually scheduling the show.
I liked the characters, I liked their personal dramas, I liked the
medical cases, I did ship Charlie and Alex, and I didn't mind too much
that sometimes characters just disappeared without acknowledgement.
(Where'd you go, Dr. Reycraft?)
The ending was not what I expected. Since the next-to-last ("penultime")
episode set up incoming mass casualties, I expected the final episode to
show the team working madly to try to save everyone, succeeding often
but not always, and then end with the team taking a breather at the end
of the day, knowing that they had to come back in the morning and face
another day's challenges. And with Alex and Charlie finally getting
married along the way.
Instead, Charlie died, and at first I was upset. That was not what I
wanted. I like happy endings; I don't need death or tragedy to feel
satisfied. But I was not to be given what I wanted and expected.
Instead, the episode focused almost solely on bringing the series full
circle, and telling us that Charlie could have died, maybe should have
died, in the opening episode, but instead he and Alex were given five
more years (not all of it spent together) to life their lives, have two
children, and finally have their long-delayed wedding.
The ending was essentially identical to the ending in Medium, with the
husband dying young, the wife dying old (with family nearby), and the
two of them meeting in the afterlife in the final scene, about to spend
the rest of their existence together after lives well-lived.
It was interesting to see Erica Durance non-pregnant in the afterlife
scene. It was necessary, of course, and presumably explains why there
was a four-week hiatus in the broadcast schedule near the end of the season.
I was disappointed that Maggie didn't return for the finale. Did the
actress have another engagement? I liked that her character was given a
send-off, and I liked that she ended up with Dr. Katz. I didn't
understand why Cassie was given a send-off, as she was not an important,
or even particularly likable, character. I thought it was a little
curious that they brought back Jeremy, who was a short-timer on the
show, but didn't acknowledge, at least through flashbacks, the important
characters that had left the show (Gavin and Joel). But I suppose the
final episode was devoted to bringing closure to Alex and Charlie's
story and not to memorializing the show as a whole.
Ultimately I decided that I liked the ending, having accepted the
showrunner's intent, and thought it was well-done. I will miss the show
and the characters. It was one of my favorites over its lifetime.
--Robin
<spoilers>
<spoilers>
<spoilers>
<spoilers>
<spoilers>
I really liked this show. I'm not sure why I decided to try it, maybe
because I've often enjoyed medical shows, maybe because I was curious to
see Michael Shanks in a different role after Stargate. For whatever
reason, I tried it, and I liked it, and I watched it religiously. I was
pissed that NBC crapped out during the first season and didn't even
broadcast the last few episodes, making them available only on their
website. I tried tunneling in to the CTV website during season two using
a VPN but the results weren't satisfactory, so I decided to wait for an
American channel to pick it up. I was surprised that it took as long as
it did, and then Ion waited a full year before actually scheduling the show.
I liked the characters, I liked their personal dramas, I liked the
medical cases, I did ship Charlie and Alex, and I didn't mind too much
that sometimes characters just disappeared without acknowledgement.
(Where'd you go, Dr. Reycraft?)
The ending was not what I expected. Since the next-to-last ("penultime")
episode set up incoming mass casualties, I expected the final episode to
show the team working madly to try to save everyone, succeeding often
but not always, and then end with the team taking a breather at the end
of the day, knowing that they had to come back in the morning and face
another day's challenges. And with Alex and Charlie finally getting
married along the way.
Instead, Charlie died, and at first I was upset. That was not what I
wanted. I like happy endings; I don't need death or tragedy to feel
satisfied. But I was not to be given what I wanted and expected.
Instead, the episode focused almost solely on bringing the series full
circle, and telling us that Charlie could have died, maybe should have
died, in the opening episode, but instead he and Alex were given five
more years (not all of it spent together) to life their lives, have two
children, and finally have their long-delayed wedding.
The ending was essentially identical to the ending in Medium, with the
husband dying young, the wife dying old (with family nearby), and the
two of them meeting in the afterlife in the final scene, about to spend
the rest of their existence together after lives well-lived.
It was interesting to see Erica Durance non-pregnant in the afterlife
scene. It was necessary, of course, and presumably explains why there
was a four-week hiatus in the broadcast schedule near the end of the season.
I was disappointed that Maggie didn't return for the finale. Did the
actress have another engagement? I liked that her character was given a
send-off, and I liked that she ended up with Dr. Katz. I didn't
understand why Cassie was given a send-off, as she was not an important,
or even particularly likable, character. I thought it was a little
curious that they brought back Jeremy, who was a short-timer on the
show, but didn't acknowledge, at least through flashbacks, the important
characters that had left the show (Gavin and Joel). But I suppose the
final episode was devoted to bringing closure to Alex and Charlie's
story and not to memorializing the show as a whole.
Ultimately I decided that I liked the ending, having accepted the
showrunner's intent, and thought it was well-done. I will miss the show
and the characters. It was one of my favorites over its lifetime.
--Robin