It seems appropriate that some kind of Omega/Lost In Space tie-in would include Buzz Aldrin, who went to space wearing an Omega watch, and I suspect Intern George has a deal with Omega as well. Hence the piano picture. It seems obvious in this photo that George just lightly disparaged the moon and Buzz is choking back every insult he can think of about SolarisLeatherheads, and The Men Who Stare At Goats.

But that’s not the subject of our afternoon chat. While I work, I watch POP, which has been rerunning Beverly Hills, 90210 and just recently added classic ER. I’ve tuned in most days from the pilot onward, and it’s been so interesting to revisit that show knowing all the many medical dramas that have succeeded it. For me, ER still really holds up. Everything it did that was new has now been done so many times, or copied lovingly, and yet it doesn’t diminish the original. For example, just yesterday I watched the Omar Epps episode that essentially provided the plot-twist inspiration for George O’Malley’s death on Grey’s Anatomy. Even knowing about that, somehow the drama of Gant’s actions never seemed anything less than great, and the show paved the way for it with a relentless barrage of bad days that make you wince that much harder knowing what’s coming.

There’s also something oddly comforting and cool about the atypical leading-man nature of Anthony Edwards’s Mark Greene, who is McDreamy’s follicular opposite. Or Sherry Stringfield, who is pretty and great, but not a supermodel in scrubs the way shows tend to lean today. Julianna Margulies didn’t even know at this point to stomp her foot and demand wigs, so we get her curls in all their occasionally frizzy glory. Kerry Weaver was such an awesome character; Intern George, the closest thing ER got to the supermodel-in-scrubs thing, has that work to his advantage because he can’t get out of his own playboy way and he has to fight against people thinking he’s hotter than he is competent. And we’re deep in the weeds right now with Gloria Reuben’s Jeanie Boulet and her HIV diagnosis… It’s just a really quality show. I’m curious how far into it we’ll get before it wears on me the way it did originally, or if the entire experience will be improved by a nostalgia bath. I mean, will I suddenly be like, “Oh, wow, that helicopter that had a bloodlust for Dr. Romano WAS TV AT ITS FINEST”? I guess we’ll see.

Did you watch ER? If so, how long did you stick with it, and if not, why not? Where do you put it in the pantheon of medical shows, or shows in general? Let’s dish it up.

Omega 'Lost In Space' International Anniversary Event

The cat seems to have gotten Intern George’s tongue, so while we wait for his input, I’ll turn the mic over to you.