'The Pitt' and 'Doc' are scratching that itch

(Fires are still all over the place and we may lose power again on Tuesday because of high winds, but everyone in my area is safe, just FYI. If you wanted to read what I wrote about the Los Angeles wildfires, click here.)

Here’s something you should probably know about me: I fucking love ER. Absolutely one of my favorite shows ever, and I spent a good number of years trying to never miss a single episode. And it still holds up like crazy. All 15 seasons are somehow both on Max and Hulu, so if you ever need something solid to put on while not thinking terribly hard, ER’s got you covered.

ER debuted when I was in high school, and for whatever reason, I latched onto it from day one. (I was the child who obsessively read TV Guide and publications like Entertainment Weekly and Premiere, so I was always eager to check out a new show with buzz behind it. I clearly remember being in junior high, already being a fan of Liquid Television, and going around telling as many people as I could that Beavis and Butt-Head was debuting that night, and insisting everyone should watch it.) I was already a big fan of Anthony Edwards from Top Gun and his small role on Northern Exposure (another one of my faves, and quite possibly my favorite television show of all time), and the show had the pedigree of Steven Spielberg and Michael Crichton behind it. I was instantly hooked and very quickly fell in love with the cast: George Clooney, Eriq La Salle, Julianna Margulies, Sherry Stringfield, Noah Wyle, and the extremely deep bench of supporting actors and guest stars.

By the time Clooney hosted Saturday Night Live for the first time, he was already far and away the breakout star of the show, and SNL perfectly spoofed ER in a fantastic sketch stuck in the middle of an all-timer of an episode. (Also worth your time but not embeddable: Clooney’s Jay Leno impression in a Taxicab Confessions sketch.)

By the end of the first season, I was deep, deep in the tank for ER, and that affection only deepened when Quentin Tarantino guest-directed the penultimate episode. By the second season, I was deeply invested in all of these characters, and was finding comfort in the show’s very specific rhythms. My affection for ER has only increased in the ensuing years. When I was waiting tables in my early 20s, TNT began showing two episodes every morning, so I would be able to somewhat speed-run a beloved show every day before going in to work. The fate of Lucy Knight remains my number one most devastating television moment. I remember when I worked at UPROXX, I tried to convince my coworker Alan Sepinwall to collaborate with me on a piece where we ranked every ER character, largely because I wanted to make my case for Luka Kovač being the worst television character ever. (When we adopted a cat, my wife and I were devastated to learn the kitten had the name Luka, the worst ER character, so we promptly renamed him Dr. John Carter, the best ER character.)

Since I never could get into Grey’s Anatomy, the prime time medical drama has been in a bit of a fallow period (for me, anyway) since House finished up its run. Luckily, two show debuted this past week that have walloped me with the pure serotonin that I have apparently been desperately missing in my diet. Thank you, new medical dramas, for teaching me how to love medical dramas again.

The first of the two new shows is Max’s The Pitt, starring the aforementioned Dr. John Carter Noah Wyle and created by a former producer and writer for ER. When I first saw the trailers for this show, I was out of my mind stoked for this.

Noah Wyle, somehow looking even more like a snack than he did in his 20s, now portraying a veteran doctor showing young doctors the ropes. “Yes, give me this,” I said, braying like Veruca Salt immediately after spying an unusually large goose. I knew in my bones that it would be great, and after watching the first two episodes, guess what? It is so great, you guys.

More about The Pitt and the bizarre but also good Doc for paid subscribers, which could be you! Take the plunge.