ER: The Final Season

I had wanted to write about ER’s final season for a while now, but to be honest I still hadn’t watched a single episode yet. So this past weekend The Blot held a mini ER marathon watching the first five episodes of the NBC drama’s 15th season. It’s kind of sad to think ER will finally be ending its historic run because after 15 years it’s hard to remember a time the show wasn’t on TV. I’ve been faithfully watching the hour drama since episode 1 (I was 14 years old at the time), so I can really say the show has been appointment television all of my quasi-adult life.


I never usually bank so many episodes on my DVR, but I turned off the season premier after starting to watch it a few weeks ago. You see while I knew Mekhi Phifer was leaving the show after 8 seasons, it kind of pissed me off they were killing his character, Dr. Gregory Pratt. I don’t know why shows feel like they need to kill off characters for an emotional departure, but in this case it was entirely unnecessary considering this is the medical drama’s last season.

Once I was able to get over the death of Dr. Pratt, I came to the realization that this season has actually been really good. In many ways ER: The Final Season has turned into ER: The Next Generation with the show getting a huge dose of new faces (the show now boasts 6 new medical students and a new ER Attending). It has also been a true final season with a series of heartfelt good-byes and the return of some very familiar faces, combining for a great send off for the NBC Thursday night staple. Along with Dr. Pratt, we’ve also said our final good-byes to fan favorites Dr. Abby Lockhart (Maura Tierney) and Dr. Luka Kovac (Goran Visnjic) who have both been on the show since season 6.

While the good-byes were to be expected, the biggest surprises this season have been the returning faces. Already we’ve seen the return of Shane West’s Dr. Ray Barnett, who left County General two years ago after being struck by a car and the amputation of both legs. It’s a real shame West left the show because his return spotlighted the great onscreen chemistry he had with Dr. Neela Rasgotra (Parminder Nagra).

But the biggest surprise which will hopefully bring in many former viewers is the return of Dr. Mark Greene (Anthony Edwards). Edwards will be returning from the grave in a special flashback episode this Thursday, which will also explain new ER doctor Cate Banfield’s (Angela Bassett) history with the Chicago ER. You can also expect original cast member Noah Wyle to return for a 4 episode arc as Dr. John Carter towards the end of ER’s final 19 episodes.

If you’ve ever watched ER over the past 15 years then I highly recommend jumping back on the bandwagon one last time. I am positive you won’t be sorry that you did, because I’m expecting a very entertaining and emotional sendoff for the show’s huge cast of characters.

ER airs every Thursday at 10/9c on NBC.

Keel Haul Cleg Red Colorway by Craola

Here is The Blot’s first entry for Comic Book Inspired Designer Vinyl Figure Colorway Week. Enjoy!

To be honest, I’ve never been a huge fan of Greg “Craola” Simkins’ Cap’n Rotnclaw and Keel Haul Cleg PVC vinyl figures produced by STRANGEco. They are just a little too abstract for my taste. But when I heard STRANGEco would be releasing a super secret, limited edition Keel Haul Cleg colorway at Craola’s “It Wanders West” show at Gallery 1988 in Los Angeles last Thursday, I knew I was going to have to get one. Not because red is my favorite color, but because this particular colorway has Keel Haul Cleg painted as one of my all time favorite DC super heroes, The Flash.


While the red and yellow color scheme looks good on the Keel Haul Cleg figure, The Blot’s favorite part has to be The Flash’s logo on its chest. I think the Red colorway actually makes Keel Haul Cleg look fast, even if he does run around on crab legs. The Keel Haul Cleg Red colorway is going to look very sweet next to my other comic book inspired designer vinyl figures.


Keel Haul Cleg is available now on a first come, first serve basis from G1988 for $60 each. The figure is 7 inches tall and is limited to just 300 figures.

Comic Book Inspired Designer Vinyl Figure Colorways Week

The Blot is excited to start my very first week long feature on The Blot Says… Every morning this week, The Blot is going to be posting an article on a vinyl figure that was released in the past year (or will be released soon) with a comic book inspired colorway. If you’re a long time reader of The Blot Says… then you know of my obsession of all things comic books and more importantly, comic book inspired art, clothing and vinyl figures.


There is nothing more exciting than a good tribute, mash-up, or crossover release, and fans seem to be really gobbling up these types of designer toys. I already posted on one of my all time favorite comic book inspired colorways, Muttpop’s Dr. Destruction Wild Edition, so I won’t be including that awesome figure in this week’s feature articles. But, I wanted to include it here nonetheless. I’ve personally been very excited for the release of each of the five figures I’ll be highlighting this week and I hope you enjoy them as well!

Be on the lookout for The Blot’s first post in this week’s Comic Book Inspired Designer Vinyl Figure Colorway series very shortly.