ER

I started this blog thinking I would denounce most of the empty, offensively ignorant and (more offensively) bland the content of my nearest television always seems to be. However, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed last night's episode of ER, the longest-running of the glut of medical drama television shows, and the second-longest staple of NBC after the original Law & Order. Titled "Dream Runner," the story had a distinct Groundhog Day vibe to it, with Neela repeating the same day over again three times, albeit in a dream, until she (and others) finally got it right. Dealing with a teenage girl fighting a tenacious infection, and a man who physically acts out his dreams, the characters make increasingly better decisions as they become more confident, more outspoken, and in the end, more honest. The episode had a pop Buddhism theme going on, with a hip transport driver even observing that sometimes inaction is, in and of itself, action. This is bolstered later on when the young girl with an infection predicts Neela's fortune (courtesy of one of those folded paper things that usually predict how many children you're going to have, or if you're going to marry a nice rich man). This one seemed more fortune cookie than predictor of marital satisfaction, and predicted/enlightened: "Your actions are the seeds of fate."

As in Groundhog Day, Neela learns the lessons of her mistakes, the lessons of her inaction, as she gets to relive the day over and over again. Luckily for her (and the show's running time), she only needs three go 'rounds for the lessons to be learned. Presented with the same scenarios, Neela makes subtly different choices, speaking up instead of holding back, and confidently trusting her instincts/knowledge/self instead of listening to others or playing it safe. In the end, her bespectacled mentor sums up the entire lesson Neela learned, the moral of the story, and probably wonderful instructions for life in general: you don't always have to know where you are going, as long as you are moving forward. Maybe because I often feel so paralyzed by indecision, or because I'm a sucker for rationalist metaphysics, but the story resonated with me and reminded me that sometimes it's alright to be driving blind.

Now I'm not going to miss ER when it's through, and I haven't watched a full episode since a fun splattercore comedy of an episode directed by Quentin Tarantino many years ago, but this episode will be filed away as an example of good television, plain and simple. I knew almost none of the characters, and yet it stood alone as an hour of good, brief reflection-provoking entertainment, which is one of the better things I could ask for from my television.