Monday, May 15, 2006

Thank God for "Who Shot J.R.?"

When the famous evil Texas oil tycoon was shot in the mid-80's on the last show of the season for Dallas, shockwaves were sent not only through the world, (Thomas Friedman tells of being pulled over by Arab militia in Palestinian territories during escalating violence, just to be asked by them "So, do you know who shot J.R.?",) but through the minds of television writers for years to come. Below are my three favorite cliffhanger moments of all time, in no particular order.

-- "I Ross take you Rachel..." Fade to black. I was a senior in college and a Resident Assistant in a Freshman dormitory when this occurred. There was a building full of tough guys who claimed to be too cool (or spiritual) for Friends , but when this happened all you could hear throughout the building was a chorus of "Noooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

-- Ed, fearing Carol and Dennis will get engaged during their summer travels, arrives at Carol's to "give her a gift." He kisses her, Dennis walks in after the kiss, fade to black. And a big "Noooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" because no one knows what Carol will do. This is one of the all time greatest Ed episodes in that it also was when Mark and Diane take the Ferris Wheel ride and Warren commands the Ferris Wheel operator to make it stop, or else they will kiss and he will leave Diane. Beautiful television.

-- Although last night wasn't technically the Grey's Anatomy season finale, it was the first part of it, so we can fudge a little. Shots ring from the outside, everyone runs outside to see what happened and we see Dr. Burke, who was coming back to the hospital to get confirmation of Denny's condition in order to obtain the donor heart, laying in a pool of blood. And again..."Nooooooooooo!"

Yeah, I know. I need a life.

9 comments:

Unknown said...

Craig, I was yelping at the TV "Don't do it, Izzie! Don't do it!", sitting on the edge of my seat, and crying last night when the shit hit the fan on Grey's. I'm so scared for tonight.

myleswerntz said...

my gosh. i can't wait for tonight's finale. if they kill off burke, i'm going to be really pissed off. you could see them killing off denny for months, but Burke? see ya izzie.

ruth said...

i'm gonna need your thoughts on tonight's finale. my jury is still out.

Aaron said...

Sunday: we are set up for an amazing medical drama.

Monday: all the drama is resolved rather quickly, and we are left with five interns spilling sob stories and their philosophies about life to the chief, followed by a prom.

Of course, I'm glad Denny finally died and Izzie quit, but GIVE ME A BREAK! A prom?

greenISgood said...

Izzy is so hot.

Oh, Craig, sorry about Mer and Sheppard. I know it broke your heart - that's life, babe!

Janalee said...

Oh my gosh, W's speech screwed up my dvr, and I didn't get to see the last hour. I'm swearing off your blog until I do, but please know that I missed my Grey's pals last night. I sincerely did.

myleswerntz said...

cmon, the prom was a nice touch for a dying girl. you have to give them that. but shep and mer? that was stupid.

GET IT TOGETHER, GREY!

Anonymous said...

i really miss ed.

Ruth said...

That was definitely one of my favorite Ed episodes! He certainly did bring her a going away present that was much more than Charlie the Duck! I miss Ed, too. I haven't visited here in a long time, nor have I been by Stuckeyville.com. Craig, wondering if you've seen (and/or have thoughts about) Tom Cavanagh's short-lived show Love Monkey?