Carol Hathaway and Doug Ross had one of those relationships.
On/off, off/on. And yet we all knew that they were meant to be together. Their affair was central to the success of ER. No matter how many cute doctors and nurses trod the well-worn floors of Chicago’s County emergency room, they were the two that everyone remembered. So, when she finally followed him out to Seattle, we viewers were desperately disappointed to lose them but, in the light of George’s burgeoning movie career, hoped that the screenwriters would allow it to all work out for them and their twin girls, Tess and Kate.
Very occasionally in the many seasons that followed, there would be a mention of them if you listened closely but nothing as to how their romance was progressing.
When the news came out that George Clooney had agreed to return for the final episodes of the last ever series, our hopes were high… but then it was revealed that Julianna Margulies would not be part of it… and then a while later, she would. The press office for the production company cranked up the excitement and the pressure to ensure that as many viewers as possible would tune in for the requisite episode.
And we were not disappointed. The final scene shows Carol answering the telephone in bed, wearing a stripey pyjama jacket, and there is no mistaking the identity of the brown arm wrapped around her.
She turns to face Doug, looks lovingly into his sleepy face and whispers ‘I love you.’ With his eyes closed, he mumbles an echo in response and they snuggle up together.
That’s when I really missed Ruf, my Clooney lookalike, and prayed for a similar happy ending.
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