ER

No, not the Queen, but the long-running American drama series. Just watched the last ever episode. Jen asked me why I was sitting through it; you see I hate ER, always have. It's just the kind of program I can't sit through. OK, so perhaps hate is a strong word, but I can usually find something better to do than watch it, as with most fiction on television, save for the occasional film. 

I suppose that there must be a reason for my predilection for documentary. Perhaps because so much of my time is spent in my own head playing out (sometimes literally) hundreds of dramas each day, I prefer to 'earth' myself with a dose of reality. Not too much, though, nothing too hard-hitting.

That still doesn't explain why I was watching the last episode of ER, though. For that one, we need only skim the outermost layers of my mind. I like resolution. I dislike delayed gratification, and so won't sit through a series, but will happily watch a last episode. 

Last episodes wrap things up, just like when the series started out, because there couldn't be any long storylines, because there was no guarantee they would be resolved next series - when you're doing something new, who says there'll be another series? So early episodes are little gift-wrapped self-resolving presents, without any drawn out, evolving storylines.

Last episodes are a reminder of happier, more carefree days, when it didn't matter whether or not you missed a couple of episodes, because you were unlikely to miss a crucial moment in the plot. Later on, when security has been guaranteed, the writers can go to town with the plot, and your continual attendance becomes necessary. At that point, I always switch off. 

Then I wait for the final episode.