On the Beach

I realize this is just a tv show, a work of fiction. It's about characters that don't exist, and I'll never have a chance to meet them. However, they touch us all in unique ways. Those characters all teach us something... and whether or not we realize it, we relate to them like they were a part of our lives.

I thought this episode was absolutely beautiful. I genuinely will miss Dr Greene, because as many lives as he had saved throughout his time on the show, he certainly touched mine.

Because you're going to need it for all the tears.

What an episode.

I used to watch ER reruns if saw it on while skipping channels, but never followed the seasons. Now I finally had the chance. The character Mark Greene is one of the best if not the best in the entire show and this episode is how a true ending should be. Heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time. Be sure to get some tissues before watching because you will definitely need them.

This episode and the finale of Six Feet Under, the most emotional television I've seen.

This is essentially a bottle episode,, nearly the entire episode takes place in Hawaii. Mark trying to make up for lost, and disappearing, time with his daughter. His body starts to fail as he succumbs to his illness. His struggle to connect with Rachel is the conflict, as is Elizabeth trying to hold everything together. When Rachel puts those headphones on her dad... I can't even.

Obviously Anthony Edwards is the star, and Alex Kingston is great as always, but.... Hallee Hirsh, who was relatively inexperienced up to this point was fantastic. Such a heavy and difficult role for a teenager, she holds her own.

This is a top three episode of ER, honestly probably the best. Absolute tear jerker, just brutal.

I remember watching this in 2002 and I didn't start crying until I heard the song Somewhere Over Rainbow. Just watched again in 2021 and I started crying when Mark was singing to his youngest daughter.

It evoked many more emotions now than it did back in 2002. I balled and it actually felt good.

Wonderful episode with fantastic writing and great imagery.

I first saw this when i was 21, my father had been diagnosed with prostate cancer (certainly not the type Dr Greene had) but I had buried the feelings I had about it. When I saw this particular episode, it allowed me to get in contact with those emotions. I watched this episode today and one particular scene hit me really hard. You see when my father died of cancer he had a stroke, so when Greene starts telling his daughter about the one thing he feels he needs to impart to his daughter is generosity, to be generous of time and love, and he is slurring his words it really hit home. This is one of the few episodes of television dealing with death that really hits the nail on the head. That really depicts the sadness and the reality of death, especially by cancer. Some body really did their homework, and they really treated it all with incredible dignity.