Posted: Mon., Mar. 30, 2009, 4:51pm PT

'ER' says goodbye

Wells, Spielberg attend WB's farewell bash

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HOLLYWOOD -- How do you say goodbye after 331 episodes, 34,000 hours of shooting and some 5,453 actors passing through the corridors of "ER" during the past 15 seasons?

If you're Warner Bros. Television, you say "thank you" to exec producer John Wells and his small army of cast and crew members with a big bash on Saturday night at Social Hollywood.

The big surprise among the dozens of "ER" alums who turned out for the party was Steven Spielberg (who clearly had a busy night, also attending USC's School of Cinematic Arts opening party earlier in the eve).

Spielberg's Amblin Television birthed the show with Michael Crichton and Wells, and like many other partygoers, he observed that the end of "ER," which has its two-hour finale on Thursday, marks the end of an era for primetime (and frankly, probably for lavish TV studio parties, at least for the near-term).

"There will never be a show as dominant as 'ER' was," Spielberg said, with obvious pride.