Maura Tierney's Dr. Abby Lockhart quietly left County General last night, as she and her husband Luka departed for a fresh start in Boston. Here's a clip of her farewell scene, which is characteristically low-key:

EW's PopWatch blog has a very funny run-down of her character's time on the series (read her Wikipedia entry for a more thorough overview):

Abby Lockhart was born from a one-ep guest spot as Carol Hathaway's OB nurse way back in 1999. She then entered med school, helped John Carter through his weird post-stabbing-of-Lucy addiction to pills, went back to nursing after her deadbeat ex stole her money, dealt with her bipolar brother and way more bipolar mom (Sally Field!), eventually got her medical degree, struggled with alcoholism, dated Luka Kovac, dated Carter, dated this sort of Paul Rudd-lookin' med student named Jake, fell in love with Luka, got pregnant, had his baby, nearly died in childbirth, struggled with alcoholism again, slept with Stanley Tucci, got back together with Luka for the most part, and recently survived a mob-related ambulance bombing. And that's leaving out the majority of the weekly attacks, storms, helicopter crashes, hijackings, kidnappings, run-ins with Forest Whitaker, and assorted other catastrophes she's endured over the past nine years. There really isn't room on the internets for all of it.

Abby was pretty well-liked by the other characters over the years, and by the audience. She was also one of prickly Dr. Kerry Weaver's only friends at County General, proving that Abby really could get along with just about everyone, and usually did. (Abby's closest friend the last few seasons was Dr. Neela Rasgostra — another reason I liked Abby.)

Here's a short pictorial of Dr. Abby Lockhart's different looks through the years. … continue reading

Women in scrubs seem to be a turn-on for AfterEllen.com readers. Case in point: Maura Tierney. The ER actress has been giving lesbian viewers a reason to watch the show for the last nine years (straight women had George Clooney and then John Stamos.)

Maura is very serious on the hospital drama, but she's also played in comedies such as Baby Mama, Liar Liar, and as Lisa Miller on the sitcom NewsRadio.

With ER coming to a close this year, it'll be interesting to see what Maura will do next. We won't mind if she wants to take a vacation first – she's been busy. … continue reading

A sad thing happened to me last Thursday. ER returned with new episodes — and I forgot. Granted, tornadoes were swirling through town at the time, but I didn't even remember to be irritated that bad weather always seems to strike during prime time. For someone who has watched ER faithfully since its first year, apathy is a bad sign. So, I have mixed feelings about the show coming back for one final season.

Photo credit: Brian Bowen Smith

I'm not sure what happened to my fandom. After all, Maura Tierney's still around.

Photo credit: James Sorensen

Considering all that her character Abby Lockhart has been through, that's quite a feat. Alcoholism, bipolar mom and brother, failed marriage, medical school, unplanned pregnancy, life-threatening childbirth — reading Abby's Wikipedia entry is exhausting. Maybe that's part of the problem. … continue reading

My love for all things Tina Fey is well documented and borders on obsession. I swear, your honor, I’ve been sure to stay at least 500 feet away from her, as the court order requires. So I think I’m allowed this simple indulgence. Yesterday I watched the first trailer for her new comedy Baby Mama, and, save for the unfortunate fact that my badonkadonk is still very much in place, I pretty much laughed my ass off.

Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Sigourney Weaver and Maura Tierney together in one movie? Has someone been reading my dream journal again? The premise is this: A 30-something successful single gal (Fey) longs for a baby and hires a surrogate (Poehler) who lives with her during the nine months of the pregnancy, and hilarity ensues. In case you think I’m exaggerating, please take a look for yourself. (Watch it in glorious hi-def here.) But I warn you: Ye of tiny hiney should beware, because when you’re done you could have none left.

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Last spring, Scribe Grrrl riffed about the dream casting (and character naming) in the upcoming Tina Fey movie Baby Mama. Well, the first test-screening has happened in New York and although I was not there, I did read the review that some random viewer posted online. So it was almost like being there.

Baby Mama, again, stars Tina Fey as a successful, single, baby-desiring woman who hires a surrogate (Amy Poehler) when she learns she's unable to conceive. Circumstances lead Poehler's character to move in with Fey's character and hilarity likely ensues. The bottom line, according to random reviewer, is that Baby Mama is quite good and funny, but not as good as Mean Girls.

Here's Tina Fey on the set of Baby Mama:

And in Mean Girls:

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Of course, it's not an apples-to-apples comparison, because Tina Fey did not write Baby Mama and did not star in Mean Girls.

The TV Guide blog reports that sometime next season, Maura Tierney will be leaving her long stint as nurse-turned-doctor Abby Lockhart on the workhorse medical drama ER.

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Although Tierney asked the writers to kill off her character, that doesn't appear likely to happen if she and onscreen mate Goran Visnjic are going to jointly exit the show. But whatever she does, I will be thoroughly charmed — I always am.