• by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, 6 hours ago

Actor Eric Dane, diagnosed last April with ALS, courageously played a man living with the illness on this week’s episode of “Brilliant Minds” on NBC.

It was the kind of heartbreaking melodrama that only network television does anymore. And it was important because the episode shed light on the disease and the suffering it causes.

Dane, 53, played a firefighter -- a strong, silent type -- bravely trying to lead the normal, self-sufficient life he was long accustomed to, and even hiding his ALS from his family.

In the show, titled “The Firefighter,” he was under the care of Dr. Oliver Wolf (Zachary Quinto), a famed, eccentric and brilliant neurologist at fictional Bronx General Hospital.

The firefighter -- “Matthew” -- refused to seek help from friends and family because he did not want to burden them. 

Dr. Wolf helped him to see things differently as Matthew’s disease became more acute. 

Dane went public with his diagnosis last June. In the “Brilliant Minds” episode seen Monday night, he is never seen standing, but always sitting -- an indication of the extent to which his own condition had progressed by the time the episode was filmed, presumably last summer.

ALS – full name: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis -- is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by muscle weakness and respiratory failure, says the National Institutes of Health. It is a terminal illness for which there is no cure.

ALS is widely known as Lou Gehrig’s disease because of the Yankee star’s stunning diagnosis of the disease in 1939 at age 36. He died in June 1941. 

For all its notoriety, ALS is a comparatively rare condition. Currently, the number of Americans living with ALS is approximately 34,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

In the “Brilliant Minds” episode, Matthew finally realizes he cannot go it alone and comes to accept the love and help of his family and brother firefighters.

“The act of rescue is often linked to things like heroism and bravery, but for guys like me, I’ve always looked at is as an act of caring,” says the firefighter in a voiceover near the end of the show. “I guess I never saw myself as the one who needed to be cared for.”

It is reasonable to guess that the firefighter’s experience reflects Dane’s own journey, at least in part -- namely, the process of accepting that one’s life is now to be shorter than expected, and every day and every hour with loved ones is more precious than ever.

The episode ended with a message inviting viewers to “learn more and help us end ALS” accompanied by a web site URL, www.iamals.org/progress.

The episode is available to watch anytime on NBC.com and Peacock.