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ER is a long-running, award winning American serial medical drama created by novelist Michael Crichton and set primarily in the emergency room of fictional County General Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. It is produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment in association with Warner Bros. Television Production, Inc.
ER is NBC's second longest-running drama (after Law & Order), with 13 seasons. It has also been renewed for another season.
ER has had many memorable episodes, and is particularly notable for broadcasting a live episode, "Ambush," in 1997, with the NBC camera crew disguised as a PBS crew making a documentary film in the hospital. The actors performed the show again three hours later so that the West Coast airing would be live as well. This episode received Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Directing and Outstanding Lighting Direction (Electronic), and won the Emmy for Outstanding Technical Direction/Camera/Video for a Series.
The original cast of relatively unknown actors consisted of Anthony Edwards as Dr. Mark Greene, George Clooney as Dr. Doug Ross, Sherry Stringfield as Dr. Susan Lewis, Noah Wyle as medical student John Carter, and Eriq La Salle as Dr. Peter Benton. Julianna Margulies guest starred in the pilot as Nurse Carol Hathaway and then became part of the regular cast.
In ER's first season, the core cast consisted of Chief Resident Dr. Mark Greene, pediatric resident and lothario Dr. Doug Ross, second-year resident Dr. Susan Lewis, medical student John Carter, nurse Carol Hathaway, and surgical resident Dr. Peter Benton. The series premiere "24 Hours" sees Dr. Greene considering a move into private practise at the request of his wife, Jen. The episode also sees a suicide attempt from staff nurse Carol Hathaway, who had previously been in a long-term relationship with Doug Ross, and the first day for medical student John Carter.
Over the course of the season, Dr. Greene's marriage disintegrates. At work he experiences problems, after making a fatal error in the treatment of a pregnant woman in the Emmy-winning episode Love's Labor's Lost. Dr. Ross struggles to come to terms with the fact that a recovered Hathaway is moving on with her life. Dr. Lewis tries to cope with her tearaway sister, Chloe, who becomes pregnant and gives birth to a daughter at the end of the season. Lewis also struggles professionally with cardiologist Dr. Kayson and romantically with mentally unstable psychiatric resident Dr. Div Cvetic.
Carter gets to grips with the fast-paced life of an ER doctor, while trying to win the approval of his mentor, Dr. Benton. Hathaway gets back onto her feet in the aftermath of her suicide attempt; she gets engaged and tries to adopt an HIV-positive Russian orphan. However, on her wedding day, she calls the marriage off. Meanwhile, Dr. Benton is forced to cope with his busy surgical schedule, while caring for his ailing mother. After her death, he becomes romantically involved with her physical therapist Jeanie Boulet.
Greene's divorce becomes final and he starts dating again. At work, he is promoted, becoming an Attending. He locks horns with close friend Dr. Ross, whose reckless professional behavior is called into question by the hospital authories, and new Chief Resident, Dr. Kerry Weaver. Ross breaks protocol to treat an HIV-positive child and is about to be fired, when he heroically saves a child, trapped in a sewer. His heroism creates a media sensation and the hospital reconsiders its decision. Later in the season, he becomes embroiled in a relationship with his father's girlfriend.
Lewis is left holding the baby, when her sister, Chloe, skips town, leaving daughter Susie in Susan's care. She struggles to find time to care for the child and complete her residency. She considers having Susie adopted, but at the last minute decides to keep her. Just as Susan starts to become attached to the baby, Chloe returns, a changed woman, and a short custody battle ensues. Eventually, Susan hands Susie over to Chloe and is left devastated when her sister and her new husband move to Phoenix, taking the baby with them.
Carter, now a fourth-year medical student, starts a relationship with medical student Harper Tracy. He badly lets down a patient and her husband, played by famous American comic Red Buttons, but manages to win a place as a surgical intern despite the fierce competition. Hathaway becomes involved with paramedic Shep. Their relationship develops quickly and they move in together. However, things go wrong with Shep's partner, Raul, is killed in a fire and Shep is unable to forgive himself. At the end of the season, they break up.
At the start of the season, Dr. Benton is in a relationship with Jeanie Boulet. She ends the relationship in a bid to save her marriage, but soon starts working as a Physician's Assistant at County General. Benton is frosty towards her and is angry when he finds out about her divorce from her husband. At the end of the season, Jeanie finds out that she may be HIV-positive after her ex-husband, Al, is diagnosed. She informs a dismayed Peter and suggests that he too be tested. Benton also struggles to decide whether to lodge a formal complaint against his mentor Dr. Vucelich, when he discovers irregularities in his research method.
The third season sees the depature of Susan Lewis, who leaves for Phoenix to live with her sister and niece. Before she leaves, Greene realises his feelings for her and races against time to declare his feelings. He makes it to Union Station just as she is about to board the train, but she decides to leave anyway, but not before declaring that she too loves him. (This declaration was later called into question by Susan in the Season Eight episode "Secrets and Lies"). In the aftermath of her departure, Mark falls into depression and starts sleeping with County General nurse, Chuny, but they soon break up. Later in the season, he is the victim of a violent attack in the hospital bathroom, after which he becomes increasingly paranoid about his personal safety and distances himself from friends and family.
Meanwhile, Doug and Carol draw closer, culminating in a kiss at the end of the season. Doug is said to be attending therapy throughout the season, although this is never shown on-screen (Clooney was filming Batman and Robin at the same time). Carol considers going to medical school, but eventually decides that she loves her work as a nurse. (This decision was in part motivated by Julianna Margulies's opposition to the idea of Carol becoming a doctor; the ER writers eventually used Maura Tierney's Abby Lockhart for this storyline).
Carter continues to lock horns with Benton, especially over Benton's treatment of surgical intern Dennis Gant. After Gant kills himself out of depression, Carter blames Peter and himself for not doing more to prevent the action. Benton also starts dating Carla Reese, who falls pregnant and gives birth prematurely at the end of the season. Laura Innes joins the full-time cast as Dr. Kerry Weaver. Her character is supportive of Jeanie, who is forced to reveal her HIV-status early in the season, when Mark gains unauthorised access to her medical records. While Jeanie struggles with her condition, she becomes involved with doctor from the Infectious Diseases department, before ultimately getting back together with her ex-husband, Al, in the season finale.
Sherry Stringfield, the first departure on the show was in 1996, when her character, Dr. Susan Lewis, transferred her residency to Phoenix, Arizona, in the Season 3 episode "Union Station." In 2001, Stringfield returned to the series, reprising her role of Dr. Lewis, in the Season 8 episode "Never Say Never." She departed again in the Season 12 premiere, "Canon City." This second departure was not depicted, but rather mentioned by character Dr. Kerry Weaver four episodes later in "Wake Up," when she explains that Susan accepted a tenure position at a hospital in Iowa City, Iowa, after having been denied tenure at County.
After playing Dr. Anna Del Amico for one season, Maria Bello was simply not a part of the ensemble cast when Season 5 began. Like Susan Lewis's second exit, her character's departure was mentioned but not depicted; in the season premiere, "Day for Knight," Carter explains to new medical student Lucy Knight that the locker she is inheriting used to belong to Anna Del Amico, who is working in a pediatric ER back in Philadelphia, where she has family and a boyfriend.
George Clooney left the show in 1999, in the Season 5 episode "The Storm, Part 2," when his character, Dr. Doug Ross, quit before being fired by County for his involvement in a patient's death. Clooney made a brief reappearance in the Season 6 episode "Such Sweet Sorrow" when his character reunited with Carol Hathaway.
Gloria Reuben departed early in Season 6, in the episode "The Peace of Wild Things," when her character, PA Jeanie Boulet, decided to become a stay-at-home mom and care for her newly adopted HIV-positive baby.
Kellie Martin, who played medical student Lucy Knight, left the series midway through Season 6 in the episode "All In The Family," when her character was killed by a patient suffering from an undiagnosed case of schizophrenia; his psychotic break occurred before a backed-up psychiatry department could arrive in the ER for a consult.
Julianna Margulies left the show at the end of Season 6, in the episode "Such Sweet Sorrow," when her character, nurse Carol Hathaway, decided on the spur of the moment to go to Seattle, Washington, and reunite with Doug Ross, her true love and the father of her twin daughters.
Erik Palladino departed early in Season 8, in the same episode that Sherry Stringfield returned in, "Never Say Never," an episode after his character, Dr. Dave Malucci, was fired for improper conduct.
Eriq La Salle's character, Dr. Peter Benton, departed in the Season 8 episode "I'll Be Home For Christmas" in order to spend more time with his son, Reese, and his girlfriend, former fellow ER doctor Cleo Finch, portrayed by Michael Michele, who also left the show in the same episode.
Anthony Edwards's character, Dr. Mark Greene, died of a brain tumor in Season 8's penultimate episode, "On the Beach." Both Eriq La Salle and Michael Michele made brief cameo appearances in that episode when their characters, Peter Benton and Cleo Finch, were shown in attendance at Mark's funeral. Unusually, Anthony Edwards was credited in the following episode "Lockdown".
Paul McCrane's character, Dr. Robert Romano, whose arm had been severed just above the elbow by a helicopter's tail rotor in the Season 9 premiere "Chaos Theory," was killed in the Season 10 episode "Freefall" when a helicopter that was taking off from the hospital roof was buffeted by strong winds, causing it to crash on the roof and plummet over the side of the building; it fell into a crowded ambulance bay and landed squarely on Romano.
Sharif Atkins left the series twice; once in the Season 10 episode "Where There's Smoke," when his character, Dr. Michael Gallant, revealed that the Army was sending him to Iraq, and more definitively in the Season 12 episode "The Gallant Hero and The Tragic Victor," when he was killed by a roadside bomb while serving a second tour.
Alex Kingston's character, Dr. Elizabeth Corday, left the series in the Season 11 episode "Fear" after getting in trouble for performing an illegal organ donation procedure; rather than being summarily fired, County offered her a demotion to a non-tenured position, but she turned it down and opted to return to England instead. In an interview with Britain's Radio Times magazine, Kingston spoke of being written off the show due to her age, a statement that sparked some controversy. She later withdrew that claim.[1]
Ming-Na left in Season 11 when her character, Dr. Jing-Mei "Deb" Chen, quit the ER in the episode "Twas the Night" in order to care for her ailing father. This was the second time her character left County General; in Season 1, medical student "Deb" Chen recurred in an eight episode story arc which concluded (apparently not permanently) with her quitting medical school after deciding she was better suited to research than to applied medicine.
Noah Wyle left in the Season 11 finale, "The Show Must Go On." His character, Dr. John Carter, had decided to reunite in Africa with his girlfriend Kem Likasu (portrayed by Thandie Newton). During Season 12, Wyle returned as Carter and made guest appearances in four episodes: "Quintessence of Dust," "Darfur," "No Place to Hide," and "There Are No Angels Here."
Laura Innes left midway through Season 13, in the episode "A House Divided," when a reluctant Kovač was forced by budget cuts to fire her character, Dr. Kerry Weaver. After bracing for a battle to keep her position, and in spite of the fact that Kovač realized he must find a way to keep her on staff, Weaver ultimately decided to resign from County and accept a job offer from a television station in Miami, Florida.
Goran Višnjić left the main cast at the end of the 13th season after his character, Dr. Luka Kovač returned to his native Croatia to be with his ailing father. It is expected that Višnjić will return to his role, in a recurring role capacity throughout the show's 14th season.
Shane West also left at the end of the 13th season after his character, Dr Ray Barnett lost both his legs and returned to Batton Rouge with his mother to recuperate. His character may return during the 14th season.
Since the beginning, ER has been widely acclaimed for its tradition of bringing in great established actors and actresses to fill guest star roles giving colorful story arcs on the show. Each season continues the publicity stunt with many notable names and some who have went to become bigger names in TV and film. Many memorable appearances on the show have included Bradley Whitford in 1995 (as the husband of a woman who dies at the hands of Dr. Greene in a complicated emergency delivery and files a malpractice suit), Kirsten Dunst in 1996–97 (as a troubled teenager), Ewan McGregor in 1997 (as a convenience store gunman), John Cullum in a series of 15 episodes between 1997 and 2000 (as Mark Greene's father), Rebecca De Mornay in 1999 (as a breast cancer survivor), Emile Hirsch in 1999 (as a teenage alcoholic), Ed Asner in 2003 (as a thieving clinician), Cynthia Nixon in 2005 (as a stroke victim), John Leguizamo in 2005 (as Dr. Victor Clemente, a zealous but troubled attending physician), James Woods in 2006 (as an ALS-stricken biochemistry professor), and most recently, academy award winner Forest Whitaker in 2006–07 (as a patient who files a malpractice suit and takes desperate revenge against Dr. Kovač), and Stanley Tucci as the poised but stern Chief of Emergency Medicine Kevin Moretti in 2007.
Guest stars whose performances garnered them Emmy nominations include Rosemary Clooney in 1995 (for playing Alzheimer's patient "Madame X"), Alan Alda in 2000 (for playing Dr. Gabe Lawrence, an Alzheimer's-stricken doctor and one-time teacher of Kerry Weaver), Mary McDonnell in 2002 (for playing Eleanor Carter, the mother of Dr. Carter), Don Cheadle in 2003 (for playing Paul Latham, a medical student with Parkinson's Disease), and Bob Newhart in 2004 (for playing Ben Hollander, an architectural model maker losing his sight). Sally Field (chewing up the scenery as Maggie Wyczenski, Abby Lockhart's mother) and Ray Liotta (playing a regret-ridden, dying alcoholic) won Emmys in 2001 and 2005, respectively, for their portrayals.
The following actors have played supporting roles for three or more seasons:
Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of ER on NBC.
Note: Each U.S. network television season starts in late September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps. All times mentioned in this section were in the Eastern & Pacific time zones.
ER won the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award in 1995. In addition, the series has earned 117 Emmy Award nominations, tying the series with Cheers for the most nominations for a single series,[4] as well as 22 Emmy Awards (at least one every year up to and including 2005, except for 2004). It also won the People's Choice Award for "Favorite Television Dramatic Series" every year from 1997 to 2002. Over the years, it has been nominated for and/or won numerous other awards, including Screen Actors Guild Awards, Image Awards, GLAAD Media Awards, and Golden Globe Awards, among others.[5]
The following is a partial list of major awards and nominations received by the show, its cast, and crew.
The first six DVD box sets of ER are unusual in the fact that they are all in anamorphic widescreen even though these episodes were broadcast in a standard 4:3 format. Only the live episode "Ambush" is not in the widescreen format.
The first six seasons of the series have also been released in Hong Kong and other markets.