ER (TV series)

ER is an Emmy Award-winning American medical drama series created by the late novelist Michael Crichton and airing on NBC. It is set primarily in the emergency room of fictional County General Hospital in Cook County, Chicago. It is produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment in association with Warner Bros. Television Production, Inc.

Series run

ER is NBC's second longest-running drama (after Law & Order), and, at 15 seasons, the longest-running American primetime medical drama of all time.^[1] It premiered on September 19, 1994 and has been aired on Thursday nights at 10:00 for its entire run. On April 2, 2008, NBC announced that the series will return for its 15th, concluding season,^[2], and will run for 20 hours before the show retires with a two-hour series finale to be broadcast on March 12, 2009.^[3][4]

History and production

The novel ER was originally slated to be a movie, directed by Steven Spielberg. However, during the early stages of pre-production, Spielberg asked Michael Crichton what his current project was. Crichton said he was working on a novel about dinosaurs and DNA. Spielberg subsequently dropped what he was doing to film this project, which became Jurassic Park. Afterwards, he returned to ER and helped develop the show, serving as a producer on season one and offering advice (he insisted on Julianna Margulies becoming a regular, for example). It was also through Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment that John Wells was contacted to be the show's executive producer.

Due to a lack of time and money to build a set, the pilot episode of ER was filmed in the former Linda Vista Community Hospital in Los Angeles, an old facility that ceased operating as a medical center in 1990.^[5] A set modeled after Los Angeles County General Hospital's emergency room was built soon after at the Warner Bros. studios in Burbank, California, although the show makes extensive use of location shoots in Chicago, most notably the city's famous "L" train platforms.

Michael Crichton wrote the script that became the pilot episode of the show. It was based on some of his experiences working in an ER. By the time the pilot episode was shot and aired in 1994, it had been 20 years since it was written. On his commentary track, included on the first season DVD set, Crichton says that the script used to shoot the pilot was virtually unchanged from what he had written in 1974. Dr. Lewis was written as a male character, and though producers decided Lewis should be a woman, that change didn't require an adjustment of her dialogue. The producers also decided Dr. Benton would be African-American, though he wasn't written that way. The original script had to be shortened by about 20 minutes in order to air in a two-hour block on network TV.

ER was filmed in 1.78:1 widescreen from the start, even though it was not broadcast in widescreen until the seventh season when it began appearing in the 1080i HD format where NBC was being broadcast digitally. Since the sixth episode of Season 7, it has appeared in letterbox format when in standard definition. As a result, every DVD box set shows the widescreen versions of the episodes, including those episodes originally broadcast in 1.33:1 (full screen) format. The episodes also appear in 1080i widescreen when rerun on TNT HD, though the first six seasons still show in fullscreen on the digital TNT network. Only the live episode "Ambush" at the beginning of the fourth season, and the opening credits for the first six seasons, are in standard 4:3 aspect ratio.

Episodes

Main article: List of ER episodes

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.

Most episodes center on the ER, with almost all scenes at the hospital. There is, however, often at least one scene showing the goings-on of the ER staff outside the hospital. Also, there is a tradition to feature storylines each season completely outside of the ER. One early such instance involved a road trip near Las Vegas, Nevada (Drs. Ross and Greene). Season Eight included a storyline in Hawaii (Drs. Greene and Corday). More recently, the series has included storylines in Democratic Republic of Congo (Drs. Kovac and Carter) and Darfur, Sudan (Drs. Pratt and Carter, with Noah Wyle appearing as a guest star in the season following his departure from the show).

Cast

Main cast

The original cast consisted of Anthony Edwards as Dr. Mark Greene, George Clooney as Dr. Doug Ross, Sherry Stringfield as Dr. Susan Lewis, Noah Wyle as John Carter, and Eriq La Salle as Dr. Peter Benton. Julianna Margulies guest starred in the pilot as Carol Hathaway before becoming part of the regular cast. The first additions to the cast came in Season Two with Jeannie Boulet (Gloria Ruben) and Kerry Weaver (Laura Innes) signing on. The cast remained largely unchanged until Season Five, when Kellie Martin joined the cast as medical student Lucy Knight and George Clooney became the first major departure. As a result, Season Six opened with addition of then-unknown Croatian actor Goran Visnjic to the cast as the tragic Dr. Luka Kovac and soon after, Maura Tierney as Abby Lockhart, who together formed the series longest running, and most complicated, romantic relationship. By the end of Season Eight, only one member of the original cast, Noah Wyle, remained.

Note 1: Although Edwards was billed with the regular cast in Episode 316, his was a single-episode reprise of role he left at the end of Season 8.^[6]

Main cast departures

Sherry Stringfield's first departure on the show was in 1996, when her character, Susan Lewis, moved 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 Kerry Weaver four episodes later in "Wake Up," when she explains that Susan had accepted a tenure-track position at a hospital in Iowa City, Iowa, after having been denied tenure at County.

After playing Anna Del Amico for one season, Maria Bello was 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, 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, Jeanie Boulet, decided to become a stay-at-home mom and care for her newly adopted HIV-positive baby. Reuben returned in the season 14 episode "Status Quo" with her HIV positive child.

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 undiagnosed 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, 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 episode ("Never Say Never") after his character, Dave Malucci, was fired for inappropriate conduct.

Eriq La Salle's character, Peter Benton, departed in the Season 8 episode "I'll Be Home For Christmas". He took a job with a set schedule at another hospital in order to spend more time with his son, Reese, and his girlfriend, former fellow ER doctor Cleo Finch. His character returned two more times that season in episodes "It's All In Your Head" and "On The Beach".

Michael Michele's character, Cleo Finch, departed in the Season 8 episode "I'll Be Home For Christmas" with her boyfriend, and fellow doctor, Peter Benton, after having previously taken a job at the same hospital with set schedules (in fact it was she who arranged the interview which resulted in Benton's job offer). Her character returned one more time that season in the episode "On The Beach".

Anthony Edwards's character, Mark Greene, died of a brain tumor in Season 8's penultimate episode, "On the Beach." Unusually, Anthony Edwards was credited in the following episode "Lockdown". Edwards returned in the 15th season episode "Heal Thyself". He appeared in multiple flashback scenes to give insight into the past of Angela Bassett's character.^[7]

Paul McCrane's character, 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. McCrane returned in the 15th season episode "Heal Thyself" in a cameo.

Sharif Atkins left the series twice. The first time was in the Season 10 episode "Where There's Smoke," when his character, Michael Gallant, revealed that the Army was sending him to Iraq. He returned for two episodes in Season 11 and for four episodes in Season 12, where in the episode "The Gallant Hero and The Tragic Victor," he was killed by an improvised explosive device while serving a second tour in Iraq.

Alex Kingston's character, 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.^[8]

Ming-Na left in Season 11 as an attending physician when her character, Jing-Mei Chen, resigned in in order to take care of her ailing father, whom she later euthanized in the episode "Twas the Night." 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 with her leaving 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, John Carter, after having received tenure at County, decided to reunite 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." He is reported to make further guest appearances in season 15.

Laura Innes left midway through Season 13, in the episode "A House Divided," when a reluctant Luka Kovač was forced by budget cuts to fire her character, 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. Innes returned in the 15th season episode "Heal Thyself" in a cameo.

Shane West left at the end of the 13th season after his character, Ray Barnett lost both his legs and returned to Baton Rouge with his mother to recuperate. West's final appearance as a main cast member was in "The Honeymoon is Over." West returned in the 15th season episode "Haunted" to visit Neela and the rest of the staff.

Mekhi Phifer departed during the first episode of Season 15. His character, Gregory Pratt, died in the ER as the result of blast injuries suffered in an ambulance explosion in the final episode of Season 14.

Goran Visnjic departed in the third episode of season 15 in an episode entitled "Book of Abby" with his TV wife Abby Lockhart. Along with their son Joe, they presumably headed to Boston, where Abby got a new job. ^[3] Luka had previously left the show in the season finale of season 13 when he left for Croatia to care for his ailing father. He returned for seven episodes in season 14 to wrap up his medical storyline and then made a brief appearance in "Book of Abby" where he, Abby, and their son Joe embark on their new life together.

Maura Tierney departed in the third episode of season 15 in an episode entitled "Book of Abby" with her TV husband Luka Kovac. Along with their son Joe, they presumably headed to Boston, where Abby got a new job. ^[3] She attempted to leave the ER quietly, however the rest of the staff made it known how much they will miss her. Nurse Haleh Adams showed Abby a hidden wall with the locker labels of all the past staff members since season one, with the exception of Carter who refused to deface government property (the other names on the wall were mostly departed former characters as well as some prominent writers and producers). Abby then left the ER and met Luka and her son Joe outside where they embark on their new life together.

Notable guest stars

Memorable appearances on the show have included:

• Bradley Whitford in 1995, as the husband of a woman who dies at the hands of Dr. Mark Greene in a complicated emergency delivery and files a malpractice suit.
• Lucy Liu in 1995, as an Asian Immigrant whose son suffers from AIDS; (credited as "Lucy Alexis Liu").
• Jorja Fox in 1996-1999, as Dr. Maggie Doyle, a gay resident who eventually tried to bring a sexual harassment lawsuit against Dr. Robert Romano.
• Sanford Meisner in 1995, as Joseph Klein, a terminally ill patient inadvertently given a reprieve by Dr. John Carter.
• Marg Helgenberger in 1996, as Karen Hines, one of Dr. Doug Ross's many flings.
• George Eads in 1996, as a paramedic.
• Kirsten Dunst in 1996-1997, as Charlie Chiemingoas, a troubled teenager.
• Omar Epps in 1996-1997, as Dr. Dennis Gant, a surgical intern who jumps in front of a train.
• Ewan McGregor in 1997, as a convenience store gunman.
• Mariska Hargitay in 1997, as Cynthia Hooper, a desk clerk that Dr. Mark Greene dates.
• John Cullum in 1997 and 2000, as Dr. Mark Greene's father.
• Rebecca De Mornay in 1999, as a breast cancer survivor.
• Emile Hirsch in 1999, as a teenage alcoholic.
• David Krumholtz in 2000 and 2002, as a schizophrenic who stabs Dr. Lucy Knight and Dr. John Carter, with Liza Weil playing his wife.
• Dakota Fanning in 2000, as Delia Chadsey
• Shia LaBeouf in 2000, as Darnel Smith, a child with muscular dystrophy.
• Lea Salonga in 2001, as Amparo, a lymphoma-stricken mother of a young boy who fell while putting up Christmas lights.
• Jared Padalecki in 2001, as Paul Harris, a car crash survivor.
• Conchata Ferrell in 2001, as Mrs. Jenkins, the mother of a girl injured in a talkshow brawl.
• Michael Gross in 2001-2004, as Dr. John Carter's father, John "Jack" Carter, Jr.
• Zac Efron in 2002, as Bobby Neville, an injured teen.
• Ed Asner in 2003, as a con artist pretending to run a store-front clinic.
• Thandie Newton in 2004, as Kem, Dr. John Carter's love interest from Africa and mother of his stillborn son.
• Cynthia Nixon in 2005, as a stroke victim.
• Kristen Johnston in 2005, as Eve Peyton, a zealous nurse manager.
• John Leguizamo in 2005, as Dr. Victor Clemente, a zealous but troubled attending physician.
• James Woods in 2006, as an ALS-stricken biochemistry professor.
• Stanley Tucci in 2007-2008, as Dr. Kevin Moretti, a brilliant ICU doctor turned troubled ER Chief.
• Reiko Aylesworth in 2007-2008, as Julia Dupree, the hospital chaplin.
• Kari Matchett in 2007-2008, as Skye Wexler, the Acting Chief of Emergency Medicine.
• Annabella Sciorra in 2007, as Diana Moore, a cancer patient who wishes to spend her last days in South America.
• Derrek Lee in 2007, as himself.
• Hal Holbrook in 2008, as Walter Perkins, a hospice patient who inspires Luka to make a difficult life decision.
• Steve Buscemi in 2008, as Mr. Masterson,a patient who was secretly in witness protection.
• Courtney B. Vance in 2008, as Russell Banfield, Cate Banfield's husband.

Guest stars whose performances won Emmys are:

• Sally Field in 2001, as Maggie Wyczenski, Abby Lockhart's mother.
• Ray Liotta in 2005, as Charlie Metcalf, a regret-ridden, dying alcoholic.

Guest stars whose performances earned Emmy nominations include:

• Rosemary Clooney in 1995, as "Madame X", an Alzheimer's patient.
• Alan Alda in 2000, as Dr. Gabriel Lawrence, an Alzheimer's-stricken doctor and one-time teacher of Dr. Kerry Weaver.
• James Cromwell in 2001, as an ailing Roman Catholic Bishop who coaxes a confession from Dr. Luka Kovač, before dying.
• Mary McDonnell in 2002, as Eleanor Carter, the mother of Dr. John Carter.
• Don Cheadle in 2003, as Paul Nathan, a medical student with Parkinson's Disease.
• Bob Newhart in 2004, as Ben Hollander, an architecture model maker losing his sight.
• Forest Whitaker in 2007, as Curtis Ames, a patient filing a lawsuit against Dr. Luka Kovač.

Supporting cast

Main article: List of supporting characters in ER

Main article: Minor doctors in ER

Main article: Minor nurses in ER

U.S. television ratings

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.

Awards and nominations

Main article: List of ER awards and nominations

ER won the George Foster Peabody Award in 1995. In addition, the series has earned 123 Emmy Award nominations, making it the most Emmy-nominated show in history.^[19] 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 1995 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.^[20]

The following is a partial list of major awards and nominations received by the show, its cast, and crew.

Awards

Emmy Awards

• Outstanding Drama Series (1996)
• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series—Julianna Margulies (1995)
• Outstanding Individual Achievement in Directing for a Drama Series—Mimi Leder for episode "Love's Labor Lost" (1995)
• Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series—Sally Field (2001)
• Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series—Ray Liotta (2005)

Golden Globe Awards

• Best Performance by an Actor in a TV Series-Drama—Anthony Edwards (1998)

Screen Actors Guild Awards

• Best Performance by a Cast in a Drama Series (1996-1999) 4 wins
• Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series—Julianna Margulies (1998-99) 2 wins
• Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series—Anthony Edwards (1996, 1998) 2 wins

Nominations

Emmy Awards

• Outstanding Drama Series (1995, 1997-2001) 6 nominations
• Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series—Anthony Edwards (1995-98) 4 nominations
• Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series—George Clooney (1995-96) 2 nominations
• Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series—Julianna Margulies (1997-2000) 4 nominations
• Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series—Sherry Stringfield (1995-97) 3 nominations
• Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series—Noah Wyle (1995-99) 5 nominations
• Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series—Eriq La Salle (1995, 1997-98) 3 nominations
• Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series- Paul McCrane (2001)
• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series—Maura Tierney (2001)
• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series—Laura Innes (1997-98) 2 nominations
• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series—Gloria Reuben (1997-98) 2 nominations
• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series—Julianna Margulies (1996)
• Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series-Forest Whitaker (2007)
• Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series—James Woods (2006)
• Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series—Red Buttons (2005)
• Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series—Bob Newhart (2004)
• Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series—Don Cheadle (2003)
• Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series—Sally Field (2003)

Golden Globe Awards

• Best TV Series-Drama (1995-2001) 7 nominations
• Best Performance by an Actor in a TV Series-Drama—Anthony Edwards (1996-97, 1999) 3 nominations
• Best Performance by an Actor in a TV Series-Drama—George Clooney (1996-98) 3 nominations
• Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series-Drama—Julianna Margulies (1999-2000) 3 nominations
• Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series-Drama—Sherry Stringfield (1996-97) 2 nominations
• Best Performance by a Supporting Actor in a TV Series—Noah Wyle (1997-99) 3 nominations
• Best Performance by a Supporting Actor in a TV Series—Eriq La Salle (1998)
• Best Performance by a Supporting Actress in a TV Series—Gloria Reuben (1998)
• Best Performance by a Supporting Actress in a TV Series—Julianna Margulies (1996)
• Best Performance by a Supporting Actress in a TV Series—CCH Pounder (1997)

Screen Actors Guild Awards

• Best Performance by a Cast in a Drama Series (1995, 1998, 2000-01) 4 nominations
• Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series—Sally Field (2001)
• Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series—Julianna Margulies (1996)
• Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series—Anthony Edwards (1997, 1999, 2001) 3 nominations
• Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series—George Clooney (1996-97) 2 nominations

DVD releases

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 series has also been released in other markets with different release dates.

Other media

• ER soundtrack released in 1996 with various compositions from seasons 1 and 2 episodes by Martin Davich and James Newton Howard.
• ER video game for Windows XP and 2000 released in 2005 where the player takes control of a character in the series and treats patients.

References

External links

• ER's official Warner Bros. website (last updated in 2004)
• ER's official NBC website