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See E/R for the similarly titled 1980s sitcom. ER is a long-running 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 Television in association with Warner Bros. Television Production, Inc.
Broadcasters Executive producers Series run ER is NBC's second longest running drama (after Law & Order), with 13 seasons. Episodes ER is 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. Even more unusual, the actors performed the show again three hours later so that the West Coast airing would be live as well. Other particularly notable episodes include "Love's Labor Lost" (1995), "Hell and High Water" (1995), "The Long Way Around" (1997), "Random Acts" (1997), "Exodus" (1998), "All in the Family" (2000), "The Crossing" (2001), "On the Beach" (2002), "Lockdown" (2002), "The Lost" (2003), "Freefall" (2003), "Time of Death" (2004), "Alone in a Crowd" (2005),"Body and Soul" (2006) and "21 Guns" (2006) Main cast 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. Main cast departures The show has remained very popular despite the departure of not only its entire original cast, but many of the actors who subsequently joined the series. The first such departure was that of Sherry Stringfield 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 after having been passed over for one at County. After playing Dr. Anna Del Amico for just 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 med 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 baby. Kellie Martin, who played med 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 psych department could come down to 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," when 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, Reece, 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. In the Season 10 episode "Freefall," Paul McCrane's character, Dr. Robert Romano, was killed 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 we find out that 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 qualified that claim. Ming-Na left in Season 11 as well, when her character, Dr. Jing-Mei "Deb" Chen, quit in the episode "Twas the Night" in order to look after her ailing father. This was the second time her character left County General; in Season 1, med 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," when his character, Dr. John Carter, decided to reunite with his girlfriend Kem Likasu (portrayed by Thandie Newton) in Africa. Wyle was the last of the original cast members to depart, though he made four guest appearances in Season 12 and will also do so in Season 13. Notable guest stars Several guest stars have made memorable appearances on the show, including Kirsten Dunst in 1996–97 (as a troubled teenager), Ewan McGregor in 1997 (as a convenience store gunman), Rebecca De Mornay in 1999 (as a breast cancer survivor), Ed Asner in 2003 (as a thieving clinician), Cynthia Nixon in 2005 (as a stroke victim), and James Woods in 2006 (as Dr. Nate Lennox, an ALS-stricken biochemistry professor). Guest stars whose performances garnered them Emmy nominations include George Clooney's real-life aunt Rosemary Clooney in 1995, Alan Alda in 2000 (for playing Dr. Gabe Lawrence, an aging, 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 Nathan, a medical student with Parkinson's Disease), and Bob Newhart in 2004 (for playing Ben Hollander, an architect losing his sight). Sally Field (playing 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. Supporting cast The following actors have played supporting roles for three or more seasons: Trivia 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 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, 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. The following is a partial list of major awards and nominations received by the show, its cast, and crew. Awards Emmy Awards Golden Globe Awards Screen Actors Guild Awards Nominations Emmy Awards Golden Globe Awards Screen Actors Guild Awards DVD releases | class="wikitable" |+ ! Season ! Date of Region 1 DVD Release ! Date of Region 2 DVD Release The DVD box sets 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 five seasons of the series have also been released in Canada, Hong Kong, and other markets. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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