ER (1994–2009)

The work and lives of a group of emergency room doctors in Chicago.

Creator:

Michael Crichton

Stars:

Anthony Edwards, Eriq La Salle, Julianna Margulies

Won 1 Golden Globe. Another 119 wins & 269 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Noah Wyle	...	Dr. John Carter (254 episodes, 1994-2009)
Laura Innes	...	Dr. Kerry Weaver (249 episodes, 1995-2009)
Laura Cerón	...	Nurse Chuny Marquez (219 episodes, 1995-2009)
Maura Tierney	...	Nurse Abby Lockhart (189 episodes, 1999-2009)
Deezer D	...	Nurse Malik McGrath (187 episodes, 1994-2009)
Goran Visnjic	...	Dr. Luka Kovac (185 episodes, 1999-2008)
Yvette Freeman	...	Nurse Haleh Adams (183 episodes, 1994-2009)
Anthony Edwards	...	Dr. Mark Greene (180 episodes, 1994-2008)
Eriq La Salle	...	Dr. Peter Benton (171 episodes, 1994-2009)
Emily Wagner	...	Doris Pickman (167 episodes, 1994-2009)
Alex Kingston	...	Dr. Elizabeth Corday (160 episodes, 1997-2009)
Lyn Alicia Henderson	...	Pamela Olbes (148 episodes, 1995-2009)
Sherry Stringfield	...	Dr. Susan Lewis (142 episodes, 1994-2009)
Abraham Benrubi	...	Jerry Markovic (137 episodes, 1994-2009)
Mekhi Phifer	...	Dr. Gregory Pratt (135 episodes, 2002-2008)
Julianna Margulies	...	Nurse Carol Hathaway (135 episodes, 1994-2009)
Parminder Nagra	...	Dr. Neela Rasgotra (129 episodes, 2003-2009)
Troy Evans	...	Frank Martin (128 episodes, 1994-2009)
Lily Mariye	...	Nurse Lily Jarvik (127 episodes, 1994-2009)
Linda Cardellini	...	Nurse Samantha Taggart (126 episodes, 2003-2009)
Paul McCrane	...	Dr. Robert Romano (125 episodes, 1997-2008)
Ming-Na Wen	...	Dr. Jing-Mei Chen (118 episodes, 1995-2004)
Montae Russell	...	Dwight Zadro (118 episodes, 1995-2009)
Conni Marie Brazelton	...	Nurse Connie Oligario (113 episodes, 1994-2003)
Scott Grimes	...	Dr. Archie Morris (112 episodes, 2003-2009)
Ellen Crawford	...	Nurse Lydia Wright (112 episodes, 1994-2009)
George Clooney	...	Dr. Doug Ross (107 episodes, 1994-2009)
Gloria Reuben	...	Jeanie Boulet (102 episodes, 1995-2008)

Storyline

Michael Crichton has created a medical drama that chronicles life and death in a Chicago hospital emergency room. Each episode tells the tale of another day in the ER, from the exciting to the mundane, and the joyous to the heart-rending. Frenetic pacing, interwoven plot lines, and emotional rollercoastering is used to attempt to accurately depict the stressful environment found there. This show even portrays the plight of medical students in their quest to become physicians.

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Plot Keywords:

emergency room | medical | death | medical drama | hospital | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Official Sites:

NBC Warner Bros.

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 September 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Emergency Room

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Constant c Productions, John Wells Productions, Amblin Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

44 min 60 min 55 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Frank, the desk clerk (Troy Evans), always talks about life on the "force" as a Chicago police officer. In a very early episode he had an appearance as a police officer who was shot and treated by the ER staff.

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Goofs

Doctors and nurses frequently wear their stethoscopes backwards - with the binaural pointed toward the back of the head rather than the face - while listening to heart or lung sounds. In reality, this would not allow the listener to hear ANYTHING, as sound would be transmitted into the skin at the back of the outer ear rather than down the ear canal.

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Quotes

Dr. Greg Pratt: I'm having dinner with a guy.
Dr. Ray Barnett: Is he cute?

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Connections

Referenced in 30 Rock: Don Geiss, America and Hope (2010)

User Reviews

Even an indifferent episode is better than the alternatives

In the UK we have the home grown medical dramas Casualty and its sister show Holby City. Putting these against ER is like comparing two Ladas to a Rolls Royce. The Brit shows look leaden, and have far too many hammy and wooden actors.

ER has set a very high standard of modern TV drama for 10 years. True, there have been the occasional duff episodes, but the urgency of the drama, combined with what looks like hand held camera work usually delivers punchy tension filled drama, with first rate performances.

Another contributor mentioned the only serious rival to ER, Chicago Hope, a show that was cheeky enough to have a character say "I was hoping to watch ER tonight", and had a hilarious scene which culminated in the death of a heart transplant patient! Unfortunately, that show suffered with the loss of Mandy Patinkin, and began taking itself too seriously. ER may have lost most of its mainstays, especially Anthony Edwards, but it still is a far better option than any other medical drama. I realise however, that it may struggle once Noah Wyle leaves.