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.

---

Plot Keywords:

medical | room | emergency | emergency room | hospital | 

---

Genres:

Drama

---

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

Dr. Carter's date of birth is 4 June 1970. Noah Wyle's in 4 June 1971.

---

Goofs

None of the doctors or nurses performs CPR correctly, but if done with straight arms and enough force to make a difference, it can (and often does) break the patient's ribs. Obviously it's better to go without a factually accurate portrayal of the procedure than to injure the actors in the name of realism.

---

Quotes

Dr. Dave Malucci: You're not the first to be deceived by my rugged good looks and boyish charm.

---

Connections

Referenced in Urban Legends: Final Cut (2000)

User Reviews

Wanna See What Made this Show Great? Buy the 1st Season DVD

ER in its present, 2003 form is a schizophrenic mess. For every one intelligent, caring episode comes four or five exercises in downbeat, melodramatic soap opera which sap all the energy out of the show's still-present technical mastery. This four-disc set is a welcome flashback to the show's humble beginnings, when it wasn't supposed to be the most heart-pounding show on television, and succeeded on will, not on hype.

The central characters in the first season are Chief Resident Dr. Mark Greene (Anthony Edwards), ER Residents Susan Lewis (Sherry Stringfield) and pediatrician Doug Ross (George Clooney), Head Nurse Carol Hathaway (Julianna Marguiles), Surgical Resident Dr. Peter Benton (Eriq la Salle) and his protégé, third-year med student John Carter (Noah Wyle, the only actor to remain on the show through the entire run). They brought a fresh edge to the oft-repeated world of medical drama, helped greatly by the first television show, in my estimation, to ever put actual intelligence into the presentation. On ER, the cameras move, the people move, the consistent hustle and bustle of an actual environment is palpable, and not simply a setpiece. It's interesting to note that although the show was never broadcast in widescreen until 2001, in the middle of it's seventh season, these first episodes are all presented in the wider format. At first it might seem like hubris, but most of them fit the frame very well, with shots composed and staged for the wider picture - it's not `cinematic' just for its own sake.

Standout episodes from the season include the exposition-heavy `Pilot' which still found time for drama; `Blizzard' which was a tour-de-force of film, editing, and cutting edge medical realism; `Hit & Run' & `Sleepless in Chicago' which dealt with the heavy burden of juggling personal & professional medical care, as well as Carter's development as a doctor; and `Love's Labor Lost', an absolute masterpiece from every angle: drama, directing, scripting, staging, scoring, every cosmic tumbler clicked into place for this episode centered around Greene's tragic triumph in the case of a pregnancy gone bad.

The show took a few (deserved) knocks for being shamelessly convenient in its storylines and ignoring the realities of daily hospital structure in favor of sensationalism. This is exaggerated a little, but still a valid point; rarely an episode goes by without something in the line of an unexpected pregnancy, a suicide attempt, a violent skirmish between doctor and patient, or (in one outrageous case) a 12-year old gang member brining his Glock into a trauma room to try and finish another 12-year old off. Still, the show displayed remarkable resilience in almost always rising to become greater than the sum of its parts. Naturally, that ability has waned and virtually disappeared, but these episodes are no less enjoyable as a result of that.