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ER (TV series)

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See E/R for the similarly titled 1980s sitcom.
ER
File:ERTitleCard.jpg
Created byMichael Crichton
StarringGoran Višnjić
Maura Tierney
Mekhi Phifer
Parminder Nagra
Linda Cardellini
Shane West
Scott Grimes
and
Laura Innes
Country of originUSA
No. of episodes267 (as of May 18, 2006)
Production
Camera setupSingle
Running time60 minutes (including commercials)
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseSeptember 19, 1994 –
Present

ER is a long-running serial medical drama created by novelist Michael Crichton and set primarily in the emergency room of County General Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. It is produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Television in association with Warner Bros. Television Production, Inc.

Series run

ER is NBC's second longest running drama (after Law & Order), and has been renewed through the 2007-2008 season, the show's 14th. In May 2006, NBC announced that for the 2006-2007 season, NBC would air 13 original "ER" episodes through December, then premiere a new drama, The Black Donnellys, beginning in January in the ER time slot (Thursday at 10 p.m.). The remaining original ER episodes would then be shown in the spring of 2007.[1]

Episodes

Main article: List of ER 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), "Random Acts" (1997), "All in the Family" (2000), "The Crossing" (2001), "On the Beach" (2002), "The Lost" (2003), "Freefall" (2003), "Time of Death" (2004), "Alone in a Crowd" (2005), and "Body and Soul" (2006).

Cast

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.

Actor Role Appearance as Star Appearances as Guest Star / Supporting Actor
Seasons Episodes Seasons Episodes
CURRENT
Goran Višnjić Dr. Luka Kovač 6– 114–
Maura Tierney Nurse/Dr. Abby Lockhart 6– 125– 6 121
Mekhi Phifer Dr. Gregory Pratt 9– 180– 8 175–177, 179
Parminder Nagra Med student/Dr. Neela Rasgotra 10– 204– 10 202
Linda Cardellini Nurse Samantha Taggart 10– 206–
Shane West Dr. Ray Barnett 11– 224–
Scott Grimes Dr. Archie Morris 12– 246– 10–11 204–245 (25 episodes)
Laura Innes Dr. Kerry Weaver 3– 48– 2 26–29, 31, 34–35, 38, 40, 43–47
FUTURE
John Stamos Paramedic/Dr. Tony Gates 13– 269– 12 252–253
IMPORTANT GUEST
John Leguizamo Dr. Victor Clemente 12–13 250–256, 259–260, 262, 264, 266, 268
Leland Orser Dr. Lucien Dubenko 11– 226–268 (28 episodes)
PAST
Anthony Edwards Dr. Mark Greene 1–8 1–179
George Clooney Dr. Doug Ross 1–5 1–106 6 134
Sherry Stringfield Dr. Susan Lewis 1–3, 8–12 1–55, 161–246
Noah Wyle Med Student/Dr. John Carter 1–11 1–245 12 259–260, 264–265
Julianna Margulies Nurse Carol Hathaway 1–6 2–134 1 1
Eriq La Salle Dr. Peter Benton 1–8 1–167, 172, 178
Gloria Reuben PA Jeanie Boulet 2–6 31–119 1, 2 14–17, 20–28
Maria Bello Dr. Anna Del Amico 4 70–91 3 67–69
Alex Kingston Dr. Elizabeth Corday 4–11 70–227
Kellie Martin Med student Lucy Knight 5–6 92–127
Paul McCrane Dr. Robert Romano 6–10 114–209 4, 5 74–113 (29 episodes)
Michael Michele Dr. Cleo Finch 6–8 114–167, 178
Erik Palladino Dr. Dave Malucci 6–8 120–161 6 115–119
Ming-Na Med Student/Dr. Jing-Mei "Deb" Chen 6–11 123–232 1 13–17, 19–21
Sharif Atkins Dr. Michael Gallant 8–10 172–219 8, 11, 12 164–266 (12 episodes)

Main cast departures

Template:Spoiler

The show has remained very popular despite the departure of not only its entire original cast, but many of the actors that subsequently joined the series. The first such departure was that of Sherry Stringfield in 1996, when her character, Susan Lewis, transferred her residency to Phoenix in the Season 3 episode "Union Station." She reprised her role in 2001 in the Season 8 episode "Never Say Never" before departing again in the Season 12 premiere, "Canon City," when she accepted a tenure position at a hospital in Iowa after having been refused one at County. 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. Gloria Reuben departed early in Season 6, in the episode "The Peace of Wild Things," when her character 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 psych patient who had not been properly identified as dangerous. Julianna Margulies left the show at the end of Season 6, in the episode "Such Sweet Sorrow," when her character, Carol Hathaway, and her twin daughters, Kate and Tess, reunited with Doug Ross in Seattle. Eric Palladino departed early in Season 8, in the same episode that Sherry Stringfield returned in, "Never Say Never," when his character, Dave Malucci, was fired for improper conduct. Soon after, Eriq La Salle's character, 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 partner, former fellow ER doctor Cleo Finch, portrayed by Michael Michele, who also left the show in that episode. Anthony Edwards's character, Mark Greene, died of a brain tumor in Season 8's penultimate episode, "On The Beach." In the Season 10 episode "Freefall," Paul McCrane's character, Robert Romano, was killed by a crashing helicopter. Sharif Atkins left the series twice; once in the Season 10 episode "Where There's Smoke," when his character, 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, 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. Ming-Na left in Season 11 as well, when her character, Jing-Mei "Deb" Chen, quit in the episode "Twas the Night" in order to look after her ailing father. And finally, Noah Wyle left in the Season 11 finale, "The Show Must Go On," when his character, John Carter, decided to reunite with his girlfriend Kem Likasu 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

Main article: Notable guest stars of ER (TV series)

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 Rosemary Clooney in 1995, Alan Alda in 2000 (for playing Dr. Gabriel Lawrence, an aging 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:

Executive producers

DVD releases

Season Date of Region 1 DVD Release
The Complete First Season (1994–1995) August 26, 2003
The Complete Second Season (1995-1996) April 27, 2004
The Complete Third Season (1996-1997) April 26, 2005
The Complete Fourth Season (1997-1998) December 20, 2005
The Complete Fifth Season (1998–1999) July 11, 2006 [2]

The first five seasons of the series have also been released in Canada, Hong Kong, and other markets. In addition, as of May 2006, the first six seasons have been released in the United Kingdom, the seventh season to be released in September.

Broadcasters

For a non-exhaustive list of the show broadcasters, see: ER broadcasters.

Trivia

  • The pilot episode of ER was filmed in an old, abandoned hospital due to a lack of time and money to build a set. A set based on the hospital was eventually built.
  • The show's setting, County General Hospital, is loosely based on the former Cook County Hospital (since replaced by the new John Stroger Hospital in 2003) on West Harrison Street in Chicago.
  • The show is produced at Warner Bros. studio in Burbank, California, although it makes extensive use of location shoots in Chicago, most notably the city's famous El trains.
  • For purposes of cross-promotional appearances, the series exists in the same television universe as the series Third Watch and Medical Investigation.
  • Steven Spielberg was an executive producer for the first season's episodes.
  • The theme music was written by James Newton Howard.
  • The episode "On the Beach," which follows Mark Greene's last days in life, is notable for its use of profanity in an episode of a TV show aired on an American broadcast network. Greene says "shit" after collapsing while trying to get out of bed, realizing that his brain tumor has finally defeated him. The same expletive was muttered by Peter Benton in Season 2 (when he sprains his hand punching a man in the parking lot) and Season 5 (when he is the victim of a racist attack), although in both cases it is barely audible and does not appear on subtitles.
  • Several episodes of ER were directed by cast members:
    • Anthony Edwards - "Take These Broken Wings" (1996), "Of Past Regret and Future Fear" (1998), "Family Matters" (2000), and "Fear of Commitment" (2001)
    • Laura Innes - "Power" (1999), "Be Still My Heart" (2000), "Sailing Away" (2001), "If I Should Fall From Grace" (2001), "A Hopeless Wound" (2002), "NICU" (2004), "Nobody's Baby" (2005), and "The Human Shield" (2005)
    • Paul McCrane - "Next of Kin" (2002), "The Student" (2004), "Damaged" (2004), "Ruby Redux" (2005), and "Body and Soul" (2006)
  • John Wells cast Parminder Nagra after being a fan of her hit film Bend It Like Beckham.
  • Julianna Margulies was originally only supposed to be in the pilot episode of the series, but due to audiences responses, she was brought back and remained a regular for six seasons.
  • As of the end of Season 12, the position of longest time served on the show will be a tie between Noah Wyle and Laura Innes. If Innes continues on the show through Season 13, by the end of that season she will have served longest.
  • Kellie Martin, who played medical student, Lucy Knight, reportedly left the series during Season 6 due to a "lack of interesting character development." [3]
  • Maria Bello guest starred on the last 3 episodes of Season 3, but the show's producers were so impressed by her, they decided to keep her on as a regular.
  • Goran Višnjić is only contracted to be on ER through Season 13, but has not ruled out the possibility of returning.
  • Noah Wyle guest starred in two Season 12 episodes and is also set to guest star in two Season 13 episodes; no episode contracts have been extended beyond that.
  • Three cast members from CSI: Crime Scene Investigation have either appeared on or have been recurring cast members of the series: Jorja Fox, George Eads, and Marg Helgenberger. Also, CSI: Miami cast member Khandi Alexander portrayed a recurring character on ER. Alexander also appeared with ER regular Maura Tierney on the sitcom NewsRadio. However, on ER they never shared any scenes together.
  • Sherry Stringfield and Maria Bello are the only two regular cast members whose exits (the second one of Stringfield's, in Season 12) from the series were mentioned but not shown.
  • Alex Kingston first stated that she was fired from ER due to her age, but later recanted those claims.[4]
  • Four main cast characters have died during the series: Lucy Knight (stabbed by a patient), Mark Greene (succumbed to a brain tumor), Robert Romano (crushed by a crashing helicopter), and Michael Gallant (riding in a truck destroyed by a roadside bomb in Iraq).
  • Quentin Tarantino directed the Season 1 episode "Motherhood."
  • Warner Brothers, the studio which produces ER for NBC, kept George Clooney's cameo in "Such Sweet Sorrow" a secret from NBC, which promoted the episode as Carol Hathaway's goodbye, with no mention of Doug Ross' appearance. In fact, the original episode of "Such Sweet Sorrow" that Warner Brothers sent to NBC ended right after the scene where we see Hathaway on the plane to Seattle. At the 11th hour Warner Brothers messengered an "edited" version of the episode to NBC headquarters in New York for broadcast -- NBC had no time to preview the epsiode prior to airing the epsiode to the east coast. The episode turned out to be an extended epsiode in which Clooney appears. NBC was miffed that it was kept in the dark as it lost valuable ad revenue it could have generated if it had aired promos that the episode would mark the return of George Clooney. Clooney, cited the fans of the show for his reason as to why he agreed to make the cameo (he wanted Hathaway and Ross' characters to get back together, as most fans always had hoped for). Clooney reportedily only asked to be paid scale for the cameo. The portion of the episode involving Clooney was filmed on location at the Perfect Storm movie set which Clooney was filming at the time.[citation needed]
  • On an episode of Friends, George Clooney and Noah Wyle guest starred as emergency room doctors, although not their characters from ER.

Awards and nominations

ER won the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award in 1995, and has earned 115 nominations as well as 23 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.

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)

Golden Globe Awards

Screen Actors Guild Awards

  • Best Performance by a Cast in a Drama Series (1996-99) 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 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)

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 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

References

  1. ^ http://nbcumv.com/release_detail.nbc/entertainment-20060515000000-nbcaccentsdistinct.html
  2. ^ http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=5365
  3. ^ http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,5951,00.html
  4. ^ http://tv.zap2it.com/tveditorial/tve_main/1,1002,271%7C88645%7C1%7C,00.html
  5. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108757/awards
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