ER (TV series)

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See E/R for the similarly titled 1980s sitcom.

ER
Cast of ER at the beginning of Season 12
Directed by
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Writen by
Starring
Music by
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Release Date(s)
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Followed by

ER is a long-running serial drama created by novelist Michael Crichton and set primarily in the emergency room of a fictitious teaching hospital in Chicago, Illinois. Its first episode aired on NBC in the United States on Monday, September 19 1994. It is made by the production company Amblin Entertainment. The show is produced and co-written by John Wells.

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 first two episodes as Nurse Carol Hathaway and then became part of the regular cast.

The show has won at least one Emmy every year of its production 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 BAFTAs, Screen Actors Guild awards, TV Guide awards, Image Awards, GLAAD awards, and Golden Globes, among others. [1]

The show has remained popular despite the periodic departure of all its original cast members. The first such departure was that of George Clooney in 1999. Other actors who have recently left include Anthony Edwards, Alex Kingston, Ming-Na, and Noah Wyle (who had been with the regular cast from the first episode in 1994 until his departure at the end of the eleventh season). In August 2005, Sherry Stringfield, who left in 1996 and returned in 2001, announced that she, too, would be leaving ER as the show progressed into its twelfth season.

As of 2005, the first three seasons of ER have been released on DVD. The fourth season DVD is expected to be released on December 20, 2005.

1 Current stars of the series
2 Former regular cast members
3 Notable episodes and appearances
4 Long-serving supporting cast
5 Broadcasters
6 Trivia
7 External links

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Current stars of the series

Goran Višnjić as Dr.Luka Kovac (1999–)
Maura Tierney as Nurse Abby Lockhart (2000–2004); as Dr. Abby Lockhart (2004–)
Mekhi Phifer as Dr. Gregory Pratt (2002–)
Parminder Nagra as Dr. Neela Rasgotra (2003–)
Linda Cardellini as Nurse Samantha Taggart (2003–)
Shane West as Dr. Ray Barnett (2004–)
Scott Grimes as Dr. Archie Morris (recurring 2003–2005) (2005–)
Laura Innes as Dr. Kerry Weaver (recurring 1995–1996) (1996–)

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Former regular cast members

Anthony Edwards as Dr. Mark Greene (1994–2002)
George Clooney as Dr. Doug Ross (1994–1999)
Sherry Stringfield as Dr. Susan Lewis (1994–1996; 2001–2005)
Noah Wyle as Dr. John Carter (1994–2005, guest starred in 2006)
Julianna Margulies as Nurse Carol Hathaway (1994–2000)
Eriq La Salle as Dr. Peter Benton (1994–2001, guest starred in 2002)
Gloria Reuben as Physician assistant Jeanie Boulet (1995–1999)
Ming-Na as Dr. Jing-Mei ('Deb') Chen (guest starred in 1995, 2000–2004)
Alex Kingston as Dr. Elizabeth Corday (1997–2004)
Paul McCrane as Dr. Robert 'Rocket' Romano (1997–2003)
Maria Bello as Dr. Anna Del Amico (1997–1998)
Kellie Martin as Med student Lucy Knight (1998–2000)
Michael Michele as Dr. Cleo Finch (1999–2001)
Erik Palladino as Dr. Dave Malucci (1999–2001)
Sharif Atkins as Dr. Michael Gallant (2001–2004, guest starred in 2005)

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Notable episodes and appearances

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}} 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 notable episodes include "Love's Labor Lost" (1995), "Hell and High Water" (1995), "All in the Family" (2000), "On the Beach" (2002), "The Lost" (2003), and "Time of Death" (2004).

Several guest stars have made memorable appearances on the show, including Rebecca De Mornay in 1999 (as a breast cancer survivor) and Ed Asner in 2003 (as a thieving clinician). 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), Don Cheadle in 2003 (for playing 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.

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Long-serving supporting cast

The following actors have played supporting roles lasting four or more years:

Khandi Alexander as Jackie Robbins (1995–2001)
Sam Anderson as Dr. Jack Kayson (1994–1995, 1997–1999, 2001–)
Amy Aquino as Dr. Janet Coburn (1994–)
John Aylward as Dr. Donald Anspaugh (1996–)
Abraham Benrubi as desk clerk Jerry Markovic (1994–1999, 2002–)
Michelle Bonilla as EMT Harms (1999–)
Conni Marie Brazelton as Nurse Conni Oligario (1994–2003)
Lisa Nicole Carson as Carla Reese (1996–1998); as Carla Simmons (1999–2001)
Laura Cerón as Nurse Chuny Marquez (1995–)
Ellen Crawford as Nurse Lydia Wright (1994–2003)
Deezer D. as Nurse Malik McGrath (1994–)
Troy Evans as Officer Martin (1994 pilot); as desk clerk Frank Martin (2000–)
Yvette Freeman as Nurse Haleh Adams (1994–)
Mike Genovese as Officer Al Grabarsky (1995–1996, 1998—2000)
Erica Gimpel as Adele Newman (1997—2003)
Matthew Glave as Dr. Dale Edson (1996–1999, 2001–2002)
Rose Gregorio as Helen Hathaway (1996–1999)
Christine Harnos as Jennifer 'Jenn' Greene (1994–1996); as Jennifer 'Jenn' Simon (1996–1998; 2001–2002)
Lynn A. Henderson as Paramedic Pamela Olbes (1995–)
Ed Lauter as Fire Captain Dannaker (1998–2002)
Dinah Lenney as Nurse Shirley (1995–2004)
Brian Lester as EMT Dumar (1996–)
Louie Liberti as Paramedic Bardelli (2003–)
Bellina Logan as Nurse Kit (1996–2003; 2005–)
Lily Mariye as Nurse Lily Jarvik (1994–)
Vanessa Marquez as Student Nurse Wendy Goldman (1994–1997)
Kristin Minter as desk clerk Miranda 'Randi' Fronczak (1995–2003)
Demetrius Navarro as EMT Morales (1998–2004)
Kyle Richards as Nurse Dori (2000–)
Lucy Rodriguez as Nurse Bjerke (1996; 2000–2003)
Monté Russell as Paramedic Dwight Zadro (1995–)
Michael B. Silver as Dr. Paul Myers (1995, 1997–2000, 2003, 2005)
Nadia Shazana as Jacy (2001–2004)
Frances Sternhagen as Millicent Carter (1997–2003)
Emily Wagner as Paramedic Doris Pickman (1994–)
Gedde Watanabe as Nurse Yosh Takata (1997–2003)
Yvonne Zima as Rachel Greene (1994–2000)

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Broadcasters

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

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Trivia

The show's setting, County General Hospital, is loosely based on Cook County General, located on West Harrison Street in Chicago.
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.
This United States television show is one of the few still on the air that has had episodes and plot occurences that fall into every category of the website Jumptheshark.com.

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