This week, the question that has surrounded NBC's venerable medical drama ER for years will be put to rest. That question, of course, being "That show is still on?" Unbelievably (and probably unnecessarily) ER lasted 15 seasons, bursting on the scene in 1994, helping shape network TV drama in the process. I was a huge fan of the show when it debuted, and it remained one of my favourites for years to come.
But, like many people who followed the show, I eventually dropped out. I gave up near the beginning of season twelve, deciding that a show that had none of the lead actors left from its first season (Noah Wyle left at the end of the eleventh season) no longer bore any resemblance to the show I once enjoyed. And really, after a decade, I'd seen all I needed to see (although I did tune a couple weeks ago to see the return of Wyle, Eric La Salle, Julianna Margulies, and that George Clooney guy).
So obviously this list is by no means definitive, although I'm fairly confident that few fans would rank episodes from the final four seasons amongst the show's very best (even if they may have been pretty good). Moreover, I'm working completely from memory here, so it's entirely possible that I'm missing some great episodes. Which is why this titled "Ten Memorable Episodes of ER”, rather than "The Top Ten Episodes of ER”. I watched these episodes as they aired, some again on reruns, and have rewatched the first five seasons (the Clooney years) on DVD (I'll probably keep buying and watching the series on DVD until I no longer enjoy it, which I suspect will be earlier than when I first stopped watching it). So my methodology is a little spotty, but, hey, if I remember an episode, it necessarily qualifies as "memorable" right?
Oh, and by "memorable", I mean "memorably great", not "Freefall" memorable (AKA "Romano v. Helicopter II: The Revengening", AKA when the show jumped the shark). Because now that it's over, let's not remember all the reasons it faded into obscurity, and rather celebrate one of the truly great network dramas in the history of television.
The list, arranged chronologically...
1. "24 Hours (Pilot)" - Season 1, Episode 1, Airdate: September 19, 1994
For weeks leading up to the premiere, NBC had been touting their new medical drama as the next great TV show, and when the two-hour pilot finished airing, they had me convinced. It's hard to relate 15 years later what a breath of fresh air the pilot was, since even in 1994, the concept of another medical drama was hardly groundbreaking (in fact, it wasn't even the only medical drama to debut that year, as Chicago Hope also came out that year). Moreover, the things that ER brought to the table have since become part of the fabric of television, so it's easy to take them for granted when looking back.
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Article comments
1 - Clare
I will miss ER so much.
Thanks for the article, Andy. You really captured the great episodes.
2 - James
Good choices. I just finished watching the last season on dvd, and before watching the very last episode I watched the series pilot. Yes - it's very noticeable how much less 'fancy medicine', as you put it,is in the earlier seasons, and how relatively slow- moving it is compared to the camera-batics on season 15 (but then slower can be better....see The Wire, The Killing, et al). The medical equipment looks positively medieval! But it's a more rounded show, encompassing politics, with several references to insurance and other financial issues, and Benton's surgical disdain for the "pill pushers" of the ER; not to mention the various interesting relationships of the first seasons (compared to which the Ray-Neela relationship of later seasons was a damp squib - I honestly didn't get any romantic spark at all, or much of any spark really). And young Carter! A masterpiece of goofy, loveable comedy, fresh-faced and fresh-minded, before the tragedies that were to befall him. I was glad you included the stabbing episode - I too find it difficult to think about, because Lucy was such a wonderful character, so well played by Kellie Martin, and her flirtacious back-and-forth with the the still young and loveable Carter was one of the highlights of the entire series for me. I vividly recall Romano overturning the table in anger when she died, and feeling upset for the rest of the day (which never normally happens with fictional TV, I hasten to add!) The story arc which followed over the next couple of seasons, with Carter becoming addicted to drugs and Benton ultimately helping him through it, was one of the most moving I have ever experienced. When that fizzled out, and Greene and Benton left, and Carter became hardened (great performance by Noah Wyle to show the change) is when I stopped watching. I've recently watched the later shows on dvd and, while there are slapstick moments and lots of fancy procedures, they lack the heart and the magic of the early years.
Wow, didn't expect to write that much! I just enjoyed the show, and I guess that whole period of my youth, so much. Thanks ER :)