Ten Memorable Episodes of ER - Page 4

5. "Ambush" - Season 4, Episode 70, Airdate: September 25, 1997

The famed live episode. It's a mistake to write this one off as a gimmick, both because it's a lot more than that and because gimmicks aren't necessarily bad things. The series had already done 69 episodes by the time the fourth season began (which is just 16 episodes shy of the entire run of The Sopranos), so something like this can help keep the series fresh for both the audience and the cast.

Looking back at it, the episode is impressive both from a technical standpoint, with all the ideas they put in to overcome any potential live errors (having it be a documentary-like episode, throwing in extras that could cover flubs, etc), but also how much business they cover from an ongoing storyline standpoint. I'd understand making a gimmick episode be simply about itself, then introduce more significant threads in the next episode, but they didn't. Not only did they continue the emotional journey of Mark Greene post-beating, but it also introduced the character of Dr. Elizabeth Corday (Alex Kingston), brusquely informed Dr. Carter that he'd be repeating his internship, and set up the departure of Chief of Staff David Morgenstern (William H. Macy), all threads that would power the early part of this season.

6. "Exodus" - Season 4, Episode 84, Airdate: February 26, 1998

While it was the quiet character moments that made the show great, ER was still capable of excellent action episodes, with huge emergency episodes that take over the ER. This one began with the action taking place outside of County General, with Corday attending to a man trapped in a collapsing building on a paramedic ride-along. The action picked up when a benzene spill crippled the ER, causing Dr. Weaver (Laura Innes) to collapse, and leading to mass chaos as everyone tries to figure out what to do. Carter, repeating his intern year after switching his speciality to emergency medicine, steps into the leadership vacuum, calmly directing traffic while dealing with hazard control. Amongst the frantic action, Corday tries to save her patient, and Carol and Doug are trapped in an elevator with a little girl in critical condition. "Exodus" ranks amongst the best of all the adrenaline-filled disaster episodes, standing out as a key moment in the development of John Carter.

Article Author: Andy Sayers

Andy Sayers is a technical writer from Canada, which automatically makes him funnier than people from other countries. When not writing about pop culture, he is consuming it alongside his loving wife.

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