E/R

I was pretty young when I saw this show. I think it was one of the first shows on the Lifetime channel. I loved Elliot Gould and Mary McDonnell. It was the first time that I had seen George Clooney, if this was before he was on The Facts Of Life. This show was mostly a comedy, w/some dramatic parts, as ER is mostly drama w/ some comedic parts. It's too bad this show isn't shown in reruns anymore. I'd almost forgotten how funny it was.

I remember this show being shown very late night on UK television, on ITV, if I recall correctly as it was 20 years ago and I loved it. Funnily enough I had a crush on George Clooney then and followed him through Roseanne and onto the ER we all know and love. Anyway, I recall that it was really set in the ER itself and never ventured out out of that setting much, if at all. I always stayed up for it, even though it was on well after 10.30 pm, which showed how much I liked it as this was in the days before I owned a VCR. What I wouldn't give to see it again, just to see if it were as good as I remember. Has it ever been re-shown on US TV?

Elliot Gould's comic timing was impeccable and the chemistry he shared with Mary McDonnell on screen was super. The character played by Conchata Farrell was refreshingly different. The ethnic diversity of the cast was an interesting element, too. As the show went on the development of the characters held my interest and I really wanted to know what happened to them. I was sorry to see this one go. If anybody knows when or where it will be shown in syndication, let me know. I'll have my VCR fired up and waiting.

Okay, this was the E/R show long before the drama on another network. It was a comedy and drama and a very good comedy too. The cast was first rate with Elliott Gould as the head doctor and Mary McDonnell playing the new doctor. If the show lasted longer, they would have probably gotten together and got married. George Clooney played the nephew to Conchata Farrell who is better known to audiences as the maid, Bertha, on Two and Half Men. She played a happily married childless nurse who doted on her nephew played by Clooney. The show had a mixed cast of characters and never really took off as it should have done. maybe there were just too many sitcoms on the air that even those above average got canceled after one season. It played on cable for a while only to be forgotten.

The long-lost, long-forgotten E/R was based on a well known Chicago play produced by the Organic Theater Company. It was a delightfully cynical comedy as a play. As a TV series, it was probably a bit out of place. But at least it got a chance to air. And it gave a lot of people their first major TV screen time, such as the winsome Corinee Bohrer. The show came along at a time when TV execs were having a rare resurgence of creativity and okay'ing unusual shows like this one, Hot L Baltimore, and United States. Too bad such times (and such shows) don't last.

George Clooney in E/R and ER? What a hoot!