The doctors who work in the ER at the County General Hospital in Chicago grapple with ups and downs in their personal and professional lives while trying to give apt medical care to their pa... Read allThe doctors who work in the ER at the County General Hospital in Chicago grapple with ups and downs in their personal and professional lives while trying to give apt medical care to their patients.The doctors who work in the ER at the County General Hospital in Chicago grapple with ups and downs in their personal and professional lives while trying to give apt medical care to their patients.
- Won 23 Primetime Emmys
- 157 wins & 370 nominations total
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Summary
Reviewers say 'ER' is celebrated for its compelling drama, realistic hospital portrayal, and strong early-season character development. The ensemble cast, including Anthony Edwards and George Clooney, is praised for balancing drama and humor. Criticisms include key character departures, quality decline, and less likable new characters. Some note inconsistencies in medical accuracy and overly dramatic storylines. Despite these issues, 'ER' is often regarded as a groundbreaking medical drama.
Featured reviews
The best medical drama ever to be aired! It's fast paced, emotional, and suspenseful. The cast is unbeatable. Composed of some of the best actors and actresses Hollywood has ever seen including George Clooney. The show is extremely realistic down to the smallest detail, yet easy enough to understand. There is a lot of drama, but also some comic relief. The characters are all unique and different, but they work well together on stage. The plots and sub-plots are very diversified, but they all tie in somehow. The writing and coordination is incredible. I would recommend this show to everyone, it sure is a change from the warm fuzzies of television!
I first started watching when I was 14, it was 2002 and season 8. I had been going through a lot at home and this was the first show I'd watched that actually inspired me. The characters weren't perfect and often had complicated personal lives but they were realistic.
This show inspired me so much that I decided I wanted to work in an emergency department and that's exactly what I did. I'm now a nurse. This show is pretty realistic as far as the medicine goes, although I think every medical show is slightly unrealistic as to make it entertaining.
I have seen a lot of reviews that say that the earlier seasons are the best but I'd have to disagree as I think season 7-9 are the best but I thoroughly enjoy the entire show. Even the episodes that aren't the best are still amazing in comparison to newer shows.
I also am a fan of other medical shows such as Chicago Hope, greys anatomy and code black however they do not compare to ER. It is a classic and still translates well even 10 years after it finished.
Definitely worth a watch if you haven't seen it. I think I've watched it at least 5 times from start to finish by now and it still hasn't gotten old and me being a nurse hasn't ruined it like it has a few other shows.
This show inspired me so much that I decided I wanted to work in an emergency department and that's exactly what I did. I'm now a nurse. This show is pretty realistic as far as the medicine goes, although I think every medical show is slightly unrealistic as to make it entertaining.
I have seen a lot of reviews that say that the earlier seasons are the best but I'd have to disagree as I think season 7-9 are the best but I thoroughly enjoy the entire show. Even the episodes that aren't the best are still amazing in comparison to newer shows.
I also am a fan of other medical shows such as Chicago Hope, greys anatomy and code black however they do not compare to ER. It is a classic and still translates well even 10 years after it finished.
Definitely worth a watch if you haven't seen it. I think I've watched it at least 5 times from start to finish by now and it still hasn't gotten old and me being a nurse hasn't ruined it like it has a few other shows.
It's a one time experience, when you decide to binge watch the series, like I did years ago. And was not able to since, because the show's too long and monotonous sometimes. But I had a great time discovering episodes and storylines, that inspired shows like Grey's Anatomy. It was the first of a long series of medical dramas. And to me, none was able to top that. The writing was good, the acting was believable and the characters were all very realistic and relatable to some extent. It sometimes leaned dangerously towards over the top drama, and other soap opera characteristics. Especially near the end of its run. But even that was done in a skillful way. I personally prefer the middle part of the series. And think the most popular aspects of it, like Clooney's rise into stardom. And some of the famous couples, are very overrated. Only the good thing about this show, is how it never dwells on details, and always shows an overview of each situations and day to day life at the ER. Even when it went for a more focused and cinematic approach, it never lost sight of the essential. It's one of those iconic 90s series, that remains of its time, yet relevant decades later. As far as medical dramas go, it's the one that changed TV the most, and should be acknowledged for that.
This show is without a doubt, the best one on television. The one thing that I like most about this show is the atmosphere and setting. Has anyone ever admired the detail put into County General? I think it's great that there is at least one intelligent show on the air.
Not only is the hospital well set up, but so is the cast. All of the characters do a superb job of portraying doctors with the exception of Michael Michele's character. (Sorry if this offends any fans.) The scripts are so well written and I can't imagine writing one every week. Thanks to the writers, producers, etc. for giving us a high-paced dramatic show.
The one thing that I find very unique is that each week new patients comes in with new injuries. With all the episodes they've done over the years, you would think that they would repeat some of their cases, but they don't.
From the scrubs to the trauma, I love everything about the show. With ER topping the ratings chart each week, I will continue to watch and be amazed. I am going to hate to see this show go off the air.
Not only is the hospital well set up, but so is the cast. All of the characters do a superb job of portraying doctors with the exception of Michael Michele's character. (Sorry if this offends any fans.) The scripts are so well written and I can't imagine writing one every week. Thanks to the writers, producers, etc. for giving us a high-paced dramatic show.
The one thing that I find very unique is that each week new patients comes in with new injuries. With all the episodes they've done over the years, you would think that they would repeat some of their cases, but they don't.
From the scrubs to the trauma, I love everything about the show. With ER topping the ratings chart each week, I will continue to watch and be amazed. I am going to hate to see this show go off the air.
Some TV shows have a structure such that you can tell almost from the beginning how long the show has to live. As much as I loved "Scrubs", that show was built around a few core characters, and once their stories were played out, that was pretty much be the end of that show. "Cheers" basically had a double length of life due to the fact it was actually two shows instead of one - the first 5 seasons with Diane and the last 6 seasons with Rebecca as the female lead. "ER" is different. It has a large cast of constantly revolving characters, and the story lines will always be there as long as there is controversy in medicine to merge with the personal drama. Early in ER's history, things were different. George Clooney's character, Doug Ross, was really the star of the show, although they did spread the stories around so that there was quite a bit of focus on the other characters too. This was a successful formula, but once Clooney became a star and a heartthrob he quickly tired of television and longed for the big screen. Thus, starting in season four, he is absent more and more as he goes off to make action films and the show began to look like it was going to suffer from "Welcome Back Kotter" syndrome, where John Travolta's success on the silver screen killed that show. After Clooney actually did formally exit stage left, the show changed the formula to its current one of spreading the action around with nobody in particular having the spotlight. I guess my point with all of this is, this is how ER managed to go on a total of 15 seasons, with even one extremely unlikeable character being written in as interesting, even if that one character in particular came to an end worthy of Wiley Coyote.
Highly recommended.
Highly recommended.
Did you know
- TriviaDuring an interview for the PBS series "Pioneers of Television," Noah Wyle said that while filming some of Carter's Africa storyline in the Kalahari Desert, the real on-set medic passed out from the heat, and Wyle (who by that time had been filmed pretending to perform hundreds of simulated medical procedures for the television show) inserted a real I.V. and hooked the medic up to a real saline drip.
- GoofsIn many episodes the doctors cross over to different rooms or send other doctors/nurses to another room (touching walls/doors, and don't change robes and possibly gloves.
- Quotes
Nurse Lily Jarvik: Anyone seen Dr. Weaver?
Dr. Doug Ross: Follow the trail of partially-digested residents.
- Alternate versionsDuring Super Bowl XXXVIII (2004) on 1 Feb. 2004, a storm of controversy erupted over the halftime show featuring Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson. When the episode Urgences (1994) episode "Touch and Go" was set to first air on 5 Feb., the episode was under a scrutiny over the fact that it would featured an elderly woman's bare breasts. In light of all the media attention, the episode aired with the woman's breasts obscured. However, the episode continues to air in re-runs and syndication in its uncensored form.
- ConnectionsEdited from Le Muppet Show: Jean-Pierre Rampal (1980)
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