24 Hours

The way they start this show is not in an introductory manner. They don't do a slow introduction to every thing, every character around, slowly. They just take us into a regular day in the E.R., starting with a doctor waking up, to a med student's first day, it's kind of a sequence of different medical events. They also give us insight to some of the characters. This pilot is circled around Dr. Mark Greene (played by Anthony Edwards). It starts with a nurse waking him up, and him, going into his day. With this, they introduce to ped's resident Dr. Doug Ross (played by George Clooney), who pretends he's sick before his shift starts. A nice way to start the show. A little humor. We also look into Dr. Susan Lewis (Sherry Stringfield), an E.R. resident, Dr. Peter Benton (Eriq La Salle), a surgical resident, and the new guy on board, med student John Carter (Noah Wyle). Through their eyes, we go through different emergencies, from traumas, to cancer, to an abused baby, to Carter nearly throwing up, even to the team treating one of their own staff members, nurse Carol Hathaway (Julianna Margulies, who later becomes a regular). This pilot opened doors to a great T.V. series, lots of medical emergencies, fast-paced action, different story-lines, from medical law suits, to lockdown emergencies, to staff members dying, everything you find in a County Hospital, started here.

I have seen some commercials for ER on TV and one of them goes like this: "there are drama series and there are ER" i think this is the best way to describe it. There are "millions" of other drama series out there but no one gets even close to ER.

The best thing they have done is to focus and the actual ER (emergency Room) and its staff instead of focusing on a bunch of characters who work in hospital and they focus on the actual "cases".

Other series would focus lets say on 5-10 characters who work some

where and when they quit the series is canceled too because that character was the main focus of the series.

ER is not like that.

After over 10 years most off the original cast is gone but you hardly notice it because this dram series reflects the "life" at the ER so its natural that staff quit and that new staff joins the team.

Everything seems so realistic there are no exaggerations when it comes to the cases or the amount of cases. ER gives you the appearance of that this is actually happening in an ER in Chicago.

The episode starts with a new medical resident, Dr. Carter, starting his first day at the hospital. He is eager and enthusiastic but quickly learns that the job is much more challenging than he anticipated. We also meet the seasoned doctors, Dr. Green and Dr. Ross, who have been working in the ER for many years and are used to the constant pressure and chaos.

Throughout the episode, we see the doctors and nurses dealing with a range of medical cases, from a pregnant woman with abdominal pain to a teenage boy with a drug overdose. The show does an excellent job of conveying the hectic and fast-paced nature of emergency medicine and the toll it takes on those who work in the ER.

One of the standout performances in this episode is from Anthony Edwards, who plays Dr. Greene. He brings a sense of compassion and humanity to his character, even in the most stressful and dire situations.

Overall, the first episode of E. R. sets the stage for what would become one of the most beloved medical dramas in television history. It introduces us to a cast of complex and interesting characters and showcases the intense and demanding world of emergency medicine.

I can't begin to summarize or comment on what happens in the first episode of one of the most watched series in TV history. Suffice it to say, that in an elongated feature, we get to know just about everyone, from Dr. Green to Dr. Ross and on and on. We start to know their foibles and their strengths. We get a look at the variety of cases that cross the threshold of the ER. We are shown the conflicts that these people endure and the lack of appreciation from some. We know that Carol had some issues and has taken a bad step. We know that Mark is trying to save his marriage and do what he loves in life. Let's take it from here. It will be a frantic ride over a fifteen year span.

I still remember when "ER" first came on TV in the mid-nineties. I knew it was something special. I wasn't surprised to see it become the highest rated TV show in history.

Right from the beginning, you can see it has something different. The sight of Anthony Edwards as Dr. Mark Greene sprawled out on a gurney in a spare room desperately trying to catch some Zs but being interrupted at every turn lets you into his world immediately.

That's the thing about "ER". It brings you closer to its characters so you can understand them and appreciate them immediately. And it does so seemingly without effort.

It feels so realistic it may as well be a documentary. At times you expect the people on screen to turn and acknowledge the camera.

All the actors do great work. This would be Anthony Edwards' most famous role, but it was a springboard for George Clooney, who became one of the world's biggest movie stars. I'm at a loss, though, to explain why Eriq La Salle didn't go on to bigger things. He is unforgettable as the arrogant Dr. Peter Benton, and his performance revealed depths of humanity past the cockiness. He's also every bit as handsome as George Clooney.

Noah Wyle also delivers an unforgettable performance as the inexperienced, in-over-his-head surgical student John Carter, and I'm unsure why we didn't see much more of him. The only other thing I remember him being in is "Donnie Darko".

It was probably no surprise to anybody that the show was created by a former doctor. We see the barrage of patients the doctors encounter in a single day, and all the issues they represent. Things that can go wrong with one's body from the inside (cancer and aneurysms) and the outside (child abuse, stabbing and gunshot wounds).

"24 Hours" has to be one of the best pilots in TV history, and if you're wondering why "ER" broke viewership records, it more than answers that question.