After getting called to a burning building, Shep is too impatient to wait for the firefighters and the proper safety gear, so he rushes in to save some kids, prompting Raul to go in too. No one was better at ripping your heart out without being overly cloying or manipulative than “ER.” This episode focuses on two recurring characters, Carol’s paramedic boyfriend Shep (Ron Eldard) and his partner Raul (Carlos Gomez). The sensitivity with which “ER” used to portray that simple, tragic truth was one of the things at which it was best. Carol tends to him in his final hours, providing as much comfort and peace of mind as she can, but unable to change the inevitable. Like most “ER” episodes, there are lots of threads happening in this hour, but none sits with you more than the main patient of the week, Paul (Michael Rapaport), who’s dying a slow, agonizing death from a chemical burn and won’t be able to reconnect with his estranged family before he dies. The episode also features one of the best Doug and Carol (Julianna Margulies) moments when she surprises him at the motel. Along the way, they visit Mark’s family, forcing him to grapple with his own daddy issues. It helps that it focused on the chief bromance of the series, with Mark (Anthony Edwards) joining Doug (George Clooney) on a road trip to California to collect Doug’s father’s remains. But the mayhem is balanced out by the lovely moments at Gallant’s (Sharif Atkins) funeral, particularly with Neela (Parminder Nagra).Īfter a few years, “ER” started venturing outside the walls of County General, which was an acquired taste for fans (#neverforget the Africa episodes) and very hit or miss. Luka (Goran Visnjic) is temporarily paralyzed, Sam (Linda Cardellini) is taken hostage, Abby (Maura Tierney) collapses in the cliffhanger moment, and there’s classic “ER” chaos aplenty. A shootout breaks out in County General thanks to two prisoners who were there for treatment. One would never mistake “ER’s” later years for its ’90s peak, but it was still a very good show and every now and then produced a very strong episode. To celebrate its 25th anniversary, our photo gallery above ranks the show’s 25 top episodes from worst to best - and yes, there are some tearjerkers in here, so keep some tissues nearby. Earlier this year, “ER” lost its title as primetime’s longest-running medical drama to “Grey’s Anatomy,” but there’s no eclipsing its legacy and impact. It also made overnight stars out of its original cast, Anthony Edwards, George Clooney, Sherry Stringfield, Noah Wyle, Julianna Margulies and Eriq La Salle.Ĭurrently streaming on Hulu, “ER” - which amassed 124 Emmy nominations 23 wins, including Best Drama Series in 1996 - was also one of the rare shows whose quality matched its popularity at a time when everyone watched their favorite shows live, it pulled in 30 million viewers on the regular during its first six seasons. No one had seen a hospital show like “ER” before, with its addictive blend of groundbreaking, propulsive filmmaking - its innovative Steadicam long takes have since been adopted by numerous shows - accelerated pace and thoughtful storytelling that conveyed a riveting sense of medical realism that is still unmatched. 19, 1994, and an instant hit was born (the show moved to its Thursdays-at-10 slot three days later, where it aired for the remainder of its 15-season, 331-episode run). CBS’ much-hyped and also Chicago-set “Chicago Hope” was predicted to win the Great Medical Drama War of the 1994-95 season.Īnd then NBC unleashed its two-hour “ER” pilot on Monday, Sept. And the best part is, no one really saw it coming. It is not hyperbolic to say that “ER” was a game-changer when it premiered 25 years ago.
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