ER

One of the most popular and critically acclaimed television (see entry under 1940s—TV and Radio in volume 3) dramas of the 1990s was ER. The show depicted the medical traumas faced by the doctors and nurses of an inner-city Chicago, Illinois, hospital emergency room. The series, created by author Michael Crichton (1942–), debuted in 1994 and was more quickly paced and realistic than previous medical programs. Author Steven Stark, in Glued to the Set, discusses ER's mass appeal: "It brilliantly took a number of trends in programming—the push to realism, the focus on dysfunction, and the emphasis on shorter segments—and combined them to create a synthesis of an early-evening 'reality' show, a daytime talk fest, and Hill Street Blues." The program dominated the ratings. In 1998, it became the most highly compensated show in TV history when NBC agreed to pay $13 million per episode.

Before he was the acclaimed author of best-sellers (see entry under 1940s—Commerce in volume 3) like Jurassic Park (see entry under 1990s—Print Culture in volume 5), Crichton was a physician. He based ER on his own emergency-room experiences. He believed previous medical dramas like Marcus Welby (1969–76), Medical Center (1969–76), and The Bold Ones (1969–72) did not realistically portray the tension and hectic activity of a true hospital environment. Episodes of ER were filled with dozens of characters, technical medical jargon, and graphic operating scenes. The ER staff seemed to face an unceasing array of gunshot wounds, domestic violence, drug overdoses, and other emergencies that tested both their professional skills and personal emotions. It was not uncommon for episodes to have unhappy endings.

The series frequently examined the personal trials and tribulations of the hospital staff. Among the most prominent characters were: Dr. Mark Greene (Anthony Edwards, 1962–), whose career disrupted his marriage; Dr. Peter Benton (Eriq La Salle, 1962–), an intense surgeon; Nurse Carol Hathaway (Julianna Margulies, 1966–), a compassionate caregiver; and Jeanie Boulet (Gloria Reuben, 1964–), who discovered that she had acquired AIDS from her husband. Actor George Clooney (1961–) became a TV superstar as Dr. Doug Ross, a womanizing pediatrician. His 1999 departure from the series for a film career marked one of the show's most watched episodes.

Crichton, along with fellow executive producer Steven Spielberg (1946–) and of many of television's top writers and producers, crafted an intensely satisfying drama that depicted the hardships faced by medical professionals in the 1990s while continuing to reinforce TV's traditionally positive image of heroic doctors and nurses. The show remained on the air into the twenty-first century.

—Charles Coletta

For More Information

"ER." Warner Bros.http://www2.warnerbros.com/web/ertv/index.jsp (accessed April 2, 2002).

Pourroy, Janine. Behind the Scenes at ER. New York: Ballantine Books, 1995.

Spignesi, Stephen. The ER Companion: An Unauthorized Guide. New York: Carol Publishing Group, 1996.

Stark, Steven. Glued to the Set: The 60 Television Shows and Events that Made Us Who We Are Today. New York: Free Press, 1997.