ER TV Series 19942009

Michael Crichton has created a medical drama that chronicles life and death in a Chicago hospital emergency room. Each episode tells the tale of another day in the ER from the exciting to the mundane and the joyous to the heartrending. Frenetic pacing interwoven plot lines and emotional rollercoastering is used to attempt to accurately depict the stressful environment found there. This show even portrays the plight of medical students in their quest to become physicians.

Review

In the UK we have the home grown medical dramas Casualty and its sister show Holby City. Putting these against ER is like comparing two Ladas to a Rolls Royce. The Brit shows look leaden and have far too many hammy and wooden actors.

ER has set a very high standard of modern TV drama for 10 years. True there have been the occasional duff episodes but the urgency of the drama combined with what looks like hand held camera work usually delivers punchy tension filled drama with first rate performances.

Another contributor mentioned the only serious rival to ER Chicago Hope a show that was cheeky enough to have a character say "I was hoping to watch ER tonight" and had a hilarious scene which culminated in the death of a heart transplant patient! Unfortunately that show suffered with the loss of Mandy Patinkin and began taking itself too seriously. ER may have lost most of its mainstays especially Anthony Edwards but it still is a far better option than any other medical drama. I realise however that it may struggle once Noah Wyle leaves.