ER season 3

ER: The Complete Third Season
Season 3
No. of episodes	22
Release
Original network	NBC
Original release	September 26, 1996 – May 15, 1997
Season chronology

Further information: List of ER episodes

The third season of the American fictional drama television series ER first aired on September 26, 1996 and concluded on May 15, 1997. The third season consists of 22 episodes.

Plot

The third season sees the departure of Susan Lewis, who leaves for Phoenix to live with her sister and niece. Before she leaves, Greene realises his feelings for her and races against time to declare his feelings. He makes it to Union Station just as she is boarding the train. He stops her and declares his love, begging her to stay. Susan leaves anyway, but not before kissing Mark and declaring, as the train pulls out of the station, that she loves him too. In the aftermath of her departure, Mark falls into depression and starts sleeping with County General nurse Chuny Marquez, but they soon break up. Later in the season, he is the victim of a violent attack in the hospital bathroom, after which he becomes increasingly paranoid about his personal safety and distances himself from friends and family.

Meanwhile, Doug and Carol draw closer, culminating in a kiss at the end of the season. Doug is said to be attending therapy throughout the season, although this is never shown on-screen (Clooney was filming Batman and Robin at the same time, so his storylines were often abbreviated). Carol considers going to medical school, but eventually decides that she loves her work as a nurse too much to change (This decision was in part motivated by Julianna Margulies's opposition to the idea of Carol becoming a doctor; the ER writers eventually used Maura Tierney's Abby Lockhart for this storyline).

Carter continues to lock horns with Benton, especially over Benton's treatment of surgical intern Dennis Gant. After Gant commits suicide by jumping in front of the L-train (after which he is taken to County for treatment by Carter and Benton in the ER), Carter blames Peter and himself for not doing more to prevent the action. Benton also starts dating Carla Reese, apparently a former flame, who becomes pregnant and gives birth prematurely at the end of the season. Laura Innes joins the full-time cast as Dr. Kerry Weaver. Her character is supportive of Jeanie, who is forced to reveal her HIV-status early in the season, when Mark gains unauthorized access to her medical records. While Jeanie struggles with her condition, she becomes involved with a doctor from the Infectious Diseases department, before ultimately getting back together with her ex-husband, Al, in the season finale.

Production

Cast

Starring cast

• Anthony Edwards as Dr. Mark Greene - Attending Physician
• George Clooney as Dr. Doug Ross - Pediatric Fellow
• Sherry Stringfield as Dr. Susan Lewis - Fourth Year Resident
• Noah Wyle as Dr. John Carter - Surgical Intern
• Julianna Margulies as Nurse Manager Carol Hathaway
• Gloria Reuben as Jeanie Boulet - Physician Assistant
• Laura Innes as Dr. Kerry Weaver - Attending Physician
• Eriq La Salle as Dr. Peter Benton - Fourth Year Surgical Resident

Sherry Stringfield departed in this season and became the first cast member to depart from the show. However she came back in Season 8 and departed again in Season 12.

Supporting cast

Doctors and Medical Students:
William H. Macy as Dr. David Morgenstern - Chief of Surgery & Emergency Medicine
Sam Anderson as Dr. Jack Kayson - Chief of Cardiology
Amy Aquino as Dr. Janet Coburn - Chief of Obstetrics & Gynaecology
John Aylward as Dr. Donald Anspaugh - Chief of Staff
CCH Pounder as Dr. Angela Hicks - Surgical Attending Physician
Glenne Headly as Dr. Abby Keaton - Pediatric Surgeon
Maria Bello as Dr. Anna Del Amico - Pediatric Intern
Jorja Fox as Dr. Maggie Doyle - ER Intern
Omar Epps as Dennis Gant - Medical Student
Michael Buchman Silver as Dr. Paul Meyers - Psychiatrist Resident
Matthew Glave as Dr. Dale Edson - Surgical Intern

Nurses:
Ellen Crawford as Nurse Lydia Wright
Conni Marie Brazelton as Nurse Conni Oligario
Deezer D as Nurse Malik McGrath
Laura Cerón as Nurse Chuny Marquez
Yvette Freeman as Nurse Haleh Adams
Lily Mariye as Nurse Lily Jarvik
Vanessa Marquez as Nurse Wendy Goldman
Jenny O'Hara as Temp Nurse Rhonda Sterling
Dinah Lenney as Nurse Shirley
Bellina Logan as Nurse Kit
Lucy Rodriguez as Nurse Bjerke

Staff and Paramedics:
Abraham Benrubi as Desk Clerk Jerry Markovic
Deborah May as Director of Nursing Mary Cain
Charles Noland as Desk Clerk E-Ray Bozman
Kristin Minter as Desk Clerk Miranda "Randi" Fronczak
Erica Gimpel as Social Worker Adele Newman
Mike Genovese as Officer Al Grabarsky
Emily Wagner as Paramedic Doris Pickman
Monté Russell as Paramedic Dwight Zadro
Lyn Alicia Henderson as Paramedic Pamela Olbes
Brian Lester as Paramedic Brian Dumar
J.P. Hubbell as Paramedic Lars Audia

Other:
Christine Harnos as Jennifer "Jenn" Greene
Yvonne Zima as Rachel Greene
Joe Torry as Chris Law
Michael Beach as Al Boulet
Khandi Alexander as Jackie Robbins
Lisa Nicole Carson as Carla Reese
Kirsten Dunst as Charlie Chiemingo

Crew

Original executive producers John Wells and Michael Crichton reprised their roles. Lydia Woodward joined them as a third executive producer having previously served as a co-executive producer since the first season. Mimi Leder did not return as a co-executive producer having moved into directing feature films. Carol Flint returned as a co-executive producer. Christopher Chulack returned to his role as director and producer and was promoted mid-season to fill Leder's position as director and co-executive producer. Paul Manning returned to his supervising producer post. Longstanding crew member Wendy Spence-Rosato returned as a co-producer. Neal Baer and Lance Gentile were promoted from their second season positions as executive story editors to co-producers for the third season. Gentile continued to act as the series medical consultant. Penny Adams joined the series as a co-producer mid-season. Finally Michael Hissrich joined the production team in the junior role of associate producer.

Wells, Woodward, Flint and Manning continued to regularly write episodes, with each contributing to 10 or more episodes this season. Baer and Gentile also continued to regularly write episodes contributing to 8 and 4 episodes respectively. Joe Sachs returned as technical adviser and wrote a further episode. Regular writer Tracey Stern also returned and contributed a further two episodes. Second season writer Belinda Casas Wells also returned and wrote a further two episodes. They were joined on the writing staff by Samantha Howard Corbin and Jason Cahill with three episodes each. Anne Kenney contributed to the story for a single episode. Barbara Hall wrote the teleplay for a single episode.

Chulack continued to regularly direct episodes and helmed a further four episodes in the third season. Richard Thorpe, Felix Enriquez Alcala and Rod Holcomb were all returning directors for the third season. Thorpe continued to act as a cinematographer on some episodes in addition to directing. Jonathan Kaplan joined the directing team as a regular and contributed three episodes to the season. Tom Moore and Paris Barclay also made their series debuts and directed two episodes each. The other new single episode directors were David Nutter, series editor Jacque Elaine Toberen, Perry Lang, Davis Guggenheim and Michael Katleman.

Episodes

See also: List of ER episodes

"Series #" refers to the episode's number in the overall series, whereas "Season #" refers to the episode's number in this particular season.

Season #	Series #	Title	Writer(s)	Director	Original airdate
1	48	"Dr. Carter, I Presume"	John Wells	Christopher Chulack	September 26, 1996
Dr Carter starts his first day as a surgical intern. Nurse Hathaway goes back to working in the ER. Boulet and Dr Benton receive news about their test. Note: Nielsen Ratings: 34.9 million viewers
2	49	"Let the Games Begins"	Lydia Woodward	Tom Moore (director)	October 3, 1996
3	50	"Don't Ask, Don't Tell"	Paul Manning & Jason Cahill (story), Jason Cahill (teleplay)	Perry Lang	October 10, 1996
Dr. Benton has trouble dealing working with Boulet and starts to work as a pediatric surgeon.
4	51	"Last Call"	Samantha Howard Corbin & Carol Flint (story), Samantha Howard Corbin (teleplay)	Rod Holcomb	October 17, 1996
Dr Benton doesn't seem to have the compassion needed for being a pediatric surgeon, while Dr Carter does. Dr Ross fights his inner demons as well as the stares from the ER staff.
5	52	"Ghosts"	Neal Baer	Richard Thorpe	October 31, 1996
Dr Lewis comes back from vacation. Nurse Hathaway and Dr Ross take their turn in the mobile health van. Intern Gant learns that Dr Benton is harder on him than he is with Dr Carter.
6	53	"Fear of Flying"	Lance Gentile	Christopher Chulack	November 7, 1996
Dr Lewis and Greene rush to a car accident in a helicopter. Dr Benton makes a mistake during surgery.
7	54	"No Brain, No Gain"	Paul Manning	David Nutter	November 14, 1996
Dr Lewis makes an announcement. Dr Benton feels guilty about his involvement in a babys critical condition and tries to save another brain dead child. Note: Nielsen Ratings: 37.4 million viewers (highest rated of season three)
8	55	"Union Station"	Carol Flint	Tom Moore	November 21, 1996
Time and Cupid wait for no man. A wedding in the waiting room contrasts with Greene's inability to express feelings to Lewis, even though it is her last day in the ER.
9	56	"Ask Me No Questions, I'll Tell You No Lies"	Neal Baer & Lydia Woodward (story), Barbara Hall (teleplay)	Paris Barclay	December 12, 1996
Jeanie's confidential medical files aren't confidential when Greene checks them and confirms his suspicions that she has HIV. Keton levels with Carter about their relationship.
10	57	"Homeless for the Holidays"	Samantha Howard Corbin	Davis Guggenheim	December 19, 1996
What child is this? Street kid Charlie brings a drug-addled women's baby to Ross for Treatment. Jeanie comes clean about her HIV. Carol observes Ukrainian Christmas with familyand two unexpected guests.
11	58	"Night Shift"	Paul Manning	Jonathan Kaplan	January 16, 1997
A night that begins slowly soon ignites: Greene risks his career to save a life. Benton discovers Carter's secret. Charlie suffers a beating and the ER suffers the shocking loss of one of its own.
12	59	"Post Mortem"	Carol Flint	Jacque Elaine Toberen	January 23, 1997
Gant's death weighs heavily on Carter, and his anger grows over how Benton treated the intern. Carol copes with a makeshift RN staff during a labor sickout and takes the blame for a fatal trauma-room error.
13	60	"Fortune's Fools"	Jason Cahill	Michael Katleman	January 30, 1997
A good day for Greene: he and Marquez end their romance amicably, and his mentoring of prospective interns earns praise. A lousy day for Hathaway: she's suspended from the staff.
14	61	"Whose Appy Now?"	Neal Baer	Félix Enríquez Alcalá	February 6, 1997
Carter is the delighted surgeon when Benton needs an appendectomy. Ross grapples with a teen's DNR request. Greene proves that the only thing worse than a two-timing cad is a three-timer.
15	62	"The Long Way Around"	Lydia Woodward	Christopher Chulack	February 13, 1997
Guest starring Ewan McGregor as a convenience store gunman. Carol is caught in a hostage situation in a neighbourhood store and helps the victims while the hostages are still there.
16	63	"Faith"	John Wells	Jonathan Kaplan	February 20, 1997
Benton is recovering from his surgery, but not from the death of Gant. Greene places a downs-syndrome patient on a heart transplant list and Ross has to pull the plug on an 18-year-old male that no longer wants to live.
17	64	"Tribes"	Lance Gentile	Richard Thorpe	April 10, 1997
Do assumptions about race cloud Greene's judgement? Incidents involving two gunshot victims - one white, one black - and a black woman with an undetected heart ailment cause him to reassess his thinking.
18	65	"You Bet Your Life"	Paul Manning	Christopher Chulack	April 17, 1997
Carter puts his career in jeopardy when he circumvents channels to arrange surgery for a racetrack gambler. And Jeanie reconsiders her plight when she cares for an AIDS victim loathed by her unforgiving husband.
19	66	"Calling Dr. Hathaway"	Neal Baer (story), Jason Cahill & Samantha Howard Corbin (teleplay)	Paris Barclay	April 24, 1997
A mouse in the house - and perhaps a new doctor-in-training, too. A genetically engineered lab mouse escapes into the ER. Hathaway weighs her career options after she scores high on the MCAT.
20	67	"Random Acts"	Carol Flint	Jonathan Kaplan	May 1, 1997
A brother donates a kidney to his sister, a stroke victim receives life-saving treatment, and Jeanie's ex is accepted into a new AIDS-drug study. But violence involving Greene casts a pall over the acts of healing and compassion.
21	68	"Make A Wish"	Joe Sachs (story), Lydia Woodward (teleplay)	Richard Thorpe	May 8, 1997
It's Hathaway's birthday, but she doesn't want to hear about it. And it's the birth day of Carla and Peter's son when she goes into early labor. Greene returns to the ER, but settling in proves difficult.
22	69	"One More for the Road"	John Wells	Christopher Chulack	May 15, 1997
Ross is increasingly drawn to Hathaway, Charlie reappears at the ER, Greene refuses to admit that he needs help and Carter and Anspaugh are still at loggerheads. Meanwhile, the Boulets find strength in their renewed relationship, and Benton draws strength from his tiny newborn son. Note: Nielsen Ratings: 34.9 million viewers