Talk:ER (TV series)

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Jump The Shark

For a show running 12 years, this article seems just a bit more than a stub. I expected more, but I'm not a fan of the show (well, former fan, I only watched it for three seasons). It would seem to me that this show has jumped the shark, however it is difficult to choose the precise moment because this show seems to have exercised every "jumped" category. --malber 15:21, 20 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Jump the Shark.com has Doug Ross leaving as the most popular Jump moment. For me it started losing it earlier than that in the start of season 4 when Mark Greene's beating lead him to become a jerk. Mark having a relationship, then marriage, to Corday never worked for me either. Then Carol left. So I guess I'd put it, for me, from eason four to the start of 7 except I did like some episodes after that. (After they switched the actress, and personality, of Greene's daughter it pretty much had nothing left to interest me. My vieing of the show was a tad Greene-centric as initially he was my favorite character. Watching how they screwed him up is also notable to me in the decline) Anyway it's kind of a shame because in its first three seasons it was maybe my favorite show. In seasons 4-7 it was still kind of good. In the last 2 or 3 seasons it's been mostly bad, although I appreciate their effort to get interest in the Congolese situation.

A problem with my comments is personal events effected my viewing of this show. I was in the ICU in late 1997 for respiratory failure and after that I never enjoyed it as much. All the doctors talked about it a great deal in the ICU and for awhile it kind of reminded me of things I moved on from.--T. Anthony 11:03, 25 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

People misuse the term "jump the shark." They seem to use it as a synonym for "this is when I stopped liking the show," or "this is when the show started to suck"---but that is not what the phrase means. It denotes a moment when the show did something so horrendous and previously unthinkable that the entire atmosphere suddenly changes. Has ER slipped?---certainly. Has it "jumped the shark"?---no. --Charles 05:32, 28 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I would have to say it "jumped the shark" with Dr. Romano and the helicopter. Gnosbush 17:16, 27 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

i dont know what you guys are talking about. the first 8 or 9 seasons are unbearably soap opera-ish. the 10th and later seasons have much better writing and humor.

Other long-serving (4+ years) regular cast not credited as stars

There are a lot of red links in this section. This section is questionable because the individuals listed are not particularly noteworthy. The few edits I see to this article each week involve this section. It's also getting a bit lengthy. Are we going to start listing every extra that's ever appeared on an episode of ER? --malber 12:34, 30 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I think it's good that all of the characters that lasted more than 4 years without credit be mentioned... not every guest star has any need of being listed, but important characters are still good... Emily 02:13, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

First Member to Leave Cast

In the article, it states that George Clooney was the first original cast member to be moved, however I beg to move that this be changed to Sherry Stringfield, despite the fact that she later returned. Maria Bello also left before Clooney. Cameronian 20:12, 11 February 2006 (UTC) Maria Bello was not an original cast member (didn't start until 3rd season) however Sherry Stringfield DID leave before George Clooney.[reply]

Sorry, should have been more clear, I had only meant that Maria had been a regular cast member, not that she was an original.

Not enough content!!!

This site has not got enough content! For being one of the most popular tv shows in history there should be more facts in this article! Please add some information and pictures! Thanks --84.59.220.41 15:56, 27 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for your suggestion! When you feel an article needs improvement, please feel free to make whatever changes you feel are needed. Wikipedia is a wiki, so anyone can edit any article by simply following the Edit this page link at the top. You don't even need to log in! (Although there are some reasons why you might like to...) The Wikipedia community encourages you to be bold. Don't worry too much about making honest mistakes—they're likely to be found and corrected quickly. If you're not sure how editing works, check out how to edit a page, or use the sandbox to try out your editing skills. New contributors are always welcome. --Christopherlin 17:55, 27 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I think Cch Pounder was an important support cast member, does anyone have her details?

Done! Also, please dont forget to sign your posts on talk pages, using four tildes (~). Thanks. Cameronian 20:08, 11 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Movie?

Wasn't the series based on a movie with the same actors/actresses playing the same people as they play in the series? I could have sworn that I read somewhere that this "movie" did so well that a series was made from it? Flyerhell 02:37, 8 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Well, there was a pilot episode, and it certainly had some differences from the series, but AFAIK, it was always intended to be a series, and wasn't just a movie later made into a TV show, like say Buffy. Ok, Buffy's a bad example, since the production was very different, but it's the best I can think of. Maybe Michael Crichton intended to sell it as a movie script or something. I can't recall, but I have a book on ER around here. I'll see if I can dig it up and find out. Mister.Manticore 03:53, 8 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The most successful film-turned-TV-show I can think of is M*A*S*H. The Altman film and the TV series were a great deal different, to the point that there is a large number of people who liked one and almost hated the other. (In both directions, liking the series and hating the film or liking the film and hating the series) Although Gary Burghoff was in both as Radar O'Reilly.--T. Anthony 11:10, 25 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

You are right, Mr. Manticore, it was originally scripted as a movie, and it was decided that it should turn in to a series before it was actually filmed. The pilot is in fact feature length (IIRC around 2 hours). Hope this helps. Cameronian 20:12, 11 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

1st episode

Was the first episode 2 hours long, or did two episodes air in a row? Because I can see here where the most recent update, saying that from the second episode on, as opposed to the third, Nurse Carol Hathaway was added to the full-time cast. Oh- I just looked on tv.com, and it seems that the first episode, "24 Hours", was 2 hours long. Well, I'll post this anyway, in case anyone else os confused... Emily 00:29, 14 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The first episode was 2 hours long (with commercials). On subsequent airings and in syndication, it is presented as Pilot, parts I and II 04:15, 13 April 2006 (UTC)

Please use references

Please cite sources using <ref> as seen in several examples I just introduced. In one case (the reason for departure of the Lucy Knight character) the previous version of the article made claims refuted by an apparently reputable source (E!). I fixed that problem but there could be others. 66.167.141.160 01:18, 17 March 2006 (UTC).[reply]

"Other notable episodes" -- needs explanation

In the "other notable episodes" section, several episode titles are listed with no explanation. Why are they notable? PxT 21:47, 27 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I also wonder, why are they notable? Perhaps some of them deal with current events? Hyacinth 04:02, 12 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

"Cook County Hospital"

It is not set there, though the hospital may be based on it. --Daniel C. Boyer 18:51, 1 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Yeah, it's set at "Country General" in Chicago. Emily ^{(Funtrivia Freak)} 18:32, 2 April 2006 (UTC) I mean- "County" Emily ^{(Funtrivia Freak)} 18:32, 2 April 2006 (UTC) I meant "County" Emily ^{(Funtrivia Freak)} 18:33, 2 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Casting of Parminder Nagra

What's all this "John Wells cast her after being a fan of her hit film Bend It Like Beckham"

Oh yeh! He cast her cos she's a sexy minx.

Er 22:29, 3 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

It all kinda goes together. --Bonalaw 11:05, 4 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Where is this cited? Where did you find this? If this isn't provable, we can't use it...

Merge?

I have proposed a merger of the page Mental Illness in ER into this article. The other article reads as an opinion piece. If nothing is worth saving from the other article, then I suggest making it into a redirect. —MiraLuka 07:00, 16 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I do not believe that they should be merged, and I do not believe that there is anything salvagable in that article. It is total POV, using ER as an example in order to attack the media's handling of mental health issues, especially schizophrenia. Now, I am not arguing that the author of the article is incorrect, but the point is moot---Wikipedia is not the place for such an argument.--Charles 07:05, 16 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Delete it. It is totally POV. Like Charles, I'm not saying that it doesn't have a point, but there is no place for it on Wikipedia. --John24601 08:12, 16 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, I agree with the above comments in that is totally subjective and misuses what Wikipedia was created for. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 86.137.75.138 (talk • contribs) 14:23, 16 May 2006 (UTC).[reply]

Okay, I'm making the other page into a redirect and removing the merge tag. Thanks. —MiraLuka 19:37, 16 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Hallee Hirsh

I think she acted as Rachel Greene in some important episodes like "On The Beach". Can't she be considered as a supporting cast of past?

Deletion of discussion "stupid writing"

It angers me that the anonymous user at IP address 72.230.9.33 deleted the discussion at the top of the page entitled "stupid writing." I voiced my objection to the comments originally made, but a discussion had ensued between myself and the original poster as to the purpose of the talk page, and that discussion had merit. No one should ever delete a discussion on the talk page without permission, or without discussion---that's why it's called the talk page. --Charles 04:55, 19 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Opening paragraphs

The opening paragraphs of this article seem too long to me. There is a lot of information in those paragraphs that could (and should) be dealt with in the main body of the article, and in some cases the information is repetitive. The introduction really does not need to be so long and ponderous, does it? Any thoughts? --Charles 04:38, 28 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Cast departures

I like the new "cast departures" section, but what do you think of making it a subsection of the "cast" section? ---Charles 04:45, 30 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Error In Trivia Section

A bulleted note in the Trivia section states, "ER is loosely based on writer Elizabeth Hunter's time spent in Seattle's Harborview Medical Hospital as a registered nurse.[citation needed]."

This is a widely perpetuated, yet totally false, assumption. The show is based upon Executive Producer Michael Crichton's experiences in medical school, and, specifically, his work of non-fiction, Five Patients, (published in 1970 by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.) A great deal of the pilot episode of "ER" was taken directly from the book. The book (and, ultimately the series "ER") is based upon the experiences of a fourth-year medical student (author Michael Crichton) at Massachusetts General Hospital in the 1960's. The premise was, of course, updated for television in the 1990's and beyond.

Please correct this error. For further information and verification, you can check Crichton's official website (http://www.crichton-official.com/).

Massive revert alert

Some anonymous user came in and reexpanded the trivia section which I had taken a lot of time to pare down to a managable 5 or 6 entries. It looks like this anonymous user feels the need for a horrendously large trivia section. Currently there is a policy discussion about the removal of trivial sections of articles in toto, and while I am generally a trivia buff, I can see the need to incorporate a lot of similar trivia into the main article text when there is enough that is alike. Now, I would like to do a massive revert of this article back to where I had it before with almost no trivia, and the trivial information distributed within the article. Does anyone object to this move? Also, I will correct any other errors that cropped up when I did the trivia clean-out.
Lady Aleena talk/contribs 04:58, 27 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I am that anonymous user, and the reason I reverted so many of your changes is because you incorporated a ton of material into sections where it didn't appear to fit in well. For example, you included many trivia items about how an actor was recruited for the show, or what episodes they directed, into the cast departures section. I just don't think that is the proper place for all sorts of non-departure information. I do not "feel the need for a horrendously large trivia section." I simply didn't agree with the way you re-fitted so many items into the existing sections. Perhaps more thoughful editing and paring down of the trivia section is warranted, and I'd be happy to help with that. 24.21.87.178 18:30, 27 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Rating Chart

Can someone possibly make a Neilson rating chart for this article? Flyerhell 21:13, 29 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

County General or Cook-County General?

Although the article states that the name of the hospital is County General, in Episode 4 Noah Wyle calls it "Cook County General Hospital" when he is calling to report the news of a kid's death.

The time code is exactly 28 minutes if you have the DVD season set.

--Borisborf 18:43, 7 July 2006 (UTC)[reply]

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