
He’s basically staring up at his nascent film career. Watch for one shot in particular, as a rain-drenched Clooney is bathed in the glow of an emergency rescue light while holding the boy. Here, Doug Ross is trying to rescue a young boy trapped in a flooded storm drain. It’s one of a classic ER genre, where one or more doctors gets involved in a medical crisis outside the hospital.
#Er season 11 episode 23 movie#
“ Hell and High Water ” (Season 2, Episode 7)įamously, this is the episode that made George Clooney a movie star. The biggest clues? There’s a fabulously mannered shot of Carol and Susan wearing sunglasses and walking down a hallway and, yes, there’s also a shot of their bare feet. It also features a great performance by a young and increasingly frantic Bradley Whitford.ĭid you know Quentin Tarantino directed an episode of ER? If you didn’t, and you were just barreling through season one (I feel you), you may well have picked up on the slightly different rhythms of this episode anyhow. The drama feels grindingly inevitable, in a way that builds gradually until you’re completely crushed. (Consider skipping it entirely if you or a loved one is pregnant or has recently given birth.) ER is usually a fast-paced series, and this episode doesn’t feel super slow, but the pace is different from the norm. This is the kind of episode that gets included on “best episodes of all time” lists, but “Love’s Labor Lost” is not one to start if you want a relaxing hour of TV. “ Love’s Labor Lost ” (Season 1, Episode 19) “Blizzard” is distinctly ER, from its deftly balanced tone changes, to the way it crams tiny bits of character development into every possible shot, to the impulse toward meaning in small-scale heroics. This is the first and one of the best of ER’s weather-related crises, and you can see how episodes like this get passed down into the mass casualty events of a show like Grey’s Anatomy. I have a thing for shows that use weather well, and it stems from my early fandom of ER, which is a king of this trope. Extra bonus: George Clooney’s real-life aunt, the inimitable Rosemary, is a guest - and she sings! Bonus: This is a key episode for the biggest ship of the series, the ongoing saga of Carol and Doug. These are lived-in, thoughtful, comfortable relationships, and they feel true to life in a way that’s both loving and direct. The tone of her return and the way her colleagues treat her is a nicely representative sample of how ER treats its characters and the way they interact with each other. Nurse Carol Hathaway’s drug overdose is one of the key events that kicks off the series, and “Going Home” deals with the aftermath when Carol returns to work. (So crowded! So messy! So much movement and energy!) So much of what makes it great is already in place, and you should pay special attention to the set design and cinematography that makes ER feel very different from current medical dramas. That’s especially true if ER is new to you, but even if you’ve seen the show before, revisiting the first episode is absolutely worth it.

It’s worth watching the entire first season, but if you’re going to pick and choose from the highlights, you should start with the double-length pilot that kicks everything off. Just know that it’s a mess after season nine.
If you make it all the way to season seven, you should probably admit you’re in deep and commit for the long haul. If you’re still on board after that, it’s a great show all the way up through season five, and there are even highlights beyond then as well, but those bright spots get a little farther apart. If you watch that and want more, the next easy off-ramp is the end of season three, after which a few of the main players start to disappear. The list below highlights the specific episodes absolutely worth seeing, but if you want to start from the beginning, you should watch all of season one. The granddaddy of all medical dramas ran from 1994 to 2009, for 15 old-school, network-length seasons on NBC.
#Er season 11 episode 23 tv#
What’s that sound you hear? That distant sound of cheers and huzzahs? That chorus of joyous voices shouting in celebration? Is it … can it be? Is ER finally available on a streaming platform? I am here, like a TV-recommendation annunciation angel, to say unto you: Yes! All of ER - all approximately 250 hours - is now streaming on Hulu.įor any newbies out there, be aware that ER is not a small TV project.
