From creator Michael Crichton and Warner Brothers, comes the release of season eight (2001-2002) of this critically acclaimed, long standing and highly realistic show centering on a group of doctors and nurses working in an emergency room in a Chicago hospital.  ER has now been on television for over 13 years and has garnered an enormous amount of nominations and awards, as well as a huge fan base and a revolving door of great actors and actresses.  It is one of the most successful drama series of all time.

This eighth Emmy Award winning season, encompassing 22 episodes over 6 discs, mixes compelling storylines about the working lives of the ER staff and their personal lives and struggles, as well as the riveting emergencies that require all their focus and knowledge in order to save their patients’ lives.  They are faced with life and death decisions every day where the wrong choices can haunt them for a lifetime. 

The eighth season starts with a groundbreaking episode called “Four Corners” which has the events of the day in the ER unfold through the point of view of four different cast members during each separate commercial break.  It was a very interesting start to this eighth season which had some major turns for the series.  Dr. Benton (Eriq LaSalle) sees his personal life coming to a hilt and decides to the leave the ER for good.

The love triangle between Dr. Carter (Noah Wyle), Dr. Kovac (Goran Visnjic) and Abby (Maura Tierney) comes to a head and causes disruptions for all involved.  And Dr. Greene’s (Anthony Edwards) long-running battle with cancer comes to an end and leads to his departure from the show.  And with Greene and Benton gone, the series towards the end of this season turns its focus towards the only senior doctor cast member left in Dr. Carter.   

There are two major new cast additions that have more effect later on in the series in Gregory Pratt (Mekhi Phifer), a new doctor with an attitude who learns how to work with others, and Army Reservist Michael Gallant (Sharif Atkins), a nice and innocent kid forced into the ER chaos which forces him to grow stronger willed. 

And of course, there are multitudes of subplots with everyone in the cast, side stories and guest stars that flesh out the season.  The most well known guest star of this season is Julie Delpy who plays a love interest for Kovac.  

CRITIQUE

ER has had many successful and riveting seasons throughout its 12-year span and this eighth season is no different.  This is a terrifically appealing and dramatic season and the storylines are brilliantly fleshed out and completely engaging (and emotional).  Some consider this the best season ER has ever had, but
I preferred the cast of seasons 4 & 5 just a little bit more.  Not to say this eighth season isn’t terrific, as it most certainly is and it is definitely one of the best.  And it boasts one of the most emotional sendoffs of a mainstay character in television history with the heartbreaking departure of Dr. Greene.

Besides the strength of the acting (which is unparalleled on this show and this eighth season is great), the storylines make this season award-worthy; pumping emotion and energy into almost every episode and providing entertainment for just about anyone.  The writing is simply outstanding.  There are so many riveting storylines that delicately mix these characters’ personal lives and romances together with the engaging and intense emergencies at work that it’s an amazing accomplishment that the series is so cohesive.

Each episode moves the characters’ personal life stories forward, as well as the budding romances, so watching these episodes in order without interruption is a remarkable, consistent experience.  The dialogue is rife with medical jargon (which keeps the show grounded in an intense reality) but the character development is what makes these scenes interesting and riveting even though minutes might go by without understanding what anyone is talking about.  Now that is writing.

As tremendous as the writing is, the biggest reason for the success of the show (during this season) is this amazing cast.  Anthony Edwards brings his surprisingly commanding presence to his role as always but this season sees his character go through the whole emotional gamut.  Edwards really shines in this season and his exit (over a few episodes) is truly heartbreaking.

The show loses quite a lot after this season because of his absence.  But Noah Wyle is still around for a while after this season and he constantly delivers.  His performance in this eighth season is again pitch perfect mixing his boyish charm with a growing sense of maturity and presence.  Eriq LaSalle doesn’t get to show his range as much as Edwards with his own exit from the show, but his wonderfully cranky and powerful Dr. Benton is also sorely missed after this season. 

Visnjic grows into his character more this season and becomes a more well-rounded and well-developed character.  In some of the later seasons, he really gets to shine. Maura Tierney brings such natural warmth and humanity to her character it’s like you can’t imagine the show without her and she’s only been there for two seasons.  And her storyline is instantly relatable and she just runs with it.  Laura Innes is also superb as the ball breaking chief of staff who irritates just about everyone and gets under the skin of the viewer as well.  She brings a strong gravitas to the role that was missing in the first few seasons.  Alex Kingston exudes a unique charm and intelligence that works nicely against the other characters.  This is just a flawless cast giving wonderful performances each and every episode.

THE VIDEO

The transfer is presented in 1.78:1 enhanced anamorphic widescreen transfer (as is the case with the previous DVD seasons) and the series looks marvelous.  The video quality is outstanding for network TV.  These earlier seasons had a very network TV (in the 90s) look to them.  That’s why this transfer was so surprising.  The video transfer for this season is brilliantly clean, sharp, lucid and vivid in color.  I was thoroughly impressed by this widescreen-enhanced DVD transfer; Warner Brothers put extra care in this set. 

THE AUDIO

The audio on the DVD set is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 and is still quite good despite the lack of an upgrade; the dialogue is crystal clear (which is really the most important aspect) and the balances are adequate.  The surround sound is active in the right spots (although its not used that often) and it never cuts into the dialogue or the score. 

THE EXTRAS

Outpatient Outtakes: These are deleted scenes from various episodes during the season that can be viewed separately on each disc; nothing of major consequence just scenes that were cut due to obvious time constraints.  These are only for hard-core fans that are really looking for more information on each storyline.  I found them somewhat superfluous since the episodes take the right amount of time to each subplot and story.

Cutups: Gag Reel: This is a gag reel of the cast having fun, flubbing lines, and joking around during this season.  There are some very funny moments, some unfunny ones, and even a mooning thrown in.  It’s worth a look.

FINAL THOUGHTS

ER season eight was one of the best seasons in the incredible and still on-going 13 year run of this great drama.  For me, it is a little bit of a step down from the amazing seasons four and five but it is still a very engaging and constantly involving season with perhaps the most heartbreaking and sweetly rendered exits of any character in television history.

The DVD has great picture and audio qualities, but the extras are a little weak.  Each of these ER seasons on DVD has basically the same extras (deleted scenes and a gag reel); it would be nice to get some interviews and/or commentary from some of the old cast members reflecting back on these times.