Inspired by creator Michael Crichton's experiences as a
medical student in a hospital emergency room, ER quickly became one of
the most compelling shows of the 1990s, each episode a whirlwind of intense and
involving drama, gritty realism and offbeat humor. Heading the staff at the
inner-city Chicago hospital is Mark Greene (Anthony Edwards), a doctor so good
at providing care to the downtrodden, helpless or just plain quirky patients
that his career blossoms even as his personal life crumbles. Greene is the soul
of the cast, but the heart is Julianna Margulies's nurse Carol Hathaway. Her
character was intended only for the pilot episode, but she ended up capturing
viewers with her palpable empathy for patients and her troublesome romance with
womanizing pediatrician Doug Ross (George Clooney).
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