Directed by Mimi Leder, Julie Hebert, many more.
Starring Don Cheadle, Sally Field, Noah Wyle, Ming Na, Mekhi Phifer, etc.
Before there was Grey’s Anatomy, ER was there for you first, nighttime drama fans. Be-fore there was “Dr. Mc Dreamy”, there was Dr. Doug Ross. Warner Brothers Home Video recently released ER: the Complete Ninth Season on DVD.
The Series
ER continues to tell the stories of the men and women of a Chicago Emergency room. In addition to the thousands of compelling stories that patients bring to the show, there are the love stories, backstabbing, friendship drama and more of the staff of the hospi-tal. That’s what keeps ER fans coming back every year, isn’t it.
So, lets get right into it. In the 9th season, the season begins with the cliffhanger from the previous year. Dr. Carter (Noah Wyle) has detected a possible case of small pox in the emergency room of Chicago County General. Does Dr. Carter just get to hang out in his old digs? No, he and Nurse Abby (Maura Tierney), Dr. Chen (Ming Na) and Dr. Pratt (Mekhi Phifer) get sent to the CDC for two weeks. The rest of the hospital is going to have to evacuate. This plot development takes up the first couple of episodes with Doc-tor’s fighting to get their patients out. And some bad things await Rocket Romano’s character so if you are fan, get ready to watch him suffer.
After this situation is resolved, on with the rest of the stories and subplots for season 9. Hey, I am not going to tell you everything, you have to watch it for yourself.
Okay, so now we get the new medical students for the year. Leslie Bibb, from the series Poplular, is one of them. The new medical students bring with them new energy and faces, but also new headaches and drama. Carter and Abby are dating again, but it doesn’t go smoothly.
Fans of Dr. Kovac (Goran Visnjic) may love to watch him jump back into the dating sea-son and get to loving the ladies rather quickly. But, he wreaks havoc in his own life and those around him.
Surgeon Corday (Alex Kingston) is back from a horrible time in England and is back to face the demons over the loss of her beloved husband. Will she find any comfort among the staff of Chicago General?
The appearance of Don Cheadle as a doctor struggling to continue to work despite a recent diagonisis of Parkinson’s disease is one of the best subplots and performances by an actor for the 9th season. His story and performance is stellar.
Patrick Fugit, from Almost Famous, makes an appearance as a terminally ill patient that finds his way into the heart of Susan (Sherry Stringfield) also makes for an intriguing story line amongst all the love and friendship drama.
There are too many more plot lines and characters to summarize in this short review. Trust me, if you are an ER fan, the 9th season is a must have for the collection.
Just remember, Dr. Carter and Nurse Abby were there for you long before Dr. Mc Dreamy and Dr. Izzie Stevens.
7.5/10
The Video
ER: the Complete Ninth Season is presented in widescreen. The colors are vibrant and Warner Brothers Home Video has done a great transfer of this season.
7/10
The Audio
ER: the Complete Ninth Season is presented in a standard Stereo mix. The dialogue is crystal clear throughout and easily understood.
7/10
The Packaging and Bonus Features
ER: the Complete Ninth Season is presented in a slim cardboard folder that holds the six discs in double trays, with the folding sides containing disc-by-disc, episode-by-episode guides with synopses, writing and directing credits. Warner Brothers also pro-vides information for which episodes have the deleted scenes, also called “Outpatient Outtakes.” All of this is enclosed in cardboard slipcover.
There are 17 episodes with deleted scenes, out of the 22 included on this release. Also provided for some laughs are a gag reel.
All in all, a nice selection of bonus features to accompany this series.
7/10
Overall ( Not an Average) 7/10
The Series 7.5/10
The Video 7/10
The Audio 7/10
The Packaging and Bonus Features 7/10
Overall (Not an Average) 7/10
