Product Details

• Actors: Anthony Edwards, Eriq LaSalle, Goran Visjnic, Noah Wyle, Maura Tierney
• Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 6
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• DVD Release Date: January 22, 2008
• Run Time: 1012 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (60 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000WMA74A
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,265 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "ER: The Complete Eighth Season" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Season eight was a time of big changes for the ER, with perhaps the biggest set of in-season transitions yet. Jing-Mei Chen (Ming-Na) is the new chief resident, but a bad call lands her and "Doctor Dave" Malucci (Eric Palladino) in hot water and brings out the self-preserving worst in Kerry Weaver (Laura Innes). Peter Benton (Eriq LaSalle) finds himself with sole responsibility for deaf son Reese, and Mark Greene (Anthony Edwards) and Elizabeth Corday (Alex Kingston) are already dealing with juggling their jobs, a brain tumor, and a newborn when Mark's teenage daughter Rachel (Hallee Hirsh) arrives. John Carter (Noah Wyle) is still chasing away ghosts, while Abby Lockhart (Maura Tierney) and Luka Kovacs (Goran Visnjic) begin to have relationship problems. That seems to open the door for Carter and Abby, but then Dr. Susan Lewis (Sherry Stringfield) returns and sets off sparks. In one of ER's famous inclement-weather episodes, Carter's grandmother (Frances Sternhagen), though not fit to drive, does so, breaking her hip and hitting a young woman, while Weaver and medical student/Army reservist Michael Gallant (Sharif Atkins) try to save a pregnant stab victim in a wrecked, electrified ambulance. It's one of Weaver's finest hours, and the firefighter with whom she butts heads at the scene (Lisa Vidal) ends up playing a significant role later.

By the end of the season, a number of doctors are gone, none more significant than the two original cast members. Benton's exit is like the doctor himself: clean, efficient, and with barely a hint of emotion. And Greene's departure is also fitting: unable to separate himself from the ER, he stays at work till nearly the bitter end, when he finally relents and takes a trip to his boyhood home of Hawaii, where Iz's Island-flavored rendition of "Over the Rainbow" proves especially moving in the season's penultimate episode, "On the Beach." Other cast members include Julie Delpy as a barmaid who takes a liking to Kovac, Mekhi Phifer as new hotshot intern Greg Pratt, Mary McDonnell and Michael Gross as Carter's parents, Christina Hendricks as Abby's battered neighbor, and Molly Price and Jason Wiles as New York cops in a crossover episode with Third Watch. Bonus features include a gag reel and deleted scenes, including eight from "On the Beach." --David Horiuchi

Product Description

Excitement. Suspense. Joy. Grief. All in a heartbeat. Twenty-two of the best, most compelling hours on television unfold in this powerful, series-changing Season 8 of ER. New hopefuls ? Army Reservist Michael Gallant and brash Gregory Pratt ? arrive to face the challenges of Trauma One life. A familiar face ? Dr. Susan Lewis ? returns. Benton weighs career and family. Malucci crosses the line once too often. Chen defies demotion. And Greene fights what could be his last battle, leaving a void at the group?s heart. His leadership may never be replaced. But someone must step into the breach. That someone is the doctor who?s now been in the ER the longest ? the former student who seemed to have the most to learn: Dr. John Carter.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT Season of ER January 14, 2008

By Val Wexler

Format:DVD

I'm quite surprised by some of the other reviews I have read for this 8th season of ER. I found it to be refreshing and surprising. We received a very well-rounded view of many characters we had come to know, both inside and outside of the hospital. I very much enjoyed the story lines that took place on both levels. Between Dr. Benton and his family situation, Abby and her neighbor troubles, and the deteriorating home life on Doctors Greene and Corday, the hospital wasn't the only place with action. One character that really stands out in this season is Dr. Weaver. She begins the season angry and vengeful, but suddenly heroic on a dark and stormy night inside a crashed ambulance. And it's on that night where we see her take a true turn, finally towards love, and we find her emerging onto a more personable level. And while every season has been like that to a point with its characters, I thought season 8 really shined with this balance. Not only that, but we also got to see sides of doctors that we had never really been aware of before. Season 8 showed us that Dr. Chen actually knew how to stand up for herself. It showed us that Dr. Carter had successfully overcome his demons and was ready to step up as a true leader, admist family problems of his own. And perhaps most surprising of all was the softer side of the loud and proud Dr. Romano, who not only quietly counseled Dr. Corday as she dealt with the news that Dr. Greene's tumor had returned, but he also showed an emotional moment during surgery as he referred to Greene's death.
I'd go as far as to say the majority of the episodes during season 8 were remarkable, and I'm thrilled they are now available to us on DVD.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Where are the extras? January 31, 2008

By Readz Alot VINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

We can, of course, argue endlessly over which seasons are 'best' and which episodes are 'best', and there is no right or wrong answer, since we all have different tastes. IMO, Season 8 wasn't one of the better of the 'middle' seasons. I found most of the Dr. Greene/Elizabeth/Rachel stuff to be tiresome in the extreme, Kerry's 'outing' very badly handled, the Nicole story pointless, and Benton's paternity story-line utterly tedious. On the other hand, the return of Dr. Lewis and the storylines with Carter's mom were very enjoyable. Still, I generally preferred Seasons 6,7 and 9.

Be that as it may -- the DVDs. It seems that as the series goes on the DVDs become more and more bare-bones, while the price remains about the same. The extras include the usual deleted scenes (some of which were not actually deleted ...), and a very short gag reel, (which took some hunting down -- it was on a different disc than the box claimed) about a quarter of which consists of scenes of Tony Edwards surfing in Hawaii. That's it. No commentary tracks. While the box claims to have French language subtitles, the discs only offer English.

19 of 27 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars The Last of the Good Years November 5, 2007

By Timothy T. Ward VINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

After a dismissal seventh season, ER did bounce back some with Season 8. One of the best surprises early on was the return of Sherry Stringfield as Dr.Susan Lewis, whose character was strong and compelling for the first two and a half years of the series before she left. Unfortunately, the writers didn't do all that much with her when they brought her back. We also see the exit of Dr.Peter Benton, which the writers handled very well as they made the circumstances feel real for the character plus it allowed the thankful exit of Dr.Cleo, who seemed to be nothing more than Peter's girlfriend, but the writers did a terrible job with the exit of Anthony Edwards as Dr.Greene. He deserved a much better farewell than that beach episode, which was so flawed that much of it is barely memorable. What does stick in my memory is his spoiled brat, teenage daughter coming off like she must be miserable with the world for having had such a terrible life so far, which wasn't the case if you watch episodes from the previous seasons. The scene where she releases the ballons after his funeral also felt pseudo-like, but the fact that a different girl played his daughter with this season might be the reason. Personally, despite Dr.Greene having had a tumor in a previous storyline, the producers should have allowed him to be written out of the show rather than be killed off. The worst episode though was when Weaver mandates the staff to take a class on sexual misconducts/harassment in the workplace, which features Carter and Luka fencing(yes, give us viewers a break, please!)but what helped make ER a good enough season this time around was getting rid of Dr.Dave while getting to know and love Abby a lot more as she transformed from the once medical student to the new Carol Hathaway. Dr.Kerry Weaver and Dr.Chen also have workplace conflicts, and this storyline proved to be one of the show's best throughout the season as the writers created a realistic portrayl of what happens when mishandled patient care leads to devastating consequences. Best episode of the season: "Beyond Repair."