Product Details

• Actors: Julianna Margulies, Anthony Edwards, Eriq La Salle, George Clooney, Noah Wyle
• Format: Anamorphic, Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Subtitles: French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
• Number of discs: 4
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: National Broadcasting Company (NBC)
• DVD Release Date: August 26, 2003
• Run Time: 1179 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (166 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005JLFT
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,094 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "ER: The Complete First Season" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

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). The rest of the central cast consisted of compassionate Susan Lewis (Sherry Stringfield), Peter Benton (Eriq Lasalle), whose prodigious talent nearly matches his ambition, and his fresh-faced student, John Carter (Noah Wyle). Other key characters included ER heads Morgenstern and Swift (William H. Macy and Michael Ironside, respectively), overachieving student Deb (Ming Na), who returned later in the show's run, attending physician Angela Hicks (CCH Pounder), and physical therapist Jeanie Boulet (Gloria Rueben).

The remarkably strong first season showed off its sharp ensemble cast through a variety of compelling story lines both personal (Carter's conflicts with Benton, Lewis's struggles with her no-account sister, Chloe, played by Kathleen Wilhoite) and professional (a holiday blizzard and especially the harrowing tale of a pregnancy gone bad, "Love's Labor Lost," which won five Emmy Awards). When Carter is pondering whether his future includes the ER, Green jokes, "It's not bad: Stress, late nights, hard work, no pay--it's hard to beat." It's hard to imagine people choosing to work under those conditions, but they do, and in the process these very human people perform superhuman feats as they face life and death as part of their daily jobs.

DVD features are fairly generous for a TV series box. There are two commentary tracks on the pilot episode, including one by Crichton, and crew commentaries on "Sleepless in Chicago" and "Love's Labor Lost." A new 39-minute documentary discusses the show's genesis, casting, and the "Chicago hospital drama smackdown" with Chicago Hope through interviews with Crichton, executive producer Steven Spielberg, other crew members, and the principal cast members other than Eriq LaSalle. Also included are a very watchable featurette on the show's realism (ever wonder why Ross is always looking down?) and another on post-production, a list of characters (including patients by episode, but why no actor credits?), three minor deleted scenes, outtakes, and a glossary of frequently used medical terms. Particularly notable is that the episodes are shown in anamorphic widescreen. ER was one of the first network shows broadcast in widescreen, but that was years after these episodes, which are shown in widescreen for the first time. --David Horiuchi

Product Description

The lives, loves and losses of the doctors and nurses of Chicago's County General Hospital. Celebrate the 10th anniversary of the most watched and honored drama of the last decade. Loaded with extensive special features including two new documentaries featuring Steven Spielberg, Michael Crichton, John Wells and George Clooney created exclusively for this release.

DVD Features:
Additional Scenes
Audio Commentary:Audio commentary on three key episodes by series producers and crew
Deleted Scenes
Documentaries:Prescription for Success: The Birth of ER; First-Year Rotation: Caring for ER; On the Cutting Edge: Medical Realism on ER; Post Operative Procedures: Post Production in the ER
Easter Eggs
Featurette
Interactive Menus
Outtakes
Scene Access:Audio commentary on three key episodes by series producers and crew

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 47 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Previously on ER September 7, 2003

By M. Dillon VINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

Finally, Season One has arrived on DVD! If you are familiar with ER you know all the adjectives used to describe this unique show; Gripping, Stunning, Amazing, etc.

So what does this DVD offer? Well, as the title states, the complete first season. It also includes the 1 1/2 hour pilot. In addition there are behind the scenes, bloopers, the making of, commentaries on three episodes, and more.

As a real fan of ER I have waited for this DVD for some time now. The shows are wonderful to revisit. I am reminded of 'old friends' who have long since left the ER.

I gave up on TV a number of years ago and do not have cable or watch any TV. A family member records the current ER episodes for me and I devour them each time. It is simply outstanding entertainment. The actors, story, music, editing, camera work and sooo much more combine to bring out the very best in entertainment.

The only downside to this DVD comes with the packaging. The DVDs are double sided so you cannot set the DVD down without possibly scratching it. Also, because there is no label on each DVD you need to read the very fine print near the center hole to identify which DVD is # 1, 2, 3, or 4. And the print is even smaller to figure out which side is A/B.

My 5 star rating is based on the quality of the episodes. The extras included with the DVD deserve 4 stars, and the packaging would be only 1 star.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the few series I would buy on DVD October 3, 2002

By Benjamin I. Gates

Format:DVD

ER is one of the best shows I've ever seen. I've been watching it from the airing of the Pilot and I've been hooked ever since. If you are looking for an emotional high this is the show to watch. The writers and actors are amazing. Each episode makes me laugh, cry, and gets my adrenaline pumping. This show confronts extremely controversial, contemporary issues and even though I'm not in the medical profession I believe that it is very realistic. Anyone who works with a lot of people day in and day out can relate to what it is like to be pulled in several different directions at once and still try to maintain a professional facade, which I think this show pulls off beautifully.

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Quite simply the best TV drama series ever! March 17, 2003

By Dan Gray

Format:DVD

Having seen so many dire hospital dramas ("Casualty" and the like) I must admit I never thought I could possibly get into a series like "ER". That is until two friends insisted I watched an episode one Friday night on Channel 4 and within 30 mins I was hooked. Since then I've probably missed no more than 3 or 4 episodes and every one I've watched has been streets ahead of the competition.

I hope people won't take offence when I say that US shows often run the risk of drifting into over-sentimentality. They do. But ER's greatest strength is the ability to handle the most emotional of story lines without it ever feeling that the line has been crossed. It's blend of realism and top-draw performances from the whole cast delivers TV that's right on the edge. It's quite simply the best show I've ever seen.

If anyone reading this is a Warner Bros executive, please please please release some box sets of the show. I'm quite sure I'm not the only one who'd buy up the lot straight away!

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars No corner was left uncut September 12, 2003

By A Customer

Format:DVD

Plenty of other reviewers have addressed the show itself, so I will limit this review to that which motivated me to write it: the quality of the DVD set. Or more accurately, the lack of quality.

First of all, to save a few cents on disks and packaging, they made the DVDs 2-sided, so they have no labels, you have to flip them over, and it is very hard to tell which side is which.

All the disks have the same menu even though only disk 4 has the "bonus" materials. Why taunt us with menu items that lead to messages saying there is nothing on this disk?

Most annoying, though, is the lack of captions for the hearing impaired -- they must have actually removed them to save space since the broadcasts had them. The only spoken language available is English, the only subtitles are French. What were they thinking? Let me guess: they were thinking they could get away with one minimalist release for both the US and Canada.

This show deserved better -- especially considering it's price. If future seasons are this cheaply done, I won't be buying them.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars One Of The Best Debut Seasons In Television History January 25, 2006

By belvis

Format:DVD

In the history of television, first seasons are rarely that impressive. I mean, a lot of times you'll hear people saying how remarkable the first season was, but when you compare to later seasons, it will pale. Such is not the case with "ER." "ER" got off and running with an incredible first season any show would be lucky to compare to.

It all started with a wonderful pilot. Any other show would be lucky to have a pilot like the pilot of "ER," as well. Running two hours with commercials and an hour and a half withouht, it's simply spellbinding, launching off the series splendidly, introducing the characters and the style of the show that continues to this day. The characters we meet in the pilot are:

Mark Greene (Anthony Edwards): Mark is basically the head guy of the hospital, and in the pilot, we become familiar with his hectic lifestyle and how he juggles his work and his family, not always successfully. He has an annoying little brat daughter and a terrible wife, but this doesn't stop him from being perhaps the best character of not just the original cast, but the entire series. Anthony Edwards makes Mark such a loveable character.

Doug Ross (George Clooney): This was the role that basically shot George Clooney off to superstardom, and he plays it well. Doug is a tough but a irresponsible man and in the pilot we become familiar with his previous love affair with Nurse Carol Hathaway.

Susan Lewis (Sherry Stringfield): By far my favorite character from the original cast, Dr. Lewis is a tough and wonderful character (not to mention freakishly sexy). Sherry Stringfield really lights up this role.... Unfortunately, when she returned to the show after several years of absence, it just wasn't quite the same, but fortunately we have the first two and a half seasons to treasure her wonderful character and the wonderful acting that Sherry Stringfield gave us.

John Carter (Noah Wyle): Carter is just a fresh faced, eager to learn young 20-something med student in the pilot, and he quickyl gets thrown into the exciting world of ER medicine and surgery when he has to deliver a baby just as the mother arrives through the hospital doors.

Carol Hathaway (Jullianna Margullies): The thing you'll probably notice in the pilot is that Jullianna Margullies is listed as a guest star, and not put with the main cast. The plan was to have her die in the first episode, but fortunately she got to stay for six wonderful seasons. This character represents a lot about classic "ER" and it definately one of the most interesting people to work at County General. In the pilot, we learn a whole lot about her character when she attempts suicide and is saved by her friends at the ER. The following episodes revolve very much around her and her returning to a normal life.

Peter Benton (Eriq La Salle): Benton is an arrogant little prick, but you have to love him. It's funny to note that he does seem slightly different in the pilot, more eager and cheerful (not much, but whatever). He gets some great moments in the first episode, but most noticeably when he performs an emergency surgery without assistance and ends up saving a life.

This is the cast. Although the show as it is now (in its twelfth season) has a nice enough cast, it's just not the same as the original six, who stand together as a true television ensemble.

The first season is just wonderful. The show rolls along smoothly, churning out storylines compelling, dramatic, heartbreaking, and often funny. It's a perfect combination. The first season also brings us plenty of classic episodes, including the famous "Love's Labor Loss," which may have the saddest ending of any "ER" episode ever, as Dr. Greene cries quietly over the knowledge that he may have caused the death of a new mother. The first season won multiple Emmys, and it deserved all of them and more.

Warner Brothers did a real nice job with this DVD set. The episodes are presented in widescreen, which has caused some controversy, since the first six seasons of the show were filmed and broadcast in fullscreen format, but the bottomline is that the episodes look great matted and it makes them match with later seasons nicely, so I have no complaints. There are a decent amound of supplemental materials, among them a nice documementary about the pilot and the first season.

"ER" is one of the best shows ever made, no kidding. Although I'm still a big fan of the "ER" currently on, it in now way compares with these incredible early seasons, and the first season is a prime example of "ER" at its finest. Read more ›