Product Details

• Actors: Anthony Edwards, George Clooney, Julianna Margulies, Eriq La Salle, Noah Wyle
• Directors: Babu Subramaniam 'T.R.', Brett Fallis, Chris Misiano, Christopher Chulack, David Chameides
• Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Subtitled, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Subtitles: Spanish, French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 6
• Studio: National Broadcasting Company (NBC)
• DVD Release Date: July 11, 2006
• Run Time: 977 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000F7CMQS
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,275 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  #7 in	Movies & TV > Drama > Television > ER
  #27 in	Movies & TV > Television > Medical Shows

• For more information about "ER - The Complete Fifth Season" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

• This is item 5 in The ER Series.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

ER's fifth season was marked by the departure of one of the series' core characters and the entry of a new one. It opens with third-year medical student Lucy Knight (Kellie Martin) being introduced to the layout and members of the ER (we learn Maria Bello's character, Anna Del Amico, has left), which also serves as a shorthand way of introducing new viewers to the series. She makes a strong impression immediately and reminds John Carter (Noah Wyle) of himself, but before long the two find themselves at odds. Elizabeth Corday (Alex Kingston) has to start over as an intern in order to stay at County General and in the U.S., and gradually ends her relationship with Peter Benton (Eriq La Salle), who learns that his son is deaf. Kerry Weaver (Laura Innes) tries for the position of full-time chief resident, but is beaten out by an East Coast hotshot, Amanda Lee (Mare Winningham), who turns out to have an interest in Mark Greene (Anthony Edwards). Greene starts to ride along with the paramedics, and Doug Ross (George Clooney) has settled down (finally) with nurse Carol Hathaway (Julianna Margulies). He's still on probation from the risky detox procedure he used in the fourth season, but he seems to be on his best behavior until a mother (Valerie Mahaffey) brings in her ALD-stricken son. Ross breaks protocol again but this time threatens to bring down the whole ER with him in the season's high point, the climactic two-parter "Storm." Other cast members and guest stars include Penny Johnson (24) as a nurse practitioner who joins Hathaway's clinic, Djimon Honsou as a Nigerian custodian with a secret, Marlee Matlin as Benton's sign language teacher, and TV Tae-Bo instructor Billy Blanks as a Tae-Bo instructor who teaches Lucy how to deliver a good swift kick. --David Horiuchi

Product Description

Created by best-selling author Michael Crichton, this series centers on the medical personnel in the emergency room of a Chicago county hospital. ER tracks the inner workings of County General Hospital, a Level One Trauma Center where heroic doctors and nurses are faced with life-and-death decisions on a daily basis. In its fifth season, third-year med student, Lucy Knight joins the team in the ER and kindles a relationship with Dr. Carter, Dr. Corday starts her career over as an intern, Dr. Green watches helplessly as his family is torn apart, Dr. Ross leaves the ER for a new job and the whole time the ER is being run by an imposter!!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dr. Ross checks out, but Lucy Knight checks in, August 4, 2006

By	Joshua Spaulding "Television God" (Ossipee, New Hampshire) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Season five was a season of comings and goings in the venerable Thursday night NBC drama. Despite the second major cast member checking out in two years, the show continued to be strong and the foundations of one relationship that would continue on for a number of years was set in place at the end of season five.

Mark Greene (Anthony Edwards) and Doug Ross (George Clooney) haven't always agreed on the way they practice medicine or how to deal with authorities, but they are both great doctors and despite their differences, are also pretty good friends. Season five sees Greene trying to walk the fine line of friend and manager as he copes to deal with Ross' basic disregard for authority. The pediatrician finally goes over the line with one terminally sick boy, breaking every protocal, which eventually leads to his departure from the Cook County General emergency department.

Clooney was quickly becoming a big star on the big screen and a burgeoning movie career was pulling him away from his weekly television series, so when the time came to go, he left. This was a pretty big blow to the cast, the second original member to leave in two years (Sherry Stringfield's Dr. Susan Lewis left in season three), but as has been the case, the show continued on with great additions to the cast to take the place of Clooney.

Before he left though, Clooney fought for and got a pediatric ER approved, with himself as the attending. His relationship with nurse Carol Hathaway (Julianna Margulies) continued to grow stronger, as the two planned their future together. As the season drew to a close, Hathaway discovered she was pregnant with his twins, but when she told him the news, he couldn't return, leaving her to face the pregnancy alone.

Greene got a good dose of being a manager, as he and Kerry Weaver (Laura Innes) managed to work the ER through a number of problems. Greene also dealt with his wife being remarried and his daughter having to live far away. He does get to spend some time with her early in the season. He also treats a hospital janitor (guest star Djimon Hounsou)with a horrible history of abuse and helps him to overcome his fears and confront everything going on in his life. Greene also strikes up a friendship with British surgeon Elizabeth Corday (Alex Kingston) and as the season ends they begin a relationship that would eventually lead to their marriage.

Corday begins her second year in Chicago starting over as an intern. When she turns down Dr. Romano's (guest star and future regular Paul McCrane) advances, he cancels her fellowship and she is forced to start over again. Her relationship with Dr. Peter Benton (Eriq LaSalle) eventually ends and as the year comes to a close, in addition to her relationship with Greene, she is going back to Romano looking for another fellowship to extend her stay in Chicago.

Dr. Weaver begins a search for her birth mother, a search that leads her to someone who isn't her mother thanks to a private investigator. She applies for the job as head of the ER, but is passed over in favor of Dr. Amanda Lee (guest star Mare Winningham), who turns out to actually not be a doctor at all. After the Dr. Lee fiasco, Weaver doesn't put her name back in an the temporary reins are turned over to Dr. Romano, much to the disdain of the entire ER staff.

PA Jeannie Boulet, already positive for HIV, comes down with Hepatitis C and is also involved in a car accident with Ross, which puts her in the hospital for a while. She also is a key part of the pediatric ER with Ross.

Hathaway, as mentioned, continues to grow in her relationship with Ross. She also opens a clinic in the ER, catering to the poor of the area. Her clinic is a great success until she is forced to step down after Ross uses her and the clinic to get the machine that ultimately kills his final patient. The season ends as she begins what will be one of her finest arcs on the show, her pregnancy with twins. The storyline is also one that will eventually introduce viewers to Abby Lockhart (Maura Tierney) who is now a regular on the show.

Benton continues to deal with his son's deafness, going to great lengths to learn all he can. He is hurt when he learns that his son's mother is moving to Germany with her new husband and basically kidnaps his son in the season's final episode. Benton also had a "highlight" episode in the season, as he journeyed to Mississippi to fill in at a doctor's office there and had to deal with the racial tensions and also had to find his bedside manner, as he stepped away from being a surgeon for two weeks.

Dr. John Carter (Noah Wyle) had an interesting year. He began the year as an RA in the medical students' dorm, but lost his job when the students threw a party that resulted in an overdose. He eventually moved into Weaver's basement. He also has a relationship with insurance saleswoman Roxanne (guest star Julie Bowen), but breaks that off in the final few episodes of the season. His tryst with his medical student Lucy Knight (the oh-so-adorable Kellie Martin) is a highlight of the season, although it only happened in one episode.

Knight is the new kid on the block in this season, the eager medical student with a good brain, but a lack of actual skills. She and Carter seem to have a love-hate relationship that comes to full tilt when she accidently kicks him in the chest and helps nurse him back to health.

The highlight of this season was the two-part episode "The Storm," possibly the best two-part episode the show has ever done. In the episode, Jeannie and Doug get in a car accident on the way to help at a horrific accident involving a school bus, where Dr. Greene is a hero for saving the kids. Additionally, Carter and Knight have their tryst in one of the hospital's rooms and eventually Ross calls it quits. The two hours were filled with great drama and it is truly a highlight in ER's run.

The only thing lacking on this set is extras. There are a lot of deleted scenes and a great gag reel, but no commentaries or other extras. That is a little disappointing. I enjoy getting whatever access I can to my absolute favorite television show and this set doesn't provide anything substantial to that regard.

Despite that, this was a great season, truly one of the best they did. The cast was able to move past Clooney's departure and pull together in the final few episodes. All in all, a fine effort for one of television's best dramas.

33 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MUST BUY DVD!, March 30, 2006

By	Fisherman (Kirkland, Illinois) - See all my reviews

It's finally here! The complete fifth season of ER is coming to dvd! Season five is one of the most intense seasons of ER period! Kellie Martin joins the cast as Carter's med student, Lucy Knight. Also, Doug Ross (Georege Clooney) leaves the show in a riveting two parter. Jeanie's condition worsens, Benton realizes his son is deaf, and at the end of the season, Hathaway finds out she is carrying twins. That is just the tip of the iceberg of what happens in ER: SEASON 5
This is a must for any fan. Also, I would like to correct a careless mistake made by amazon.com

The cast members they have listed at the top of the page are not in this season, most of them didn't even come in until the ninth or tenth season. The entire fifth season cast is:

Anthony Edwards
George Clooney
Noah Wyle
Julianna Margulies
Gloria Rueben
Laura Innes
Alex Kingston
Kellie Martin
and
Eriq La Salle

As for the cast members listed at the top of the page, here are the seasons they came in:

Goran Visnjic: season 6
Maura Tierney: season 6
Mekhi Phifer: season 9, recurring previously in season 8
Parminder Nagra: season 10
Linda Cardellini: season 10

There have been many other cast members on the show since season five, but these are the ones mistakenly listed by amazon as being on the fifth season. This season won at least one emmy, if not more, and earned even more nominations including one for Noah Wyle. Patient story lines include an a man who has strapped a bomb to himself, a girl who needs a transfusion of a rare blood type, a man dressed as an elf who has a heart arrythmia, a school bus accident, a shot stripper and a DUI victim. This set also includes the emmy winning two parter The Storm, which is the departure of George Clooney's charachter.
It was watched by over 40 million people when it first aired.
This is one of ER's best seasons, although I have to say they are all great, except for the eleventh season. Oh well, at least it got back to being good again for the twelth season.
Keep em coming Warner Brothers!

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Warner Bros. cheaped out on the English subtitles this time around..., July 23, 2006

By	La Maquina (Utility Muffin Research Kitchen, USA) - See all my reviews

It's a good season worth owning. I assume you already know this if you are reading this. The DVD set is presented with good sound, picture quality etc.....however....

I was really disappointed to see that Warner Bros. cheaped out on the English subtitles this time around. Seasons 2-4 were awesome to watch with the subtitles for the hard of hearing, as it really helped with the comprehension of all the medical jargon that was being spewed out at 100 miles an hour. As a medical professional myself, I got a lot out of this "special" feature. My fiancee, who is NOT a medical professional, found that she was able to get a lot more out of the show by watching the subtitles as well. It definitely helps a viewer appreciate the complexity of the show's writing.

The show is still great. However, it is inexplicable why we had to wait 7 months for this DVD set to come out when they obviously didn't put as much work into it as the previous sets (ie. they didn't want to pay someone to transcribe the scripts and sync subtitles). This is especially irksome considering that season 5 has been available on DVD in the UK for quite a long while now. I had just assumed Warner Bros. was spending the extra time and cash to do the job right for North America. I was wrong.