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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Farewell Dr. Greene, you will be missed, April 1, 2008
This season set of ER gets five stars from me mainly because of the great story lines, strong character development and overall presentation of this season of ER. However, as has been the case with many of the show's releases, the extras were severly lacking, with a gag reel and deleted scense comprising all of the extras. A huge ER fan like myself could really use some more insight into the show.
As the title of this review says, season eight was the swan song for Dr. Mark Greene (Anthony Edwards). Watching the episode where Carter reads the letters from Greene and Corday, written during the good doctor's final hours on the beach in Hawaii, a true ER fan couldn't help but get choked up. And then, one episode later, watching as Mark enjoys his final weeks with his family in Hawaii, it wasn't easy. But Anthony Edwards was leaving the show and t his is the way it was determined his exit would take place. It was certainly tough to see him go.
In his final season, Greene dealt with more than his fair share of issues, but the biggest was the return of the tumor that had first appeared a season earlier. As viewers, we had watched Dr. Greene go through so much, an attack in the hospital bathroom, a divorce, the death of his parents, but with British surgeon Elizabeth Corday (Alex Kingston) he seemed to have found a new happiness. They had a daughter, Ella, and seemed happy, but then the tumor reappeared and everything changed. The couple dealt with some tough times in his final months, but in the end, they were happy and together and that's what fans would've wanted for Mark. He got the chance to get to know his older daughter, Rachel (guest star Hallee Hirsch) a little better and while they had their own problems, it was obvious they cared for each other.
Dr. Greene's death was not the only departure from Cook County General Hospital in season eight. Dr. Peter Benton (Eriq LaSalle), one of the original cast members, also departed after waging a custody battle for his son Reese. When Reese's mom, Peter's ex, was killed in a car crash, Peter and her new husband, Roger (guest star Vondie Curtis Hall), waged a battle for custody of Reese. It wasn't until Peter quit the ER for the steadiness of a 9-5 job that he won custody of his son. Also leaving the ER was Dr. Cleo Finch (Michael Michele), Peter's girlfriend. This season she seemed relegated to simply the role of girlfriend and didn't have tons of story lines, so her departure was relatively minor.
Also walking through the hospital doors for the final time was Dr. Dave Mallucci (Erik Palladino), who was fired by Dr. Kerry Weaver (Laura Innes) after a series of transgressions that culminated in the death of a patient. Dr. Jing-Mei Chen (Ming-Na) was also fired by Weaver for the same incident, but eventually sued to get her job back and was successful. Though she began the year as the chief resident, she returned without the title.
Returning to the show was Dr. Susan Lewis (Sherry Stringfield), after a five-year absence. Dr. Lewis left in the middle of season three to go to Arizona with her sister and her niece. She returned in the middle of the season and Dr. Greene, one of her closest friends, offered her a job, which she accepted. She entered a brief relationship with Dr. John Carter (Noah Wyle) and she was one of those hit the hardest by Mark Greene's death, due to their close friendship over the years. She also got to do a crossover episode with another NBC show, Third Watch, when she heads to New York to find her niece after recieving a troubling phone call.
As for Carter, ER became his show after the exit of Greene. As the longest standing doctor in County General, Carter was going to be looked at for leadership. During the season, we got a look into his mega-rich family, as his mom (guest star Christina Hendricks), dad (guest star Michael Gross) and grandmother (Frances Sternhagen) all make appearances throughout the season. After his relationship with Dr. Lewis ends, Carter pursues a relationship with nurse Abby Lockhart (Maura Tierney), which culiminates in the season's final episode. And I got goosebumps when Carter took Dr. Greene's stethoscope out of his locker and hung it around his own neck. This was Carter's show from that point on.
Besides Dr. Greene's death, one of the other big stories of season eight was Weaver's "outing." Viewers knew she was gay, but most of the hospital staff didn't. However, her relationship with firefighter Sandy Lopez (guest star Lisa Vidal) pushed her out of the closet and into the world for everyone to see. It was a rocky go in the early going, but things smoothed out as the season wore on.
Dr. Luka Kovac (Goran Visnjic) and Abby continued their up and down relationship, though they do break up midway through the season. Luka gets his friend Nicole (guest star Julie Delpy) a job at the hospital and she endears herself to nobody by stealing from the other staff members. Abby also returns to drinking, a problem she had conquered earlier in her life, which in turn, gets Carter upset with her, though as mentioned, as the season comes to a close, they are hurtling toward each other at full speed.
Dr. Robert Romano (Paul McCrane) continues to be a thorn in the side of Dr. Weaver, Dr. Corday and Dr. Benton for much of the season. While his character is relatively viewed as a pain, it is obvious, as Greene is slowly dying, that he cares about his fellow doctors more than he lets on. And he shows no signs of the horrors that will befell him in future seasons.
Sharif Atkins joins the cast near the end of season eight as med student Michael Gallant, who is also an Army Reservist. He is joined later in the season by guest star Mekhi Phifer as Dr. Greg Pratt. Phifer would go on to become a regular the following year.
On a personal note, this DVD release allowed me to see one of only two episodes of ER that I have missed in its 14-year run. I missed Dr. Benton's final episode, where he eventually won his court case against Roger and quit his surgical job for private practice. It was nice to get some closure on Dr. Benton's ER stay and now I have just one episode I have missed, a few seasons down the road.
As mentioned, a few more bonus features would've been nice. However, this was another solid season of television, featuring some of the best characters ever created. Dr. Mark Greene, Dr. John Carter and Abby Lockhart have, and will remain some of my favorite television characters ever.
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 ER - The Complete Eighth Season B000WMA74A
Anthony Edwards
National Broadcasting Company (NBC)
ER - The Complete Eighth Season
Movies & TV
Farewell Dr. Greene, you will be missed
This season set of ER gets five stars from me mainly because of the great story lines, strong character development and overall presentation of this season of ER. However, as has been the case with many of the show's releases, the extras were severly lacking, with a gag reel and deleted scense comprising all of the extras. A huge ER fan like myself could really use some more insight into the show.
As the title of this review says, season eight was the swan song for Dr. Mark Greene (Anthony Edwards). Watching the episode where Carter reads the letters from Greene and Corday, written during the good doctor's final hours on the beach in Hawaii, a true ER fan couldn't help but get choked up. And then, one episode later, watching as Mark enjoys his final weeks with his family in Hawaii, it wasn't easy. But Anthony Edwards was leaving the show and t his is the way it was determined his exit would take place. It was certainly tough to see him go.
In his final season, Greene dealt with more than his fair share of issues, but the biggest was the return of the tumor that had first appeared a season earlier. As viewers, we had watched Dr. Greene go through so much, an attack in the hospital bathroom, a divorce, the death of his parents, but with British surgeon Elizabeth Corday (Alex Kingston) he seemed to have found a new happiness. They had a daughter, Ella, and seemed happy, but then the tumor reappeared and everything changed. The couple dealt with some tough times in his final months, but in the end, they were happy and together and that's what fans would've wanted for Mark. He got the chance to get to know his older daughter, Rachel (guest star Hallee Hirsch) a little better and while they had their own problems, it was obvious they cared for each other.
Dr. Greene's death was not the only departure from Cook County General Hospital in season eight. Dr. Peter Benton (Eriq LaSalle), one of the original cast members, also departed after waging a custody battle for his son Reese. When Reese's mom, Peter's ex, was killed in a car crash, Peter and her new husband, Roger (guest star Vondie Curtis Hall), waged a battle for custody of Reese. It wasn't until Peter quit the ER for the steadiness of a 9-5 job that he won custody of his son. Also leaving the ER was Dr. Cleo Finch (Michael Michele), Peter's girlfriend. This season she seemed relegated to simply the role of girlfriend and didn't have tons of story lines, so her departure was relatively minor.
Also walking through the hospital doors for the final time was Dr. Dave Mallucci (Erik Palladino), who was fired by Dr. Kerry Weaver (Laura Innes) after a series of transgressions that culminated in the death of a patient. Dr. Jing-Mei Chen (Ming-Na) was also fired by Weaver for the same incident, but eventually sued to get her job back and was successful. Though she began the year as the chief resident, she returned without the title.
Returning to the show was Dr. Susan Lewis (Sherry Stringfield), after a five-year absence. Dr. Lewis left in the middle of season three to go to Arizona with her sister and her niece. She returned in the middle of the season and Dr. Greene, one of her closest friends, offered her a job, which she accepted. She entered a brief relationship with Dr. John Carter (Noah Wyle) and she was one of those hit the hardest by Mark Greene's death, due to their close friendship over the years. She also got to do a crossover episode with another NBC show, Third Watch, when she heads to New York to find her niece after recieving a troubling phone call.
As for Carter, ER became his show after the exit of Greene. As the longest standing doctor in County General, Carter was going to be looked at for leadership. During the season, we got a look into his mega-rich family, as his mom (guest star Christina Hendricks), dad (guest star Michael Gross) and grandmother (Frances Sternhagen) all make appearances throughout the season. After his relationship with Dr. Lewis ends, Carter pursues a relationship with nurse Abby Lockhart (Maura Tierney), which culiminates in the season's final episode. And I got goosebumps when Carter took Dr. Greene's stethoscope out of his locker and hung it around his own neck. This was Carter's show from that point on.
Besides Dr. Greene's death, one of the other big stories of season eight was Weaver's "outing." Viewers knew she was gay, but most of the hospital staff didn't. However, her relationship with firefighter Sandy Lopez (guest star Lisa Vidal) pushed her out of the closet and into the world for everyone to see. It was a rocky go in the early going, but things smoothed out as the season wore on.
Dr. Luka Kovac (Goran Visnjic) and Abby continued their up and down relationship, though they do break up midway through the season. Luka gets his friend Nicole (guest star Julie Delpy) a job at the hospital and she endears herself to nobody by stealing from the other staff members. Abby also returns to drinking, a problem she had conquered earlier in her life, which in turn, gets Carter upset with her, though as mentioned, as the season comes to a close, they are hurtling toward each other at full speed.
Dr. Robert Romano (Paul McCrane) continues to be a thorn in the side of Dr. Weaver, Dr. Corday and Dr. Benton for much of the season. While his character is relatively viewed as a pain, it is obvious, as Greene is slowly dying, that he cares about his fellow doctors more than he lets on. And he shows no signs of the horrors that will befell him in future seasons.
Sharif Atkins joins the cast near the end of season eight as med student Michael Gallant, who is also an Army Reservist. He is joined later in the season by guest star Mekhi Phifer as Dr. Greg Pratt. Phifer would go on to become a regular the following year.
On a personal note, this DVD release allowed me to see one of only two episodes of ER that I have missed in its 14-year run. I missed Dr. Benton's final episode, where he eventually won his court case against Roger and quit his surgical job for private practice. It was nice to get some closure on Dr. Benton's ER stay and now I have just one episode I have missed, a few seasons down the road.
As mentioned, a few more bonus features would've been nice. However, this was another solid season of television, featuring some of the best characters ever created. Dr. Mark Greene, Dr. John Carter and Abby Lockhart have, and will remain some of my favorite television characters ever.
Joshua Spaulding "Television God"
April 1, 2008
- Overall: 5
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Location: Ossipee, New Hampshire
New Reviewer Rank: 10,420
Classic Reviewer Rank: 6,369
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