Transmission Wire

Nominated for 25 Golden Globes and 110 Emmys, including 7 for Outstanding Drama Series, ER has long been one of the best prime-time shows on television. Premiering in September 1994 on NBC, the hour-long hospital drama vividly illustrates the intensity and fast-paced stress endemic to hospital emergency rooms across America. Brought into being by Michael Crichton - famous Hollywood insider, novelist, and brains behind such films as Jurassic Park, Twister, and Timeline - ER fulfills its creator’s ultimate vision (it took over a decade of pitching the show before network executives bit) for a close-to-life glimpse of the technology and the humanity omnipresent in the ER. Since its inception, many cast members have passed through the halls of ER, many of them having gone on to become big stars in Hollywood…

ER follows the exploits of a group of emergency room staff who work in a busy Chicago hospital. The show attempts to examine every detail of the ER experience. From the exhilaration of saving a life to the tedium caused by mountains of paperwork, all the highs and lows are covered. In the show’s first year, a number of regular faces staffed the ER. Doctors Mark Greene (Anthony Edwards), Peter Benton (Eriq La Salle), Douglas Ross (George Clooney), and Susan Lewis (Sherri Stringfield) were regulars in the ER along with Head Nurse Carol Hathaway (Julianna Margulies) and Benton’s medical student understudy (and later ER doctor), John Carter (Noah Wyle)… Any given episode tends to run multiple plot lines throughout the show, interweaving scenes in short snippets intended to heighten audience emotion and create the aura of a stress-laden atmosphere. The show’s high drama, coupled with subplots of the staffers’ personal lives and the display of cutting edge medical technology, combine to make ER one of most adrenaline-inducing programs in television history…

The ER (Season 4) DVD features a number of dramatic episodes including the season premiere “Ambush” in which the ER is put in the spotlight when it’s chosen as the site for the filming of television documentary. Trauma specialist Elizabeth Corday (Alex Kingston) joins the staff of the ER while Carter begins his residency. Meanwhile, the usual tragic cases pour into the ER, such as a man left paralyzed after trying to break up a gangland fight… Other notable episodes from Season 4 include “Fathers and Sons” in which Doug travels to California to settle his father’s estate while Mark goes with him to visit his San Diego family for the first time in years, and “A Bloody Mess” in which Dr. Corday performs an experimental procedure on a patient without getting the required permissions first…

Below is a list of episodes included on the ER (Season 4) DVD:

Episode 71 (Ambush) Air Date: 09-25-1997
Episode 72 (Something New) Air Date: 10-02-1997
Episode 73 (Friendly Fire) Air Date: 10-09-1997
Episode 74 (When the Bough Breaks) Air Date: 10-16-1997
Episode 75 (Good Touch, Bad Touch) Air Date: 10-30-1997
Episode 76 (Ground Zero) Air Date: 11-06-1997
Episode 77 (Fathers and Sons) Air Date: 11-13-1997
Episode 78 (Freak Show) Air Date: 11-20-1997
Episode 79 (Obstruction of Justice) Air Date: 12-11-1997
Episode 80 (Do You See What I See?) Air Date: 12-18-1997
Episode 81 (Think Warm Thoughts) Air Date: 01-08-1998
Episode 82 (Sharp Relief) Air Date: 01-15-1998
Episode 83 (Carter’s Choice) Air Date: 01-29-1998
Episode 84 (Family Practice) Air Date: 02-05-1998
Episode 85 (Exodus) Air Date: 02-26-1998
Episode 86 (My Brother’s Keeper) Air Date: 03-05-1998
Episode 87 (A Bloody Mess) Air Date: 04-09-1998
Episode 88 (Gut Reaction) Air Date: 04-16-1998
Episode 89 (Shades of Gray) Air Date: 04-23-1998
Episode 90 (Of Past Regret and Future Fear) Air Date: 04-30-1998
Episode 91 (Suffer the Little Children) Air Date: 04-07-1998
Episode 92 (A Hole in the Heart) Air Date: 05-14-1998

About the Author

Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report, a blog where you can find more reviews like this one of the ER (Season 4) DVD.

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The so-called television reality shows such as “Big Brother” are catering to those in our society who prefer to “dumb-down” their intelligence. And just look at the size of the audience that programs like this command.

This is actually very good news for those of us who detest trash like this. Why? With so many people committing themselves to this farcical nonsense it leaves a relatively small percentage who prefer to do something to improve their knowledge and intelligence.

While all the others are absorbed in the pathetic, crude and oftentimes vulgar behavior served up to us by the television moguls as “entertainment,” those of us who refuse to be duped can be doing so many other worthwhile things, such as:

Any of the above are far more worthy pursuits than watching a bunch of talentless miscreants engaging in voyeuristic gutter behavior.

In case, I haven’t made myself clear - yes, I DETEST moronic television chaff like “Big Brother.” There are many other similar asinine television offerings but BB, as it is so affectionately referred to, in my opinion, is the most insidious. It is almost like a template for ratbag behavior - something that the world certainly does not need!

As far as entertainment value goes BB is about as puerile as it can get. One can only assume that the intent of this particular show is to feed the voyeuristic nature of society. What amazes me is the fact that so many people look forward to watching these D-grade wannabe-actors cavorting about naked and semi-naked and engaging in the most lewd behavior. Is that entertainment? I don’t think so.

There is another option that you could add to the list above - sleep. It would be far more beneficial.

Just to let you know - yes, I have watched snippets of this garbage. I suffered through several short segments just to see what so many other people were so enamoured with.

So for all those people who have been mesmerized by this assault on our intelligence, might I suggest this alternative:

Go to your local bookstore and purchase a copy of “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill. Next time you get the urge to watch such turgid rubbish read a chapter of this wonderful book. It will put you streets ahead of the voyeurs.

About the author: Gary Simpson is the author of eight books covering a diverse range of subjects such as self esteem, affirmations, self defense, finance and much more. His articles appear all over the web. Gary’s email address is budo@iinet.net.au. Click here to go to his Motivation & Self Esteem for Success website where you can receive his “Zenspirational Thoughts” plus an immediate FREE copy of his highly acclaimed, life-changing e-book “The Power of Choice.”

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