(Non Radio)(Article) E.R

For anyone in England who does not know about this, or at least heard about it but not seen it. E.R or Emergency was created by Michael Crichton. Yes the guy who wrote, Jurassic Park. Until i saw the first season and the documentry, i had no idea why it was so successful and why it lasted 15 seasons.  This is one of the longest running serials i know of on U.S TV and English TV for that matter( It was imported to Channel 4)
The one main reason, why this series got popular so quick, was the pace.  The idea was to have the camera move from room to room, with split seconds of storyline, like you were switching TV channels.  It worked, thats the basic idea behind ER.
In reality, it is also this exhausting and you do get sucked in,....yes, i got sucked in.

 E.R can be compared to the England TV series, casualty.  Casualty has a slower pace than E.R.  Its also very interesting is that E.R has a striking resemblance to
American TV series from the 70s, M.A.S.H.  Its not the setting, but the storylines and many situations. ER was written back in the 70s and at the start it was when Crichton drew experience from his time as a medic. The original script for a film of E.R was written before Jurassic park.  When Jurassic come along, E.R was halted. After the success of the film, everyone went back to what would turn out to be the pilot of a series of E.R.

E.R is one of the best examples i know of where film makers and producers come together to make what was gong to be an unlikely hit. At the time series pace was the decising factor as many year of TV, no one had filmed a series with such pace.  In fact it was a lost art for many years due to script speed and the number of page read out on sets.

The first season won 8 Emmys, thats unheard of.  I now understand how ER made so many movie stars out of people.  The only person i knew of before i come to see E.R and i knew who made his name, was George Clooney. What i didn't know is Ving Rhames was cast in this,  He plays a mechnic and a family member of Benton, series surgeon for few seasons.

The one big suprise so far as i am only into the 4th season on writing this, two main actors from House have appeared.  I will not suprise me if House concept come from E.R, it would make a lot of sense.

Seeing many actors go through the doors, it makes you realise how influential E.R is. Also House  took idea the of sneeking well known actors in for bit roles, story lines and cameos. E.R does this on a regular basis

As E.R unfolds, it makes it very clear the power the series holds.  E.R holds the bar for many medical dramas to come

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