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The clear winner, both then and now, was "ER." With its magazine-splattered cast and remarkably consistent Top 3 ranking, NBC’s entry into the doc drama race started out strong and has never let go. While "ER's" viselike ratings choke hold continues to this day, "Chicago Hope" consistently falls somewhere in Nielsen’s vast heartland, averaging 30s, 40s and 50s.
With such long-term, widespread success, enormous fan base and water-cooler cast, you would probably think "ER" is the best medical drama ever. Would it surprise you if I said "Chicago Hope" is infinitely better?
This season found "ER" disappointing week after week (those precious Thursdays it was actually new, of course). After a season-long flatline, "ER" would be wise to look to the unexpectedly superior "Chicago Hope" for help. Below, five "Hope"-inspired remedies.
1. Sign Stars With Marquee Value
When Mandy Patinkin – one of "Chicago Hope’s" biggest names and most powerful characters – departed, the show rebounded by stepping up the role played by equally scene-stealing Christine Lahti. Then Thomas Gibson left for "Dharma & Greg." Answer? "Hope" snagged Eric Stolz, a recognizable name with a robust resume. 1995 brought Peter Berg ("Very Bad Things," "The Great White Hype"), and ’96 welcomed aging heartthrob Mark Harmon.
These seasoned actors added a depth and complexity to the drama that made cast departures practically a pleasure. Who knew what celeb might show up next?
"ER," on the other hand, responded to George Clooney’s hugely hyped exit with ... what did they respond with, anyway? A "spotlight" episode on the increasingly bland Eriq La Salle? (See suggestion No. 3) Now that the season has ended and it’s time for new faces, we get word that Goran Visnjic will join the cast next year. Exactly.
Other not-so-notable cast additions include the boring Kellie Martin, inconsequential Chad Lowe and blink-and-you-missed her Maria Bello.
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2. Devise Original Storylines
How many times have we seen "ER" rip off "Chicago Hope"? Most notably this year, Dr. Greene’s NASA aspirations suspiciously mirrored Dr. Austin’s plans for space travel. In typical "ER" fashion, Greene’s space program story was casually brushed aside, while Austin’s became a
symbolic quest for the ultimate challenge. A recent episode of "Hope" even addressed the overlap between the shows. Tongue in cheek, Austin fielded a reporter’s question about another "doctor at County" entering the program.
In 1999, "ER" ran an episode called "Power," about a series of equipment-compromising outages. "Chicago Hope’s" "Who Turned Out the Lights?" aired four years before. In a 1997 episode, "Hope" docs Kronk and Grad are involved in a violent hostage situation. Just one month later, "ER" rolled out "The Long Way Around," with Nurse Hathaway unwittingly caught in a, ahem, violent hostage situation.
Another habit "ER" has adopted is pointless dead horse beating. Do we really need another storyline about our lovable little docs jockeying for positions in the hospital? Between the trauma fellowship, the ER chief position and endless references to a new "peds attending," we’ve learned more about the dry bureaucracy of hospital life than even Kerry Weaver cares to know.
"Chicago Hope," to the contrary, stays fresh via skillfully mining the riches of medical ethics. Remembering, of course, that "Hope" is the brainchild of David E. Kelley ("The Practice," "Picket Fences" – hello, moral dilemmas!) helps to explain the show’s focus on ethics. Kelley is no fool. He knows that the combination of medicine and modern technology offers endless opportunity for compelling plots.
"The show is superb at taking controversial subjects, presenting both sides ... and then leaving it up to the viewer to decide," says "Chicago Hope" fan site administrator Angie Hill.
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3. Layer Complexity Into Characters
Admittedly, "ER" has borne a handful of semi-complex characters: the now-departed Dr. Ross; Jeanie Boulet (see suggestion No. 4); Dr. Corday. But these characters do not reach, over multiple seasons, the level of depth those on "Chicago Hope" consistently attain.
Take Mandy Patinkin’s Dr. Geiger, a manic, hard-edged and incredibly egotistical powerhouse. One of "Hope’s" finest moments featured his heartbreakingly tender musical tribute to his mentally ill wife. David Kelley’s ability to take this amazingly layered character and make him someone you love, hate, admire and fear – all at once – is a delicate balancing act.
Dr. Greene from "ER" is a perfect opposing example. The show began fleshing out Greene’s average character following a brutal attack in the 1997 episode "Random Acts." After the attack, Greene spent almost an entire season working through his anger issues. He alienated himself from coworkers, dated a mismatched receptionist and generally acted like an asshole. It was a great development – a real psychological character study – but then "ER" dropped it like a dirty bedpan. Greene's storyline was abandoned somewhere between "seething with resentment" and "happy-go-lucky," leaving viewers to wonder what, precisely, we’re supposed to think of him.
There are a few ways "ER" could fix this particular problem. For one, "spotlight" episodes (where a single character is featured) should actually illuminate the subject at hand. Dr. Benton’s recent trip to backwoods Mississippi was a pleasant-enough detour from the urban ER. But what did it really tell us about Benton? More likely, it was just a bone thrown to actor Eriq La Salle, who told Entertainment Weekly in February that he’d been "asking for five years" for such a script.
Conversely, "Chicago Hope" aired an amazing episode that followed Dr. McNeil’s painful visit with his father. From this spotlight, we learned why McNeil was emotionally inaccessible; why he resisted his relationship with Dr. Catera; and why he’s generally an unhappy guy. It was gut-wrenching, emotionally raw and, overall, character development flowed without a hitch.
Secondly, "ER" shouldn’t be afraid of building characters we don’t really like. Dr. Benton started out a bastard; now he’s got a "softer side." Kerry Weaver used to be thoroughly disagreeable; now she’s just mildly abrasive. It’s OK! Give us some edge! The cliché "love to hate" wasn’t adopted for nothing, after all. On "Chicago Hope," we hate practically everyone.
4. Put the ‘Diverse’ Back in Diversity
"ER’s" hospital staff would benefit from shaking up the racial mix. Like an affirmative action edict met to the letter, the show fills its requisite one-black-man quota with Dr. Benton. "Chicago Hope," on the other hand, is home to – gasp – an unheard of two black men in leading roles.
The great thing about these characters is that neither is just a doctor who happens to be African American; their race is often integral to the plot. Dr. Hancock is a grassroots, community activist, embrace-your-heritage type, while Dr. Wilkes is focused on affluence and fitting into white society. "Hope" brilliantly plays these two men against each other, creating a racial diversity exceedingly rare on mainstream TV.
"ER" can be credited for successfully introducing two black women into its roster: physician's assistant Jeanie Boulet and Carol’s clinic nurse, Lynette. Jeanie, in fact, is one of the show’s more compelling characters, a thirtysomething black woman with HIV. Her storyline nursing a kid with cancer (Scott Anspaugh) was one of the show’s most touching.
However, in recent episodes, both Lynette and Jeanie have largely been ignored. Like Eriq La Salle, Gloria Reuben (who plays Jeanie) has been outspoken about her shrinking role. Reuben delicately steps around the subject in a recent Ultimate TV interview. "Oh, you can totally say that as much as you want," she replies when asked about being "woefully underused."
Lynette’s sassy, take-no-crap attitude also added a new beat to "ER" this year. As a Nurse Hathaway protégé of sorts, Lynette proved something of an enigma, at first exceedingly capable but then almost daringly rebellious. The opportunity to play foil to Carol’s low-fi persona was ripe, yet "ER" let it pass. Lynette registered no more than a few fleeting seconds of air time in the last few episodes.
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5. Don’t Rely on the Same Tired Formula
"Chicago Hope" has an unusual knack for seamlessly integrating humor and drama. "ER," however, has a tough time of it. Instead, it has fallen into an increasingly obvious pattern of segmented storylines contrived to cover three major bases. Each episode features one funny plot, one serious plot and one continuing storyline. For example, in this year’s "Sticks and Stones," Dr. Carter is involved in a tragic
ambulance accident (serious plot, check!); a professional wrestler is treated in the ER (funny plot, check!); and Carol discloses that she’s pregnant with Doug’s baby (continuing story, check!).
"ER" feels exactly the same as it did five years ago. The pacing, the characters and the stories are old. Like the proverbial record stuck the same groove, this drama's in a serious rut. Meanwhile, over on CBS:
One of the appeals of "Chicago Hope" is its penchant for reinventing itself. Seasons one and two were dominated by Mandy Patinkin’s Dr. Geiger; Christine Lahti took center stage thereafter, building her amazingly complex Dr. Austin; and the most recent season was equal doses Drs. Grad and Kronk, Austin and Shutt, with a little Yeats, Hancock and Wilkes thrown in for good measure.
Next fall, "Chicago Hope" once again takes on NBC’s "Must See" mammoth with a Thursday-at-9 timeslot. It’s also almost completely overhauling itself. In a poetic parallel to the show itself, this year’s season finale found Dr. Geiger returning to fire 80% of the staff. Can you imagine that happening on "ER"? Like Geiger to the hospital, David Kelley has also returned, committing to a closer involvement with the show. Both men promise to stick their equally capable hands right into the heart of "Chicago Hope." "ER" could only be so lucky.
Do you have any other suggestions for "ER"? Do you agree that it’s stale? What about "Chicago Hope"? Tell us.
New episodes of "ER" will air next fall Thursday nights at 10 p.m. ET on NBC. "Chicago Hope" will move to its new timeslot on Thursday nights at 9 p.m. ET on CBS. Currently, repeats of "Hope" can be seen on Lifetime at 11 a.m. weekdays; "ER" reruns air weeknights on TNT at 7 p.m.