Laura Ceron Movies

A tormented Kovac (Goran Visnjic) precipitates a barroom brawl and later lobbies unsuccessfully to operate on an ailing Croatian child. Demoted from surgery, Romano (Paul McCrane) becomes more irksome than ever before when he is placed in charge of the ER. A mother-to-be must choose between giving birth to her child or undergoing life-saving chemotherapy. Chen's (Ming-Na) birthday is spoiled by Pratt's (Mekhi Phifer) ill-advised gift. And the staffers get their first look at Lewis' (Sherry Stringfield) brand-new husband. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Magoo's, a local hangout frequented by the ER staffers, is the scene of a bloody holdup, in which three people are killed and one seriously injured. As Chen (Ming-Na) pieces together a sketchy description of one of the likely perps, her African-American colleagues Gallant (Sharif Atkins) and Pratt (Mekhi Phifer) are picked up on suspicion and subjected to harsh treatment by a pair of white cops who refuse to check out the doctors' alibis or credentials. The usually mild-mannered Gallant is more angered by this harassment than the cynical Pratt -- but both doctors relish the opportunity to serve up a delicious comeuppance to one of the cops. And elsewhere, Carter (Noah Wyle) really, really wants to pop the question to Abby (Maura Tierney)...but.... ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Was Abby's (Maura Tierney) bipolar brother piloting the plane that has plunged into Lake Michigan? As Abby agonizes over this possibility, other dramas play themselves out at the ER. A teenaged driver who may have deliberately run down her taunting classmates is brought in; Chen (Ming-Na) reveals a hidden chapter of her past; and the disabled Romano (Paul McCrane) reacts violently to some bad news about his future as a surgeon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Kovacs' (Goran Visnjic) car accident and disastrous misdiagnosis has left a patient with profound brain damage. While Weaver (Laura Innes) suffers from the side effects of her "secret" pregnancy, Abby (Maura Tierney) covers for her at the ER. The heightened security measures at County General ensnare Pratt (Mekhi Phifer), who is packing a gun -- thereby placing Carter (Noah Wyle) in an unenviable position. Gallant (Sharif Atkins) squares off against the mercenary young bride (Sofia Milos) of an elderly patient (Patrick Cranshaw). And Lewis (Sherry Stringfield) keeps a suicide watch on a self-admitted child molester. Edward Asner makes the first of several appearances as Dr. James McNulty, the crusty head of a storefront clinic. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Abby's (Maura Tierney) bipolar brother, Eric (Tom Everett Scott), raises a ruckus at the funeral of Millicent Carter. To save a dying Croatian boy, Kovac (Goran Visnjic) may destroy his own future -- or completely alter his purpose in life. And both Lewis (Sherry Stringfield) and Romano (Paul McCrane) are faced with two different but equally critical decisions. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

With this episode, recurring actor Sharif Atkins becomes a regular in the role of med student Michael Gallant, while former regular Eriq La Salle makes a brief encore appearance as Peter Benton. Greene (Anthony Edwards) tries to keep the return of his brain tumor -- and his subsequent treatment -- a secret from his wife, Elizabeth (Alex Kingston), with disastrous consequences. Chen (Ming-Na) deals with a comatose patient who has somehow become pregnant. Abby (Maura Tierney) avoids her attacker, Brian (Matthew Settle), by briefly moving in with Kovac (Goran Visnjic). And a fistfight breaks out between two of the staffers in the ER admitting room. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Abby (Maura Tierney) "celebrates" her birthday with one setback after another, beginning with an ominous run-in with her quarreling new neighbors, Brian (Matthew Settle) and Joyce (Christina Hendricks). Kovac (Goran Visnjic) prepares to go to Bosnia as part of the Doctors Without Borders program. Carter (Noah Wyle) continues to have issues with his estranged mother (Mary McDonnell). Chen (Ming-Na) claims to have evidence of Weaver's negligence, while Sandy (Lisa Vidal) is not happy that Weaver (Laura Innes) is reluctant to "out" herself. And Greene (Anthony Edwards) makes an unpleasant discovery in the room of his daughter Rachel (Hallee Hirsh). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season nine of ER begins ten minutes after season eight left off, with the County General ER still in lockdown in the face of a possible smallpox epidemic. Though most of the patients and staffers have been evacuated, a handful are quarantined at the ER for two weeks, among them Carter (Noah Wyle), Abby (Maura Tierney), Chen (Ming-Na), and Pratt (Mekhi Phifer), now a full-fledged series regular. In the midst of the chaos and confusion, Carter and Abby have managed to find the opportunity to lock lips, thereby inaugurating a whole new phase in their relationship. Meanwhile, on the roof of the hospital, Romano (Paul McCrane) throws another temper tantrum, with disastrous consequences when, in mid-rant, he backs into the tail rotor of a helicopter. And in faraway London, the newly widowed Elizabeth Corday (Alex Kingston) has joined her father's business -- but may now be too "Americanized" for her family's tastes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Forced by Romano (Paul McCrane) to work a few shifts in the ER, Elizabeth (Alex Kingston) has a run-in with Lewis (Sherry Stringfield) -- and learns for the first time about Greene's (Anthony Edwards) inoperable tumor. Elsewhere, two girls involved in a campus stabbing incident are brought into the ER. Chen (Ming-Na) handles a victim of severe trauma. And when Weaver (Laura Innes) tries to find out if her girlfriend, Sandy Lopez (Lisa Vidal), has been injured in a fire, she is in for a big surprise. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Told in reverse chronology, this episode details the 24 hours leading to the disastrous misdiagnosis that may spell the end of Kovac's (Goran Visnjic) medical career. The whole story stems from a Christmas party at the home of Dr. Susan Lewis (Sherry Stringfield), where an apparently inebriated Kovac makes a play for med student Erin Harkins (Leslie Bibb). Things come to a head in a car accident which leaves one passenger seriously injured and another with apparently irreversible brain damage. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The first big blizzard of the year results in an overload of patients at the ER, including members of a family who were building a snowman when they were struck down by a drunk driver. Carter (Noah Wyle) would sooner leave Chicago behind and join Abby (Maura Tierney), who has flown to an Omaha military base to find out the fate of her AWOL brother, Eric (Tom Everett Scott). As for Abby, she finds herself locked in another confrontation with her bipolar mother, Maggie (Sally Field), which gets worse when Maggie reveals a horrible secret about Abby's brother. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The nurses' petition against Kovac (Goran Visnjic) leads to heightened tensions and a personnel shortage at the ER. Abby (Maura Tierney) has her doubts when her brother Eric (Tom Everett Scott) claims to be on leave from the Air Force. Pratt (Mekhi Phifer) offers comfort to Chen (Ming-Na), who hasn't quite gotten over being held at gunpoint by a disgruntled patient. And Corday (Alex Kingston) and Nathan (Don Cheadle) argue over a seriously ill patient (Nora Zimmett) who refuses to be resuscitated by "heroic measures." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Tensions of a mostly racial nature erupt between two African-American staffers at the ER, the mild-mannered Michael Gallant (Sharif Atkins) and the outspoken Gregory Pratt (Mekhi Phifer). Pratt foments the hostility when he interferes in Gallant's treatment of a suicidal soldier. But when a hypochondriac (Diane Delano) is refused treatment by Dr. Kayson (Sam Anderson) for what seems to be a genuine ailment, Pratt holds his tongue -- with fatal consequences for the patient. Now it is Gallant's turn to unleash his anger at Pratt, a confrontation with long-ranging ramifications. Elsewhere, a distracted Weaver (Laura Innes) makes a disastrous error while demonstrating flu shots on a TV news program, and Carter (Noah Wyle) again confronts Abby (Maura Tierney) about her alcohol problems. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide