Laura Ceron Movies

Don Cheadle makes his first series appearance as Paul Nathan, an overaged med student who chose to enter school only after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. During his first shift, Nathan plunges in to help the other staffers treat the victims of a Halloween party fire -- whereupon his colleagues notice that he doesn't react all that well to intense pressure. In other developments, Corday (Alex Kingston) and Romano (Paul McCrane) battle over a patient who may be facing an amputation; despite her recent erratic behavior, Weaver (Laura Innes) tries to save a baby who was all but killed in a home birth gone awry; and the romance between Chuny (Laura Ceron) and Kovac (Goran Visnjic) is sabotaged by his insatiable addiction to sex. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Anxious to get his hands on some Demerol, a frustrated patient pulls a gun in the ER waiting room and threatens dire consequences if he isn't serviced immediately. After this crisis passes, an outraged Carter (Noah Wyle) threatens a staff walkout unless efforts are made to step up security at County General. Meanwhile, Abby's (Maura Tierney) brother Eric (Tom Everett Scott), an Air Force traffic controller, drops in for a visit en route to his new assignment in Omaha. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Abby (Maura Tierney) is forced to leave Chicago to retrieve her bipolar mother, Maggie (Sally Field), who has squirreled herself away in an Oklahoma motel room and has refused to seek out treatment for her mental condition. When Carter (Noah Wyle) offers to accompany Abby on her trip, he inadvertently stokes the flames of jealousy amongst the other ER staffers. Meanwhile, back in Chicago, victims of a college hazing prank gone bad are brought in, and Corday (Alex Kingston) goes into labor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Lourdes Benedicto makes her first series appearance as new pediatrics intern Rena Trujillo. The episode's pre-eminent crisis occurs at the site of a commuter-train accident, where Carter (Noah Wyle) and Kovac (Goran Visnjic) are forced to extreme measures to save the life of trapped firefighter Larkin (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). The doctors also try to rescue a woman (Stacy Haiduk) who, though impaled by a shard of medal, is more concerned about the health of her son. Likewise at the scene of the accident, Corday (Alex Kingston) begins to go into contractions; and even psychiatrist Legaspi (Elizabeth Mitchell) makes an appearance when the person who caused the crash is located. Finally, an ongoing story arc is wrapped up as the dying Bishop Stewart (John Cromwell) tries to assuage Kovac's (Goran Visnjic) guilt over "deserting" his family during the Balkan wars. Advertised as ER's 150th episode, "The Crossing" is number 151 in the current syndication package. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

No sooner has Lewis (Sherry Stringfield) returned to County General than she clashes with Weaver (Laura Innes) over the treatment of a pregnant teenager in danger of being deported. Elsewhere, Weaver nervously prepares to contact her long-lost birth mother. Elizabeth (Alex Kingston) is investigated after losing a fourth patient to infection in post-op. Benton's (Eriq La Salle) son, Reese (Matthew Watkins), disappears. And Carter's (Noah Wyle) grandmother Millicent (Frances Sternhagen), injured in a fall, is brought into the ER. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Sharif Atkins joins the series as Michael Gallant, a new medical student assigned to Carter (Noah Wyle). While making the rounds with Gallant, Carter learns to his chagrin that his grandmother (Frances Sternhagen) is now a "high-risk" patient who may die at any moment; he also helps Lewis (Sherry Stringfield) treat another med student who has been cutting herself. Elsewhere, a mall security guard is driven to desperate measures after accidentally injuring a skateboarder; Elizabeth (Alex Kingston) tries to determine the identity of the person responsible for euthanizing four of her patients in post-op; and, claiming to be Reese's (Matthew Watkins) biological father, Roger (Vondie Curtis-Hall) demands custody of the boy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Originally slated to air on September 20, 2001, the eighth-season opener of ER was bumped to September 27 due to ongoing network coverage of the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C. This inaugural episode hopscotches through time, presenting its events from several sharply differing points of view. First off, several loose ends from the end of season seven are wrapped up, notably the aftermath of Greene's (Anthony Edwards) decision to "terminate" a man who had killed several people before being shot himself, and the aftereffects of the treatment given to Cleo Finch (Michael Michele) when she cut her hand on a vial of HIV-infected blood. In new developments, the ER staff treats the victims of a TV talk show brawl; Abby (Maura Tierney) and Carter (Noah Wyle) attend his grandfather's funeral, where Carter is brought into a confrontation with his estranged parents (Michael Gross, Mary McDonnell); Benton (Eriq La Salle) helps his sister Jackie (Khandi Alexander) cope with the death of her son; returning from vacation, Weaver (Laura Innes) worries that she has been "outed" by Romano (Paul McCrane); and Chen (Ming-Na) is appointed chief resident. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

With this episode, Hallee Hirsh takes over from Yvonne Zima in the role of Rachel Greene, the rebellious daughter of Dr. Mark Greene (Anthony Edwards). Rachel pops up unexpectedly in Chicago, announcing that she's run away from her mother and that she intends to move in with Doug. Elsewhere, an outraged Weaver (Laura Innes) fires Malucci (Erik Palladino) after he is caught in the middle of an on-the-job sexual indiscretion (in the back of an ambulance!); Carter (Noah Wyle) performs a "reverse burglary" on Abby's (Maura Tierney) behalf; and Corday (Alex Kingston) nods off during surgery. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This episode marks the final regular ER appearances of Eriq La Salle and Michael Michele. After resorting to desperate measures to retain custody of his son, Reese (Matthew Watkins), Peter Benton (La Salle) realizes that he must make a choice between the boy and his overloaded ER schedule. He opts to take a less demanding job at a clinic in the Chicago suburbs, where his current love, Cleo Finch (Michele), is already working. In other developments, a boy accidentally shot by his mom on Christmas Eve is a cause of great concern amongst the ER staffers; Abby (Maura Tierney) sees Nicole (Julie Delpy) where she didn't expect to see her; the relationship between Weaver (Laura Innes) and Lopez (Lisa Vidal) enters a new phase; and Carter (Noah Wyle) receives startling but not unexpected news about his parents. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Back from maternity leave, Chen (Ming-Na) returns to the ER just as the staff is confronting a somewhat startling case of the measles. In other developments, Benton (Eriq La Salle) offers to act as mentor for African-American medical student William White (Keith Robinson) -- until he finds out the real reason that White was accepted as an applicant. Weaver (Laura Innes) begins to question her relationship with Kim Legaspi (Elizabeth Mitchell). And despite his own deteriorating state of health, Bishop Stewart (John Cromwell) insists upon taking charge of an ordination. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Patients brought into the ER include pugnacious retirement-community residents Walter (Tom Bosley) and Earl (Tom Poston), each of whom regards himself as God's gift to women. Elsewhere, Weaver (Laura Innes) and Legaspi (Elizabeth Mitchell) reconfirm their romantic relationship. Back at work, Greene (Anthony Edwards) is obviously having problems related to his brain-tumor operation. Corday (Alex Kingston) must overcome her crippling panic attacks in the operating room. Carter (Noah Wyle) admits his drug problems to his heroin-addict cousin Chase (Jonathan Scarfe). And Kovac's (Goran Visnjic) treatment of a patient working in an illegal sweatshop inadvertently leads to a case of arson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Distracted by his father's refusal to face his lung cancer, Greene (Anthony Edwards) must nevertheless hold down the fort at the ER. Not quite recovered from the vicious attack in which he was injured and Lucy Knight was killed, Carter (Noah Wyle) returns to work. Corday (Alex Kingston) encounters difficulty in her efforts to harvest the organs of a brain-dead patient. Abby (Maura Tierney) makes a fatal error. And Malucci (Erik Palladino) sits down to a most unusual breakfast. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the shattering conclusion of a two-part story, Carter (Noah Wyle) finds Lucy (Kellie Martin) lying in a pool of blood, stabbed and near death. No sooner has this sunk in than Carter is himself attacked and stabbed by Lucy's patient, delusional lawyer Paul Sobricki (David Krumholtz). Both victims are rushed to the operating room -- but only one will emerge alive. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide