DVD Review: ER: The Complete Eighth Season

Season eight hits the ground running. In the season premiere "Four Corners" a day in the life of the ER is seen through the different perspectives of Drs.Weaver (Laura Innes), Benton (Eriq La Salle), Carter (Noah Wyle) and Greene (Anthony Edwards). The idea of getting the different views of four significant characters one at a time draws viewer's right into season eight. "Four Corners" provides significant character development and serves notice that all four individuals are going to have some significant issues to deal with throughout the season.

As any fan of ER knows, you always have to be ready for unexpected twists and turns. In the first 12 episodes of the eighth season Carla (Lisa Nicole Carson), the father of Benton's deaf son is killed, Doctors Chen (Ming-Na) and Malucci (Erik Palladino) are fired, Cleo Finch (Michael Michelle) leaves County General for a job elsewhere and Chen eventually gets her job back.

The return of Sherry Stringfield as Dr. Susan Lewis in the season's fourth episode is a welcome site. As one of the series' original cast members, Stringfield could always be counted on to deliver a strong performance in each of her scenes. When Dr. Lewis left County General just a couple of years before, everyone knew her and looked to her for advice. The ER she has returned to has changed a lot. Many of the doctors don't know her at all; others just kids when she left, have matured into roles of responsibility at the hospital.

Mid season, Benton makes the tough decision to leave County General to care for his deaf son. When we first met the brash, cocky doctor back in 1994, it would be hard to imagine him leaving the hospital to care for someone else. It was always easy to say, Benton cares for Benton. There's no question that ER has tried to replace Benton's persona with other characters over the years. However, none of them has been able to duplicate the simmering intensity Eriq La Salle brought to each scene.

Dr. Mark Greene is a pivotal part of the storyline during ER's eighth season. Having been diagnosed with a brain tumor during the series seventh year, Mark comes into the eighth season feeling good. He and his wife Dr. Elizabeth Corday (Alex Kingston) have a baby named Ellie. Due to troubles at home with his ex-wife, Mark's teenage daughter comes to live with them.

Around Christmas, Mark finds out that his brain tumor has returned. This time it's inoperable and he has only months to live. In the time he has left, Greene resolves to mend fences with his first wife, make peace within his family and square his life away before his motor and brain functions leave him. In a gripping series of shows we watch as Greene has to give up the profession he loves and his agony as his body slowly breaks down.

Greene passes away in episode 21 of the 22 episode season. Episode 22 gives us a chance to see the new reality of the ER. Dr. John Carter who started the show as the youngest of them all, and no longer has his mentor Dr. Benton around, must step into the role of senior doctor. In his first day, Carter faces a rare disease outbreak. Fast-paced and exciting, it's clear that Carter will flourish in his new role and ER the series, has much more to bring us.

ER: The Eighth Season is presented in widescreen matted format. The picture looks remarkably clean with no spots or scratches. The audio is presented in Dolby Digital stereo. This set claims on the back of its box to have French and Spanish subtitles, but these don't appear to be available. There is a Closed Captioning track in English.

Fourteen of the twenty-two episodes have deleted scenes. There is also a gag reel done for the benefit of the cast and crew at the wrap of the season. The gag reel is thirteen-minutes long.

One note The box mislabels disc two as having the gag reel. It can be found on disc three.