Worst Moments in ER History

From Ray's Amputation to Romano's Helicopter Mishaps

Nov 10, 2008 Naomi Rockler-Gladen

Once touted as TV's most innovative show, ER deteriorated to a hodgepodge of melodramatic plots. Here are some of ER's worst moments.

ER, NBC's perennial hospital drama, is a classic example of why a good show can get wrecked if it stays on the air for too long. While the early days of ER were filled with memorable moments -- like Doug Ross rescuing that boy from the storm drain, and Mark Greene running after the train to proclaim his love for Susan Lewis -- the latter days were marked with excessive melodrama and some truly pathetic scenes. Here are some of the worst moments in ER history.

Abby's Brother Falls Into Carter's Grandmother's Grave

After being diagnosed with bipolar disorder, Abby's brother Eric somehow managed to show up at the funeral of Carter's grandmother and fall into her grave. This rip-off of a bad scene from The Simpsons (when Homer fell into Maud Flanders' grave) marked the end of Abby and Carter's relationship, and the end of many viewers' patience with the unravelling show.

Ray Loses His Legs

Poor Ray Barnett joined ER long after the series was past its prime, so he never had a chance. Out of nowhere, the show decided that Ray was secretly in love with Neela, and tried to duplicate the previously successful Abby-Carter-Luka love triangle with Ray, Neela, and Tony. Although Neela dumped Tony, Ray never knew because he was wandering around in a drunk and lovelorn state, and managed to get himself run over by a truck. Happily, Ray -- minus his legs -- left the show before his character could be subjected to more soap-opera-reject plots.

Archie's Sperm Bank Kids

Poor Archie Morris started on the show as kind of a joke, but after various doctors died horribly (see below), Archie somehow became one of the last ER docs standing. Archie-related plots have always been a little pathetic, but the worse involved a group of multiracial children arriving at the ER and declaring that Archie was their daddy, thanks to his past sperm bank donations.

No One Knows How to Use Birth Control

Here's one of the most unlikely problems with ER, even in its good days: just about every baby born on the show was an "oops." With a cast full of medical professionals, one would figure the surprise pregnancy rate would be low. However, the only planned pregnancy on the history of ER belonged to Kerry's partner Sandy. In contrast, the pregnancies of Carol Hathaway (with twins), Peter Benton's girlfriend Carla, Jing-Mei Chen, Elizabeth Corday, Susan Lewis, John Carter's girlfriend Kem, and Abby Lockhart were accidental.

Dr. Romano Gets Squished By a Helicopter

The best way to tell that a show is falling apart is when actors start to evacuate -- and to explain their absence, the show kills them off in random and bizarre ways. The most bizarre death was fated to Dr. Robert Romano, who was squished by a crashing helicopter outside the hospital a season after another helicopter chopped off his arm. Stranger still was the reaction of the other ER employees, most of whom could care less. Although Romano was truly the boss from hell, it seems unlikely that anyone with a heart wouldn't be upset if a coworker got squished by a helicopter.

Everyone Else Dies Horribly Too

For most people in the working world, the violent death of one coworker is pretty traumatic. By the 15th season of ER, though, this had become the norm. First it was was the violent stabbing death of Lucy Knight in season 6, followed by the endlessly long brain tumor death of Mark Greene in season 8. Then, as the show deteriorated, violent deaths skyrocketed: Romano was squished by a helicopter, Kerry's partner Sandy was squashed by a roof, Sam shot her rapist ex-husband, Carter's baby was stillborn, Michael Gallant was blown up in Iraq, and Greg Pratt was blown up in the parking lot. Plus Luka was almost killed an assortment of times in Africa, and by an accomplice of Sam's kidnapper, and by a deranged patient -- and his baby almost died too.

Rest in peace, ER characters-- and you too, ER! TV producers, take note: when a once magnificent program goes on life support and is begging for a DNR, it's time to pull the plug.

The copyright of the article Worst Moments in ER History in Prime Time TV is owned by Naomi Rockler-Gladen. Permission to republish Worst Moments in ER History in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Poor Romano Got Squished By a Helicopter