Setting the Tone: An ER Retrospective (Setting The Tone)

This week, a barely functional Carter returns to work, Mark and David take a trip down memory lane, Chen has the hots for an ICU nurse, Corday desperately tries to keep a potential organ donor alive, Abby makes a mistake which Benton tries to fix, and the ER is completely overwhelmed by patients.

This week, the hosts gush over one of the best episodes of the entire series. Mark does his best to care for a mother and her unborn child (featuring Bradley Whitford as her husband), but what appears to be a simple bladder infection takes a much more serious turn that will leave Mark reeling. 

This week: Benton makes a startling discovery while going through med student applications, Chen, Cleo, and Carter are all tested after an unvaccinated child comes in with measles, Mark gets notified about his competency test, and Luka wrestles with his past while trying to help the Bishop.

Happy holidays from all of us at STT! We hope you and your family are enjoying a safe, happy and healthy holiday season. As is tradition for this time of year, we took a look back at some of the best moments of seasons gone by and this time it’s Season 2’s turn in the Delorean! We hope you enjoy this look back at the best, brightest and weirdest moments in STT, Season 2!

This week: the ER has gotten a facelift, Abby gets an involuntary promotion, Kerry does an oopsie doodle on live TV, Luka “boffs” a patient’s mom, Carter and Abby argue about her drinking, and Gallant loses it after a patient of his dies after being brushed off by Kayson.

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This week: Chaos reigns as County is overloaded with patients after two area hospitals close. Also, a new group of med students gets mostly ignored, Corday’s first day back is overwhelming, Gallant starts his psych rotation, Pratt decides to play god, Carter is all over the place, Romano struggles during a physical therapy session, and Kerry has some issues with the chain of command.

This week: Weaver doesn’t trust Chen, Abby breaks Luka’s fish tank, Jackie has some trouble with Reese, Rachel shows up unexpectedly (and recast), Corday’s exhaustion reaches new heights, Carter and Chen care for an abandoned baby, Mark tries to clear the board, and Malucci gets fired.

This week: With the chemotherapy seemingly having no effect, Mark makes the ultimate decision to discontinue treatment. Also, Kerry works to help Mark behind the scenes, Frank makes people take career aptitude quizzes, Chen struggles to treat one of Mark’s frequent fliers, and Carter breaks in the new intern: Dr. Greg Pratt.

This week: The story of Carter and Kem begins in earnest through a series of months-long flashbacks. As the two become closer, Kem gets Carter to fund part of her AIDS drug program, the doctors in Africa debate global politics, Carter treats an entire HIV positive family, and somewhere in there Carter gets Kem pregnant.

This week: Maggie has a “job interview,” Corday goes through a very intense deposition, Benton and Cleo try to help Jesse’s girlfriend, and Mark has a seizure in front of Carter.

This week: Sam and Luka start couples therapy, the ER has a new volunteer, Ray accidentally kills a stabbing victim, Birdie and Rebecca are back after a home incident, Morris is drunk with power, Jake ponders his future, Pratt is REALLY pissed at Neela, and Carter flies to Paris after Kem’s mom becomes ill. 

Special thanks to Marge of In A Snit: A Mad Men Retrospective for joining us!

On this edition of STT Interviews, we get the chance to sit down with Troy Evans! Mr. Evans is known to ER fans for his role as everyone’s favorite grumpy desk clerk: Frank Martin. We talk about his unusual path to Hollywood, the honor of having been featured in Abby’s last scene, and much more!

This week, the twinkles finally make a second appearance, Weaver has the day off (much to the ER’s delight), Susan makes a huge decision, Harper helps Doug with a tough patient, Carol maybe doesn’t learn the right lesson, and a domestic abuser gets his comeuppance.

This week: Maggie refuses to return to Florida, Chen’s mom finds out about the baby, Corday gets served, Carter dismisses a patient’s pain, Abby gets blown up, Benton has a patient bounce back, and Mark gets some rather unfortunate news.

This week: At Carter’s urging, Neela takes on a bigger role in patient care (with mixed results), Chuck gets into a fight with a creep who won't leave Susan alone, Chen can’t catch a break, Gallant reveals his feelings for a colleague, a recovering Frank pops in to say hi to everyone, a group of tennis players beat up a flasher, and Luka takes over planning for Alex’s birthday.

This week, Mark deals with the fallout of Jodi O’Brien’s death, Michael Ironside begins his 6 episode run, Benton gets a major reality check regarding his mother, and the ER is abound with weird patients.

This week: Rumors fly after a psych patient accuses Kim of sexual harassment, Carter finds out some interesting information about Rena, Mark gets roughed up by an amateur wrestler, Corday returns to work, and the ER is locked down after an infant goes missing.

This week: The custody battle for Reese forces Benton to take drastic actions, Carter gets some upsetting news from his dad, Abby does some digging to find out more about Nicole, Kerry and Sandy go on a lunch date, and Corday helps Benton try and save a little boy shot by his own mother.

This week: Ray Liotta guest stars as a dying alcoholic. The show follows his final hours while Sam, Luka, and Pratt try to find some way to save him, make him comfortable, and help him reconnect with his estranged son.

This week: a med student with Parkinson’s disease begins his surgical rotation, Romano has a mishap with a pig, Luka’s sexual exploits cause tension between the ER doctors and nurses, Abby and Carter are the only ones to dress up for Halloween, a fire at a gay costume party floods the ER with patients, and Corday is just having a really, really rough day.  

This week: Abby gets yelled at by multiple other docs, Carter and Kem go on a weird tour of Chicago, JK Simmons runs into an entire family, Sam treats a young woman with a strange relationship dynamic, and Luka and Sam finally hook up.

This week: Wilson gets some lessons in gambling, Cuddy gets a bit of tunnel vision at the poker table, House is haunted by a past mistake, and the whole team must come together to save a little boy with a rapidly progressing deadly illness.

P.S. - Happy April Fool's Day!

On this week’s season premiere, a janitorial strike leaves the ER a chaotic mess, Carter makes his way home after finishing rehab, Peter has a job interview, Abby runs into some financial issues, Luka comforts a man after his wife dies, and a huge fight breaks out between two rival football teams as Mark and Corday race to save an injured player.

This week: Cynthia Nixon guest stars as a woman who suffered a stroke but is still fully conscious and aware of her surroundings, Sam and Luka consider more children, Morris is a huge racist POS, Neela helps a young boy with a suspicious home life, Pratt looks more like a leader, Dubenko tries to get a date with Abby, Carter and Wendell finally break up, and Susan considers her options for Chief Resident.

This week: It’s a bottle episode! After rummaging through a sex worker’s personal belongings, Abby, Carter, Gallant, Luka, and Susan all have to take a class about proper workplace conduct. Sword fights, Shakespeare performances, sex talks, and deep conversations ensue.

New characters all around! This week, we meet two S-tier characters: Deb Chen and Jeanie Boulet. Also, Kayson keeps being a prick to Lewis, a sociologist pisses off the wrong people, Carol has an all around rough day, Peter searches for his mother, and the staff (Doug especially) get a much needed lesson in caregiver fatigue.

It’s that time again! 

Join the STT hosts and special guest Jake from The Popular Court as we recap all the good and bad that was season 8. Hear our opinions on the season as a whole, what we loved and what we hated the most, as well as some thoughts from your fellow listeners. 

Want to hear the full episode, including the semi-annual “Tone-y” awards? Support us at the $5 level over at patreon.com/settingthetonepodcast to enjoy that plus over 70 additional hours of bonus audio and video content.

This week: Mark and Elizabeth head to New York for a 2nd opinion, Chen goes into labor (and scares the adoptive parents), Benton helps a little girl in a unique situation, Carter can’t get any sleep, and Kerry can’t seem to get rid of her hiccups.

This week: Alex steals a human finger, Lizzy hosts a memorial service for Romano, Neela works with a couple of Amish teenagers, Abby fails her practice boards, Gallant’s disabled sister comes to town, and Pratt is back to his kinda sleazy bachelor ways.

This week, Kerry and Susan square off, Benton vents some rage, Mark and Harper take matters into their own hands, Doug does a questionable impression of a coworker, and Shep gets extra sappy with Carol.

On this week’s season 5 premiere, 3rd-year medical student Lucy Knight has a chaotic first day at County General. Also, Carter is sporting a new look, Mark gets an unorthodox job offer (and maybe isn’t the best tour guide), Doug grudgingly accepts his punishment for the detox baby, Carol gets disrespected, and the staff celebrate Jerry’s birthday.

This week, Carter has a rather eventful day as he rides along with the paramedics, Lucy tries to navigate some tricky family dynamics while treating an elderly cancer patient, A pro wrestler attracts the attention of the ER, Kubby is awake and has some important info about her stabbing, Jeanie gets some new light shed on the source of her Hep C infection, and Carol adjusts to life without Doug.

This week, it’s raining babies! A sprinkler malfunction on the OB floor forces the ER crew to deliver 9 babies. Also, Benton performs a marathon surgery, Carter interviews for next year’s surgical internship, Harper has a pregnancy scare, Scottie Pippen makes a cameo, and co-host Daniel gets pedantic about some Bulls tickets.

This week, Susan has an interesting proposition for Mark, Carol strolls down memory lane with an old teacher, Carter and Gant lament their lack of surgical opportunities, Jeanie is confronted by Benton about her HIV status, and Mark spends his entire shift with one patient.

This week, The ER has to be evacuated after victims of a chemical plant explosion contaminate the place with benzine. Carter steps up after Weaver is incapacitated, Corday risks her life to save a man trapped at the scene, the cafeteria is quickly converted into a patient holding area, and Doug and Carol are trapped in an elevator after the fire alarm is pulled.

This week: The same events are seen from 4 perspectives: Carter, Kerry, Mark, and Benton. A brawl at a talk show taping floods the ER with patients, a young pregnant woman jumps out of a window, Kerry returns after a sudden vacation, Carter attends his grandfather’s funeral, Benton has a heart to heart with Jackie, and Mark presents the Fossen case at an M&M. 

This week, Luka and Carol take a trip to get a new (used) car, Abby breaks the rules to help a young girl with leukemia, Cleo meets Benton’s family, David makes a new friend, Carter digs for more information about his assailant, Kerry returns to the ER, and Chen struggles to help a family make the right decision for a dying woman.

This week: Kerry takes a tumble, Clemente's world begins to crumble, and Abby makes a big decision for her and Luka's future.

This week: Court proceedings in the custody battle for Reese begin, Corday tries to convince a husband to donate his brain dead wife’s organs, Kerry asks out Sandy, Carter treats a woman with an uncommon allergy, Gallant cares for two boxing brothers, and Mark drug tests Rachel.

This week, Luka helps a very much in labor Carol get to the ER, Kerry helps deliver the first twin: Tess, Malucci has a thing or two to teach Carter, Corday is forced to deal with the Greene family after Mark has to leave to help Carol, and the one, the only, Abby Lockheart makes her debut and helps Carol deliver the second twin: Kate.

This week: Luka hits rock bottom, but in reverse chronological order. Also, Frank and Jerry make their case for being the ER Santa, a young man is way sicker than he seems, Abby’s warnings fall on deaf ears, and we say goodbye to our most beloved radiologist.

On this month’s edition of STT Interviews, we’re talking with two of the longest tenured cast members, Laura Ceron and Yvette Freeman! Hear all about their 15 year odyssey as nurses Chuny Marquez and Haleh Adams as well as what being part of the ER family means to them today.

Want two week early access to all our cast and crew interviews? Consider becoming a patron at patreon.com/settingthetonepodcast

This week, Carter gets his first solo patient, Benton violates some boundaries, Mark puts on his best manager face, Kerry is getting all up in everyone’s business, Carol and Shep’s relationship goes to the next level, and Chloe continues on her never ending path of questionable life choices.

On this week’s season 4 finale, Carol has suspicions that a patient may be more depressed than he lets on, the fallout from Doug’s rogue procedure ripples through the ER, Kerry makes her case for being the permanent ER chief, Corday finds herself without a sponsor, Carter cares for a coma patient, and Anna gets Bob’d.

This week: Carter considers proposing to Abby the proper way, Chen and Luka happen upon a grisly scene at Doc Magoo’s, a series of odd coincidences leads to Pratt and Gallant being arrested, Corday’s white privilege is showing, and Susan says goodbye to Sean.

This week, there’s a snake on the loose in the ER, Benton is in a truly foul mood, Carter gets a dose of life in an urban ER, Mark gets offered a new position, Deb shows up Carter, and the staff pulls a heist from the thieving Cardiology team.

This week: The safety of the entire city of Chicago is threatened after two children are brought to the ER with what Carter suspects may be smallpox.

This week, Shep and Raul both suffer the consequences of saving children from a burning building, Susan’s adoption efforts get a bit more complicated, Doug gets stood up by his own father, and Carter struggles when treating a burn victim.

This month we are talking with Ms. Jeanie Boulet herself, Gloria Reuben! Hear all about her thoughts on Jeanie’s legacy as a character, working with Eriq LaSalle, and going on tour with Tina Turner!

This week, Shep displays some anger issues, Carter has to do a surprise pediatrics rotation, Benton’s ethics complaint against Vucelich gets returned to him, Susan has a series of weird flashbacks, and we say goodbye to Harper in the most unsatisfying way possible.

Happy 2020, folks! This week, Carter makes his first trip to the OR, Chloe is moving to Texas, Susan gets blamed for other people’s mistakes, Doug and Linda take full advantage of the show’s 9pm time slot, and Kayson scares the heck out of us.

This week: Pratt takes a turn at teaching Jane, Susan thinks she has a relief day from her chief duties, Abby and Jake’s “romance” is apparently heating up, Carter, Neela, and Ray have a brawl with a drug addict and her husband, Dubenko and Kerry disagree on patient care, and a strange woman with vague symptoms holds a secret that will change Kerry’s world. 

On the season 4 premiere, we’re joined by the Laser Time Network’s own Diana Goodman! 

This week, the staff must navigate being constantly filmed by a documentary crew, Mark is unfortunately still an absolute jerk, Dr. Elizabeth Corday makes her debut, a good Samaritan suffers a critical injury after saving a man’s life, a brawl breaks out in the middle of the ER, Morgenstern suffers a heart attack, and oh by the way, this entire episode aired live on NBC. Twice.

On this edition of STT Interviews, Lizzie and Daniel sit down with Darren Leis! Darren worked as a Med Tech with the props department from seasons 10 through 15. Ever wondered how some of the great practical effects in trauma scenes are pulled off? Here's your chance to find that out, and more!

This week, after burying his mom, Mark returns to the ER and takes on a DNR cancer patient, Dr. Malucci debuts and decides to play paramedic, Carter does a HIPAA violation, Corday is ambushed with a potentially huge promotion, Benton’s custody case takes a very soap opera turn, Luka does his best priest impression for a dying woman, and Jeanie makes a move to try and adopt baby Carlos.

This week, the hosts laugh about old technology, marvel at the physicality of chest compressions, feel all the feels with Carter, and SERIOUSLY DOUG?! Leave Carol alone, man. Read the darn room.

This week: Neela goes on a job hunt, Abby goes behind Ray’s back and drug tests a patient, Carter is very much not ok, Chuck breastfeeds his kid, a nerdy new surgeon makes his debut, Corday breaks the law to save an HIV+ patient’s life, Howard shows some troubling signs of a mental illness, and a tired Luka tries his best to be a dad. 

4 seasons down! This week the hosts offer up some general thoughts on the season as a whole, break down some interesting stats, say a final goodbye to some of the many characters who left, curse the awards makers for not letting ER have any yet again, and hear what the listeners had to say about it all. 

Want to hear the whole episode? Head on over to patreon.com/settingthetonepodcast and subscribe at the $5 level for nearly an hour of extra insanity and awards presentations!

In this week’s penultimate episode of season one, Quentin Tarantino stops by to direct. Also, Chloe gives birth to Little Suzie, we say goodbye to Mama Benton, we say hello to Chuny for the first time, Doug disappoints everyone, and Carter makes a decision regarding his future at County.

This week: Susan keeps going on about survey results, Luka tries to teach Neela a lesson in patient connection, Ray completely messes up the treatment of a transgender patient, and Abby desperately tries to save the life of a young man after she’s kidnapped by gang members.

This week, Doug dons his knight armor while fighting to create a future staff position for himself, Benton is forced to take action after Morgenstern freezes during an operation, Anna makes a bone marrow donation, Scott’s fight against cancer reaches its final stage, Carter makes a drastic financial decision, and Mark does his best to salvage a banquet for the ER staff after pretty much everything that can go wrong does.

This week, Doug and Harper face the fallout of their poor life choices, Jeanie starts working in the ER, the staff takes bets about Randi’s criminal history, Benton is still being a petulant child, and Carol takes some drastic measures to close the deal on her new house.

Content warning: suicide, including description of an on-screen attempt, and self-harm.

This week: the ER finally gets a relevant med student, Gamma’s health takes a turn for the worse, Abby has concerns about Nicole’s training, Corday uncovers a surprising commonality in her post-op death cases, things go horribly wrong after a mall security guard injures a child, Rachel gets suspended, Benton weighs whether or not to take a paternity test, and Carter and Susan share a moment.

On this month's edition of STT Interviews, we're chatting with Dave Chameides. Dave was a steadicam operator and director between 1996-1999. He shared with us what it was like being the one behind the camera for the ambitious live episode as well as how ER's visual style continued to push the envelope year after year.

Want two week early access to all our cast and crew interviews? Consider becoming a patron at patreon.com/settingthetonepodcast

This week: Pratt helps Chen technically murder her father, Ray continues to be a human dumpster fire, Abby has to work extra hard to help a man in need of dialysis, a new semi-notable med student appears, Carter and Wendell continue to be one of the most awkward couples on the show, and Neela helps a homeless family after a young boy gets hit by a car. 

This week: Sandy outs Kerry in front of the whole ER, Chen threatens legal action against the hospital, Mark considers sending Rachel back to St. Louis, Susan cares for a man on death row, Carter treats a rapper whom he suspects may have more than just a simple STI, and Abby does what she can to help her neighbor through an ankle injury.

This week: A woman on a hunger strike is brought in but refuses treatment, Morris keeps screwing up an article him and Susan are publishing, Carter reveals just how big of a donation he’s going to make, Jake and Abby continue to try and be “a thing”, and Ray and Pratt try to help a woman with breast cancer who is scared of of the treatment options. 

Special thanks to Francis of In A Snit: A Mad Men Retrospective for joining us!

This week: Sam and Luka get caught up in Steve’s attempt to escape prison, Kerry is under fire for hiring Clemente in the first place, Pratt helps Neela get the closure she needs at Gallant’s funeral, Morris is very picky with his patients on his last day at County, Abby consider’s Luka’s sudden proposal, and a shootout erupts in the ER that leaves everyone’s favorite desk clerk in critical condition.

This week, Kovac treats an abused middle schooler, Corday’s back surgery patient suffers some major complications, Benton desperately tries to save his nephew, Malucci gets punched in the face, and Abby’s mother makes a surprise, and chaotic, visit to the ER.

On this month’s edition of STT Interviews, we’re talking with Marc Jablon! Marc played medical student Larry Weston for parts of two seasons. Marc had all sorts of fun anecdotes for us including what it was like filming Abby and Luka’s wedding in a surprising location and the fear that comes along with getting thrust into an established group of actors.

Want two week early access to all our cast and crew interviews? Consider becoming a patron at patreon.com/settingthetonepodcast

This week: A certain British/Indian med student arrives for her ER rotation, Carter returns to Chicago, a major construction project leaves the ER a mess, Chen shows her jealous side, Pratt flirts too much, a major car crash happens right outside of County, and the staff is rocked by the news that one of their own has apparently been killed.

This week: Ray has to decide whether to prioritize a gig or a patient, Carter gets an early tenure position, Sam and Luka continue to be toxic, Jake introduces Abby to his entire family, Morris gets a promotion, Susan has some choice words for Kerry, Pratt visits his old neighborhood, and the ER is flooded with patients from an explosion at an apartment building.

This week, Carter’s lies catch up to him, Morgenstern embraces his Scottish heritage, Mark breaks little Rachel’s heart, Doug has some daddy issues, and Benton makes a mistake during an operation.

We're done with the Africa episodes.

Some stuff happens, Bob Newhart is nice. You get the idea.

This week, Malucci tries to get the story on Kerry’s need for a cane, Benton navigates a tricky situation with blood donations for a patient, Lucy cares for a young “creatively challenged” artist, an explosion at a school science lab completely overwhelms Gabe, Jeanie worries about Carlos, Carol tries to get Meg into rehab, and the long national nightmare that is Carter and Elaine is mercifully over.

This week, Jerry makes his case to return to the day shift, a snow storm buries Chicago (leaving the ER deserted), a blood shortage forces Carter to make a tough decision on how to treat a serial rapist, Kerry nukes the SPG takeover, Carol and Doug care for a couple and their newborn, Mark and Cynthia’s relationship is on the ropes, and Corday has a proposition for Benton.

This week: Mark goes under the knife for an awake brain surgery where things don’t quite go according to plan. In the ER, a father and son are brought in after a nasty car crash, but the father takes a turn for the worse after an underlying heart condition is revealed.

Happy Holidays from all of us at STT! We thought this would be a fun way to close out the longest year of our lives and end on a laugh. Grab some snacks, this sucker tips the scales at almost 3 hours long! But it was so much fun to relive these moments and marvel at just how far we've come (seriously, thank you for sticking with us through those early audio quality growing pains).

This week, Mark is the only attending for an overnight shift. You can probably guess how that goes for him. Also, Susan’s custody case suffers a major setback, Carter suffers the consequences of his overindulgent celebration, and Steve the radiologist is back to bore everyone.

Highlights on this week’s episode include getting to know your hosts, why they love the show, and why they’re crazy enough to embark on this 331 episode endeavor. They discuss just how many long-running show tropes are set in the pilot, why Mark and Jennifer are a terrible couple, and how much character growth all of the cast has in front of them.

This week, the hosts giggle at old technology, Carol cares for a sick Russian girl, the ER docs treat a dog, Kayson ups his creep factor, Mark is a cranky jerk, and Deb feels like she’s on cloud nine.

This week: Malucci cares for a young man who may have HIV, Luka keeps doing what he can for the ailing Bishop, Carter and Abby go to a fundraiser, Corday helps a teenager who needs his third heart transplant, and Mark makes some executive decisions regarding patient care. 

This week, Jeanie’s diagnosis is revealed to the staff, Mark tries to surprise Rachel with an ill advised gift, Doug cares for a neglected child, Doyle helps an abused woman escape her home, a trans patient is played for laughs, and Carter kicks Gant while he’s down.

Believe it or not, it's time for yet another season wrap up! Yes, Season 5 has come and gone but we're not quite done with it yet. Join us, and Popular Court co-host Jake Terrell, for a look back at the season that was, who we bid farewell to, and who got Bob'd.

Want the full length episode including the coveted Tone-y Awards? Consider becoming a patron at the $5 level or above at patreon.com/settingthetonepodcast

This week, Susan says goodbye to the ER, Al and Lydia tie the knot, Jeanie finally gets divorced, Dr. Keaton encourages Benton to approach surgery prep in a new way, Doug and Chuny do some community outreach, and Mark does loops around Chicago hoping to catch Susan’s train before it leaves.

This week: Luka is a good samaritan, Neela has second thoughts about her career path, Abby finds out if she gets to be a doctor or not, Sam leaves Chicago in a hurry, a mom and son are critically injured thanks to a high driver, Carter has issues after returning to work too soon, Kerry fights for custody of Henry, and a simple case of road rage turns into a fight for Pratt, Chen, and Elgin’s lives.

Content warning for talk of suicide.

This week, Cleo and Yosh treat a little girl who can only be described as the spawn of Satan, Carol helps a pregnant waitress get some prenatal care, Dave needs some work on his bedside manner, Mark treats a young man who attempted suicide, Corday tries to navigate some bad press, Carter continues to ignore Elaine’s boundaries, and Gabe tries to get to the bottom of what really happened with the suicidal teen. 

This week: Much to Abby’s surprise, Maggie contests her 90-day psych hold, Benton injures himself while rushing Mr. Ferris to the ER, Malucci gets maced, Kerry treats an old children’s TV star, Carla needs an operation, and the show writers decide to introduce the viewers to the concept of furries. 

This week, we talking about penises way too much, Cynthia has a crazy first day, Al is involved in a work accident, Carter adjusts to the role of ER Intern (and pretends to be poor), Corday does a little flirting, Weaver gets a temporary promotion, Mark still needs therapy, and Jerry blows up the ambulance bay.

What a long, strange season it's been. This week, we're joined by Jake from The Popular Court and we're talking about our favorite (and least favorite) events, storylines, and characters from season 1! This is the first half the the episode, made free for all you kind folks. To help us unlock the full episode, please head on over to https://www.patreon.com/settingthetonepodcast and become a Patron today! 

Who doesn’t love a good road trip? This week, Mark and Doug venture to the middle of nowhere in California to find out more about how Doug’s dad died. They also learn of a whole new life he’d built out there, and make time to say hello to Mark’s family along the way.

This week, Lucy faces reality after a procedure she orchestrated goes south, Carol returns from maternity leave, Carter and Chen butt heads over what the best way is to help a woman and her mother, a water outage complicates patient care for the entire hospital, Mark treats a man whom he suspects is a domestic violence victim, Corday concludes her time with Dean, and the romance between Benton and Cleo begins, for better or worse. #Bench

More new characters! Well, just the one, but she’s one of our favorites! This week, we welcome Jeanie Boulet to the ER cast. Also, Deb is a bit of an overachiever, Susan faces the review board, Doug befriends a random small child, Carol and Tag make use of the 9pm time slot, and Kayson gets his karmic justice.

This week, Mark returns to the ER while still very much injured, Carla goes into labor 2 months early, Benton does his best to help his new son in the NICU, Carter makes a huge decision about his career, Carol bemoans the fact that it’s her birthday, and everyone tries to help out Mark in their own unique ways.

This week: After being brushed off by the staff, a drug addict holds Chen at gunpoint to get what he wants. Carter, fearing for everyone’s safety, leads a staff work stoppage in an attempt to get Kerry to finally make the ER safer and more secure.

On this week’s season finale, Carter has to convince Anspaugh to let him leave the surgical department, Mark continues to bottle up his feelings (and buys a gun), Doug cares for Charlie once again after she overdoses, Kerry and Jeanie have some catching up to do, and Benton is confronted with the reality that little baby Reese has a long road to recovery.

This week: It’s Mark and Elizabeth’s wedding day! Kerry heads to a conference, a group of prisoners is brought to the ER, Chen treats a hypothermic child, Corday’s stress level goes through the roof, and Mark has a series of misadventures throughout the city as he tries to get to the wedding.

On this month’s edition of STT Interviews, we’re talking with series composer, Martin Davich. Martin composed the score for an astonishing 330 out of 331 episodes of the series. Hear all about the creative process that went into creating some of those iconic pieces and how the tone of the show evolved over time.

Want two week early access to all our cast and crew interviews? Consider becoming a patron at patreon.com/settingthetonepodcast