ER (season 6)

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ER
Season 6
ER Season 6.jpg
DVD cover
Starring
Country of originUnited States
No. of episodes22
Release
Original networkNBC
Original releaseSeptember 30, 1999 (1999-09-30) –
May 18, 2000 (2000-05-18)
Season chronology
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Season 5
Next →
Season 7
List of episodes

The sixth season of the American fictional drama television series ER first aired on September 30, 1999 and concluded on May 18, 2000. The sixth season consists of 22 episodes.

Plot[]

In the first major cast change in ER, the sixth season sees the addition of four new characters: Dr. Luka Kovač; nurse, later third-year medical student, Abby Lockhart; Dr. Cleo Finch; and Dr. Dave Malucci. Paul McCrane's Robert Romano is now billed as a series regular and we also see the return of Deb Chen from season one, now preferring to be called Dr. Jing-Mei Chen. Physician Assistant Jeanie Boulet leaves to care for her HIV-positive child. Lucy Knight and John Carter are attacked and stabbed by a psychotic patient. The ER staff work to save Carter and Lucy. Despite everyone's best efforts, they are unable to save Lucy who succumbs to her wounds and dies.

In addition Croatian doctor Luka Kovač joins the team and struggles to gain the respect and trust from his new colleagues in the ER. Hathaway struggles to begin parenting on her own, then decides to leave Chicago to begin a new life with Doug Ross. Greene and Corday begin their relationship and he deals with the death of his father. Abby Lockhart begins her third-year-med-student rotation. While still recovering from the violent attack that left him near death and killed Lucy, Carter develops an addiction to pain medication, forcing Greene, Chen, and Weaver along with Benton and the other doctors into an intervention to get Carter to realize that he's an addict. Carter then accepts that he's an addict and checks into a rehab in the season finale with Benton accompanying him.

Cast[]

Main cast[]

Supporting cast[]

Guest stars[]

Production[]

Original executive producers John Wells and Michael Crichton reprised their roles. Lydia Woodward also returned as an executive producer but left the crew with the close of the season. Long-time crew member and fifth season executive producer Christopher Chulack moved on to executive produce Wells' new series Third Watch but remained a consulting producer for ER. Fifth season supervising producers Jack Orman and Neal Baer were promoted to co-executive producers for the sixth season. R. Scott Gemmill joined the crew as a supervising producer and writer. Fifth season producers Penny Adams and Wendy Spence Rosato returned for the sixth season. Fifth season co-producers Richard Thorpe and Jonathan Kaplan were promoted to producers for the sixth season. They were joined by new producers Doug Palau and Patrick Harbinson. Palau left the crew mid-season and Adams and Harbinson left at the end of the season. Michael Salmunovich returned as a co-producer and Teresa Salamunovich joined the crew, initially as a production co-ordinator but was promoted to associate producer mid-season. She was joined by new associate producer Vicki Voltarel who was on staff for the second half of the season only.

Wells and Woodward continued to write episodes and Wells contributed two episodes while Woodward wrote three. Orman wrote four episodes and Baer, Harbinson, and Gemmill each wrote three. Series medical expert and fifth season story editor Joe Sachs was promoted to executive story editor for the sixth season and he wrote a further two episodes. Regular writer Linda Gase replaced him as story editor and contributed a further episode. New writer Sandy Kroopf wrote a single episode.

Producers Kaplan and Thorpe served as the seasons regular directors; Kaplan directed five episodes and Thorpe helmed three. Cast members Laura Innes and Anthony Edwards each directed a further episode. Returning directors were Lesli Linka Glatter, Félix Enríquez Alcalá, Christopher Misiano, David Nutter, and Steve De Jarnatt. New directors include Ken Kwapis, Marita Grabiak, medical consultant , Kevin Hooks, and Peter Markle.

Episodes[]

See also: List of ER episodes
No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code		US viewers
(millions)
1141"Leave It to Weaver"Jonathan KaplanLydia WoodwardSeptember 30, 1999 (1999-09-30)22545131.53[17]

Greene and Weaver agree to go out on a limb to oppose Romano's appointment as chief of staff. However, soon Greene finds he is out there alone, while Weaver reaps immediate benefits for her treachery. Plus: Luka Kovač, an able, yet untrusted, physician from Croatia, arrives at the ER for his first day of work; Carter's interested in a romance with his cousin's ex-wife; Hathaway adjusts to being pregnant alone.

NOTE: First appearances of Dr. Luka Kovač and Dr. Cleo Finch
1152"Last Rites"Félix Enríquez AlcaláJack OrmanOctober 7, 1999 (1999-10-07)22545228.20[17]

Who's the boss? Weaver may be head of the ER, but Greene has his own ideas about how to handle situations and after his mother's death the two of them have their worst conflict on the job yet. Boulet says "yes" to Reggie, and Corday accepts Romano's surprise job offer. A brash new resident arrives and manages to annoy just about everyone. Carla confronts Benton about not allowing her to leave the country with their son. Carter and Elaine's relationship continues.

NOTE: First appearance of Dr. Dave Malucci
1163"Greene with Envy"Peter MarklePatrick HarbinsonOctober 14, 1999 (1999-10-14)22545330.45[17]
The newly appointed attending physician (guest Alan Alda) is savvy, personable and, in Greene's jealous opinion, unsuitable for County. Jeanie and Reggie marry, but not under the circumstances they expected. Romano makes Corday show a rude reporter around the ER, where she witnesses a shootout. Carter tries to be supportive as Elaine undergoes her mastectomy. Corday and Romano are staggered by the front-page hatchet job the rude reporter publishes---she's offended by the reporter's misinterpretation but Romano is offended because it didn't trumpet him. Greene and Corday spend their first night together.
1174"Sins of the Fathers"Ken KwapisDoug PalauOctober 21, 1999 (1999-10-21)22545429.56[18]
Greene deals with the fallout from his dad's car accident. Lawrence suspects a teen's suicide attempt is the fallout from father-son strife, but he is wrong. Finch misdiagnoses a little girl's behavior before an iron overdose has the staff battling to save the little girl although they are unsuccessful. Hathaway tries to help a pregnant woman get a job at the hospital, and Dr. Dave Malucci is a jerk again. Carter makes plans to meet with Elaine.
1185"Truth & Consequences"Steve De JarnattR. Scott GemmillNovember 4, 1999 (1999-11-04)22545528.61[19]
A high school science experiment/prank gone-wrong lands students and teachers in the ER - and the stress of multiple emergencies pushes Lawrence over the edge. Greene defends a patient from a violent parent and ends up being castigated for it. Lucy helps counsel one of the injured students. Hathaway learns the pregnant woman she wanted to help is using drugs. Elaine tells Carter that she intends to go to Europe for a couple of months asking him not to contact her.
1196"The Peace of Wild Things"Richard ThorpeJohn WellsNovember 11, 1999 (1999-11-11)22545628.51[20]

Boulet resigns to be a full-time mother. An elderly woman bids farewell to her dying husband, and Lawrence admits he is in the early stages of Alzheimer's, and that his distinguished career is over. Hathaway takes action regarding the pregnant drug-addict case. An explosion rocks the ER, and Benton tells Carla why he is fighting to stay in his son's life.

NOTE: Final regular appearance of Physician Assistant Jeanie Boulet
1207"Humpty Dumpty"Jonathan KaplanNeal BaerNovember 18, 1999 (1999-11-18)22545728.77[21]
Lawrence departs (but not before saving a life), and Kovač comes aboard full time after earning Weaver's respect. Corday discovers her new trauma patient is a rapist and takes extreme measures to find his latest victim. Hathaway and the formerly pregnant drug-using woman have a confrontation. Carter angles for more responsibility inside the ER. Greene's father was due to fly into Chicago but shows up hours after his scheduled arrival time. And the Bright Star Gospel Choir is rushed to the ER.
1218"Great Expectations"Christopher MisianoJack OrmanNovember 25, 1999 (1999-11-25)22545830.80[22]

It is Thanksgiving, and Hathaway has two more reasons to give thanks after overcoming complications and delivering twins Tess and Kate. Greene's family celebration comes with its own complications. Malucci stuns the staff by actually having a valid idea to treat a patient that works.

NOTE: First appearance of Nurse Abby Lockhart
1229"How the Finch Stole Christmas"Linda GaseDecember 16, 1999 (1999-12-16)22545929.10[17]
Lucy risks Romano's wrath (and her career) to arrange a heart operation for a patient. Corday is conflicted when the rapist from earlier is arrested on other charges and then develops a potentially fatal clot issue, leaving her to consider whether to convince him to have life-saving surgery or just let him die. Carter gives gifts to inner city kids in exchange for their guns. Finch uses her authority to put a teen binge drinker into rehab. Benton and Carla's custody battle comes to an abrupt end that works out in his favor. Weaver befriends a group of Santas and works on County's Y2K preparation.
12310"Family Matters"Anthony EdwardsPatrick HarbinsonJanuary 6, 2000 (2000-01-06)22546028.69[23]

Deb Chen returns to the ER as Jing-Mei Chen and immediately shows off her great photographic memory to Carter's annoyance. Kovač's strong sense of family involves him in the fate of brothers facing separation. Greene invites his lonely dad to reside with him in Chicago. Malucci fixes Weaver's car and learns a young patient has a fatal disease. Goofball students arrive in the ER to do a scavenger hunt. Benton does not agree with Cleo's approach to an overstressed young high school athlete. Corday takes an extreme measure to help the police and a family whose missing daughter was killed by the rapist.

NOTE: Dr. Jing-Mei "Deb" Chen returns to the show after having been a recurring guest star in Season 1.
12411"The Domino Heart"Lesli Linka GlatterJoe SachsJanuary 13, 2000 (2000-01-13)22546128.42[24]
A precious donor heart becomes available when a patient who recently received it dies, devastating Lucy. Malucci gathers evidence to shut down a backroom clinic. Carter and Chen disagree on when to follow rules and when to break them. Greene learns a man is being abused by his boyfriend. A water shortage leaves the ER doctors finding creative ways to treat patients. Corday lets the rapist know he has no hold over her anymore.
12512"Abby Road"Richard ThorpeR. Scott GemmillFebruary 3, 2000 (2000-02-03)22546227.88[25]
Abby Lockhart, the part-time OB nurse who cared for Hathaway during "Great Expectations", reports to the ER for her third-year med-student rotation. Hathaway has a hunch that a young patient's health problems come from his mother. Carter and Cleo try to help a sick boy and the unpopular student he fought with. Weaver leaves the ER due to the flu, while Malucci works in spite of it and Benton angles Romano's illness into some help for a young girl who was mauled by a dog.
12613"Be Still My Heart"Laura InnesLydia WoodwardFebruary 10, 2000 (2000-02-10)22546331.33[17]
It's a tense Valentine's Day in the ER with cases including an operation on Romano's dog and a car crash that leaves two children orphaned while a patient, Paul Sobriki (David Krumholtz) complaining of headaches arrives in the ER to be treated and his symptoms have both Lucy and Carter suspecting that the patient has schizophrenia but her warnings to Carter go ignored which later results in disastrous consequences for the entire ER. The episode then ends in a cliffhanger as both Carter and Lucy lie on the ground, bleeding heavily, Sobriki having attacked and stabbed both of them while suffering a psychotic episode.
12714"All in the Family"Jonathan KaplanJack OrmanFebruary 17, 2000 (2000-02-17)22546439.38[17]

The ER's Valentine's Day activities ends abruptly when Dr. Weaver discovers Carter and Lucy on the floor of patient Paul Sobriki's room, both doctors unconscious and bleeding heavily. The staff jump into action and find themselves battling against the clock and ever-decreasing odds to save their colleagues. Kovač tries with little success to convince Sobriki's wife, Samantha, that her husband is gravely ill. In the OR, it's chaos as Benton and Anspaugh fight to save Carter while in another operating room, Corday and Romano battle to save Lucy. Meanwhile Cleo finds herself being forced into a surgical role when it becomes obvious that Benton will not leave Carter. Later, the psychotic patient arrives back in the ER after an accident and things take a dramatic turn for the staff. Carter asks if Lucy survived but no one will give him an answer, which itself is the answer he feared.

NOTE: Final appearance of medical student Lucy Knight
12815"Be Patient"Ken KwapisSandy KroopfFebruary 24, 2000 (2000-02-24)22546531.31[17]
Carter struggles with rehab and knowledge of Lucy's death, a child is injured in a hit and run in front of Kovač (and the driver later turns up in the ER), and a teen has cervical cancer after becoming infected with HPV. Lucy's mother comes to retrieve her property---and surprises a still-struggling Carter with her late daughter's gratitude and praises for his guidance with her. Even a happy event, a romance between Corday's mother Isabelle and David Greene, turns sad when Greene learns his dad is terminally ill.
12916"Under Control"Christopher MisianoNeal Baer & Joe SachsMarch 23, 2000 (2000-03-23)22546627.19[26]
"We can handle this." This, it turns out, involves a Gila monster, toxic breast milk, a deadly error and much more as Greene oversees a particularly hectic shift. Carter, despite his pain, returns to work. Chen is attracted to a very handsome male nurse.
13017"Viable Options"Marita GrabiakPatrick HarbinsonApril 6, 2000 (2000-04-06)22546727.50[17]
Kovač and Corday must select a recipient while a donor kidney is still viable, and Kovac's moralistic/judgmental side doesn't impress Corday or settle the argument in his favor. Weaver defies Romano on treating a poorly-insured patient and is suspended. Benton's careless penmanship results in a patient taking the wrong drug, and he blames Finch when the patient ends up in the ER and later in the operating room having suffered a heart attack. Chen wants to tell the daughter of a patient about her father's diagnosis of Huntington's disease but Greene puts the brakes on that. Greene has his own conflict with both his father and Corday over David's desire to check into a hospice care center.
13118"Match Made in Heaven"Jonathan KaplanR. Scott GemmillApril 13, 2000 (2000-04-13)22546826.01[17]
A notice of Lucy's acceptance into psych residency deepens Carter's remorse. Greene cares for his dad. Hathaway has news from Ross. An overwhelmed mother tries to induce a miscarriage against the wishes of her controlling and unhelpful (but devout) husband before getting abortion help from Abby. Kovac helps out a bitter divorced father who is facing a horrible diagnosis.
13219"The Fastest Year"Richard ThorpeLydia WoodwardApril 27, 2000 (2000-04-27)22546927.38[17]
Memories. After his father reminisces about his Navy days, Greene takes him on a final boat ride on Lake Michigan. Meanwhile, Carter is haunted by terrifying thoughts of the attack that almost killed him, and has a cordial but inconclusive talk with Paul Sobriki's wife. Kovač helps Hathaway buy a used car, before describing what happened to his family in Vukovar. Abby goes too far when trying to arrange for a bone marrow transplant. Weaver charms the young son of a hospital nurse.
13320"Loose Ends"Kevin HooksNeal BaerMay 4, 2000 (2000-05-04)22547026.65[27]
Malucci treats a little girl who was molested by her father. David surprises Greene and Corday by giving Corday a necklace that once belonged to Greene's late mother, and David's illness makes Corday angry when she treats a young woman who's actively trying to kill herself. Hathaway's birthday is anything but happy. Benton and Kovač clash over follow-up care. Carter seems reinvigorated but also ignores the orders of his supervisors. Greene and his dad manage to express their love just before David passes away.
13421"Such Sweet Sorrow"John WellsJohn WellsMay 11, 2000 (2000-05-11)22547132.67[17]

Do open arms still await her in Seattle? Touched by a family tragedy at the ER---a dying DNR cancer patient whom she hopes to keep alive just long enough for her young children to say their goodbyes---Hathaway realizes she must see Ross. Chen notices Carter's increasing unreliability and mood swings. Hathaway admits to Kovač that Ross is the love her life but she urges Kovač not to stop looking for love. Abby is supervised by Malucci on a case that leads Corday to tell him that no one at County thinks he is any good at his job. Greene urges Carter to therapy. Corday returns the necklace to Greene, who then gives it to his daughter Rachel while showing her her late grandfather's favorite Chicago lakeside spot. Hathaway flies to Seattle and reunites joyously with Ross.

NOTE 1: Final regular appearance of Nurse Manager Carol Hathaway

NOTE 2: George Clooney makes an uncredited cameo as Dr. Doug Ross. Clooney made a deal with NBC and the ER producers: he would appear in a scene at the very end of the episode IF the advertising did not mention him at all, because he did not want to take any focus away from Julianna Marguiles in her final regular appearance as Carol.
13522"May Day"Jonathan KaplanJack OrmanMay 18, 2000 (2000-05-18)22547234.59[17]
Kovač and Benton rush to the scene of a school shooting, leading to a confrontation over who is the most critical patient: the shooter or one of his victims. Kovac chooses the victim, Benton's furious at him when the shooter bleeds to death on the way to the hospital in the ambulance, but Benton and Corday later perform an incredible surgical feat to save the victim. The team plans an intervention when Carter's addiction becomes a concern, not only to them, but also their patients. Kovač is left enraged and nearly crosses a red line when he can't prove a young pregnant woman stabbed herself to get rid of an unwanted pregnancy. Carter ultimately breaks down when Benton confronts him and starts to address his demons.

References[]

  1. ^ Episode 16.
  2. ^ Episode 21. Also, Season 1, Episode 1 (Pilot).
  3. ^ Episodes 2, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20.
  4. ^ Episodes 1-5.
  5. ^ Episodes 7 and 9.
  6. ^ Episodes 13 and 14. Also, Season 8.
  7. ^ Episodes 14 and 19. Also, Season 8.
  8. ^ Episode 12.
  9. ^ Episode 13.
  10. ^ Episode 21, uncredited.
  11. ^ Episode 22, uncredited.
  12. ^ Episode 5.
  13. ^ Episodes 4-7.
  14. ^ Episode 17.
  15. ^ Episode 10.
  16. ^ Episode 19.
  17. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "SpotVault - ER (NBC) - 1999-2000 Ratings". Spotted Ratings. December 4, 2013. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
  18. ^ "Daily News from New York, New York on October 27, 1999 · 92".
  19. ^ "Clipped from the Los Angeles Times". The Los Angeles Times. 10 November 1999. p. 214.
  20. ^ "Clipped from the Los Angeles Times". The Los Angeles Times. 17 November 1999. p. 224.
  21. ^ "Dateline: Week Of November 22, 1999 In News, Pop, Celebrity, Entertainment, Music, Tech & Fascinating Facts". Mr. Pop Culture. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
  22. ^ Pucci, Douglas (December 18, 2008). "Top 20 Television Programs November 22-28, 1999". Mediaweek. Archived from the original on January 17, 2010. Retrieved July 15, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  23. ^ "Dateline: Week Of January 8, 2000 In News, Pop Culture, Tech, Celebrity, Entertainment & Fascinating Facts". Mr. Pop Culture. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
  24. ^ "Clipped from the Los Angeles Times". The Los Angeles Times. 19 January 2000. p. 193.
  25. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership". The Los Angeles Times. 9 February 2000. p. 70.
  26. ^ "Dateline: Week Of March 22, 2000 In News, Pop, Celebrity, Entertainment, Music, Tech & Fascinating Facts". Mr. Pop Culture. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
  27. ^ "Dateline: Week Of May 8, 2000 In News, Pop, Celebrity, Entertainment, Music, Tech & Fascinating Facts". Mr. Pop Culture. Retrieved July 15, 2015.

External links[]

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