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22 Episodes 2001 - 2002
ER returns for an eighth season of the hit show that has lost none of its freshness, and only gone from strength to strength alongside the rich and compelling characters that fascinate and move audiences. Season 8 finds the team at County General tackling more life threating cases, sharing moments of the bizarre and humorous, and in one of the show's defining moments, say goodbye to one of the best loved original characters.
Episode 1
Thu, Sep 27, 2001 60 mins
Greene hides his role in a killer's death; Carter buries a loved one and must deal with his chilly socialite parents (Mary McDonnell, Michael Gross); and Weaver returns to work fearing she's been outed. Meanwhile, Cleo begins to suffer from the side effects of her HIV treatment; Benton reaches out to his grieving sister (Khandi Alexander); and the ER teems with patients after a feud erupts at a local talk show. Joanie: Tamala Jones. Georgia: Conchetta Ferrell. Millicent: Frances Sternhagen.
Episode 2
Thu, Oct 4, 2001 60 mins
Gridlock in the ER leaves an off-duty Carter to handle Chen and Malucci's fatal error; Benton gets tragic news about Carla; Kovac ends it with Abby after she shows her true colors; and Mark begins to see the downside of being married to a fellow doctor. Meanwhile, a man from Kerry's past arrives with a lead on her birth mother. Colby: Marty Yost. Todd: Evan Jones. Kevin: Alex Buck. Sam Broder: Ray Porter. Juliette: Julie Delpy. Roger: Vondie Curtis Hall. Dale: Matthew Glave.
Episode 3
Thu, Oct 11, 2001 60 mins
Weaver takes dire action after catching Malucci with his pants down; Greene's teen daughter drops by County with some unexpected news; an abandoned baby in Chen's care seems to have healing powers; and Abby ropes Carter into helping her fix a fishy mistake she made while clearing her stuff out of Luka's place. Niki: Julie Ann Emery. Rachel: Hallee Hirsh. Eldon: Glenn Shadix. Jackie: Khandi Alexander. O'Groat: Julian Stone. Romano: Pal McCrane.
Episode 4
Thu, Oct 18, 2001 60 mins
Sherry Stringfield returns as Dr. Susan Lewis, whose simple lunch date with Greene leads to a new job at County General. Meanwhile, Abby's attempt to make peace with Kovac is impeded by the arrival of his bartending lady friend; Chen (Ming-Na) takes drastic action after Kerry strips her of the chief-residency position; and Benton works to save a man who thinks his death will improve his family's financial future. Corday: Alex Kingston. Greene: Anthony Edwards. Abby: Maura Tierney.
Episode 5
Thu, Oct 25, 2001 60 mins
On her first day back, Lewis puts her new job in jeopardy after clashing with Kerry over a pregnant teen who may be deported if her folks learn of her condition. Meanwhile, Corday comes under fire after losing a patient to an odd infection she may be spreading; Carter's grandmother arrives in need of medical care, but she's opposed to his aid; and Abby bristles at a newly emerging relationship in the ER. Millicent: Frances Sternhagen. Kerry: Laura Innes. Greene: Anthony Edwards.
Episode 6
Thu, Nov 1, 2001 60 mins
Carter and Lewis (Sherry Stringfield) race to stop a possible outbreak after two college students test positive for meningitis; a specialist shadows Corday to find the root of the infection that has killed four of her elderly patients; Abby has a hard time letting Luka go, especially once his enigmatic lady friend (Julie Delpy) scores a job at the hospital; and Benton squares off with Roger over his expanded---and irritating----role in Reese's life. Roger: Vondie Curtis Hall.
Episode 7
Thu, Nov 8, 2001 60 mins
Carter discovers the sad truth about what's ailing his grandmother (Frances Sternhagen); Roger sues Benton for custody of Reese; Nicole (Julie Delpy) gets a grim life lesson during her first day of training as a nurse's aide; and Corday gets a possible lead on why so many of her patients are dying. Abby: Maura Tierney. Lewis: Sherry Stringfield.
Episode 8
Thu, Nov 15, 2001 60 mins
As a storm soaks Chicago, Kerry and Gallant (Sharif Atkins) race to save a pregnant woman trapped in a crashed ambulance surrounded by live power lines; Carter's grandmother arrives with a mysterious injury and a morbid link to a hit-and-run victim; and Greene treats a teen taking the fall for losing his baby brother in a flooded river. Meanwhile, Benton's hopes of winning custody of Reese are dashed by a fateful DNA test; and Nicole gives Luka bad news after being busted for burglary.
Episode 9
Thu, Nov 22, 2001 60 mins
Benton and Roger (Vondie Curtis-Hall) face-off in court over custody of Reese; a firefighter (Lisa Vidal) piques Kerry's interest; Carter tends to a newlywed who may be allergic to her own husband, then lets Lewis in on his true feelings about her; Nicole (Julie Delpy) drops a new bombshell on Luka after Abby busts her for lying about the baby. Meanwhile, Corday waits for a widower to give the transplant team permission to harvest his brain-dead wife's internal organs.
Episode 10
Thu, Dec 13, 2001 60 mins
Romano forces Benton to make a decision about his future at County as the custody trial for Reese reaches its climax; Carter's dad (Michael Gross) drops a holiday bombshell; and Luka's former flame (Julie Delpy) resurfaces with yet another secret. Meanwhile, Weaver and Lopez have their first date; and the staff prays for a Christmas miracle after a young mom arrives with her critically injured son. Prager: Roma Maffia. Roger: Vondie Curtis Hall. Cleo: Michael Michelle. Lopez: Lisa Vidal.
Episode 11
Thu, Jan 10, 2002 60 mins
As a cold front hits, Carter tries to hash things out with his mom (Mary McDonnell) and has a chilling run-in with a killer from his past; Kerry's closeted lifestyle sends Lopez packing; and Abby spends her birthday falling into a dangerous old habit. Meanwhile, Lewis tries to help a prisoner avoid a certain death sentence; and Mark finds cause for alarm among Rachel's things. Sobriki: David Krumholtz. Lopez: Lisa Vidal. Millicent: Frances Sternhagen.
Episode 12
Thu, Jan 17, 2002 60 mins
Lopez takes drastic action to push Kerry out of the closet; Romano rehires a vengeful Chen (Ming-Na); Abby tries---and fails---to help her neighbor escape an abusive situation; and Mark makes a decision about Rachel's future in Chicago. Meanwhile, Carter gets roped into playing peacemaker between his mother (Mary McDonnell) and his absentee dad; and Lewis battles to keep an injured inmate safe from the men assigned to guard him.
Episode 13
Thu, Jan 31, 2002 60 mins
Mark faces the awful truth about Rachel after Ella's rushed to County for what he fears may be a drug overdose; Abby puts herself in the line of fire by taking in her battered neighbor (Christina Hendricks); and Carter's mother (Mary McDonnell) reaches out to a dying child in hopes of righting a past wrong. Meanwhile, Kerry takes the low road to punish Susan for accepting a promotion; and Chen decides it's time to lose the gloves in her dealings with a duplicitous colleague.
Episode 14
Thu, Feb 7, 2002 60 mins
Corday takes drastic action against Rachel for Ella's near-fatal drug overdose; Abby pays a steep price for helping Joyce escape Brian's abuse; Mark's health takes an ominous turn. Meanwhile, Carter's mother is forced to relive a past loss while tending to a young cancer patient; and a string of food poisonings cause Susan to flex her muscles as the newest member of management. Eleanor: Mary McDonnell. Joyce: Christina Hendricks. Brian: Matthew Settle. Jerry: Abraham Benrubi.
Episode 15
Thu, Feb 28, 2002 60 mins
Greene keeps Corday in the dark after dire news forces him to seek emergency treatment---and another woman's assistance; Chen is baffled by a coma patient in the early stages of labor; and Abby learns that her home is no longer safe from her violent neighbor. Meanwhile, the ER is flooded with families, each torn apart by the mistakes of one member. Adele: Erica Gimpel. Rachel: Hallee Hirsh. Jerry: Abraham Benrubi.
Episode 16
Thu, Mar 7, 2002 60 mins
A mishap with a dominatrix patient's bag of tricks lands Luka, Abby, Lewis, Carter and Gallant in a sexual harassment class, where tensions run high among various couplings. And by the the end of the day, one pair is forced to face the truth about their dead-in-the-water romance. Weaver: Laura Innes. Gallant: Sharif Atkins. Abby: Maura Tierney. Lewis: Sherry Stringfield.
Episode 17
Thu, Mar 28, 2002 60 mins
Romano forces Corday to work in the ER, where she begins to realize that Susan may hold the key to her estranged husband's disturbing behavior; Weaver tries to keep it together after Lopez is reported to have been lost in a school fire; a pair of college students are rushed into surgery following a knife attack on campus that hits close to home for one of the County staffers; and Abby settles into life at Luka's while she searches for a new home. Adele: Erica Gimpel. Corday: Alex Kingston.
Episode 18
Thu, Apr 4, 2002 60 mins
Training a zealous intern (Mekhi Phifer) leads Greene to a life-altering realization about the future of his own medical care---and his ability to provide it to others. Elsewhere, a junkie gets a lesson in life's hardships after she goes into premature labor; a museum worker displays signs of a legendary ailment usually attributed to the undead; and Corday is forced to give in to a terminal patient's demands to die with dignity. Jenn Greene: Christine Harnos. Rachel: Hallee Hirsh.
Episode 19
Thu, Apr 25, 2002 60 mins
A frantic phone call sends Susan racing to New York, where she enlists a pair of police officers (Jason Wiles, Molly Price) to locate her missing sister and niece. Back at County, Carter confronts Abby about her drinking but fails to sell her on a sober life; Corday gets bad news from Mark in Hawaii; and Pratt's showboating puts Gallant---and a patient---in peril. Kim: Kim Raver. Chloe: Kathleen Wilhoite. Taylor: Amy Carlson. Pratt: Mekhi Phifer.
Episode 20
Thu, May 2, 2002 60 mins
A letter from Mark prompts Carter to confront Abby about her drinking, while Kerry sees the note as a reason to check her health and try her hand at romance. Meanwhile, a car crash reveals a shocking truth about Lewis's teen patient; and Pratt gets bad news about where he'll be spending his internship. Lopez: Lisa Vidal. Lewis: Sherry Stringfield. Pratt: Mekhi Phifer. Carter: Noah Wyle.
Episode 21
Thu, May 9, 2002 60 mins
The last days of Dr. Mark Greene (Anthony Edwards) play out in Hawaii, as he struggles to rebuild ties with Rachel (Hallee Hirsh) before their time together runs out. Cleo: Michael Michele. Corday: Alex Kingston. Benton: Eriq LaSalle. Carter: Noah Wyle. Written and directed by executive producer John Wells.
Episode 22
Thu, May 16, 2002 60 mins
In the eighth-season finale, Carter orders an ER lockdown to prevent a possible plague---and panic---after two children develop symptoms eerily similar to smallpox. Meanwhile, Chen and Pratt (Mekhi Phifer) find themselves too close for comfort while quarantined together; and Lewis has her hands full keeping contact with the CDC on the outside, where Kerry must take drastic measures to save a gunshot victim. Kerry: Laura Innes. Jerry: Abraham Ben Ari. Abby: Maura Tierney.