ER – The Complete Eighth Season (Warner DVD)
Picture:
B- Sound: B- Extras: C Episodes: B-
As the Seasons of ER progress the series becomes more and more forgettable and it is
easy forget the hay days of ER; the
days when George Clooney ruled the earth.
The 2001-2002 Season of ER is
not the best or the worst season of the series, but this reviewer did not find
it all too interesting. In Season 8 a good deal of characters
departed and Season 8 even saw the
return of some long absent characters; so whereas the writers attempted to make
this season of ER eventful, it just
was forced and forgetful.
ER is really the medical drama that
spawned the multitude of modern medical dramas that are on the air today. Sure
there has been a plethora of medical dramas since the beginning of television,
but none like ER. ER
got down to the dirt, grime, and blood of the medical world, showing what life
within a trauma ER is really like.
Whereas many of the situations found on ER are laughable at times, being unrealistic and outlandish, this
reviewer (knowing a fair bit about the medical world) has to take his hat off
to the realistic and emotional situations created for the purposes of this long
running drama. The characters are real,
the acting is good, and stories coupled with the sets are flat out
amazing. Though this reviewer calls ER forgettable in Season 8, we as an audience can never the ground work ER set up and the contributions this
series has made to the modern medical drama.
The
technical features on this long running medical drama are basic, but
adequate. The picture is presented in a
solid and crisp 1.66 X 1 Widescreen, but still harbors some of the light/dark
and color issues that previous seasons demonstrated. ER
is one of the earlier television series to appear on DVD and though the image
and sound have drastically improved over the last 8 DVD releases there are
still degrees of grittiness and inconsistency that must be improved. The sound is once again presented in a simple
Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo that is nothing spectacular, but gets the job
done. The extras are not extensive and
only give fans a taste of what the series holds. Extras include only some Cut Scenes and a
simple Gag Reel that are not very exciting; overall forgettable.
ER seemed more powerful back in its
earlier seasons and now seems to be just a wash. The series is still well written and has tons
of production money being pumped in, but as previously stated it is forgettable
and a good way to waste an hour at best.
The series still gets its fair share of Oscar winners and nominees
showing up from time to time as guest stars, but covering something in
chocolate doesn’t necessarily make it better.
ER in Season 8 begins to show
the wear the series still demonstrates too this day, NOW IN SEASON 14!! Even after years and years on the air ER still has a huge following that
shows no signs of slowing down. Whereas ER may have not aged so gracefully, it
is not in need of life support quite yet.
- Michael P Dougherty II
