Official Synopsis:
How do you separate your personal life from your professional life? Not easily. And if you're on the emergency-room staff of Chicago's County General Hospital, it may be impossible. Challenges at work and at home overlap in the series that remains the right prescription for powerful entertainment. Carter's playful office love affair becomes a 24/7 crisis. Kovac's partying affects his performance. And be careful what you wish for, staffers: Weaver is indeed promoted to a position outside the ER...but Romano replaces her. No wonder Kovac and Carter decide it's time for a change. They opt for assignment in Africa. What awaits them makes County General look like a stroll along the lakeshore.

  
Our Take:
Dee-nee-duh-nuh, dee-nee-duh-nuh, dee-nee-duh-nuh, dee-nee-duh-nuh…

Well, that didn’t work at all. I was trying to evoke that eerie-yet-familiar theme music that starts off every episode of ER; the one that lets you know that you’re in for a really intense hour of television. It obviously doesn’t translate well into print, though. Well, take a second and hear that song in your head. Got it? Good. Is your heart racing yet?

I’ve never been an ER junkie. I don’t watch the show on TV when it airs, but the DVD sets always give me a chance to go back and see what I missed. What I always find is a really intense show filled with terrific actors, heavy drama, and a little more medical gore than I care for. It’s kind of an odd sensation for me; on the one hand I really like the show, but on the other hand I never feel the need to watch it except when the new DVD sets come out. I’ve never been able to put my finger on why that is, but it seems to be working okay for me so far.

As a whole, the season is right on par with every other season I’ve watched, although I have to say that watching Dr. Romano get his arm cut off by a helicopter in the season opener was particularly awesome. I also enjoyed the ensuing storyline with him coping with the loss, and Paul McCrane is such a great actor that he really sells the entire plotline. The season focuses largely on Abby, Carter, and Luka, but it ends on a weak note with Carter and Luka in Africa, a storyline I don’t think is all that interesting.

As with all the previous ER season sets, there are a few extra features included on the ER: The Complete Ninth Season DVD.

* Gag Reel  – The usual blooper collection.

* Deleted Scene – From the majority of episodes, spread across the discs.

The ninth season of ER is just as arresting and interesting as the ones that have come before. While not overflowing with extras, the DVD set at least includes a few bonus materials, but it’s the show itself that most people come for here. ER: The Complete Ninth Season is another solid addition to the collection.

Overall Picture:
Show: B+
DVD: C+

- Mike Spring

Editor