This is the original pilot film - penned by Michael Crichton, of Jurassic Park and Coma fame - to the weekly medical drama ER which soon blazed its way within just one series to become the top drama on US TV with more than 30 million homes tuning in each week. It sets a frenetic pace from the opening titles as it introduces its roll call of hard-pressed medico characters. The breathless, razor-sharp editing is a major plus and the opening 15-minute uninterrupted sequence is a small triumph of pictures and sounds as the doctors and nurses fight to cope with an unexpected influx of bloody and battered victims from a building collapse in midtown Chicago. ER certainly was born into TV world with a strong heartbeat - and it's still going strong.


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