1. ER was initially intended to beryllium a movie backmost successful 1974, with Steven Spielberg acceptable to nonstop a publication penned by Michael Crichton, which would beryllium "a documentary-style movie astir what happened during 24 hours successful an exigency room" based connected his acquisition arsenic a med pupil successful Boston. Alas, it ne'er ended up happening, with the task shelved for astir 20 years earlier NBC expressed involvement successful making it a TV series. 

2. While Carol would spell onto go 1 of the show's astir beloved characters, she was ne'er intended to beryllium successful immoderate episodes beyond the pilot, arsenic the archetypal publication had Margulies' quality dying. But aft trial audiences responded good to the nurse, a dubbed enactment was added successful to explicate however she survived her termination attempt. 

3. But Margulies has since revealed it was really Clooney who "saved" her vocation by convincing her to enactment connected ER and not articulation a CBS sitcom that was courting her, with The Good Wife prima explaining, "He called maine retired of the blue, kinda enactment his cervix retired connected the enactment for me, and said, 'I overheard that your quality tested well...If I were you, I wouldn't instrumentality different occupation due to the fact that I deliberation they're going to bring you backmost to life."

4. While it became the No. 1 amusement connected TV, the aesculapian play initially didn't trial well, causing origin for interest astatine NBC aft the archetypal screening. "When the lights came up, it was not a precise affirmative reaction," Kevin Reilly, who was the VP of improvement astatine NBC astatine the time, told EW. Execs were acrophobic implicit the gore and aesculapian jargon, believing it had excessively overmuch enactment and excessively galore characters for viewers to handle. Of course, they were wrong, with Wells saying their issues were "all the things that ended up becoming the hallmarks of the series." 

5. It mightiness beryllium hard to believe, but backmost successful 1995, a 33-year-old Clooney really "begged" for a portion connected the show, according to Wells. "Our 2nd time successful the office, George showed up and wouldn't permission until I'd fto him audition," Wells recalled. "George got his hands connected the worldly and was similar a canine with a bone."

6. One romance that was nixed aboriginal connected was the 1 betwixt Benton (La Salle) and Dr. Corday (Alex Kingston), aft Benton expressed interest implicit the connection their interracial narration would nonstop aft his erstwhile romances with achromatic women had each been depicted.

"As an African American man, it becomes a spot violative if the antagonistic things are each you're showing," the histrion explained. "Because successful existent life, we romance and get connected each other's nerves and laughter and bash each the things that immoderate different contention of radical do."

7. A batch of pranks connected set, with Edwards telling People the formed was "always laughing," A classical prank was putting Vaseline connected phones earlier a co-star had to bash country utilizing it, and his favourite 1 was pulled connected a impermanent actress.

"When she gave commencement and we'd been bringing up this fake baby, we brought up the alien baby," helium said. "I ne'er heard idiosyncratic shriek arsenic large arsenic she did astatine this greenish baby."

8. The lone storyline Wyle asked to beryllium squashed successful his 254-episode (the record) tenure? A enactment country betwixt Carter and Lucy, his student, with Wyle telling EW, " I had specified a immense occupation with it. The publication primitively had america having enactment successful 1 of the exam rooms, and idiosyncratic walking successful connected us. I had a large occupation with it." Explaining helium viewed the quality arsenic "his small sister," helium asked Wells to alteration the script, with the 2 kissing conscionable once, contempt fans shipping the couple. 

9. Looking back, Wyle admitted helium wasn't precisely the astir welcoming co-star erstwhile Martin joined the amusement successful play five, revealing to EW, "Here's wherever I harbor a batch of guilt. I was not bully each the clip to Kellie. We worked highly hard to beryllium the No. 1 amusement implicit those 5 seasons, and erstwhile Kellie came on, oregon whenever anybody came on, it was like, 'Earn your keep!'"

10. In play six, ER shocked America erstwhile it killed disconnected Lucy successful brutal fashion, with a schizophrenic diligent slitting her pharynx earlier going connected to stab Carter (who survived the attack). "John Wells called maine into his office, and we had a treatment astir them wanting to bash thing large with Lucy, and person her permission the show," Martin explained to EW, "I was 21 oregon 22. I retrieve taking it benignant of personally that I was being stabbed and leaving the show. I was decidedly traumatized." So were the 30 cardinal viewers who tuned in.

11. David Krumholtz played the diligent liable for sidesplitting 1 of America's sweethearts and is inactive dealing with the fallout years later, revealing to EW, "I inactive get messages connected Twitter present that radical person ne'er afloat forgiven maine for what I did."

12. After seasons of having Laura Innes locomotion with a fake hip, the writers had Dr. Weaver had to acquisition hep country successful play 11 due to the fact that their prima had developed backmost problems owed to playing the character. "My existent backmost was getting screwed up," she revealed. "I got a bony density trial and the bottommost of my spine is starting to curve connected 1 broadside from 10 years of raising my hip."

13. After fulfilling his five-year contract, Clooney, past a full-blown movie star, near the bid nether bully terms, with Wells erstwhile saying the histrion had "lost virtually millions of dollars by staying connected the show."

14. Clooney made a astonishment instrumentality the pursuing play for Margulies' last episode, which was kept truthful secretive that the web didn't adjacent cognize it was happening. "It was ne'er successful immoderate scripts. [NBC] knew thing astir it. Then I processed [the film] 2 oregon 3 days earlier it was connected the air, and we chopped [the scene] successful precise precocious astatine nighttime erstwhile cipher was around," Wells told EW, noting the web didn't spot Clooney's country until it aired connected the eastbound coast. (Much to their chagrin, fixed the imaginable advertisement income boost they mislaid retired on.) 

After it aired, Clooney said, "People were going bats--t implicit the thought that we'd pulled it off." To bash so, Warner Bros. chartered a backstage pitchy to alert Clooney and a fewer tiny unit to Seattle, with everyone progressive signing pledges. 

15. The past of the remaining archetypal formed members, Wyle near the amusement successful season 11 aft the commencement of his son, Owen, reflecting to THR, "I conscionable thought, I can't beryllium present for 80 hours a week and miss this. And I quit." He ended up returning for six episodes of the 15th and last season, explaining it was "so great. Talk astir closure. To not beryllium connected that amusement and person that amusement beryllium connected TV was horrible."

16. While it wasn't technically a crossover lawsuit arsenic they weren't playing their ER characters, Clooney and Wyle played doctors successful a play 1 occurrence of Friends, different NBC newbie that was debuting that aforesaid year. In the episode, their characters spell connected a double-date with Monica (Courteney Cox) and Rachel (Jennifer Aniston). 

17. After joining the amusement successful play six arsenic Dr. Abby Lockhart and rapidly becoming a fan-favorite and the show's eventual pistillate lead, Maura Tierney near astatine the opening of the last season, saying successful an interview, "I privation them to termination me...and they won't. They refused to termination Abby." They didn't and years aboriginal Tierney said she was blessed they didn't, arsenic she loved Abby's last arc: "I got to spell retired with a bang," she told The A.V. Club. 

18. After ratings were steadily declining for respective seasons, ER concisely saw a 2nd beingness erstwhile John Stamos joined arsenic a bid regular successful play 13 arsenic Dr. Tony Gates. The Full House prima revealed that helium really decided to articulation the amusement full-time aft randomly moving into Clooney. "I haven't told galore radical this. I was astatine lunch. I wasn't astatine luncheon with him, but we were sitting and helium said, 'You should spell and bash ER,'" helium told Extra. "He was the 1 who told maine to spell connected ER." Stamos would aboriginal telephone ER his "favorite occupation ever."

19. ER became a astonishing root of wellness accusation for viewers, with a 2002 survey (conducted by Kaiser Family Foundation) revealing a 3rd of viewers said the amusement had helped them marque wellness attraction choices and recovered it had accrued their cognition of aesculapian conditions and presumption aft watching episodes featuring those subjects. In a 2001 study, 1 successful 5 doctors said a diligent had used ER arsenic a notation constituent successful a consultation. 

20. After helium spent 8 seasons connected the show, fans were shocked erstwhile Dr. Greg Pratt died successful the opening of the last season, with Mekhi Phifer revealing radical inactive travel up to him astir his character's death. And it turns out, helium helped travel up with the idea, sitting down with the producers up of the last play to travel up with his melodramatic end. "I'd alternatively him spell retired with a bang," the 8 Mile prima told The A.V. Club. 

21. After Clooney starred successful his movie From Dusk Til Dawn, Quentin Tarantino directed an occurrence of ER successful its archetypal season. He reportedly netted $30,000 for the gig, which came conscionable 2 months aft helium won the Oscar for penning Pulp Fiction. 

22. At 1 point, ER was 1 of the astir costly shows connected TV to make, costing $13 cardinal per episode. But it was besides 1 of the highest rated shows ever, reaching its highest successful 1998 with 47.8 cardinal viewers. 

23. After ER's 15 play catalog became disposable to watercourse successful 2018, E! News learned 35,000 viewers finished each of the episodes successful conscionable implicit 2 months--that's 240 hours of TV consumed, with viewers watching an mean of 5 episodes per day. Plus, 90 percent of viewers started from the precise opening and the communal property of the spectator streaming ER successful the archetypal week it was disposable was 27.

24. So immoderate chances of a revival? Well, Clooney didn't precisely accidental nary erstwhile we asked him astir it astatine a property lawsuit successful 2019, with the charming superstar saying, "Do you deliberation that's a bully idea? I'd play a diligent now!" And the information that Grey's Anatomy precocious bushed out ER to go the longest moving aesculapian play connected TV mightiness help persuade him, arsenic Clooney joked, "That's got to stop. We gotta spell backmost and bash immoderate more!" 

25. But really, what are the odds, you mightiness wonder. Wells didn't animate overmuch assurance erstwhile helium told Deadline, "We made an atrocious batch of ERs, 331 episodes. That's a batch of hours, truthful I can't ideate that we would, but if idiosyncratic came successful with a truly absorbing thought astir however to bash it, we might."