As the 'ER' turns . . .

For any network TV show to last 200 episodes is an amazing feat. For a show to be as successful for 200 episodes as "ER" has been is nothing short of astonishing.

But "ER" is not the same show it was when it premiered in September 1994. And not just because, with the exception of Noah Wyle and Sherry Stringfield, the entire original cast is gone. (And Stringfield took a five-year hiatus from the show.)

It's not just that Anthony Edwards, George Clooney, Julianna Margulies and Eriq LaSalle, among others, have departed. "ER" has, for the most part, left behind the formula that made it a huge hit from the get-go.

Back when the show premiered, my review noted that "This new NBC medical drama has more thrills, chills, ups and downs than the Fire Dragon at Lagoon. It will make you laugh. It will make you cry. It will make you think. And, if you're squeamish, it might make you sick."

Well, "ER" can still make you sick. As a matter of fact, the "ick" factor has steadily risen over the years to often nauseating proportions. (Did you happen to catch Dr. Romano's re-attached, burned arm last week? Yuck.)

But the focus of the show has changed dramatically. That 1994 reviewed noted, "It's the patients who drive 'ER' along. . . . This is a show about medicine, not a soap opera about the doctors."

Well, guess what? "ER" long ago became a soap opera about the doctors. (And the nurses and the other hospital staffers.)

The patients have taken a back seat to Dr. Greene's brain tumor and Dr. Ross and nurse Hathaway's relationship and Dr. Benton's deaf son and Dr. Weaver's lesbianism and Dr. Kovac's self-destructive behavior and nurse Lockhart's bi-polar mother and brother and Lockhart's relationship with Dr. Carter and Carter's family trials and on and on and on.

"ER" isn't exactly "General Hospital," but there are similarities. "ER" is a big soap opera set in a hospital. As soap operas go, it's a pretty good one. But soap opera it is.

Because it is what it is, the massive cast turnover has actually been a help, not a hindrance. Writers tend to run out of things to do with old characters; new characters bring fresh life.

Which is why "ER" remains as popular as it is. And why it will probably be on the air for several more seasons. Who knows, it might even rival TV's longest-running prime-time soaps — "Dallas," at 357 episodes, and "Knots Landing," at 344 — for longevity.

---

E-MAIL: pierce@desnews.com