Paging Dr. Ross: Revisit George Clooney’s iconic role in ‘ER’
George Clooney, he who makes people swoon. Considered the quintessential movie star of the modern era, Clooney’s filmography is impressive. From directing to producing to starring, he’s done a lot of interesting things over the years. Also Ocean’s 11 exists because of him, so glasses up perhaps one of the few remakes that truly surpasses the original.
Before all of that, there was Clooney’s star-making role in a little NBC drama known as ER. The series, as many dedicated television fans know, remains one of the most successful medical dramas of all time. It lasted for fifteen seasons on the network. During the show’s early seasons, Clooney played Dr. Doug Ross.
For the ER fans out there, let’s revisit some iconic moments during Clooney’s ER tenure.
That storm drain rescue
Oh boy, “Hell and High Water” was an intense episode from start to finish. In season 2, it looked like Doug’s fellowship wasn’t going to get renewed because he was the bad boy who disrespected authority. Then something happened, as it always does. A boy named Ben gets caught in a storm drain, unable to move due to his leg being pinned. And there’s a really bad storm happening in Chicago.
Who’s to the rescue but Doctor Ross? In one of the series most iconic and dramatic moments, a helicopter flies overhead when it looks like that both Doug and Ben have run out of time and air. Only for Doug Ross to emerge from the water with the boy in his arms! It’s an iconic moment both in the show and out of it. It’s definitely an episode that’s always worth a watch.
His friendship with Mark Greene
Ross was part of two iconic relationships during the show’s run. We’ll talk about his romantic one with nurse Carol Hathaway (Julianna Margulies) in a second, but his friendship with fellow doctor, Mark Greene (Anthony Edwards) cannot be discounted. Greene and Ross were a truly excellent double act when they shared the screen together with Clooney and Edwards making the relationship feel lived in.
While the two butted heads over the series, there was definitely a lot of respect for each other with the characters. At the end of the day, they tried not to let personal issues get in the way of their friendship. It didn’t always work, of course. But there was still a nice sense of connection between the town.
Carol Hathaway and Doug Ross
There were a lot of ships to emerge from ER over the decade and a half it was on the air. But none were as iconic as that between head nurse Carol Hathaway and Doug Ross. Clooney and Margulies had some of the best chemistry of the entire series when their characters were on screen together. Fans were heavily invested in their relationship when the show was on the air.
Of course, we got to see the happy ending for the duo as well. Clooney left ER in season 5 so he could focus on his film career. But he returned for a cameo in Margulies’s send-off episode so fans could see Carol and Doug get their happy ending together. He even worked for scale and made sure no one knew he was returning so Margulies’s exit wasn’t overshadowed.
And it’s still considered one of the best romantic ending wrap-ups of all time. People want their fave ships to end up like Carol and Doug. Why can’t we get more of this in our lives?! Why?! And then they returned for the final season. It was just an episode, but it was good to see them doing well and being happy together. Ah the feels are just too much, you know?
