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BACKGROUND Author Michael Crichton created the hour-long drama, ER, which centers on young medical professionals in the emergency room of a Chicago hospital. Crichton is also an executive producer, along with John Wells, Lydia Woodward and Carol Flint (all formerly of China Beach). In the series, the overworked and underpaid residents are the heroes of County General Memorial Hospital as they make life-and-death decisions daily. The residents include Dr. Mark Greene (Anthony Edwards), a senior attending physician with a promising future whose job cost him his marriage; Dr. Peter Benton (Eriq La Salle), an intense, self-assured surgeon; the well-intentioned Dr. John Carter (Noah Wyle), who has two years under his belt as an M.D.; Carol Hathaway (Julianna Margulies), a compassionate nurse who is still trying to sort out her personal life after a suicide attempt; HIV-positive physician's assistant Jeanie Boulet (Gloria Reuben); Dr. Kerry Weaver (Laura Innes), a tough and determined attending physician who often rubs her colleagues the wrong way; and Dr. Elizabeth Corday (Alex Kingston), a dedicated surgeon from Great Britain. Joining the ER team this season is Lucy Knight (Kellie Martin), a third-year medical student. Crichton based the series on his own hectic days as a medical student at Massachusetts General Hospital. "These emergency-room doctors are on the front lines of medicine," says fellow executive producer Wells. "The people in the most need are serviced by the doctors who are paid the least, given the fewest resources and are under the most pressure. Traditional medical shows are really about the patients. Our series is about physicians."