ER (season 6)

The sixth season of the American fictional drama television series ER first aired on September 30, 1999, and concluded on May 18, 2000. The sixth season consists of 22 episodes.

ER
Season 6
DVD cover
Starring
Country of originUnited States
No. of episodes22
Release
Original networkNBC
Original releaseSeptember 30, 1999 (1999-09-30) –
May 18, 2000 (2000-05-18)
Season chronology

Plot

In the first major cast change in ER, the sixth season sees the addition of four new characters: Dr. Luka Kovač; nurse, later third-year medical student, Abby Lockhart; Dr. Cleo Finch; and Dr. Dave Malucci. Paul McCrane's Robert Romano is now billed as a series regular and we also see the return of Deb Chen from season one, now preferring to be called Dr. Jing-Mei Chen. Physician Assistant Jeanie Boulet leaves to care for her HIV-positive child. Lucy Knight and John Carter are attacked and stabbed by a psychotic patient. The ER staff work to save Carter and Lucy. Despite everyone's best efforts, they are unable to save Lucy who succumbs to her wounds and dies.

In addition Croatian doctor Luka Kovač joins the team and struggles to gain the respect and trust from his new colleagues in the ER. Hathaway struggles to begin parenting on her own, then decides to leave Chicago to begin a new life with Doug Ross. Greene and Corday begin their relationship and he deals with the death of his father. Abby Lockhart begins her third-year-med-student rotation. While still recovering from the violent attack that left him near death and killed Lucy, Carter develops an addiction to pain medication, forcing Greene, Chen, and Weaver along with Benton and the other doctors into an intervention to get Carter to realize that he's an addict. Carter then accepts that he's an addict and checks into a rehab in the season finale with Benton accompanying him. This season saw the exits of Julianna Margulies, Gloria Reuben and Kellie Martin as series regulars.

Cast

Main cast

Supporting cast

Notable Guest stars

Production

Original executive producers John Wells and Michael Crichton reprised their roles. Lydia Woodward also returned as an executive producer but left the crew with the close of the season. Long-time crew member and fifth season executive producer Christopher Chulack moved on to executive produce Wells' new series Third Watch but remained a consulting producer for ER. Fifth season supervising producers Jack Orman and Neal Baer were promoted to co-executive producers for the sixth season. R. Scott Gemmill joined the crew as a supervising producer and writer. Fifth season producers Penny Adams and Wendy Spence Rosato returned for the sixth season. Fifth season co-producers Richard Thorpe and Jonathan Kaplan were promoted to producers for the sixth season. They were joined by new producers Doug Palau and Patrick Harbinson. Palau left the crew mid-season and Adams and Harbinson left at the end of the season. Michael Salmunovich returned as a co-producer and Teresa Salamunovich joined the crew, initially as a production co-ordinator but was promoted to associate producer mid-season. She was joined by new associate producer Vicki Voltarel who was on staff for the second half of the season only.

Wells and Woodward continued to write episodes and Wells contributed two episodes while Woodward wrote three. Orman wrote four episodes and Baer, Harbinson, and Gemmill each wrote three. Series medical expert and fifth season story editor Joe Sachs was promoted to executive story editor for the sixth season and he wrote a further two episodes. Regular writer Linda Gase replaced him as story editor and contributed a further episode. New writer Sandy Kroopf wrote a single episode.

Producers Kaplan and Thorpe served as the seasons regular directors; Kaplan directed five episodes and Thorpe helmed three. Cast members Laura Innes and Anthony Edwards each directed a further episode. Returning directors were Lesli Linka Glatter, Félix Enríquez Alcalá, Christopher Misiano, David Nutter, and Steve De Jarnatt. New directors include Ken Kwapis, Marita Grabiak, medical consultant Fred Einesman, Kevin Hooks, and Peter Markle.

Episodes
See also: List of ER episodes
No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code		US viewers
(millions)
1141"Leave It to Weaver"Jonathan KaplanLydia WoodwardSeptember 30, 1999 (1999-09-30)22545131.53[17]

Greene and Weaver agree to go out on a limb to oppose Romano's appointment as chief of staff. However, soon Greene finds he is out there alone, while Weaver reaps immediate benefits for her treachery. Plus: Luka Kovač, an able, yet untrusted, physician from Croatia, arrives at the ER for his first day of work; Carter's interested in a romance with his cousin's ex-wife; Hathaway adjusts to being pregnant alone.

NOTE: First appearances of Dr. Luka Kovač and Dr. Cleo Finch
1152"Last Rites"Félix Enríquez AlcaláJack OrmanOctober 7, 1999 (1999-10-07)22545228.20[18]

Who's the boss? Weaver may be head of the ER, but Greene has his own ideas about how to handle situations and after his mother's death the two of them have their worst conflict on the job yet. Boulet says "yes" to Reggie, and Corday accepts Romano's surprise job offer. A brash new resident arrives and manages to annoy just about everyone. Carla confronts Benton about not allowing her to leave the country with their son. Carter and Elaine's relationship continues.

NOTE: First appearance of Dr. Dave Malucci
1163"Greene with Envy"Peter MarklePatrick HarbinsonOctober 14, 1999 (1999-10-14)22545330.45[19]
The newly appointed attending physician (guest Alan Alda) is savvy, personable and, in Greene's jealous opinion, unsuitable for County. Jeanie and Reggie marry, but not under the circumstances they expected. Romano makes Corday show a rude reporter around the ER, where she witnesses a shootout. Carter tries to be supportive as Elaine undergoes her mastectomy. Corday and Romano are staggered by the front-page hatchet job the rude reporter publishes---she's offended by the reporter's misinterpretation but Romano is offended because it didn't trumpet him. Greene and Corday spend their first night together.
1174"Sins of the Fathers"Ken KwapisDoug PalauOctober 21, 1999 (1999-10-21)22545429.56[20]
Greene deals with the fallout from his dad's car accident. Lawrence suspects a teen's suicide attempt is the fallout from father-son strife, but he is wrong. Finch misdiagnoses a little girl's behavior before an iron overdose has the staff battling to save the little girl although they are unsuccessful. Hathaway tries to help a pregnant woman get a job at the hospital, and Dr. Dave Malucci is a jerk again. Carter makes plans to meet with Elaine.
1185"Truth & Consequences"Steve De JarnattR. Scott GemmillNovember 4, 1999 (1999-11-04)22545528.61[21]
A high school science experiment/prank gone-wrong lands students and teachers in the ER - and the stress of multiple emergencies pushes Lawrence over the edge. Greene defends a patient from a violent parent and ends up being castigated for it. Lucy helps counsel one of the injured students. Hathaway learns the pregnant woman she wanted to help is using drugs. Elaine tells Carter that she intends to go to Europe for a couple of months asking him not to contact her.
1196"The Peace of Wild Things"Richard ThorpeJohn WellsNovember 11, 1999 (1999-11-11)22545628.51[22]

Boulet resigns to be a full-time mother. An elderly woman bids farewell to her dying husband, and Lawrence admits he is in the early stages of Alzheimer's, and that his distinguished career is over. Hathaway takes action regarding the pregnant drug-addict case. An explosion rocks the ER, and Benton tells Carla why he is fighting to stay in his son's life.

NOTE: Final regular appearance of Physician Assistant Jeanie Boulet.
1207"Humpty Dumpty"Jonathan KaplanNeal BaerNovember 18, 1999 (1999-11-18)22545728.77[23]

Lawrence departs (but not before saving a life), and Kovač comes aboard full time after earning Weaver's respect. Corday discovers her new trauma patient is a rapist and takes extreme measures to find his latest victim. Hathaway and the formerly pregnant drug-using woman have a confrontation. Carter angles for more responsibility inside the ER. Greene's father was due to fly into Chicago but shows up hours after his scheduled arrival time. And the Bright Star Gospel Choir is rushed to the ER.

NOTE: Final appearance of Attending Physician Gabriel Lawrence.
1218"Great Expectations"Christopher MisianoJack OrmanNovember 25, 1999 (1999-11-25)22545830.80[24]

It is Thanksgiving, and Hathaway has two more reasons to give thanks after overcoming complications and delivering twins Tess and Kate. Greene's family celebration comes with its own complications. Malucci stuns the staff by actually having a valid idea to treat a patient that works.

NOTE: First appearance of Nurse Abby Lockhart
1229"How the Finch Stole Christmas"Fred EinesmanLinda GaseDecember 16, 1999 (1999-12-16)22545929.10[25]
Lucy risks Romano's wrath (and her career) to arrange a heart operation for a patient. Corday is conflicted when the rapist from earlier is arrested on other charges and then develops a potentially fatal clot issue, leaving her to consider whether to convince him to have life-saving surgery or just let him die. Carter gives gifts to inner city kids in exchange for their guns. Finch uses her authority to put a teen binge drinker into rehab. Benton and Carla's custody battle comes to an abrupt end that works out in his favor. Weaver befriends a group of Santas and works on County's Y2K preparation.
12310"Family Matters"Anthony EdwardsPatrick HarbinsonJanuary 6, 2000 (2000-01-06)22546028.69[26]

Deb Chen returns to the ER as Jing-Mei Chen and immediately shows off her great photographic memory to Carter's annoyance. Kovač's strong sense of family involves him in the fate of brothers facing separation. Greene invites his lonely dad to reside with him in Chicago. Malucci fixes Weaver's car and learns a young patient has a fatal disease. Goofball students arrive in the ER to do a scavenger hunt. Benton does not agree with Cleo's approach to an overstressed young high school athlete. Corday takes an extreme measure to help the police and a family whose missing daughter was killed by the rapist.

NOTE: Dr. Jing-Mei "Deb" Chen returns to the show after having been a recurring guest star in Season 1.
12411"The Domino Heart"Lesli Linka GlatterJoe SachsJanuary 13, 2000 (2000-01-13)22546128.42[27]
A precious donor heart becomes available when a patient who recently received it dies, devastating Lucy. Malucci gathers evidence to shut down a backroom clinic. Carter and Chen disagree on when to follow rules and when to break them. Greene learns a man is being abused by his boyfriend. A water shortage leaves the ER doctors finding creative ways to treat patients. Corday lets the rapist know he has no hold over her anymore.
12512"Abby Road"Richard ThorpeR. Scott GemmillFebruary 3, 2000 (2000-02-03)22546227.88[28]
Abby Lockhart, the part-time OB nurse who cared for Hathaway during "Great Expectations", reports to the ER for her third-year med-student rotation. Hathaway has a hunch that a young patient's health problems come from his mother. Carter and Cleo try to help a sick boy and the unpopular student he fought with. Weaver leaves the ER due to the flu, while Malucci works in spite of it and Benton angles Romano's illness into some help for a young girl who was mauled by a dog.
12613"Be Still My Heart"Laura InnesLydia WoodwardFebruary 10, 2000 (2000-02-10)22546331.33[29]
It's a usual Valentine's Day in the ER with the couples making holiday plans, while an unusual case involves Corday assisting Romano operating on his own dog. Benton, Corday, Kovac and Hathaway work on a family of four, and are unable to save the parents leaving the children orphaned. Greene wrestles with Chen and Malucci as they bicker over a patient in their care. Carter helps Lockhart with an elderly patient, while ignoring the warnings of Knight who becomes suspicious of her patient, Paul Sobriki (David Krumholtz) and his deteriorating mental state, the end result bringing disastrous consequences for the both of them as he attacks both of them.
12714"All in the Family"Jonathan KaplanJack OrmanFebruary 17, 2000 (2000-02-17)22546439.38[30]

The ER's Valentine's Day activities ends abruptly when Dr. Weaver discovers Carter and Lucy lying unconscious on the floor of Curtain Area 3, suffering from multiple stab wounds each, with Lucy worse off. The staff work valiantly to save their colleagues. Benton and Anspaugh repair the damage to Carter while in another operating room, Corday and Romano fail to save Lucy. Later, the psychotic patient who attacked them arrives back in the ER after an accident and things take a dramatic turn for the staff, which becomes even more so when the patient's wife arrives looking for her husband.

NOTE: Final appearance of medical student Lucy Knight
12815"Be Patient"Ken KwapisSandy KroopfFebruary 24, 2000 (2000-02-24)22546531.31[31]
A child is injured in a hit and run in front of Kovač (the driver later turns up in the ER), and a teen has cervical cancer after becoming infected with HPV. Lucy's mother comes to retrieve her property---and surprises a still-struggling Carter with her late daughter's gratitude and praises for his guidance with her. The encounter succumbing the recovering Carter into a depression. Even a happy event, a romance between Corday's mother Isabelle and David Greene, turns sad when Greene learns his dad is terminally ill.
12916"Under Control"Christopher MisianoNeal Baer & Joe SachsMarch 23, 2000 (2000-03-23)22546627.19[32]
"We can handle this." This, it turns out, involves a Gila monster, toxic breast milk, a deadly error and much more as Greene oversees a particularly hectic shift. Carter, despite his pain, returns to work. Chen is attracted to a very handsome male nurse.
13017"Viable Options"Marita GrabiakPatrick HarbinsonApril 6, 2000 (2000-04-06)22546727.50[33]
Kovač and Corday must select a recipient while a donor kidney is still viable, and Kovac's moralistic/judgmental side doesn't impress Corday or settle the argument in his favor. Weaver defies Romano on treating a poorly-insured patient and is suspended. Benton's careless penmanship results in a patient taking the wrong drug, and he blames Finch when the patient ends up in the ER having suffered a heart attack. Chen wants to tell the daughter of a patient about her father's diagnosis of Huntington's disease but Greene puts the brakes on that. Greene has his own conflict with both his father and Corday over David's desire to check into a hospice care center.
13118"Match Made in Heaven"Jonathan KaplanR. Scott GemmillApril 13, 2000 (2000-04-13)22546826.01[34]
A notice of Lucy's acceptance into psych residency deepens Carter's depression and guilty conscience. Greene cares for his father's deteriorating health. Hathaway has news from Ross. Abby convinces an overwhelmed mother against the wishes of her controlling and unhelpful (but devout) husband with getting an abortion. Kovac helps out a bitter divorced father who is facing a horrible diagnosis.
13219"The Fastest Year"Richard ThorpeLydia WoodwardApril 27, 2000 (2000-04-27)22546927.38[35]
Memories. After his father reminisces about his Navy days, Greene takes him on a final boat ride on Lake Michigan. Meanwhile, Carter is haunted by terrifying thoughts of the attack that almost killed him, and has a cordial but inconclusive talk with Paul Sobriki's wife. Kovač helps Hathaway buy a used car, before describing what happened to his family in Vukovar. Abby goes too far when trying to arrange for a bone marrow transplant. Weaver back from suspension charms the young son of a hospital nurse.
13320"Loose Ends"Kevin HooksNeal BaerMay 4, 2000 (2000-05-04)22547026.25[36]
Malucci treats a little girl who was molested by her father. David surprises Corday by giving her a necklace that once belonged to his late wife, with David's illness frustrating Corday as she treats a young woman who's actively trying to kill herself. Hathaway's birthday is anything but happy. Benton and Kovač clash over follow-up care. Carter seems reinvigorated but also ignores the orders of his supervisors. Greene makes amends with David shortly before he passes away.
13421"Such Sweet Sorrow"John WellsJohn WellsMay 11, 2000 (2000-05-11)22547132.67[37]

Do open arms still await her in Seattle? Touched by a family tragedy at the ER---a dying DNR cancer patient whom she hopes to keep alive just long enough for her young children to say their goodbyes---Hathaway realizes she must see Ross. Chen notices Carter's increasing unreliability and mood swings. Hathaway admits to Kovač that Ross is the love of her life but she urges Kovač not to stop looking for love. Abby is supervised by Malucci on a case that leads Corday to tell him that no one at County thinks he is any good at his job. Greene urges Carter to therapy. Corday returns the necklace to Greene, who then gives it to his daughter Rachel while showing her her late grandfather's favorite Chicago lakeside spot. Hathaway flies to Seattle and reunites joyously with Ross.

NOTE 1: Final regular appearance of Nurse Manager Carol Hathaway

NOTE 2: George Clooney makes an uncredited cameo as Dr. Doug Ross. The actor agreed to film the short scene on the condition that there be no publicity surrounding the event in respect to Julianna's final regular appearance.
13522"May Day"Jonathan KaplanJack OrmanMay 18, 2000 (2000-05-18)22547234.59[38]
Kovač and Benton rush to the scene of a school shooting, leading to a confrontation over who is the most critical patient: the shooter or one of his victims. Kovac chooses the victim and Benton's furious at him as the shooter bled to death on route to the hospital. Benton and Corday later perform an incredible surgical feat to save the shooting victim. Carter is discovered by Abby injecting narcotics into his wrist while cleaning up after a trauma. His addiction now public, becomes a concern not only to the staff, but also their patients. Greene and Weaver along with Benton, Chen and Anspaugh stage an intervention in an effort to convince Carter to enter rehab, which he balks at until a violent outburst leaves him crying in Benton's arms. Kovač is left enraged and nearly crosses a red line when he can't prove a young pregnant woman stabbed herself to get rid of an unwanted pregnancy.

References
  1. Episode 16.
  2. Episode 21. Also, Season 1, Episode 1 (Pilot).
  3. Episodes 2, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20.
  4. Episodes 1-5.
  5. Episodes 7 and 9.
  6. Episodes 13 and 14. Also, Season 8.
  7. Episodes 14 and 19. Also, Season 8.
  8. Episode 12.
  9. Episode 13.
  10. Episode 21, uncredited.
  11. Episode 22, uncredited.
  12. Episode 5.
  13. Episodes 4-7.
  14. Episode 17.
  15. Episode 10.
  16. Episode 19.
  17. "National Nielsen Viewership (Sept. 27–Oct. 3)". The Los Angeles Times. October 6, 1999. Retrieved April 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.icon of an open green padlock
  18. "National Nielsen Viewership (Oct. 4-10)". The Los Angeles Times. October 13, 1999. Retrieved April 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.icon of an open green padlock
  19. "National Nielsen Viewership (Oct. 11-17)". The Los Angeles Times. October 20, 1999. Retrieved April 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.icon of an open green padlock
  20. "National Nielsen Viewership (Oct. 18-24)". The Los Angeles Times. October 27, 1999. Retrieved April 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.icon of an open green padlock
  21. "National Nielsen Viewership (Nov. 1-7)". The Los Angeles Times. November 10, 1999. Retrieved July 21, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.icon of an open green padlock
  22. "National Nielsen Viewership (Nov. 8-14)". The Los Angeles Times. November 17, 1999. Retrieved April 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.icon of an open green padlock
  23. "Dateline: Week Of November 22, 1999 In News, Pop, Celebrity, Entertainment, Music, Tech & Fascinating Facts". Mr. Pop Culture. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
  24. Pucci, Douglas (December 18, 2008). "Top 20 Television Programs November 22-28, 1999". Mediaweek. Archived from the original on January 17, 2010. Retrieved July 15, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  25. "National Nielsen Viewership (Dec. 13-19)". The Los Angeles Times. December 22, 1999. Retrieved April 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.icon of an open green padlock
  26. "Dateline: Week Of January 8, 2000 In News, Pop Culture, Tech, Celebrity, Entertainment & Fascinating Facts". Mr. Pop Culture. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
  27. "National Nielsen Viewership (Jan. 10-16)". The Los Angeles Times. January 19, 2000. Retrieved July 21, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.icon of an open green padlock
  28. "National Nielsen Viewership (Jan. 31-Feb. 6)". The Los Angeles Times. February 9, 2000. Retrieved April 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.icon of an open green padlock
  29. "National Nielsen Viewership (Feb. 7-13)". The Los Angeles Times. February 16, 2000. Retrieved April 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.icon of an open green padlock
  30. "National Nielsen Viewership (Feb. 14-20)". The Los Angeles Times. February 24, 2000. Retrieved April 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.icon of an open green padlock
  31. "National Nielsen Viewership (Feb. 21-27)". The Los Angeles Times. March 1, 2000. Retrieved April 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.icon of an open green padlock
  32. "Dateline: Week Of March 22, 2000 In News, Pop, Celebrity, Entertainment, Music, Tech & Fascinating Facts". Mr. Pop Culture. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
  33. "National Nielsen Viewership (April 3–9)". The Los Angeles Times. April 12, 2000. Retrieved April 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.icon of an open green padlock
  34. "National Nielsen Viewership (April 10–16)". The Los Angeles Times. April 19, 2000. Retrieved April 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.icon of an open green padlock
  35. "National Nielsen Viewership (April 24–30)". The Los Angeles Times. May 3, 2000. Retrieved April 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.icon of an open green padlock
  36. "National Nielsen Viewership (May 1–7)". The Los Angeles Times. May 10, 2000. Retrieved June 16, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.icon of an open green padlock
  37. "National Nielsen Viewership (May 8–14)". The Los Angeles Times. May 17, 2000. Retrieved April 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.icon of an open green padlock
  38. "National Nielsen Viewership (May 15–21)". The Los Angeles Times. May 24, 2000. Retrieved April 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.icon of an open green padlock
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