Sustaining quality storylines season after season is an achievement for which every long-running television show strives. ER is one of the few that gets it right. ER -The Complete Seventh Season (which aired in 2000-2001) is six DVDs and 22 episodes of solid storytelling, told in a fast pace, which mimics the emergency room itself.

• Outpatient Outtakes - Unaired scenes from most (but not all) episodes. These are fun to watch if you are an ER junkie and just can't get enough of the show.
• Cutups - Gag Reel. Nine minutes of the usual verbal and physical bloopers with an occasional prank thrown in, obviously made to entertain cast and crew at the season's wrap party, but entertaining to us mortals nonetheless.

From the opening scene (which takes up where season six left off), we feel the pressure facing Dr. John Carter as he returns to work after suffering a near-fatal stabbing, and entering rehab for the related pain medication addiction he suffered as a result. The story then jumps forward three month's time, and the pace of Carter's life, and the show itself, are ratcheted up a notch.

After six years of top television ratings, it would be easy to understand if the show had started taking on a more formulaic tone, but that is far from what we get in the seventh season. Even though half of the original cast that began season one at Chicago's fictional County General Hospital are no longer there, this is a series which has managed to smoothly blend new and established characters in storylines that make us care about all of them.

Starting with the first scene in each episode, we become invested in both the personal and professional lives of the doctors and nurses at County General, and guest stars often add to the mix. As both patients and loved ones of the principal characters, guest stars shine in their own right, enhancing the on-going stories.

For example, James Cromwell poignantly plays a Catholic bishop who dies slowly over the course of several episodes, which allows for revelations about Dr. Luca Kovac's tragic past to be intertwined. Sally Field returns in her Emmy-winning performance as Abby Lockhart's bipolar mother, and Abby has to balance this family issue and her increasingly complicated relationships with Drs. Carter and Kovac.

Television veterans Tom Bosley and the late Tom Poston appear as battling senior citizens, and Jim Belushi, in an unusual dramatic performance, plays a concerned father who was in an auto accident with his son. Some storylines are more deeply fleshed out than others, but each is given full respect for its topic, and thus feels believable to the viewer.

This is the season that Dr. Kerry Weaver, a disabled doctor in a position of power, has to confront her homosexuality. The subject is treated with honesty and respect, and once again shows why the ensemble cast of ER has endured: each actor has a chance to shine in stories written specifically for his or her character, and we really care about these medical professionals as regular people.

As usual, the finale is full of heart-pounding action which sets us up to wait in anticipation for season eight. We can't wait to see how these characters grow, handle their personal dilemmas, and deal with very realistic situations in future episodes. Whether adding to your collection of ER seasons, or discovering the show for the first time, this is a DVD set not to be missed.

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kjones   |2007-05-24 10:49:45 I really started getting into ER during season six...season seven is my favorite season to date, and mostly because of that whole Carter/Luka/Abby triangle. I think its one of ER's best seasons. I'm glad its out of DVD now. Reply 0   0

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