Follow the lives of the emergency room staff and doctors of Chicago’s County Hospital, a level one trauma centre where the difference between life and death rests on split-second decisions. Determined to save lives in a place where nothing is taken for granted; everything is uncertain for the team except that another person will be rushed through the emergency room doors in the next moment...

The fourteenth season of ER contains plenty of suspense and drama for the doctors and staff of Chicago’s County Hospital. One of the main characters slips back into old habits, which threatens not only their job but also the lives of their patients; there are a number of relationship breakups, as well as new ones starting up; there's a hostage situation; and a very tense cliff-hanger at the end of the season.

Highlights include:

Gravity: Abby is badly missing Luka, who still doesn't know when he'll be coming home. Joe, Abby's son, is injured in a minor fall, but when Luka fails to return any of Abby's phone calls she starts to get worried. This is the last straw for Abby, who turns once more to drink. The humour in this episode is injected by Morris, as he tries to help a young boy from being scared of the Boogeyman, and the grateful daughter of a patient who offers free beauty makeovers for every one in the ER.

Under the Influence: Neela gets a new intern, who is a bit geeky, and there's an office sweepstake to see who can find out how old he is. We meet the new hospital chaplin (played by Reiko Aylesworth), and Morris is trying to avoid pretty women as his friendship ring is attracting them like flies.

Blackout: The temperature in Chicago is reaching record heights - putting a drain on the city's power supply as everyone whacks up their air conditioning. While Pratt passes his exams, Morris fails but doesn't let on as everyone wants to go out and celebrate. Abby's drinking leads her to do something she will deeply regret. Hope, who is working abroad, and Morris decide to split up - which results in Morris buying a new car in order to attract women - it's a convertible Smart car. Comedic moments include Morris being admitted to the hospital after an embarrassing mishap, and the inclusion of happy clappy singers to entertain the patients.

Atonement: When a young boy and a retired man are admitted to ER the boy's mother is outraged that the pensioner is there too - as he's been stalking her for some time. It ends up that the old man is an ex-prison doctor who has been travelling the country seeking forgiveness from the families of men on death row he was employed to kill with lethal injection. Meanwhile Neela gets roped into the hospital ice hockey match between ortho and surgery. But she doesn't realise that one of the opposition team members, who she knows very well, is keeping the fact he is playing a secret from her in order to get information out of her on her tactics.

Under Pressure: When a young couple are admitted after being involved in a car accident, the male seems a little agitated. It soon becomes clear that the two are criminals who have just committed a robbery and murder at a nearby jewellery store. When the young woman dies on the operating table, her partner produces a gun and forces the team to bring her back to life. As the rest of the ER discover, via the news, that the criminals are on the loose, the building is evacuated and the SWAT team is called in.

The Chicago Way: When a drunken patient (played by Steve Buscemi) is admitted to the hospital, he keeps telling the doctors that people are out to kill him. It takes an attempt on his life for his concerns to be taken seriously. The drunk is an ex-mafia man, turned informant, who has been in hiding for years. The episode ends with another attempt on the ex-mafia man's life - one that looks to have taken the life of one of the ER staff.

Extras include deleted scenes for the majority of the episodes as well as Parley Festival Featurette (29 min, 39 sec Q&A with the cast and crew of ER).

There are only 19 episodes in this season, compared with the usual 23. Once again, this box set is spread over three discs, with three or four episodes on each side. This greatly reduces the price of the box set (when compared to other TV show releases) allowing fans to own all 19 episodes for just under £45 - which is impressive when you consider that some releases retail at £35 for half a season.

This DVD represents yet another great collection of drama from the ER room.

9

Pete Boomer