Setting the Tone: An ER Retrospective

This week: It's the show's last Halloween episode as Gates is a real jerk to Sam, Banfield remains her usual curmudgeonly self, a bird gets loose in the ER, Brenner takes issue with a mom's behavior after her son was in a fight at school and stabbed another student with a fork, Daria is acting very weird and flirty, Frank dresses up as Julius Cesar, Morris and Tracy make a great save, and Neela is thrilled when Ray makes a surprise visit to County General.

This week: Gates struggles with parenting after Sarah makes a bold choice on a dare, the interns get paired off with other doctors for the day, Morris is still down on love, Banfield does some digging to find out about a weird family situation that's resulted in multiple injuries, and Brenner does what he can to help a son reconnect with his father after his mom is in a car accident.

This week: The story of Abigail Lockheart, MD at Country General comes to a close as she fights with Banfield, saves a basketball coach who has been shot, appreciates the good work of Neela and a returning Dubenko, fights for Sam's job, reassures Morris that he is indeed a good doctor, and manages to talk a young man out of killing himself.

This week: The writers decide to throw FIVE new characters at us (including four new interns), Morris has already had enough of the new ER chief micromanaging everyone, Dubenko's departure leaves Crenshaw massively overworked, Sam contributes to a guy killing himself, and a small act of bioterrorism forces the ER to evacuate while Gates and three of the interns are stuck in the middle of it.

This week: The ambulance explosion last episode leaves Pratt and Bardelli fighting for their lives, a young girl is in trouble after being trapped in a burning car, and older woman has severe injuries after a fall, Abby somehow only has minor injuries from being near the explosion, and ER composer Martin Davich turns in one of the most impactful soundtracks in the show's history.