Cast members of ER have reminisced about the time Quentin Tarantino directed an episode of the show.
The cast reunited this week (April 22) for a lengthy Zoom conversation in which they shared memories of working on the long-running medical show.
ER was first shown in 1994 and portrayed the lives of medical staff at Chicago’s County General Hospital and was praised for its ground-breaking storylines. The hit show ended in 2009 after 15 seasons.
As part of the reunion, cast members remembered when the Once Upon A Time In Hollywood director filmed an episode of the show, ‘Motherhood’ which aired in May 1995. It was the 24th episode of the show’s first season.
Julianna Margulies, who played Nurse Carol Hathaway in the show, recalled the ingenious tactic he used to ensure network-runner NBC had to use his cut of the episode.
“When Quentin Tarantino came to direct us, he was such a big fan of the show, he only did one take,” Margulies revealed.
“So they didn’t have a choice to edit. We would rehearse, rehearse, rehearse. We would do one take and he would go, ‘Great, let’s move on!’ And I asked him why he was doing that and he said, ‘It’ll be my cut no matter what.’”
The special reunion was organised for Earth Day to help raise awareness for Waterkeeper Alliance, an organisation that helps to ensure communities around the world have access to fresh water.
Gloria Reuben, who starred in ER as Jeanie Boulet and who is also President of the Waterkeeper Alliance charity, said of the reunion beforehand: “I am absolutely thrilled to be reuniting with my ER family for a cause that is so close to my heart.
“I’ve been involved with Waterkeeper Alliance for 15 years, representing over 350 community-based Waterkeepers around the globe, and the work that they do is beyond comparison. We must continue to fight for clean water not just on Earth Day, but all year round,” Reuben added.
Speaking about the potential for a revival of the show during the reunion event, George Clooney, who played Doug Ross in the show, said: “When you look at the show, it’d be hard to say that we could do it [again] at the level that we did it.”
“Because boy, I’ve actually been watching it a bit because my wife’s been watching it, which is very odd, and I have to say, it’s such great television.”
Margulies agreed with Clooney, adding: “You can’t capture lightning in a bottle twice. I think you have to leave what was so beautiful and move on, because it just feels cheap… It would cheapen it for me.”
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