Neal Baer Reveals Favorite "ER" Moment

[JamesG]

My favorite scene is one I wrote for George Clooney on "ER" — in an episode called “Whose Appy Now.” Clooney is at a crossroads; he’s always fought the odds to save a kid’s life at any cost. Now he’s treating a young man, 17, who has end-stage cystic fibrosis who wants to be allowed to die with dignity.

This goes against everything Clooney’s character, Doug Ross, believes in. All kids must be saved, or at least that’s what he’s always believed, and he’s the hero to do it.





Laura Innes’ character challenges him: Is saving this kid’s life about what he wants or what the kid wants? That’s a pivotal moment in the series for Clooney’s character and he resolves to let the young man die with dignity.

Unfortunately, while the young man is taking his last breath, his mother intervenes and forces Clooney to intubate her son — she has that right because the young man is still a minor.

Clooney is furious at the mother for forcing him to resuscitate the young man against his wishes. It’s a monumental moment of maturity for the character and I had a blast writing it.





I always love personalizing ethical issues through characters’ struggles, and "ER", "SVU", and now "Under the Dome" allow me to do that. And the topper for this episode was when the kid, now connected to a breathing tube, sees Clooney and flips him off.

I negotiated with NBC for a long time to let me have the kid make that “obscene” gesture. I wonder if we could do that now…

http://www.buzzfeed.com/jarettwiesel...uff#.mfgXNnGBY