'ER' SCHEDULES EXIT WITH CAST FROM PAST

By: Cristina Kinon
Published: April 10th 2008


George Clooney and Julianna Margulies played doctor in 'ER's' earlier days.
George Clooney fans shouldn't hold out hope for his return as Dr. Doug Ross in the final season of NBC's "ER."

"I love George, he's a friend, but I doubt he'd come back to the show," executive producer John Wells told reporters. "A couple of other things have come up in his life ... and I think it's difficult for people who have been away from a character for a very long time to put that cloak of the character back on."

Clooney's Ross was one of the most beloved characters on the show. He left the show after the fifth season, but returned for one brief, memorable moment in 2000 to mark Julianna Margulies' exit.

Clooney aside, Wells said plans to contact "pretty much everybody" from the show's past to see if they want to come back and be part of the season.

NBC officials announced last week that "ER" would be back for a 15th and final season. The show will start in the fall and continue without reruns until the midseason.

"I hope at the very least we can get everyone together to talk about the experience of being on the show," said Wells. "I suspect people will be very up for doing that."

Clooney's return was one of a handful of "ER" rumors circulating recently. Another shot down by Wells was that current "ER" doc John Stamos was offered, and turned down, his own spinoff based on his character, Dr. Tony Gates.

"It may have been a spinoff from 'Full House,' but it wasn't from 'ER,'" Wells said.

"[Co-creator] Michael Crichton and I have never really wanted to dilute the series itself," he said. "We've always resisted it. It doesn't apply now that we're heading into season 15, but I always thought that spinning something off somehow diminished the original show."

"ER" returns tonight at 10 on NBC with its first new episodes since the writers strike.

Despite new competition in recent years from shows like ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" and Fox's "House," "ER" still averaged 9.5 million viewers in its 14th season. It's also the most Emmy-nominated show in history, with 120 nods.

"I wanted to make sure we were going out very strong, instead of feeling like we stayed too long at the party," said Wells of the decision to make next season the show's last. "Plus, there have been many, many frustrations in the past of not being able to end a series properly."

Maura Tierney, who plays recovering alcoholic and resident Abby Lockhart, says she's already started to size up "ER's" set for mementos she hopes to take with her once the show ends and warns that her fans shouldn't expect to see her in a pair of scrubs anytime soon after the finale.

"I'm going to stay away from that genre for awhile," said Tierney. "I can't imagine doing something that's more fun, and challenging and interesting than this has been."

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