The pilot for the popular TV series is set during 24 frantic hours in the lives of a group of doctors, nurses, and staff members of a busy emergency room at a Chicago hospital. They deal with the seemingly endless casualties that stumble into their place of employment. The central characters are the chief resident and family man Dr. Mark Greene, who is considering a job in private practice due to pressure from his demanding law student wife Jennifer; outgoing Dr. Doug Ross, who deals with cases in his own personal way; straight-arrow Dr. Susan Lewis, trying to get by another long 36-hour shift; inexperienced third-year med student John Carter; cocky surgical resident Dr. Peter Benton; and troubled chief nurse Carol Hathaway.

The ER is on guard as Gates gathers the new interns to treat a terrorist, but it's the new doctor and her tough disposition that has everyone on the defensive.

When a thirteen-year-old gymnast is brought into the hospital after having supposedly fallen off a wall, Dr. Banfield and Dr. Gates must sort out whether abuse is involved.

Patients include an 18-year-old who was stabbed with a fork at his school, and a man shot by a cop at a Halloween party. Meanwhile Sam is annoyed by Gates and Daria.

Both Morris and Neela have authority issues with Dr. Banfield and Gates upsets Sam.

A woman who broke her leg while trying to escape a house fire is brought in with her husband. The husband, Mr. Lotery did not let the paramedics to check him over. Then his brother-in-law arrives, saying that he predicted that something like the house fire would happen - it was actually an arson. Mr. Lotery's brother-in-law becomes aggressive and accuses him of being a pervert, specifically a pedophile. Mr. Lotery denies the accusations. He was sued but found not guilty. When Mr. Lotery is waiting for his wife who's in line for X-ray, he has the chance to calm down a young girl who is afraid of needles. When his brother-in-law sees this, he brutally assaults him, while Dr. Brenner calmly watches nearby... Meanwhile, Neela gets sued for malpractice.

The Last One Before Christmas Break. The one in which Frank and Drs. Sanchez and Wade accidentally get brownies with cannabis in it. The one with the Christmas party. Archie's cousin brings Archie's deceased father's storage container to the ER bay. An injured pregnant Latino woman is brought in. There is something wrong with her baby?. Plus, the Immigration Office wants to deport her.

The police wheel in a casualty of a drug deal-turned-shoot-out. They also bring in an injured woman who was the shooter, plus a pair of wounded brothers who were shot by the man who was shot dead. A 13-year old girl with sickle cell disease is brought in because of abdominal pains; Neela takes her case while Tracy learns from her. Banfield's pregnancy test is negative, which leads to a discussion with her husband and a visit to a specialist.

A girl who was hit by a car while riding a bicycle is treated in the ER. When her boyfriend turns up, it seems it may not have been an accident. While a lottery has made millionaires of several nearby convenience store workers, Dr. Banfield and her husband are at the fertilization clinic hoping for their one in a million chance. And as an older woman is brought in assisted by her on-again, off-again husband, three love stories continue in the ER: Dr. Morris meets policewoman Diaz again, Sam discovers that Tony has been seeing Daria, and Neela plays it cool with the returning Dr. Brenner.

A girl drops off a sick baby at the ER and then leaves; Carter may get a kidney transplant; Gates and Daria care for an elderly woman with multiple sclerosis; Neela and Sam are in Seattle to transport a heart for Joanie Moore, while Doug and Carol are concerned that the donor's grandmother might not consent.