And now, without further adieu, it's my pleasure to welcome our host for the evening, Mike Mannarino. Welcome to TalkCity!

ERlive: Excellent! Thanks ER_Moderator! This is NBCmike... in the guise of ERLive typing to you live from Stage 4 at the Warner Bros. studio... home of "ER," "Murphy Brown," and a cuh-gillion other great shows ... many of them that have aired on NBC in the past and present years. :) NBC Digital Productions and Warner Bros. Online are excited to bring you the online event of the season... okay.... NBC and Warner Bros. and Constant C productions had a little to do with it.... seeing as they're bringing you the show! (check local NBC station for time) Hopefully, you've had a chance to click onto the http://www.erlive.com site and sample the inside peak at the making of this mammoth television undertaking! Tonight, we'll be talking to the people behind "ER Live"... some cast members and possibly some of the crew.... if they haven't dropped dead from exhaustion! We'll try and answer any of your questions (we being NBC Digital Production and Warner Bros. Online)...for the next 20 minutes... and then we'll begin talking with the people behind "ER!" We're positioned in one of Warner Bros. studios, along with "Access Hollywood" (yes! we saw Giselle Fernandez and Pat O'Brien) CNN.... and a load of other electronic crews. TV Lingo: It's a press junket! So.... we're sure you have lots'o questions to ask... bear with us and we'll try and answer as we can!

 

Questions: Anna says: Does the entire cast get along well?

ERlive: Believe it or not.... YES! The cast has to work incredibly long hours... under tremendous pressure to deliver the quality that "ER" (and NBC and Warner Bros.) demands. John Wells and his staff try and squeeze everything into every episode... and on MOST shows... there are major problems.... the cast of "ER" seems to have escaped those. :) .... a happy is cast is a happy nielsen family. :)))

 

Questions: Bored says: Will George Clooney stay for the entire season? 

 

To my knowlege: George Clooney has told the press that he plans to be around for this season... and I believe next. He's a veteran of many television programs.... remember him in "Facts of Life?" and knows how powerful it is to be a part of "ER" on NBC.

 

Questions: LegalNC says: How do you come up with the medical problems?

ERlive: The "ER" producers have a variety of medical experts who are there to make sure "ER" is presented as accurately as possible... While there may be similarity to current events.... the events from "County General" are ficticious...and are comprised of a variety of experiences... from the writers and medical consultants... INSIDE NOTE: many of the nurse extras (perhaps all?) are actually emergency room nurses... their to help our favorite Thursday night actors with accuracy... of dialog and how they approach the trauma.

Questions: jo1 says: What is supposed to happen to the characters on the show?

ERlive: They all die. [kidding]Seriously.... you WON'T BELIEVE the security around the

plotlines. If I typed the plot to you... I had have to send a virus to your computer and make it go TOAST!
 

Questions: hotlips says: will Dr. Green and the phychologist get together

ERlive: Wouldn't that be great! I know I've seen Jami Gertz in a variety of TV and film projects before... "Twister!"But.... unfortunately, I don't know if they'll ultimately get together..... What do you think cyber audience? Should they or shouldn't they? Perhaps the folks at NBC.com should create a poll on their site... and you guys can vote your opinons.

Questions: Agent-Y says: Hi i think your show is great.I was windering if you can tell us what new things are we going to see this season?Thanx and good luck.

 

ERlive: Well.....There's something brewing between Doug and Carol... as evidenced at the end of last season. Dr. Green is the focus of the first episode titled "Ambush" as a documentary crew infiltrates the "ER."

Questions: taupi1 says: As Someone who finds the Character of Kerry Weaver to be one of the best characters on TV. I wanted to ask if we would see her have a story line of her own? (Last season she was sort of Joining in to the story lines of other characters) Will we get to see a bit of her private life?

ERlive: INSIDE NOTE: You should have seen the trucks with all of the equipment pull in on Sunday to help pull off this event. I'm glad you said that (about Kerry Weaver) KW is often misunderstood IMHO... evidenced by her growing relationship with Jeannie....She's definitely not a 2-D witch... as many dramas might have portrayed her. I think it's safe to bet that John Wells, Carol Flint (she wrote the Live episode) and the rest of the incredibly talented writing staff... will delve a little more into the innerworkings and private life of Ms. Weaver. What ever happened to her friend from.... Africa was it?

 

Questions: MJ says: I heard George My be leaving ER to Persue his movie career, is this true

ERlive: One of the challenges that the "ER" staff has had in front of them is how to work around shooting schedules as Geroge has filmed scenes from movies. Earlier in the chat we mentioned that he has (allegedly) said that he won't be leaving this season (or next).BTW.... "The Peacemaker" opens nationwide on Friday... PLUG PLUG PLUG

Questions: Nitte says: Is Noah Wyle going to be in any upcoming movies

ERlive: (Hey, I don't make any money out of it) He is! "The Myth of Fingerprints" an independent film.... I don't think they've set it's opening date yet.. we'll ask him if we can capture him..... can you picture us trying to tackle him while being blocked by a big CNN reporter?

 

Questions: Agent-X says: When did the idea for a live show come about? PLUG.... check out the answer to that question and more at http://www.erlive.com .... :) Seriously... George Clooney along with Anthony Edwards pitched the idea to the "ER" producers....
  not a bad idea huh?!

Questions: Cheryl says: Do you think you will do another LIVE ER again?

ERlive: I think after Thursday night.... we'll let everybody sleep for two weeks.... coma like!
But actually.... they start a new show on Friday. Can you imagine doing all this... and begin shooting in the AM!

 

Questions: JL says: HOw much of the show will be live?

ERlive: The whole kit and kaboodle! 5 hand-held steady cameras (the kind where it's got supports that attach to your waste and shoulders)... + 6 more regular cameras....
11 TOTAL! There are 3 separate sattelite pads.... one of the great pieces of info on... www.ERLIVE.com! They claim that the city of Los Angeles could go dark... DON'T GET ANY IDEAS! and they'd still be broadcasting so that everyone East and West coast will be treated to the live broadcast... For folks in the mountain time zone... they'll watch the taped feed of the East Coast show... HOWEVER....

you might want to check if you or a friend have DBS or a satellite dish... you could possibly watch it twice from the local NBC stations listed up there... (check listings)

 

Questions: Talitha says: I'd like to know if it'll be possible for the fans on the east coast to see the west coast version...?

ERlive: ... possibly with the DBS or Direct TV dish?

Questions: PG1 says: will the aids battle end this season?

ERlive: I have no confirmation on that.... It's really one of the most impressive treatments of AIDS on a primetime drama that I've ever seen.... usually dramas introduce an "expendable" character and then they leave the show or pass away. With Jeanie Boulet, artfully played by Gloria Reuben... has put a face to the disease.... hard to handle with a character we had all ready grown to love... but more like real life than other shows

Questions: LegalNC says: What medical references are used to create the trauma scenes

ERlive: The medical research is incredibly vast and indepth... there are entire positions devoted to tracking down the medical elements... who work in coordination with medical consultants and the "ER" writers to create compelling storylines.

Questions: PSone says: How many people are on the crew for the live show?

ERlive: In terms of actors... there are about 40 regular cast members.... add to that 50 extras.... as far as the technical crew.... many more have been added since the live show is essentially a video shoot....requiring a different technical arrangement. Well.... we believe we're about to get some of the people behind "ER" coming to us in just a moment.... we need to slip away for a moment.... to steal a line from "Saturday Night Live".... "Talk amongst yourselves!"

 

Is Everyone out there ready??? Well we're ready for questions as Laura Innes, Gloria Reuben and George Clooney just joined us!

barbC says: What has the rehersal process been like for the crew of ER?

Laura: We've been rehearsing like rehearsing a play...in sequence. Not like we shoot it.

 

Laura: And technically it's very different, because we have 3 camera crews and 4 stationary cameras.
 

Laura: It's all choreographed.
 

George: It's like "7 Brides for 7 Brothers" :-)
 

Laura: You were so good in that, George!
 

George: I hurt myself in the splits.
 

Turtlegirl says: Do you guys play a lot of practical jokes on each other?
 

George: Anyone named Turtlegirl can't ask that question! : -)
 

Welshman says: Will the story-line for this show pick up where last season's ended?
 

Gloria: No, we're going to skip a whole season and move on to season 5 ;-)
 

Anna says: this is for George Clooney... Do you enjoy live interviews? Also i just wanted to say that you handle your self very well in all the interviews i have ever seen you do. Anna
 

George: Anna, thank you. It's quite obvious that you are very astute.
 

clark1 says: Will NBC be selling a tape of the two versions?
 

(host: yes...there will be 1-800 # up on the website soon)
 

Pirate says: and what happens if something goes wrong?
 

Laura: We'll go "oooops!"
 

Gloria: We'll scream "stat!"
 

TonyG says: Who gets the most lines for the live episode?
 

Laura: Tony!
 

George: But I have a bigger trailer! ;-)
 

Cuke says: when are they going to bring Sherry Stringer back...are they?
 

George: "Sherry Stringer"? Love his talk show!!!
 

(last question for this group)

jesson1 says: I want to know who wrote the book that was being passed around the er last season
 

Laura: It's a secret!
 

Gloria/Laura/George: Thanks for watching! Tune in tomorrow night for ER!

 

(host: We're waiting for our next guests to arrive...)
 

(we're not sure who we'll get next...but we'll keep you informed.)
 

(as you can imagine...all the actors are under a lot of pressure right now...)
 

ER_Moderat: Thank You.. Gloria, Laura and George! We'll all be tuned in tomorrow evening!!
 

Our first 3 guests have moved onto another interview...CNN Showbiz, I think...
 

ER_Moderat: Join us here Live tomorrow night at 10pm.... for the Season Premiere of ER ... LIVE!!!
 

ER_Moderat: While we're waiting for the next round of stars to appear, keep those questions coming!!
 

We can try to answer any general questions you may have...

 

barbC says: What concerns did NBC need to have adressed before they gave the OK for 2 live broadcasts?
 

There was a financial concern right off the bat. When it was feasible...to do a 2nd broadcast for not much more $... then it was just a matter of logistics for the crew to reset the set. ...within the one hour break.
 

ER_Moderat: Attention fans!!! Noah Wyle, Alex Kingston and Eriq LaSalle have just joined us!!
 

Anna says: this is for Mark La Salle is ti true that you siad that you would not continue to play Dr. Benton if they softened his character to much?
 

Noah: Damn fine question!
 

Eriq: Basically, yes. I'm constantly trying to get some new challenges.
Anna says: this is for Noah Wyle... I read somewhere that you considered Dr. Carter to portray your own characteristics is this true and if it is you are a really great guy!
 

Noah: There are just as many differences as there are similarities. But I take that as a compliment, because he's a pretty great guy.
 

Jemz says: Aren't you afraid that you'll get squirted with blood in the wrong place at the wrong time?
 

Eriq: Don't talk about our personal lives here ;-)
 

Noah: We have scores of technicians, who make sure that such things don't happen.
 

Katy says: whose the biggest prankster on set?
 

Noah: George
 

Eriq: George
 

Alex: I haven't seen him pull any pranks yet.
 

(note: Alex pulled a prank of Eriq...they are discussing this right now)
 

Pirate says: are they going to have crib sheets?
 

Noah: no....well, yeah kind of...I have little miniscripts in my pockets. But I haven't used it yet!
 

Eriq: No.
 

Guru1 says: ....is there going to be anything we should look for....anything secret to look for...
 

Eriq: If we told you, it wouldn't be a secret! :-)
 

Eriq: But be prepared for the unexpected.
 

Jezabell says: As a nurse (neuro/neurosurgical) I find "ER" to be very true to life. How many real Physicians do you have helping with the technical aspects?
 

Noah: 4
 

Noah: Plus about 20-25 real ER nurses...who make up our background characters in the shots.
 

Jane says: How long before each episode do the actors get the script?
 

Noah: Usually 3-4 days before shooting an episode.
 

Eriq/Noah/Alex: Good bye! We have to move onto another interview, but thanks for all the questions!