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Season guide

ER: Season 5

22 episodes Premiered Sep 24, 1998 Updated Sep 22, 2026

ER Season 5 continues the overarching saga across 22 episodes. The season presents the ongoing narrative of the medical staff working within the emergency room setting. Throughout the twenty-two episodes that comprise the fifth season, the characters navigate various professional challenges and personal developments in their fast-paced hospital environment. As the storyline progresses, the ensemble cast faces complex

Previously on ER

Season 5 Lore Primer

Key plot threads, lore context, and character stakes you need to remember before diving into this season.

  • The series follows the ongoing saga of the medical staff in an emergency room across multiple seasons.
  • The narrative focuses on the professional and personal lives of doctors, nurses, and hospital personnel.
  • Characters face high-pressure medical emergencies and complex ethical dilemmas within the hospital setting.
  • Interpersonal relationships and workplace dynamics among the ensemble cast shape the dramatic continuity of the series.

Season overview

ER Season 5 continues the overarching saga across 22 episodes. The season presents the ongoing narrative of the medical staff working within the emergency room setting. Throughout the twenty-two episodes that comprise the fifth season, the characters navigate various professional challenges and personal developments in their fast-paced hospital environment. As the storyline progresses, the ensemble cast faces complex medical cases while dealing with the daily pressures, ethical dilemmas, and emotional tolls associated with emergency medicine. The narrative maintains its focus on the intricate dynamics among the doctors, nurses, and other hospital personnel as they strive to save lives and manage their demanding careers. Each episode builds upon the established continuity of the series, offering viewers a continuation of the dramatic events and interpersonal relationships that define the medical drama. The season encompasses a full slate of twenty-two broadcast installments, further developing the lives of the primary personnel and the high-stakes environment in which they operate.

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Season 5 Episodes

Episode Guide

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Season 5 Progress Shield

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Season 5: Filler vs. Essential Canon

Filter episodes by narrative weight. Focus on essential mytharc and skip standalone side quests.

23%
77%
Mytharc (5): Crucial lore & season climaxes
Core (17): Character development & subplots
Side Quest (0): Standalone / filler
S5·E1 Mytharc

Day for Knight

Sep 24, 1998

Third-year med student Lucy Knight reports to the ER for the first day of her rotation. Greene takes a teacherly interest in her, helping her get acquainted, but she gets off to a

S5·E2 Core

Split Second

Oct 1, 1998

Dr. Corday's father visits from overseas in an attempt to convince her to join his medical practice. Weaver suggests that Elizabeth look into alternative methods to stay in Americ

S5·E3 Core

They Treat Horses, Don't They?

Oct 8, 1998

Mark goes to a trauma scene with the EMTs, where he treats a gunshot victim who has a bomb strapped to himself. Later, Mark’s daughter persuades him to treat a horse with colic, an

S5·E4 Core

Vanishing Act

Oct 15, 1998

Dr. Corday begins her first day as an intern, first by being assigned to Dale Edson, then being treated as Romano's lapdog. Kerry is interviewed for ER chief. Doug and Carol pond

S5·E5 Core

Masquerade

Oct 29, 1998

Halloween night finds the ER awash with allergic or otherwise incapacitated children. Kerry tolerates a visiting candidate for chief while she waits for the official vote. Romano

S5·E6 Core

Stuck on You

Nov 5, 1998

After Mark saves a 16-year-old assault victim in a daring rescue, he tries to convince the boy to leave the streets for a shelter. Carter loses his beard when two carpet installer

S5·E7 Core

Hazed and Confused

Nov 12, 1998

Dr. Corday commits a deadly error after being on-call for nearly 36 hours straight. Peter visits Dr. Kotlowitz and receives encouragement regarding a cochlear implant for Reese.

S5·E8 Core

The Good Fight

Nov 19, 1998

Carter and Lucy scramble across Chicago to find a dying girl's father who's a perfect match for her very rare blood type. Benton operates without transfusions to save the little g

S5·E9 Core

Good Luck, Ruth Johnson

Dec 10, 1998

Carter plays tour guide for Ruth Johnson, who was born in the hospital 100 years ago to the day, and her large family. Carol treats a boy who was hit by a car and tells a story of

S5·E10 Core

The Miracle Worker

Dec 17, 1998

Benton's attempts to get away to Carla and Reese on Christmas Eve are continually thwarted by Romano, culminating in Benton forcing the drunken Romano away from a patient. Carter

S5·E11 Core

Nobody Doesn't Like Amanda Lee

Jan 7, 1999

Amanda Lee's obsession with Dr. Greene comes to a head when Mark inadvertantly digs up old med school records damaging to her career. Carter tries to save Lucy from Edson's advanc

S5·E12 Core

Double Blind

Jan 21, 1999

Doug jeopardizes future federal grants for the entire ER when he breaks a double blind study by giving a sample drug to an ailing patient. Doyle lodges a sexual harassment complai

S5·E13 Core

Choosing Joi

Feb 4, 1999

Ricky Abbott returns to the ER. Doug forges papers to allow Joi to treat Ricky at home. Corday decides to back out of the Romano sexual harassment investigation after he threaten

S5·E14 Mytharc

The Storm (1)

Feb 11, 1999

Doug faces possible criminal charges after Ricky Abbott dies when Ross bypasses system lockouts to enable Joi to give Ricky a lethal dosage of dilaudin. Doug is delegated to desk

S5·E15 Core

The Storm (2)

Feb 18, 1999

Greene assists paramedics in treating injured children at a school bus accident. En route, Doug and Jeanie survive their own accident. Kerry stops Doug from treating Jeanie...or

S5·E16 Core

Middle of Nowhere

Feb 25, 1999

Peter accepts Romano's suggestion and takes a two-week job in Minnesota to earn some extra money. Unfortunately, before he gets a chance to leave, he's transferred to backwoods Mi

S5·E17 Core

Sticks and Stones

Mar 25, 1999

During a paramedic ride-along, Carter is forced to drive the ambulance while fleeing a riot scene and inadvertently runs over a teenage boy. Later, a paramedic is shot by an angry

S5·E18 Mytharc

Point of Origin

Apr 8, 1999

Greene tries to help Mobalage when he's about to be deported. Kerry tries to save a woman she believes is her birth mother. Hathaway decides to have Doug's child. Benton and Cor

S5·E19 Core

Rites of Spring

Apr 29, 1999

Romano forces Benton to choose between the trauma and cardiothoracic fellowships. Carol worries that she may have lost her child. Corday and Greene bond on the way to a medical c

S5·E20 Core

Power

May 6, 1999

The hospital suffers through a series of power outages. Carol's decision to send Doug a fax about her pregnancy is thwarted by the power outages. The staff is on alert after a ra

S5·E21 Mytharc

Responsible Parties

May 13, 1999

The ER docs tend to three teenagers who were in an accident on the way to their senior prom. Greene and Carter treat the most severely injured, a boy suffering from third degree b

S5·E22 Mytharc

Getting to Know You

May 20, 1999

Carol's pregnancy becomes public knowledge as she learns that she's having twins. Lucy has problems trying to go off Ritalin. Peter learns Carla plans to move to Germany. Kerry