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The Worst Episodes of ER

Every episode of ER ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of ER!

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ER explores the inner workings of an urban teaching hospital and the critical issues faced by the dedicated physicians and staff of its overburdened emergency room.

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Worst Episode
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    ER Season 13 Episode 21 - I Don't
    5.8/10(9 votes)

    #1 - I Don't

    S13:E21

    What is suppose to be a departmental dinner organized by Kovac turns out to be the surprise of a lifetime for Abby when she soon learns it's a surprise wedding, secretly planned by the eager groom. Meanwhile, at the wedding, ER staffers enjoy themselves with music and booze while Neela finds herself the center of unexpected attention between Gates and Ray, which leads to a drunken fight and a shocking conclusion.

    Director:Andrew Bernstein
    Writer:David Zabel

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  2. ER Season 13 Episode 3 - Somebody To Love
    6.2/10(9 votes)

    #2 - Somebody To Love

    S13:E3

    Gates is assigned to the case of a closeted gay man whose partner clashes with his family; Neela meets her new surgical chief, Dr. Crenshaw; and Pratt must cope with the flood of new interns.

    Director:Stephen Cragg
    Writer:David Zabel

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  3. ER Season 7 Episode 9 - The Greatest of Gifts
    6.7/10(11 votes)

    #3 - The Greatest of Gifts

    S7:E9

    Chen gives birth, but insists on breastfeeding the infant before she gives it to the adoptive parents. Greene and Corday consult a brain specialist in New York City who believes the tumor can be safely removed. Stressed and tired, Carter impulsively swallows two painkiller pills but intentionally vomits them. He confesses to Abby.

    Director:Jonathan Kaplan
    Writer:Elizabeth Hunter

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  4. ER Season 4 Episode 18 - Gut Reaction
    7.0/10(11 votes)

    #4 - Gut Reaction

    S4:E18

    Carter finally works up enough nerve to ask Del Amico out. Jeanie tries to help Scotty decide whether to undergo an experimental treatment and Benton takes unexpected action during an operation with Morgenstern.

    Director:Babu Subramaniam
    Writer:Neal Baer

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  5. ER Season 11 Episode 14 - Just As I Am
    7.1/10(7 votes)

    #5 - Just As I Am

    S11:E14

    Dr. Weaver meets her birth mother, but their relationship changes when Kerry reveals she is gay. Dr. Carter causes a commotion when he confronts a couple hoping to scam some painkillers.

    Director:Richard Thorpe
    Writer:Lydia Woodward

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  6. ER Season 13 Episode 6 - Heart of the Matter
    7.1/10(7 votes)

    #6 - Heart of the Matter

    S13:E6

    Kovac anxiously awaits the verdict between himself and Curtis Ames but fears the worst. Meanwhile, Neela disobeys her chief's orders and also questions her feelings for Gates, and Weaver unwittingly steals the spotlight from Morris in his big television debut.

    Director:Andrew Bernstein
    Writer:Janine Sherman Barrois

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    The 20 BEST Episodes of ER

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  7. ER Season 14 Episode 8 - Coming Home
    7.1/10(8 votes)

    #7 - Coming Home

    S14:E8

    Everyone at the ER is happily surprised to see Luka back from Croatia. Great news awaits Neela. Sarah once again needs rescuing by Tony, and patients are causing problems for Morris.

    Director:Laura Innes
    Writer:David Zabel

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  8. ER Season 9 Episode 12 - A Saint in the City
    7.2/10(9 votes)

    #8 - A Saint in the City

    S9:E12

    Dr. Weaver is in a difficult situation when an alderman tests positive for syphilis. Dr. Carter is impressed when he meets a man who runs an inner city clinic.

    Director:Peggy Rajski
    Writer:Bruce Miller

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  9. ER Season 11 Episode 11 - Only Connect
    7.2/10(5 votes)

    #9 - Only Connect

    S11:E11

    Two teens enter the ER with gunshot wounds. When one dies, Neela botches telling the next of kin, making the woman hysterical.

    Director:Jonathan Kaplan
    Writer:Yahlin Chang

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  10. ER Season 12 Episode 1 - Cañon City
    7.2/10(6 votes)

    #10 - Cañon City

    S12:E1

    Sam and Luka go on the search for her runaway son, Alex. Meanwhile, Pratt and Lewis guide Abby, Neela and Ray, who have become R2's, on how to teach the new interns.

    Director:Christopher Chulack
    Writers:Joe Sachs, John Wells, Lisa Zwerling

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  11. ER Season 14 Episode 4 - Gravity
    7.2/10(6 votes)

    #11 - Gravity

    S14:E4

    When Baby Joe is injured by a fall at the playground and rushed to the hospital, Abby is unable to reach Luka to tell him.

    Director:Stephen Cragg
    Writer:Virgil Williams

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  12. ER Season 15 Episode 2 - Another Thursday at County
    7.2/10(5 votes)

    #12 - Another Thursday at County

    S15:E2

    Everyone in the ER is trying to cope with the loss of their colleague. The staff feels defensive toward the new Chief and her tough disposition. Gates and the new interns treat a bio terrorist who has a lethal secret that endangers them all. Neela makes a great effort to get Dubenko back on the surgery staff, and gets help from an unexpected source.

    Director:Paul McCrane
    Writer:Lisa Zwerling

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  13. ER Season 15 Episode 5 - Haunted
    7.2/10(5 votes)

    #13 - Haunted

    S15:E5

    It's Halloween night, and the interns continue to be paired with the residents. Gates's teaching methods with Daria, and her responses, belittle Sam. A school fight results in a stabbing and a nose that won't stop bleeding, with Brenner treating the victims and being deeply affected by the truth behind their confrontation. The staff, especially Neela, are enthusiastic about a surprise visitor. Gates gets locked in a maintenance area with a quiet young boy.

    Director:Christopher Chulack
    Writer:Karen Maser

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  14. ER Season 11 Episode 7 - White Guy, Dark Hair
    7.3/10(6 votes)

    #14 - White Guy, Dark Hair

    S11:E7

    A rape victim, barely able to speak, does all she can to help police find her attacker.

    Director:Nelson McCormick
    Writer:Lydia Woodward

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  15. ER Season 11 Episode 9 - Twas the Night
    7.3/10(6 votes)

    #15 - Twas the Night

    S11:E9

    Abby has a dialysis patient in critical condition, but she cannot find his physician, who does not want to be bothered during the holidays.

    Director:Julie Hébert
    Writer:Julie Hébert

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  16. ER Season 12 Episode 3 - Man with No Name
    7.3/10(6 votes)

    #16 - Man with No Name

    S12:E3

    Luka has a very bad day: New nurse manager Eve Peyton notices he doesn't want to work with Sam and tells him so. At the end of the day he's drunk and Abby takes him home.

    Director:Christopher Chulack
    Writer:David Zabel

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  17. ER Season 13 Episode 14 - Murmurs of the Heart
    7.3/10(7 votes)

    #17 - Murmurs of the Heart

    S13:E14

    Kovac finds himself in a tense confrontation with Curtis Ames, and Abby must act to protect her family. Meanwhile, Neela and Gates rush to get Meg to the hospital while Sam's new home is soon under threat from fire.

    Director:Christopher Chulack
    Writer:David Zabel

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  18. ER Season 13 Episode 16 - Crisis of Conscience
    7.3/10(7 votes)

    #18 - Crisis of Conscience

    S13:E16

    Kovac and Gates find themselves with a moral dilemma when a woman comes into the ER with acute liver failure; Neela finds herself questioning what is right when Manish decides to give up a kidney to a complete stranger. Meanwhile, Ray fights to get to the bottom of a cheerleaders accidental fall; Abby gets a prediction for her future; and Alex's troubles continue to intrude on Sam's work life.

    Director:Steve Shill
    Writer:Lisa Zwerling

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  19. ER Season 13 Episode 18 - Photographs and Memories
    7.3/10(6 votes)

    #19 - Photographs and Memories

    S13:E18

    It's Sam's birthday, but she finds it hard to be away from her son Alex. Meanwhile, Sam meets a photographer taking pictures of a terminal patient and she gives Sam a new perspective on life. Dubenko's new surgical intern unsettles Neela during a trauma; Gates is shadowed by a new and nerdy intern and later must tell Sarah the truth that he may be her biological father. Also, Morris and Hope annoy Kovac and Abby when they try to help with their wedding preparations.

    Director:Stephen Cragg
    Writer:Karen Maser

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  20. ER Season 14 Episode 9 - Skye's the Limit
    7.3/10(7 votes)

    #20 - Skye's the Limit

    S14:E9

    It's time for changes at the ER when Anspaugh makes an unpopular decision. Abby has old demons to fight with, which distance her from friends and family. Even Luka seems to be at a loss to help Abby. Love is in the air when a secret romance blooms between two doctors.

    Director:Paul McCrane
    Writer:Karen Maser

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  21. ER Season 14 Episode 10 - 300 Patients
    7.3/10(6 votes)

    #21 - 300 Patients

    S14:E10

    ER's 300th episode finds Luka and Abby hurriedly preparing to travel to Croatia after Luka's father passes away. Luka confronts Abby about the estrangement between them, and she eventually reaches out and asks for his help. A man rushes to the ER when his wife is seriously injured in a car accident, and finds someone very unexpected there with her. Julia holds a service to bless the ER and remember the patients that have been lost through the years.

    Director:John Wells
    Writers:Joe Sachs, David Zabel

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  22. ER Season 8 Episode 9 - Quo Vadis?
    7.4/10(7 votes)

    #22 - Quo Vadis?

    S8:E9

    Peter Benton continues his court fight against Reese's stepfather, Roger, who seems to have the upper hand. When a woman is accidentally shot during a gas station robbery, Dr. Corday tries to convince the husband to let them harvest her organs. A 15 year old boxer is brought in with a head trauma after sparring with his older brother. Newlyweds are having trouble when she constantly breaks out in a rash; Carter thinks he knows the cause.

    Director:Richard Thorpe
    Writers:Joe Sachs, David Zabel

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  23. ER Season 9 Episode 2 - Dead Again
    7.4/10(8 votes)

    #23 - Dead Again

    S9:E2

    After another hospital shuts down, the ER is flooded with patients. Dr. Pratt resuscitates a heart-attack victim who had been pronounced dead.

    Director:Richard Thorpe
    Writer:Dee Johnson

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  24. ER Season 10 Episode 10 - Makemba
    7.4/10(7 votes)

    #24 - Makemba

    S10:E10

    Dr. Carter celebrates Christmas at a clinic in the Congo dealing with low supplies and anti-Americanism, but in the meantime, falling for an AIDS worker named Makemba.

    Director:Christopher Chulack
    Writer:John Wells

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  25. ER Season 10 Episode 11 - Touch and Go
    7.4/10(7 votes)

    #25 - Touch and Go

    S10:E11

    Carter returns to County General to hearty welcomes. Although Abby is shocked to learn that Carter's beautiful African girlfriend, Kem, is already pregnant with Carter's child, Abby has moved on with her life as well, going back to medical school.

    Director:Richard Thorpe
    Writer:Mark Morocco

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Worst Episodes Summary

"I Don't" is the worst rated episode of "ER". It scored 5.8/10 based on 9 votes. Directed by Andrew Bernstein and written by David Zabel, it aired on 5/3/2007. This episode scored 0.4 points lower than the second lowest rated, "Somebody To Love".