Setting the Tone: An ER Retrospective

Setting The Tone

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Join Elizabeth, Lauren, and Daniel as we recap our favorite medical drama! We're taking a weekly look back at each episode of the hit TV series "ER". We'll break down every episode, as well as look at how each episode impacts the overall story of the iconic 15 season show. Theme music provided by Andrew Edwards of Blue Police Box Music.

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269 episodes

S10E22 - "Drive"

This week: Luka is a good samaritan, Neela has second thoughts about her career path, Abby finds out if she gets to be a doctor or not, Sam leaves Chicago in a hurry, a mom and son are critically injured thanks to a high driver, Carter has issues after returning to work too soon, Kerry fights for custody of Henry, and a simple case of road rage turns into a fight for Pratt, Chen, and Elgin’s lives.

1h 25m
Mar 28
S10E21 - "Midnight"

Content Warning: Unborn Child Death   This week: The med students have their graduation, Neela says Daniel's favorite line of the series, Steve confronts Luka about Sam, Frank makes his grand return to County, Rachel needs Corday’s help, Pratt screws up big time, Abby and Kerry have a tense encounter, and Carter and Kem face every pregnant couple's worst nightmare.

1h 13m
Mar 21
S10E20 - "Drive"

This week: Neela’s lab buddies do some off the books experimentation, Kerry has second thoughts about Henry’s custody arrangement, Pratt is a huge jerk, Abby works with a mom with a troubled past, Carter and Kem prep for the baby’s arrival, and Luka and Sam try to figure out what Steve being in town means for them.

57m
Mar 14
S10E19 - "Just a Touch"

This week: Pratt defends himself after a female patient lodges a complaint, Archie gets hit in the nuts, Jerry gets his nipples rubbed, Neela starts a new elective, Sam’s ex may be hanging around for a while, Abby leads a group therapy session, Carter does rich people things, and Kerry lawyers up.

1h 0m
Mar 07
S10E18 - Where There's Smoke

This week: Abby fails her board exam, Corday gets a job offer, Gallant treats a vet who is not as drug seeking as he appears, Susan helps legal investigate Luis’ death, and an accident during a warehouse fire leaves Kerry in a haze as Sandy fights for her life.

1h 16m
Feb 29
S10E17 - "The Student"

This week: At Carter’s urging, Neela takes on a bigger role in patient care (with mixed results), Chuck gets into a fight with a creep who won't leave Susan alone, Chen can’t catch a break, Gallant reveals his feelings for a colleague, a recovering Frank pops in to say hi to everyone, a group of tennis players beat up a flasher, and Luka takes over planning for Alex’s birthday.

1h 4m
Feb 22
S10E16 - "Forgive and Forget"

This week: Sam shows her petty side, Jessica Chastain makes her on-screen debut, Chen returns to work, Corday takes a leap with one of her boyfriends, Luka treats a young kid who has an STI, a disgruntled patient heads back to County in a stolen tank, and the ER races to save the life of one of its own.

1h 38m
Feb 15
S10E15 - "Blood Relations"

This week: an entire family with various level of carbon dioxide poisoning are rushed to the ER, Chuck finally meets Susan's dad, Chen returns to County with her sick father, Alex finds out Sam and Luka are together, and a claustrophobic Neela is forced to stay with a baby in the hyperbaric chamber.

1h 5m
Feb 08
S10E14 - "Impulse Control"

This week: Abby gets yelled at by multiple other docs, Carter and Kem go on a weird tour of Chicago, JK Simmons runs into an entire family, Sam treats a young woman with a strange relationship dynamic, and Luka and Sam finally hook up.

1h 11m
Feb 01
S10E13 - "Get Carter"

This week: Kem is a bit too inquisitive, Corday makes friends with a fellow single parent, Susan is knocked up, Luka tries his hand at teaching, the nurses are horny for Pratt, and Gallant nearly gets shot during a paramedic ride-along. Buy our merch and support LGBT healthcare! https://www.bonfire.com/store/setting-the-tone-store/?fbclid=IwAR0NUrCgiz9TK8XzheoV9t2zCMw1nJueGFX15jkmGnjE5ZaLD2aDRUkrrBQ

1h 24m
Jan 25
S10E12 - "NICU"

This week: Abby and Neela start their neonatal intensive care unit rotations, and experience the high highs and low lows that come with caring for newborn babies who are often very sick. Oh, and Sandy returns from the Shadow Realm to give birth to her and Kerry’s baby boy.

1h 3m
Jan 18
S10E11 - "Touch and Go"

This week: Kem gets adjusted to life in the USA, Gallant finds an interesting surprise when he gets home early, Abby is burning the candle at both ends, Pratt makes a massive mistake, Alex keeps getting into trouble, and Carter has a rather eventful first day back at County.

1h 7m
Jan 11
S10E10 - "Makemba"

This week: The story of Carter and Kem begins in earnest through a series of months-long flashbacks. As the two become closer, Kem gets Carter to fund part of her AIDS drug program, the doctors in Africa debate global politics, Carter treats an entire HIV positive family, and somewhere in there Carter gets Kem pregnant.

1h 7m
Jan 04
S10E9 - "Missing"

This week: Sam steals a human finger, Lizzy hosts a memorial service for Romano, Neela works with a couple of Amish teenagers, Abby fails her practice boards, Gallant’s disabled sister comes to town, and Pratt is back to his kinda sleazy bachelor ways.

1h 9m
Dec 28, 2023
S10E8 - Freefall

This week: Abby kills the practice dummy, Morris gets caught smoking a joint, Frank is very proud of his turducken, Abby cares for a woman going through a miscarrage, Pratt pisses off Romano, and the hospital descends into chaos as a helicopter explosion severely damages the ICU and ambulance bay.

1h 24m
Dec 21, 2023
S10E7- "Death & Taxes"

TW: discussion of sexual assault and graphic depictions of suicide Bob Newhart breaks all our hearts, Elf is out this week, writing episode descriptions is hard

1h 10m
Dec 14, 2023
S10E6- "The Greater Good"

Some stuff happens, Bob Newhart is nice. You get the idea.

1h 7m
Dec 07, 2023
S10E6 - "Out of Africa"

This week: a new nurse makes a hell of an entrance, Romano shows off his fancy new prosthetic arm, Kovac returns to the ER and immediately starts making changes, Corday’s fling ends rather abruptly, Abby is back in med school, and Susan treats an elderly man who may have intentionally overdosed on some of his medications.

1h 25m
Nov 30, 2023
S10E4 - "Shifts Happen"

This week: Pratt gets put through the ER wringer and he and an understaffed night shift crew barely keep their heads above water. Also, Morris is incompetent, Kerry is incredibly grumpy, Romano gets a new prosthesis, Abby catches up with Luka, and Randi gets Bob’d.

1h 14m
Nov 23, 2023
S10E3 - "Dear Abby"

This week: a new group of residents shows up at County, Romano is having insurance issues, Abby keeps getting sidetracked when she tries to visit a recovering Luka, Zac Efron gets shot, Susan tries to honor an awful family request, Corday gets laid, Pratt gets blindsided by Chen’s parents, and Carter’s letter to Abby quickly gets passed around the ER.

1h 29m
Nov 16, 2023
S10E2 - "The Lost"

This week: Carter heads back to the Congo to recover Luka’s body, and to try and unravel the mystery surrounding Luka’s apparent murder.

1h 10m
Nov 09, 2023
S10E1 - "Now What?"

This week: A certain British/Indian med student arrives for her ER rotation, Carter returns to Chicago, a major construction project leaves the ER a mess, Chen shows her jealous side, Pratt flirts too much, a major car crash happens right outside of County, and the staff is rocked by the news that one of their own has apparently been killed.

1h 25m
Nov 02, 2023
Patreon Preview: Season 9 Wrap-up

It’s that time again!    Join the STT hosts and special guest Jake from The Popular Court as we recap all the good and bad that was season 9. Hear our opinions on the season as a whole, what we loved and what we hated the most, as well as some thoughts from your fellow listeners.    Want to hear the full episode, including the semi-annual “Tone-y” awards? Support us at the $5 level over at patreon.com/settingthetonepodcast to enjoy that plus over 75 additional hours of bonus audio and video content.

1h 3m
Oct 26, 2023
S9E22 - "Kisangani"

This week: Carter gets his first taste of what medical care is really like in the Congo. He joins up with Kovac to try and provide the best care possible for hundreds of impoverished residents of the war-torn country.

1h 30m
Oct 19, 2023
S9E21 - "When Night Meets Day"

On this week’s 200th episode: Stories intertwine as we follow the day shift of Carter, and Pratt’s last night shift at the same time. Carter gets the brunt of the patients from a raging gang war and a mass suicide that leaves the whole hospital stretched to the breaking point. Pratt deals with the trail end of the gang war patients as well as an unsettling stabbing victim, and a firefighter caught in an explosion as Doc Magoo’s burns to the ground. Also, Lizzy tries her best to be there for Romano both before and during his amputation surgery.

1h 35m
Oct 12, 2023
S9E20 - "Foreign Affairs"

This week: Luka is sent into desperation mode after the sick child he’s trying to help makes a surprise early arrival, Eric crashes Gamma’s funeral, Romano’s arm gets set on fire, after a young man’s entire family is injured in a drive-by shooting, Carter tries to stop him from igniting a brewing gang war, Chuck and Susan make a decision about their future, and Daniel’s long nightmare is over as Carter and Abby call it quits.

1h 1m
Oct 05, 2023
S9E19 - "Things Change"

This week: Abby finally gets a lead on Eric’s whereabouts, Susan defends Chuck after he messes up an intubation on the air rescue chopper, Luka’s surgeon friend from Croatia gets caught up in the ER vortex, Romano is clamping down on ER wait times, Pratt gets to live out every disgruntled worker’s fantasy, and Carter is devastated after the sudden passing of his grandmother.

1h 24m
Sep 28, 2023
S9E18 - "Finders Keepers"

This week: A depressed Romano begins his reign of terror as the new ER Chief, Susan husband shows up (much to the confusion of everyone else), Luka tries to organize a pro bono surgery for a little Croatian boy, Corday does everything in her power to try and disregard a patient’s wishes, Carter sticks up for the ER staff, and Pratt mistakenly buys stolen goods from a patient.

1h 12m
Sep 21, 2023
S9E17 - "The Advocate"

This week: Kerry is distraught after one of Alderman Bright’s aides dies due to a drug allergy, Luka does a therapy (though maybe not in the traditional way), Romano’s arm troubles keep worsening, Corday tries to get through to a troubled teenager and her mother, and Carter winds up screaming at Abby. 

1h 19m
Sep 14, 2023
S9E16 - "A Thousand Cranes"

This week: Carter considers proposing to Abby the proper way, Chen and Luka happen upon a grisly scene at Doc Magoo’s, a series of odd coincidences leads to Pratt and Gallant being arrested, Corday’s white privilege is showing, and Susan says goodbye to Sean.

1h 20m
Sep 07, 2023