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The Best Episodes of ER Season 5

Every episode of ER Season 5 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of ER Season 5!

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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 Fan Favorite
    ER Season 5 Episode 1 - Day for Knight
    7.8/10(520 votes)

    #1 - Day for Knight

    S5:E1

    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 bad start with the irritable Carter when she speaks insensitively, and without Carter present, with a patient's wife about her husband's very serious condition. The rest of the day finds her comforting a woman who has suffered a miscarriage, getting locked out on the roof, having Carol bail her out on a simple procedure, and trying to figure out Kerry Weaver's "Tour on Tape."

    Director:Christopher Chulack
    Writer:Lydia Woodward

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  2. ER Season 5 Episode 2 - Split Second
    7.7/10(459 votes)

    #2 - Split Second

    S5:E2

    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 America, like starting over as an intern. Weaver also doesn't let an opportunity pass to remind Doug of the way he bypassed her authority in the McLean case. Lucy continues learning, earning more of Carter's respect than she deserves. Peter takes Reese in for another hearing test. Mark has several discussions with paramedics about the state of the EMT program. Carol hires a nurse practitioner to help out in the clinic. Carter is having trouble being an RA in the dorms.

    Director:Christopher Misiano
    Writer:Carol Flint

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  3. ER Season 5 Episode 3 - They Treat Horses, Don't They?
    7.6/10(471 votes)

    #3 - They Treat Horses, Don't They?

    S5:E3

    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, and Jerry gets the bad end of the enema. Carter intubates an elderly woman who is DNR. When her HMO declines to admit her, Carter either has to find a relative quickly or let her die. Kerry finds herself more and more frustrated when Anspaugh suggests that they're not considering her for ER Chief, and she discovers she’s the last to hear that Doug was made a pediatric attending. Corday serves her last day as a surgical fellow. Benton meets with Carla to discuss getting Reese hearing aids. Jeanie returns from vacation. Carter goes out with Roxanne, the insurance saleswoman he treated.

    Director:Babu Subramaniam
    Writer:Walon Green

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  4. ER Season 5 Episode 4 - Vanishing Act
    7.6/10(458 votes)

    #4 - Vanishing Act

    S5:E4

    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 ponder parenthood when Carol realizes she may be pregnant. Carol and Lynette try to keep a wounded gang-banger from leaving and seeking retaliation. Lucy faces the wrath of Carter when he discovers that she doesn't know how to start an IV. Jeanie asks Doug if she can be a full-time PA for the pediatric ER.

    Director:Lesli Linka Glatter
    Writer:Jack Orman

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  5. ER Season 5 Episode 5 - Masquerade
    7.9/10(479 votes)

    #5 - Masquerade

    S5:E5

    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 operates on an 11-year-old girl and finds she's genetically male. Carter leaves Lucy in charge of a dorm party he's supposed to be overseeing, with unfortunate results. Mark learns that Jenn's moving to St. Louis--with Rachel. Mark and Carol treat a pregnant schizophrenic.

    Director:Steve De Jarnatt
    Writer:Samantha Corbin-Miller

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  6. ER Season 5 Episode 6 - Stuck on You
    7.8/10(470 votes)

    #6 - Stuck on You

    S5:E6

    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 installers come in covered with glue. Peter consults a deaf physician regarding Reese's hearing condition. Corday is reassigned as Benton's intern. Kerry hears more discouraging news regarding her bid for ER chief. Carter loses his RA job, forcing him to go apartment hunting. He finds one--in Weaver's basement.

    Director:David Nutter
    Writer:Neal Baer

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  7. ER Season 5 Episode 7 - Hazed and Confused
    7.7/10(461 votes)

    #7 - Hazed and Confused

    S5:E7

    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. Dr. Amanda Lee, a prospective new ER chief, visits. In the wake of a failed pregnancy attempt, Carol lashes out at a mother using abortion as a means of selective birth control. Carter and Lucy feud when Carter accidentally uses her palm computer and finds out what she thinks of him. Mark panics during a paramedic initation.

    Director:Jonathan Kaplan
    Writer:David Mills

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  8. ER Season 5 Episode 8 - The Good Fight
    8.3/10(567 votes)

    #8 - The Good Fight

    S5:E8

    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 girl's life.

    Director:Christopher Chulack
    Writer:Jack Orman

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  9. ER Season 5 Episode 9 - Good Luck, Ruth Johnson
    7.7/10(468 votes)

    #9 - Good Luck, Ruth Johnson

    S5:E9

    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 being chased, his friend being shot in the process. Peter observes Kotlowitz install a cochlear implant and decides to wait before scheduling an operation for Reese. Mark dines with Dr. Lee, new ER chief. Dr. Corday proposes radical changes in scheduling at an M&M conference, and later decides to break off her relationship with Benton.

    Director:Rod Holcomb
    Writer:Lydia Woodward

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  10. ER Season 5 Episode 10 - The Miracle Worker
    8.0/10(467 votes)

    #10 - The Miracle Worker

    S5:E10

    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 believes he's found a Christmas miracle when a teenage girl with a rare blood type needs an organ donation at the same time a brain-dead patient with the same blood type is in the hospital. After witnessing Dr. Lee rifling through Greene's locker, Jerry becomes convinced that she's stalking Mark.

    Director:Lesli Linka Glatter
    Writer:Paul Manning

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  11. ER Season 5 Episode 11 - Nobody Doesn't Like Amanda Lee
    7.9/10(470 votes)

    #11 - Nobody Doesn't Like Amanda Lee

    S5:E11

    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 advances. Peter treats Dr. Parks' grandchild, who interprets for her deaf mother and grandmother. Police officer Reggie Moore asks Jeanie out. Kerry receives a call from someone claiming to be her mother. Doug receives a job offer from Portland.

    Director:Richard Thorpe
    Writer:Linda Gase

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  12. ER Season 5 Episode 12 - Double Blind
    7.6/10(437 votes)

    #12 - Double Blind

    S5:E12

    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 complaint against Romano, hoping Dr. Corday will lend support. Lucy begins her surgery rotation under Benton's tutelage. The two of them treat a man claiming to be 140-years-old. Mark declines to proceed in the NASA program. Carol questions Lynette's intentions when she hosts a women's health clinic for African American women only. Mark goes to bat for Pickman when she inadvertently leaves a severely injured man at an accident scene.

    Director:David Chameides
    Writer:Carol Flint

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  13. ER Season 5 Episode 13 - Choosing Joi
    7.8/10(451 votes)

    #13 - Choosing Joi

    S5:E13

    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 threatens to expose her relationship with Benton. Romano is later named Acting Chief of the ER. Dr. Greene treats a Nigerian janitor for back pain and impotency. Carol and the nurses watch a bunch of dogs when their owner is hospitalized. Carter diagnoses a med student with Hodgkin's disease. Kerry initiates a search for her biological parents.

    Director:Christopher Chulack
    Writer:Lydia Woodward

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  14. ER Season 5 Episode 14 - The Storm (1)
    8.3/10(635 votes)

    #14 - The Storm (1)

    S5:E14

    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 duty, Carol's clinic is shut down for acquiring the P.C.A. machine for Ricky, and Greene and Weaver face future disciplinary action for not reporting Doug's tampering with the double blind study. Carter and Lucy discover a mutual attraction. Benton studies with a sign language instructor.

    Director:John Wells
    Writer:John Wells

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  15. ER Season 5 Episode 15 - The Storm (2)
    8.5/10(679 votes)

    #15 - The Storm (2)

    S5:E15

    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 any other patient. Doug decides to resign and leave Chicago for the Northwest and asks Carol to come with him. She decides against it, but he leaves anyway. Carol steps down from running the clinic so that Anspaugh will keep it open. Jeanie discovers she may have contracted hepatitis. Hospital janitor Mobalage's wife is stabbed.

    Director:Christopher Chulack
    Writer:John Wells

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  16. ER Season 5 Episode 16 - Middle of Nowhere
    8.0/10(601 votes)

    #16 - Middle of Nowhere

    S5:E16

    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 Mississippi, where the hospital is only a two-room building. Peter battles local racism, delivers a difficult infant while battling the grandfather's concerns that the child might be black, and uses unorthodox methods to save two shrimp boat workers. Meanwhile, back in Chicago, Jeanie's condition worsens.

    Director:Jonathan Kaplan
    Writers:Carol Flint, Neal Baer

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  17. ER Season 5 Episode 17 - Sticks and Stones
    7.6/10(441 votes)

    #17 - Sticks and Stones

    S5:E17

    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 mob looking for the driver of the ambulance. Carol is despondent following Doug's departure. She later discloses that she's pregnant. Kerry is intrigued by an injured pro wrestler and his relationship with his father. Lucy tangles with an Asian family that requests their matriarch not be told of a cancerous tumor. Jeanie turns down dates with both Dr. Baker and Reggie, telling each she's seeing someone else.

    Director:Félix Alcalá
    Writer:Joe Sachs

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  18. ER Season 5 Episode 18 - Point of Origin
    7.7/10(429 votes)

    #18 - Point of Origin

    S5:E18

    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 Corday clash over an ER fellowship. Carter is in charge for the day, part of a requirement for applying for chief resident.

    Director:Christopher Misiano
    Writer:Christopher Mack

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  19. ER Season 5 Episode 19 - Rites of Spring
    7.7/10(444 votes)

    #19 - Rites of Spring

    S5:E19

    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 conference. Carter mentors an aspiring teenager. Lucy, on a psychiatry rotation, treats an overmedicated foster child. Jeanie finds her faith while treating a reverend.

    Director:Jonathan Kaplan
    Writer:David Mills

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  20. ER Season 5 Episode 20 - Power
    8.1/10(549 votes)

    #20 - Power

    S5:E20

    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 raped and beaten patient is found in a hallway. Romano begs Corday to stay in trauma. Carter and Roxanne break up. Carter and Lucy treat a pheromone saleswoman.

    Director:Laura Innes
    Writer:Carol Flint

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  21. ER Season 5 Episode 21 - Responsible Parties
    8.0/10(558 votes)

    #21 - Responsible Parties

    S5:E21

    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 burns over 80% of his body. Benton receives the ER trauma fellowship. Carol finally tells Doug about her pregnancy; Kerry also figures it out. Mark and Elizabeth draw closer. Lucy tells Carter about her Ritalin addiction. "FBI agents" bring in a shot stripper.

    Director:Christopher Misiano
    Writer:Jack Orman

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  22. ER Season 5 Episode 22 - Getting to Know You
    7.8/10(447 votes)

    #22 - Getting to Know You

    S5:E22

    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 finds an abandoned youngster and brings him to the ER. Mark and Elizabeth discuss their relationship. Jeanie and Reggie draw closer again.

    Director:Jonathan Kaplan
    Writer:Lydia Woodward

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Season 5 Ratings Summary

"Day for Knight" is the best rated episode of "ER" season 5. It scored 7.8/10 based on 520 votes. Directed by Christopher Chulack and written by Lydia Woodward, it aired on 9/24/1998. This episode is rated 0.1 points higher than the second-best, "Split Second".