ER

Dr. Douglas Ross (George Clooney)

Character: Dr. Douglas Ross

Occupation: emergency room pediatrician

Time on the show: 1994-present

Introduction: The first time Dr. Doug Ross appears in the ER of Cook County General, he is in familiar form to his coworkers: very drunk. We quickly learn that this is the norm for Doug. He is portrayed as a drunken womanizer who does nothing right in his personal life. The thing about Doug Ross is, even though his personal life is so screwed ujp, his professional life couldn't be more opposite. He is a good doctor and is very good with children. The strangest thing is, as much as you know Doug Ross is the kind of guy every woman should hate, you can't help but love him.

Background: Over the course of ER's first four seasons, we have learned quite a few things about Dr. Ross. You just have to listen closely sometimes to pick up the information. He's never been married but he does have a son. He tells Wendy in "Long Days Journey" that he has a boy who's about 10 (which was in 1994 so he would be about 14 now) but that he has never laid eyes on the boy. So far we have not seen this phantom offspring and it's doubtful that we ever will.

The most important piece of information about Doug Ross' past is probably his relationship with Head Nurse Carol Hathaway. They dated three years before the show started but she dumped him for cheating on her. From the very first episode, it is clear that Doug never got over her. Even when he has dated other women, it is always evident that "the one" for Dr. Doug Ross is Nurse Hathaway and, from her track record of relationships that didn't work out, it's probably safe to say that he's the one she really wants to be with as well.

The only members of Doug's family that have been introduced are his parents. His mother, Sarah, is divorced from his father and remarried to an accountant. His father, Ray, left when Doug was 12 years old and only recently reappeared. Doug was not exactly thrilled to see his father after 20 some years and, even though Ray had stopped drinking, they never really had much of a relationship because it had just been too long. Last season, Ray was killed in a car accident and Doug seemed to make a sort of peace with his father.

Probably the most often seen relationship in Doug's life is the one he has with his best friend, Mark Greene. Mark is now not only his coworker, but his boss so they have had more than a few fights about authority. They are always friends though, so no matter how much they fight you know they'll end up outside playing basketball together eventually.

Favorite Moments: The character of Doug Ross has provided some very memorable moments on screen for George Clooney fans. The first really great scene he had was in the pilot of the show. Carol attempts suicide and Doug watches as they try to save her. By the end, when things look very bad for Carol (she was supposed to die), Doug looks totally stricken and defeated.

Another great scene comes in "Fathers and Sons" when he goes out to California to take care of things after his dad dies. All of his reactions were just as you would imagine Doug letting go of Ray.

How it all ended: Doug Well, it hasn't happened yet but, as they say, the end is near. George Clooney's ER contract explires at the end of season 5 and he has announced that he will not renew it. This means he'll have time to make more movies, which is good, but it also means an end to catching up with our favorite pediatrician every Thursday night. Speculation on how Doug will exit the show has ranged from him getting a job out of town to him being shot and killed by gang fire but, so far, all of it is only rumor. George has said he would like to come back and do guest shots so it is expected that the ER producers will allow him to do that.

The big question now is what will happen to Carol when Doug leaves? Will we ever get the wedding we want? Will they be able to be together or will the writers break them up before Doug leaves? Of course, I have no clue. I would hope that when ER goes off the air that they will leave Doug and Carol to live happily ever after. For now we can just hope for the best and enjoy the final season of George Clooney on ER.