Thursday, March 17 2005

ER --(9:59PM-11:00PM) --(TV-14)

"One For The Road"

IN SEASON PREMIERE, "ER" PUTS PEDAL TO THE METAL FOLLOWING HAIRPIN FINALE CLIFFHANGER; SHANE WEST JOINS REGULAR CAST -- The season premiere resumes from last year's full-throttle finale as Dr. Pratt (Mekhi Phifer) and his passengers -- Dr. Chen (Ming-Na) and Elgin (guest star James Earl) -- try to elude gunfire from another motorist until Pratt loses control of his sports car and crashes into the Chicago River -- trapping them underwater as rescue crews troll overhead. When recovered, all three are hospitalized with serious injuries that soon spiral downward. Elsewhere, Nurse Sam (Linda Cardellini) seeks to escape her returning boyfriend and hits the road to find a new life with her son Alex (guest star Oliver Davis) just as Neela (Parminder Nagra) makes a surprising entrance in the E.R. In addition, a somber Dr. Carter (Noah Wyle) and Kem (guest star Thandie Newton, "Mission: Impossible") deal with their unborn son's remains, Dr. Weaver (Laura Innes) intercedes when a cop wants to perform a pelvic exam on a young woman who's hiding a stash of marijuana in a private body part -- and two new interns (including new series regular Shane West, "A Walk to Remember") make an immediate impact. Alex Kingston, Goran Visnjic and Maura Tierney also star.