The Emmy-Award-winning television drama ER premiered in the fall of 1994. It became the most richly compensated show in television history in 1998 when NBC agreed to pay the show's production company, Warner Brothers, 13 million dollars per episode for three seasons. Best-selling author and film producer Michael Crichton (Jurassic Park, Disclosure) created the hour-long drama, which centers on a staff of young medical professionals who work in the emergency room of an inner city hospital in Chicago. The show's collection of talented actors, writers, and producers garnered ER an average of 30 million viewers per episode. The show's blockbuster ratings and critical acclaim accelerated the 1990s trend toward cross-pollination between the television and film industries. Many members of the cast branched into film work while honoring contracts with the show. Crichton shared duties as executive producer with famous Hollywood producer and director Steven Spielberg and veteran television producers John Wells, Lydia...