Simply being a monster hit wasn't enough for "ER".
The show with constant movement and tongue twisting dialogue wanted to take away the safety net of multiple takes.
Producers bought in and planned two live season premieres, one for each coast.
Seven days of rehearsals led up to the big night when practice gave way to performance.
11 video cameras gave the episode a daytime drama look.
East coast viewers saw a baby that cried on cue, but the west coast saw a different one who wouldn't.
There was a patient who threatened the staff with a hypodermic for the east coast, but three hours later, that same needle fell to the ground.
Punching a camera to cue a commercial was easy for the west coast, while earlier in the night, it was much more of a struggle.
When it was all over both episodes were a huge success.
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