New, old faces part of "ER's" prescription for final season

In 1994, the year "ER" came racing down the hallway and bursting onto our television screens, Hillary Clinton was the first lady. Gas sold for just over a dollar a gallon. No one had an iPod wired to their ears. And George Clooney had yet to sprout that very weird beard.

The times indeed have changed. And perhaps no other megahit show has ever weathered change as well as "ER," which launches its 15th and final season at 10 p.m. on NBC Thursday.

One by one they departed Chicago's County General Hospital: Sherry Stringfield, Clooney, Eriq LaSalle, Julianna Margulies, Anthony Edwards ... And yet, "ER," with all its chaos and calamity, remained a ratings juggernaut longer than it really had a right to.

"When Sherry was leaving [in Season 3], we thought, 'Oh well, here it comes. We'll be gone by Year 5,' " executive producer John Wells told reporters on the Warner Bros. set of the show. "But I think [viewers] are tied into the world and the characters, and we were able to successfully introduce characters slowly so that we didn't have to have actors come in and replace someone. They became integrated in a way that a real workplace works: People come, and you care about them. They're friends. They leave. Other people replace them and become your friends."

You might think that the show would at least stand pat for its farewell tour, but no: There are more "friends" joining the mix. Chief among them is Angela Bassett, who plays Cate Banfield, the new tough-minded head honcho of the ER, who won't exactly be feeling the love early on.

"I think she's a very good boss with very high standards," Bassett says of the character. "But she's the new person in the room, and there's some folks that are not able to appreciate her style. You know, she's trying to bring up the level around here — the level of excellence — and she's butting heads with different personalities."

Bassett won't be the only newcomer. Producers have said that by Episode 2, the ER will feature four new interns, played by Victor Rasuk, Emily Rose, Shiri Appleby and Julian Morris. In addition, Bassett's real-life husband, Courtney B. Vance, will join the cast later in the season as, yes, her husband.

But longtime devotees of the series undoubtedly are more interested in which former cast members might return for one last hurrah before the show leaves the airwaves in February. To that end, Noah Wyle's Dr. Carter will be back for four episodes, including the finale.

"We had always planned that the end of the series would involve Noah returning," Wells said. "He was so central as a new character at the very beginning [of the show] — an entering character growing up in the ER."

In addition, Shane West's Dr. Ray Barnett, who left the show two years ago after losing both legs in a horrendous accident, will come strolling back into the ER on artificial limbs.

"He's actually gone through this terrible period and come out on the other side," says co-executive producer David Zabel. "And it's sort of a heroic return in a lot of ways. It's very sweet also."

On the other hand, if you desire a Clooney sighting, don't hold your breath.

"I was very proud of the way in which we ended the Hathaway-Ross story," said Wells. "That's one I feel was wrapped up sort of beautifully in a way that was great for the audience and everyone feels good about it. I would worry about doing something that unwound that dramatically in any way."