'ER' shoots final Chicago scenes

Chicago Tribune (MCT) - Actor David Lyons stomps his feet under the "L" in Uptown, trying to keep warm.

He's here as Dr. Simon Brenner, clad in a thin black coat over a white doctor's coat, to shoot scenes for the final few episodes of "ER."

Even though the NBC drama is wrapping its 15th season of shooting here intermittently, Lyons is a Chicago virgin. He has been with the show slightly longer than a year, and this is his first exposure to Chicago's winter-scape.

A few minutes before, the Australian native joked that when "ER" shoots exteriors in Los Angeles, "We're constantly being told to act cold. ... Now it's so cold, you can't act."

But for a scene on the North Side at Leland Avenue and Broadway, the near-zero temperature provides motivation.

"I have to stand out there, waiting for the camera to roll, getting irritated. And you can use it," Lyons says _ especially for a Dumpster-side scuffle he has with a potential criminal.

At one point the scene gets so intense that he nearly topples a fellow actor over into the snow.

It would be fitting. Everyone else is in the snow, including dozens of crew members and extras. "ER" caps and scarfs pop up as part of their winter ensemble. Many crew members have been with the show since the beginning, including Chicago producer Roger Anderson.

"I know it's a clich, but it's a family," Anderson says.

Some of that family has come and gone. For this final season, some are returning _ notably Noah Wyle, Anthony Edwards and Eriq La Salle. Even George Clooney may pop in. Wyle was on hand earlier Friday for a ceremony, where Mayor Daley's chief of staff Paul Volpe stood in for the mayor in naming Jan. 30 "'ER' Day" in Chicago.

After the ceremony, Wyle said, "It's been wonderful, absolutely wonderful" stepping back into his character's skin. Wyle played Dr. John Carter on the show for 11 seasons and a few episodes into the 12th. Years ago, Wyle said, "ER" executive producer John Wells expressed a desire for Carter, who starred in the pilot, to "come back and take over the emergency room at the end."

"And so it was always in the back of his mind to have me be part of the final chapter," Wyle said. "Having left a couple years ago, I've been waiting for that day to come."

Parminder Nagra, who has played Dr. Neela Rasgotra for the last six years, says filming in Chicago is always like summer camp "because you don't go home at the end of the day. It's really about the work and being together, and that's really lovely," Nagra said.

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For her, "ER's" extended bow has been tough. "I feel a little sad," Nagra said. "It's very emotional. It's making everybody become closer, because you want to enjoy the last moments."

For executive producer Christopher Chulack, this won't be the end. Even if he won't return with "ER," he wants to bring other shows to Chicago. "I will be back," he said.

But "ER's" closing day marks the end of an era for the city; it is the longest running network series to call Chicago home.

"It's always been the cornerstone of production in Chicago," said Richard Moskal, the director of the Chicago Film Office.

"Things rose and fell in popularity in the city, but 'ER' has been the one constant. 'ER' here has been extraordinarily loyal. ... That endorsement has been great for us."

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© 2009, Chicago Tribune.