GEORGE CLOONEY - CLOONEY'S RETURN LIFTS E.R.

CLOONEY'S RETURN LIFTS E.R.

George Clooney returned to NBC's E.R. for a cameo appearance on Thursday night, and so did viewers. The program, once unbeatable in its time period, posted its best ratings in more than two years, drawing 10.7 million viewers to the episode, written by executive producer John Wells and also featuring the return of Julianna Margulies and Eriq La Salle and an appearance by Oscar winning actress Susan Sarandon. Several analysts expressed the opinion that the show would have drawn even more viewers had NBC promoted Clooney's return more aggressively. In reporting the ratings results, Daily Variety speculated that "a decision was made from possibly Clooney and/or E.R. exec producer John Wells to keep the actor's storyline on the down low." As it was, the E.R. drama was not even the highest-rated show of the night. That honor again went to CBS's CSI , which drew 16.9 million viewers, despite airing opposite ABC's Grey's Anatomy , which pulled in 13.5 million and was the highest-rated show of the night among adults 18-49. E.R. was not even the highest-rated show at 10 00 p.m., as it was edged out by CBS's Eleventh Hour , which drew 11.8 million viewers.

16/03/2009