Men Plan, God Laughs is the twenty-second episode of the first season of the NBC medical drama series ER. It premiered on April 27, 1995.
| "Men Plan, God Laughs" | |
| Season 1, Episode 22 | |
 | |
| Air date | April 27 , 1995 |
| US viewers | 33.5 M |
| Written by | Robert Nathan |
| Directed by | Christopher Chulack |
| Episode Guide | |
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Next → Love Among the Ruins |
Synopsis
Greene finds his marriage falling apart and is concerned at how little time he's spending with his daughter. He also treats an eight week old child with a heart murmur who requires surgery.
Susan tries to get her pregnant sister Chloe to take her pregnancy seriously, but her head isn't quite into it.
Benton tries desperately to find a surgeon who will operate on a 16 year-old with a severe brain aneurysm that could burst at any time. He's also concerned at his mother's care and is growing ever more attracted to Jeanie Boulet.
Doug Ross' commitment to Diane Leeds gets more serious when he agrees to be an assistant coach for her son's little league baseball team.
NBC Description
AUTHORITY ISSUES: Already on bad terms with the new chief, Dr. Swift (Michael Ironside), Greene refuses to work late and travels to Milwaukee instead.
Ross, as a consequence of hitting an abusive parent, is forced to see a psychiatrist. Unable to help his ailing mother, Benton goes above and beyond the call of duty to help save every patient he sees.
Cast and Characters
Main
Anthony Edwards as Dr. Mark Greene
George Clooney as Dr. Doug Ross
Sherry Stringfield as Dr. Susan Lewis
Julianna Margulies as Nurse Carol Hathaway
Eriq La Salle as Dr. Peter Benton
Supporting/Recurring
Gallery
Trivia/Notes
- Music: "Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um," Major Lance
- The title of this episode is from a Yiddish proverb, transliterated to "A mentsh tracht und Gott lacht," which in English means "A respected person plans, and God laughs." The Yiddish proverb in turn may be derived from the Biblical verse found in Psalm 33:10: "The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples."
References
- "Nielsen Ratings - March-May 1995 " (PDF). USA Today. (May 15, 2015).