What's Up Docs?

Like his ER cohorts, La Salle has found the series to be a great career booster. During the summer, he wrote, directed, and acted in a short film, Psalms From the Underground, and was cutting it in his trailer on the ER lot last month to get it ready for October industry screenings. Edwards recently signed a deal to produce TV projects for Disney and will host Saturday Night Live on Dec. 2. Clooney, a veteran of 15 TV pilots and such series as Roseanne and Sisters, has appeared on a slew of magazine covers, hosted SNL, and costars with Quentin Tarantino in the December horror movie From Dusk Till Dawn.

Even with opportunities beckoning beyond the hospital, though, the actors insist they're not thinking of practicing full time elsewhere. With no prompting, Clooney — who, like the rest of the original cast, signed an initial five-year contract and got a raise this year — vows that he won't pull a David Caruso. ''I've fought my whole life to get on a show like this,'' he says. ''I'm in a comfortable, comfortable position. I'm going to end up being able to do a film every summer, and that's great luck for me. But I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to ride out the contract and have fun.''

And so, apparently, will the rest of the cast. Pay no attention, they say, to rumors about rivalries on the set. ''The cast is just as lovey-dovey as ever,'' says Wyle.

''This isn't a bunch of childish actors,'' snips Edwards. ''It's interesting to me that no one can believe that we get along as well as we do. A tabloid completely contrived a story last year that George and I were fighting, and it actually ended up on, like, newsmagazine shows — and it was a total lie!"

To help ensure harmony, the show even has guidelines about the optimal combination of ER stars that should appear on magazine covers — remember, it's an ensemble. But what about all the media attention Clooney has received? ''I had a good publicist,'' he says affably. Ask Clooney what he personally brings to the show, and he downplays his contribution: ''You know how girls work together and then all of a sudden they have periods all at the same time? It's kind of that way. You kind of blend into the same sort of style. I steal from everybody.''

While all six ER stars got Emmy nominations, only Margulies brought home a statue — for Supporting Actress. The others scoff at even the mention of resentment. ''The honor, really, you know, is that everyone was nominated,'' says Stringfield, sounding like an extra from Clueless. "I think we're all just, like, happy with that — that's so lucky. So anything else is just like, whatever, you know?"

The ER gang is enjoying a lot of that, like, whatever — the perks (and pitfalls) of success. ''I get better service at restaurants,'' Stringfield jokes. ''It's been kind of strange, because when I go anywhere — oh, it's like immediate recognition. And I just put together, 'Oh yeah, the show's been No. 1, that means a lot of people are watching it.' Somehow I didn't do the math before on that one.''

As the youngest member of the group, Wyle seems most amazed at how his life has changed ''180 degrees in 12 months.'' One of the nicer changes: ''My mom looks at me and she beams with pride. She wasn't exactly beaming with pride when I told her I didn't want to go to college, you know.'' He laughs, then adds, ''And people give you free stuff. As an actor, when you're out of work, you can't afford a new pair of shoes. Get yourself on a series, and you never have to buy a pair of sneakers again.''

ER should keep its cast in shoes for some time to come. Paging Dr. Scholl...