George Clooney's goodbye was the focus of last week's "ER," but tonight the cameras shift to Eriq La Salle. The entire episode revolves around Dr. Benton's temporary stint at an underfunded hospital in rural Mississippi. Clooney and Anthony Edwards both have had solo episodes in the past, so why did it take so long for La Salle to grab the spotlight? "Would you like to call the executive producer and ask that question?" La Salle bristles. "I've been asking for it for five years. We were consistently given the runaround.... I have no idea (why)." But will there be more Benton-only episodes to come? "When you talk to the producers, you let me know," he says. "It was like pulling teeth to get this one."

This tense response implies that all is not well at "ER" for La Salle, who, when asked how long he'll remain on the series, will only say, "I'm on the show until my contract expires (next year)." Meanwhile, he's keeping busy with side projects, having starred in and produced an upcoming ABC TV movie "Mind Prey" (airing March 22). And he's looking to do more directing (his credits include HBO's "Rebound" in 1996), starting with an indie feature this summer. But while Anthony Edwards has jumped behind the camera for "ER," La Salle, 36, wants to stick to directing full-length features. He has a practical reason for not taking charge of his fellow cast and crew: having to deal with them as peers the following week. "I learned something as a kid," he says. "Don't sh-- where you eat."

Although La Salle's complaints can make it seem like the acidic Dr. Benton is rubbing off on him, he is quick to praise his costars, especially Brit Alex Kingston, who plays his former on-screen love, Dr. Corday. La Salle admits he's pleased, however, that their romantic relationship ended this season. While viewers seemed to like the interracial romance (he says he received "an abundance of hate mail" when the couple broke up) it bothered La Salle because both of his previous on-screen relationships with African-American women were incredibly rocky by comparison.

"As an African-American man, that becomes a bit offensive if (the negative things are) all you're showing," he says. "Because (in real life) we romance and get on each other's nerves and laugh and do all the things that any other race of people do. So if the only time you show (a balanced relationship) is in an interracial relationship, whether it's conscious or subconscious, it sends a message I'm not comfortable with." Dr. Benton couldn't have said it better.