'ER's' Lyons has his final scenes down cold

CHICAGO - Actor David Lyons stomped his feet under the "L" in Uptown, trying to keep warm.

He was 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 was a Chicago virgin. He has been with the show slightly longer than a year, and this was 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 provided motivation.

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

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

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

"I know it's a cliche, but it's a family," Anderson said.

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 that day 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, said 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."

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." *