The Foundations of Fiction: Character Development Profile – Dr. Greene, “ER”
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As writers, part of our mandate is to develop strong, multidimensional characters. Studying traits of other characters can provide inspiration and ideas in the development of our own creations.
Today, we’re shining a light on Mark Greene of “ER.”
Name: Dr. Mark Greene (deceased)
Former Occupation: Attending physician, County General Hospital, Chicago, Ill. Formerly chief resident of the ER.
Hometown: San Diego, Calif.
Marital Status: Married to Dr. Elizabeth Corday. Previously married to Jennifer (Jen).
Children: Daughter Rachel (with Jen), daughter, Ella, (with Elizabeth).
Allies: Dr. Doug Ross, Nurse Carole Hathaway, Dr. John Carter, Dr. Susan Lewis.
Enemies/Antagonists: Dr. Kerry Weaver, Derek Fossen, David Greene (father) unknown bathroom assailant.
Appearance: Tall and lanky, with a receding hairline and glasses. Prefers wearing scrubs and sneakers in the ER.
READ: The Foundations of Fiction: Character Development Profile – Brenda Leigh Johnson, “The Closer”
Quotable Quotes:
Mark to Dr. Carter following his last shift in the ER: “You set the tone, Carter.”
***
Mark to Carter: Don’t ever say you’re sorry. See, there’s two kinds of doctors: there’s the kind that gets rid of their feelings, and the kind that keeps them. If you’re gonna keep your feelings, you’re gonna get sick from time to time. That’s just how it works.”
***
Mark to his daughter, Rachel: Be generous… always.
***
Elizabeth: That’s it, Mark. I’m not staying here anymore. Every faucet leaks; your toilet actually rocks.
Mark: I kind of like that.
Elizabeth: There are things scurrying about in the walls. Do you know what scurries about in walls, Mark?
Mark: Bunnies?
***
Strengths: If Doug Ross was the hunk and Kerry Weaver was the brains, Mark Greene was the undeniable heart of the ER. An intuitive and empathetic physician, Greene serves as a natural leader and mentor to the staff of County General. He worries less about going by the book (he’s not a cowboy, like Doug and nor is he as exacting as Kerry), and more about providing the best, most humane level of care for his patients. Interns and residents alike frequently seek out his wisdom, experience, and guidance.
Mark has an easygoing sense of humor and typically uses that trait to disarm tense situations, both at home and at work. He’s a loyal friend to Doug (who doesn’t always make it easy), a devoted, determined father to his daughters, and a calming, reassuring presence to everyone around him. At the center of the constant swirl of chaos that is the ER at County General, Mark could always be counted on to guide you safely through the storm.
Vulnerabilities/Tics/Quirks/Flaws: While a confident physician, Mark is somewhat insecure in his personal life. He agonizes about asking out his longtime crush, Susan. After his divorce, his woeful attempts at mimicking Doug’s playboy ways crash and burn when he winds up with three dates in one night (Casanova ain’t Mark’s name). He can be a hypocrite, (ex. lashing out at Kerry when she won’t report her mentor Dr. Gabriel Lawrence following obvious signs of Alzheimer’s, but is livid when she reports Mark when he demonstrates cognitive impairment following surgery for his brain tumor).
Administration isn’t his strong suit – he’d much rather practice medicine than wade into the minutiae of management and paperwork. He will sometimes do the wrong thing for what in his mind is the right reason (ex., snooping in Jeannie’s medical files to unearth her HIV-positive status after her husband, Al, is admitted to the ER for his own HIV treatment).
Defining Moments: There are numerous events and experiences throughout Mark’s eight-season run that demonstrate who Mark is and what’s important to him.
However, there are three seminal moments that almost singularly define him both as a person and as a doctor.
In the Season 7 episode, “Rampage,” the ER is flooded with gunshot victims from a foster care facility. It’s not long before Mark realizes he knows the gunman. In the previous episode, he helped facilitate removal of a little boy from his abusive father’s care. In response, the father is literally gunning for those he blames for taking his son away from him—including Mark. The gunman is on his way to Mark’s house when he’s wounded in a shootout and brought to County General. After he’s stabilized, Mark winds up being the doctor who has to escort him to the OR for surgery.
The nurse forgets the drug box and steps out of the elevator. The doors close suddenly.
The two men are now alone.
The gunman goes into V-Fib (heart stops pumping normally).
Mark prepares to shock the man’s heart back into normal rhythm.
And then he stops, looking into the eyes of the man who murdered nine people and wounded many more. The man who hunted down Mark and his family with murderous intent.
Mark has a choice: save this man’s life, or let him die?
As a doctor, he’s bound to provide the same level of care to a “good” person as he is to a “bad” person.
As a man—a husband and a father—he feels understandable rage at what this man almost took from him.
So, he hooks the gunman up to the defibrillator.
Except, he doesn’t place the paddles on the man’s chest.
He shocks empty air.
The two men lock eyes and they each know what’s going to happen. One man is going to die and it’s going to be at the hands of the other.
And the screen goes black.
***
The Season 1 episode “Love’s Labour Lost” is a searing, shocking, emotional hour of television, showing us that the revered and respected rock star that is Dr. Mark Greene was just a man. Or as one of the writers of the episode shared with TV Guide, it was time “to shake him up a little bit.”
Expectant parents Sean and Jodi O’Brien come into the ER for what they think is her bladder infection. Mark treats her and sends the perfectly, maddeningly in love couple on their way.
Predictably, it’s a crazy night in the ER. Predictably, the ER is short-staffed. And that’s when Sean runs back in because his wife has passed out in the car.
Despite his shift being over, Mark wants to see this through. As it turns out, Jodi doesn’t have a bladder infection but pre-eclampsia. He pages the OB on call who (of course) can’t be there for another hour. It’s okay, though; Mark is confident he can deliver this baby.
Newsflash: he can’t.
***
Season 8 will be Mark’s swan song, as he was diagnosed with a brain tumor in Season 7. He received chemotherapy, got married, had a baby. It seemed as though he was on his way to a long and happy life.
We watched Mark’s life fall apart in Season 8. He’s having problems with his daughter, Rachel, which impacts the life of his youngest daughter and threatens his marriage. And in the midst of all this sturm und drang, his tumor reappears.
We watch the inevitable unfold over the course of several episodes as Mark learns there is no hope. He decides he doesn’t want to end his days patching up patients in the ER and quits. He takes Rachel to Hawaii, desperately hoping to make some sort of meaningful connection with her before he dies. What starts out as a bittersweet (and at times, mostly bitter) trip ends with Mark’s rapid deterioration as the brain tumor eats away at his body one agonizing bit at a time.
Mark passes away in “On the Beach,” the strains of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” (as performed by Israël Kamakawiwo’ole) playing softly in the background (I’m not crying, you are.)
Mark’s death leaves a wound from which the ER (and “ER”) never recovers.
***
Required Viewing:
“Love’s Labor Lost” (Season 1)
Takeaways:
- Mark is the quintessential “good guy,” but he’s far from a saint. He’s just a person who puts his pants on one leg at a time like the rest of us.
- Humor goes a long way toward imbuing a character with charm and likeability. Mark’s sense of humor isn’t over-the-top and it adds another layer of depth to who he is.
- Moral center characters (like Mark) can provide an essential counterpoint to more bombastic characters like Weaver or Romano. They give the other characters someone to turn to, while giving the audience someone to depend on.
Tips for Character Development:
On paper, Mark is just an ordinary guy. He’s married, he has kids, he works. He would be easy to overlook.
However, what makes Mark stand out from the crowd is that he’s not trying to stand out from the crowd. He is relatable and accessible because he’s just a guy—a guy who is doing the best he can. He has good days, he has bad days. He soars and on occasion, he stumbles. Like all of us are each and every day.
When building your protagonist, it’s fine for them to be a good or nice person. However, worry less about whether your audience will like them and focus on making them feel real—because that’s what will make the audience bond with and relate to them.
Give them flaws. Allow them to stumble. Give them a goal, something to fight for and make it a struggle for them to achieve it. Goals don’t have to be lofty or earth-shattering. For Mark, he wants to be a good doctor, a good husband, a good father, a good man. Sometimes he conquered the mountain. Sometimes, he failed miserably. We tuned in each week to see which one would take hold.
Are you a fan of ER? Who was your favorite character? What was your favorite Mark Greene moment?
