Season 13 saw "ER" take things a little too far, specifically with Ray Barnett, played by actor Shane West, a character who never quite fit on the show due to his eccentric persona and rebellious, devil-may-care attitude. His on and off again relationship with Dr. Neela Rasgotra felt half-baked, and the various subplots involving his person were tedious at best.
Apparently, West felt the same way and more or less asked to leave the show in order to pursue a series at Fox titled "Supreme Courtships." The actor was also trying to piece together an independent film called "What We Do Is Secret," a project that conflicted with his stint on "ER."
"I did 'ER' for three years, so during the hiatus, I worked on shooting bits of 'What We Do Is Secret,' getting more financing and trying to put it together," he explained. "I was trying to just film one damn movie, but that's the heartache of independent films."
As a means to oblige the actor's desires, the writers had Ray drink himself to a stupor following a spat with Neela at Luka and Abby's wedding in the episode "I Don't," and get hit by a truck walking home. Considering the death toll among the County General staff at this point in the show, Ray's tragic accident felt like overkill.
To their credit, the writers didn't actually kill off Ray, but, rather, shipped him off to Baton Rouge, La. He returned for a brief stint in the final season with prosthetic legs and a newfound love of life. All's well that ends well, but there's simply too much drama at this particular hospital for viewers to deal with.
