10 Worst Characters On ER

This allegedly 'charming' womaniser was great at 2 things: sleeping with medical students and failing to do any work. Despite being depicted as a talented physician, the superficial Brenner is a dreadful teacher, refusing to share helpful info with new students. It's made even worse by the fact he's working in a teaching hospital. Instead of intriguing or edgy, Brenner's douchebaggery is just plain annoying from the onset.

As if the writers hadn't made him unlikable enough already, there's an unfortunate nepotism angle thrown in where it turns out he's Dr Anspaugh's nephew. One can't help but cheer when Neela rightly calls him out for his antics and claims he's only at County thanks to his familial connections. Sadly, even this is ruined by the need for Brenner to inexplicably sleep with every female character he interacts with.

Brenner ultimately becomes yet another instalment in the ER creative teams' strange fascination with doctors coming from abusive childhoods. During the episode titled Age of Innocence, it turns out Brenner was abused by his mum's boyfriend growing up. It's a grim reveal and despite its disturbing nature, it fails to be gripping. Instead, it feels like yet another cheap attempt at shocking viewers during the show's final instalments where ridiculous plot points and backstories became run of the mill.