The Union Speaker’s Forum invited Neal Baer to enlighten us about what it means to stay on top. On Thursday October 18, he revealed the secrets of his game, his path to success, and told us about the kind of effort it takes to convert passion into product.

Previously, TV shows only had “consultants” to guide the storyline, even when the subject matter dealt with themes that required the knowledge of experts in specific fields. Not surprisingly, we don’t remember too many of those shows from yesteryears. Baer was the first doctor to write for TV and in doing so, created history. Thanks to him, “ER” and “Law & Order: SVU” are two of the longest-running shows today. An obsessive follower of both programs, I felt honored to listen to him speak about the creation of those episodes which had me wishing I could perform cardiovascular surgery or spout some new-age criminal DNA-tracking methodologies.

It all started with Michael Crichton, who wrote “ER” in the 1970s. He put this project on the backburner following a collaboration with Steven Speilberg to make Jurassic Park. Years later it was brought back from the basement, at which time Spielberg suggested that it might make a good TV series­—he was spot on. The pilot episode, which was written in the 1970s, was aired virtually unchanged in 1994 to positive response from all corners. At this time, Baer had attended film school with the intention of writing screenplays and features, but things didn’t quite take off. As he pondered the direction his life was taking, he was faced with the additional responsibility of bringing up a newborn son. One thing led to another and Baer decided to apply to medical school. His good grades, among other things, led to an offer of admission at Harvard. It was there that he began recording his early experiences as a student surrounded by patients and medical textbooks. His residency years in particular, largely guided his exploration of the issues in “ER” as he adapted the stories that were personally meaningful to him and made them public. During his fourth year at med school, NBC studios took a liking to, and soon after accepted his plotlines. Baer has now been working on “ER” for seven years.

On the way, he picked up another project: “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” Eight years with “SVU” and still going strong, Baer explained how he likes to examine ethical, social, and medical issues that contemporary society grapples with. He felt that there was an expanding gap between what scientists and engineers do and what the public thinks they do. Baer stated that there was a “split between those who practice science and those who are afraid of it.” It was while attempting to address these imbalances that he began to incorporate controversial issues into the storyline of his series. So how does he accomplish this within the constraints of a 40-minute episode? When asked later about the creative process behind the scenes, he took time to elaborate on the steps involved: He first decides the story of the characters, then brings medical issues to this base, after which the ideas are edited to accomodate an effective script. This script is then edited and re-edited to perfection before it is sent from L.A. to New York to begin shooting. With a different director each week and about 400 people working day and night to make those nail-biting minutes accessible to our remote controls, Baer truly has his task cut out as creative head of the “ER” and “SVU” factory. In addition to dealing with individual actors’ personalities, he also has to stay informed through a full-time researcher who keeps him posted on the latest publications of interesting articles that are usually of social significance. After listening to this rather elaborate procedure, I decided I’m a lot luckier to be able to watch his shows from the relative comfort of my couch. Instead of worrying about long-distance 3 am phone calls from people who only want to notify me of new problems, I only have to decide my choice of snack during primetime television.

One would think that Baer has his hands full handling the pressure of two hit TV series. Think again. He not only practices medicine while he can, but is also involved with projects in Africa to help raise awareness of the plight of people in the epidemic-ravaged villages of Gambia and Mozambique. His efforts are also helping to garner worldwide support to organizations like UNICEF—efforts which he believes have the potential to give children a better shot at life. He spoke of a pet project in which he provided cameras to women and children in Africa and taught them how to “point-and-shoot.” The result, which we saw played on DCC 318’s screens, was a touching documentary-style set of photographs which spoke volumes. Titled “The House is Small But the Welcome is Big,” the collage showed the plight of women and orphans living with HIV or AIDS—it pointed to the incredible potential for improvement using the help of those more fortunate in, say, America or Europe.