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Thomas Schlamme
One of the top TV directors since the mid-1980s, Thomas Schlamme functions equally well in sitcoms or dramas, sacrificing plot for yucks in the former while relishing the more complex lighting and camera angles required by the latter. Over the years, he has developed an easily identified kinetic style and cinema verite quality, perhaps best exemplified by his Emmy-nominated direction of "Ambush," the live episode kicking off the 1997-1998 season of NBC's medical drama "ER."