ER

I first started watching when I was 14, it was 2002 and season 8. I had been going through a lot at home and this was the first show I'd watched that actually inspired me. The characters weren't perfect and often had complicated personal lives but they were realistic.

This show inspired me so much that I decided I wanted to work in an emergency department and that's exactly what I did. I'm now a nurse. This show is pretty realistic as far as the medicine goes, although I think every medical show is slightly unrealistic as to make it entertaining.

I have seen a lot of reviews that say that the earlier seasons are the best but I'd have to disagree as I think season 7-9 are the best but I thoroughly enjoy the entire show. Even the episodes that aren't the best are still amazing in comparison to newer shows.

I also am a fan of other medical shows such as Chicago Hope, greys anatomy and code black however they do not compare to ER. It is a classic and still translates well even 10 years after it finished.

Definitely worth a watch if you haven't seen it. I think I've watched it at least 5 times from start to finish by now and it still hasn't gotten old and me being a nurse hasn't ruined it like it has a few other shows.

I started watching ER on Thursdays in 1995 after my basketball practices. Already at its second season, I had heard a lot of good from the show, but never bothered to see what it was all about. I was exhausted, relaxing on the couch after a good workout and a cooling shower, flipping channels, something I rarely ever do, when my attention was grabbed by the intensity of the scene that was been played out before me. Something to do with Eriq Lasalle's character (Dr. Benton) and his mom or sister, I vaguely remember. Then the emergency room complications, the tension. Blood. Hospital. This must be that doctors show, ER, I thought. Let me see what this fuss is all about, I said to myself, intended to watch at least the end of that show… But it was already too late!! I was already hooked. The next week, I found myself driving back faster from my basketball practice to make sure to catch the show again.

Seven years later, I'm still watching (or taping) it every week. Why? Because it's the best drama show on TV, hands down, no contest. I thought at first I was biased because I studied physiology and am pretty versed in the technical jargon and medical realities they face on the show. I have a great interest in medicine and even considered a career in that path at one point in my life. However, the more I watched the show, the more I realized that it's not about the physical traumas, but about the human traumas. The admittedly romanticized, but no less relevant, reality of a profession that deals with life and death day after day, night after night. This is what makes it compelling. This is what makes it of greater scope and deeper emotions.

An ER doctor never gets enough sleep, never gets to go home. Is facing critical situations one after the other. Must make life-altering decisions daily. And yes, also has to cope with his personal life. Relationships, achievements and short-comings.

The setting aside, ER is a show that can boast about serious talent in the writing, directing, acting, casting, cinematography, editing, sound and even the pretty realistic make-up-F/X departments. And I'm talking about top-notch rendition, year after year. Just look at the list of Emmy and Golden Globe nominations over the years. What should also be kept in mind is the genuine appreciation by the public, as demonstrated for example by the People's Choice Award for Favorite Television Dramatic Series for eight years straight.

Created by writing mogul Michael Crichton, this show has passed a host of extremely talented actors that went on to 'bigger and better things', while still keeping the quality and the excitement of interesting and captivating stories told by equally apt newcomers. The style of the show is unique. The humour is witty and often sarcastic (see the purposely unlikable, sharp-tongued Paul Crane's Dr. Robert Romano). The tension is handled impeccably. The death of main characters truly riveting, sad and heartfelt (no question some of the best shows). The personal stories of the nurses and doctors and their work interactions with each other is worthy of a soap opera, but handled with a honest hard look at the twists and turn of life and personal interplay. The directing is smart, thorough. The long continuous takes (with great cinematography work) enables us to feel right in the action and switch from a tense situation to the other. What can you ask more of a TV show?

I enjoy ER and give my hats off to everyone involved with the show. Back in 1994, they re-invented the TV drama genre, upping the level of writing, acting and directing. This challenged the competition at the time and started giving us altogether better drama shows (for the most part). In its ninth season, ER is still the best; it hasn't lost any steam yet. Yes, there has been a lot of changes (actors-characters), but the essence (writers, directors, producers) of what makes the show great is still there and still strong.

When it comes down to it, the daily stress and life-affecting decisions at County General Hospital coupled with the hectic work environment is a place I want to vicariously live in every week. Because, with all the pain and hardness, we understand that these doctors like to help people, but they also love the RUSH.

In the UK we have the home grown medical dramas Casualty and its sister show Holby City. Putting these against ER is like comparing two Ladas to a Rolls Royce. The Brit shows look leaden, and have far too many hammy and wooden actors.

ER has set a very high standard of modern TV drama for 10 years. True, there have been the occasional duff episodes, but the urgency of the drama, combined with what looks like hand held camera work usually delivers punchy tension filled drama, with first rate performances.

Another contributor mentioned the only serious rival to ER, Chicago Hope, a show that was cheeky enough to have a character say "I was hoping to watch ER tonight", and had a hilarious scene which culminated in the death of a heart transplant patient! Unfortunately, that show suffered with the loss of Mandy Patinkin, and began taking itself too seriously. ER may have lost most of its mainstays, especially Anthony Edwards, but it still is a far better option than any other medical drama. I realise however, that it may struggle once Noah Wyle leaves.

Some TV shows have a structure such that you can tell almost from the beginning how long the show has to live. As much as I loved "Scrubs", that show was built around a few core characters, and once their stories were played out, that was pretty much be the end of that show. "Cheers" basically had a double length of life due to the fact it was actually two shows instead of one - the first 5 seasons with Diane and the last 6 seasons with Rebecca as the female lead. "ER" is different. It has a large cast of constantly revolving characters, and the story lines will always be there as long as there is controversy in medicine to merge with the personal drama. Early in ER's history, things were different. George Clooney's character, Doug Ross, was really the star of the show, although they did spread the stories around so that there was quite a bit of focus on the other characters too. This was a successful formula, but once Clooney became a star and a heartthrob he quickly tired of television and longed for the big screen. Thus, starting in season four, he is absent more and more as he goes off to make action films and the show began to look like it was going to suffer from "Welcome Back Kotter" syndrome, where John Travolta's success on the silver screen killed that show. After Clooney actually did formally exit stage left, the show changed the formula to its current one of spreading the action around with nobody in particular having the spotlight. I guess my point with all of this is, this is how ER managed to go on a total of 15 seasons, with even one extremely unlikeable character being written in as interesting, even if that one character in particular came to an end worthy of Wiley Coyote.

Highly recommended.

It's a one time experience, when you decide to binge watch the series, like I did years ago. And was not able to since, because the show's too long and monotonous sometimes. But I had a great time discovering episodes and storylines, that inspired shows like Grey's Anatomy. It was the first of a long series of medical dramas. And to me, none was able to top that. The writing was good, the acting was believable and the characters were all very realistic and relatable to some extent. It sometimes leaned dangerously towards over the top drama, and other soap opera characteristics. Especially near the end of its run. But even that was done in a skillful way. I personally prefer the middle part of the series. And think the most popular aspects of it, like Clooney's rise into stardom. And some of the famous couples, are very overrated. Only the good thing about this show, is how it never dwells on details, and always shows an overview of each situations and day to day life at the ER. Even when it went for a more focused and cinematic approach, it never lost sight of the essential. It's one of those iconic 90s series, that remains of its time, yet relevant decades later. As far as medical dramas go, it's the one that changed TV the most, and should be acknowledged for that.