I loved this show when it first began. I watched it over the more popular "ER" in the first season, when they were opposite each other on different networks, and I liked the complexity of the characters. Mandy Patinkin as Jeffrey Geiger made the show for me, but once his character left (after having a breakdown), the show gradually lost its luster for me. Bringing Mandy's character back towards the end was too little too late, and his character's edge had gone from a brilliant but difficult surgeon to just an angry man. It was hard to watch what began as a very good medical drama sink into evening soap opera melodrama. Peter MacNichol's character was killed off, Adam Arkin's character seemed more and more lost and confused, and I eventually stopped watching because the program lost its initial edge and direction. Mandy Patinkin doesn't seem to be able to start a television series and stay with it (he also left "Criminal Minds") and while I understand his personal reasons, it is frustrating because his talent is prodigious and his departures left both shows wanting in his absence. "Chicago Hope" had a marvelous beginning with a wonderful cast, but it became terminally ill and a shadow of its former self and gradually died a slow and painful death, which was sad because the potential which was evident in its early years was gradually lost and it limped off, a shadow of its former self, it its final season.

Chicago hope is one of the best medical dramas, and television shows in general, I have ever seen. The cast is amazing and includes some of Hollywood's top names. The show follows the lives of numerous doctors through their daily work and personal routines. The show tends to be very dramatic, but it has comedic elements. Each character has their own way of dealing with personal loss and trauma, which is a very common element in Chicago Hope. The characters are all different, with diverse personalities and temperaments. Though there is some jargon, it is mostly explained clearly and easy to follow. I find myself relating to some of the characters and their problems. The episodes are very touching and realistic. The on screen chemistry between the characters is incredible. A glimpse into the everyday life of a typical inner city hospital physician. Two thumbs way up!

Chicago Hope is a typical David E. Kelley production, relishing the extreme and the bizarre in favour of the more traditional themes and occurences found in similar shows such as ER. I started watching around the time Christine Lahti and co. joined the show, and found it to be moderately enjoyable, sweetened by the on-screen chemistry between characters and the light touch of humour ever present in each show. However, of late, Chicago Hope has fallen into the trap of believing "out with the old and with the new" will not be a complete and total disaster. Entirely replacing the cast except for two characters and bringing back the most annoying one of all, Dr Geiger, was an horrendous mistake. Chicago Hope is a drama, it's not a soap opera - you can't just replace the whole cast and expect things to carry on as normal. The strong scripts may still be there but the whole basis of a good television show is the characters themselves, not the actual script itself. Obviously good writing is necessary but the way in which the actors materialise it is the most important element. Given this, replacing the entire cast with a bunch of people the audience doesn't have a clue about was not a wise move. If you reach a point where the cast doesn't want to be involved any more, then that is the time to call it quits so at least the audience is left with fond memories of the show in its glory days, as opposed to the situation now where it will die a slow death, fading into oblivion with poor ratings and disheartened fans.

I don't really care for the genre of "doctor" TV shows, but to give Chicago Hope credit, it does have more appeal than the majority of them. I was once a faithful viewer in its first season, after seeing the characters played by Mandy Patinkin and Hector Elizondo on a brilliant "cross over" episode of Picket Fences. Back then, Chicago Hope was admirable for its "quirky" plots and great character development, but over the years it has adapted more of the "formula" doctor show(6 thousand subplots and little chance to "bond" with the characters)and I have moved on. I still catch an occasional rerun on the show, and while it would not convert me back to being a regular viewer.I do enjoy the characters of Adam Arkin and Hector Elizondo and the others aren't bad, except Christine Lahti's "feminist" character gets tiresome, and tends to overuse and ugly word that is a part of the male anatomy. Nevertheless, even an episode consisting of her, Jayne Brook and Stacy Edwards going to the mountains that I thought I would loathe did not turn out to be too bad, considering. Mark Harmon and Peter Berg's characters bring a slight amount of life, but as I said, it's still not enough to make me watch the show regularly and I hope it does not steal viewers away from Frasier, as it prepares to face against it in the 1999-2000 season. It's not THAT great.