This was one of the best series ever. Not because every moment was great; any given program had its ups and downs. What made the series great was that every single episode had a moment in it that transcended the storyline, that had an emotional or intellectual impact that was real. It has been some time since I saw the series, but I remember vividly how it was able to affect me each week. It was worthwhile time spent. Andre Braugher was excellent, as usual. He can make any show better by his presence. I don't watch many TV shows but I will always try a series if certain actors appear in it and Braugher is one of those. (He and David Morse made Hack worth watching.) The rest of the cast was good and I notice that a number of them have showed up on subsequent series. In summary, this was one of those series that is worth having on whether perfect or not. Its high points are higher than most other TV, even the good shows.

Sadly this series was doomed from the start. Great cast, good writing and an uplifting message with only a hint of preaching! Andre Braugher is as good in this, or maybe better, than his role in Homicide (Life on the Street).Network TV was simply not ready for this, and if you take it to cable, the tendency is to spice it so much it can become offensive. Like I said, doomed from the get go.The ensemble was also being used well, without the "stock character" prejudices and clichés. I suspect had this been given a really good run it would have been possible to flesh out the interns and residents as well as the nursing staff to the point of developing some outstanding story lines. This is one of a long line of shows submarined by its refusal to seek mediocrity.

These doctors ask the questions you HOPE your own doctors ask. They deal with conflicts and mistakes with the honest integrity we no longer expect. REALITY show it is not, something better. A show that asks us to think beyond our small personal universe. One of the good ones, so of course, it's taken off the air. It does for medicine what West Wing does for politics. Thanks to the actors and the writers.

Okay, why I never even knew this brilliant show was still on ABC is probably a good explanatuon for why the network has steadily sunk in the ratings for the last three years. That they are not screaming from the treetops about this amazing, well-written, shockingly moving series is an outrage. Better than ER, which has steadily declined into weekly bus accidents or brain tumors, this series draws you in. Andre Braugher is someone I love to watch. Boy is he good. He makes me love an already pretty excellent show.