Creator: Michael Crichton
Years: 1994-2009

I really enjoyed the first eight years of the show and felt like it became overly soapy during the end of its run. However, it could be I was a teenager at the beginning and just didn’t realize I was watching a soap then, too. I just know that after the episode where the helicopter lands on top of Dr. Romano I was kind of done.

There are three memories from this show that really stand out for me.

1. The episode where Hathaway is held hostage in a convenience store and has to save a man who’s been shot using only the materials she can find there. Shades of Macgyver Apollo 13 there.
2. An episode where Hathaway and Dr. Green are arguing over whether or not to help a woman who delivers a crack baby too early. Green says something like, “We can’t help people who can’t help themselves,” and Hathaway shouts, “Those are exactly the kind of people we should be helping.” It really resonated with me. And then to top it off, the clerk Jerry had some sort of Christmas toy that decided to go off and sing at that very moment. I laughed my ass off.
3. The entire arc where Dr. Green has a brain tumor. Just crushingly emotional scene after crushing scene. Watching him seize in front of his daughter. The actual brain surgery. And his moment with the little girl, his final patient.