After binge watching all 15 seasons ....
I spent the last 2 weeks and some days binge watching all of the episodes. Here are some thoughts (probably not all popular but please feel free to comment).
The first couple of seasons ... probably until season 6 ... had the best episodes and writing. The overall seasons as a whole starts very high and then slowly curves downward in terms of character development and story quality. Once the old school characters start to leave and then replaced by characters I really do not have empathy for, it becomes harder to watch.
In my opinion, the addition of Luka Kovac and Abby Lockhart doomed the rest of the seasons as the writers made their plot lines a focus. I don't really find Goran Visnjic compelling as an actor so the character was mostly monosyllabic with no emotional depth. Abby, on the other hand, was a cursed soul who rarely smiled unless she was drunk. My empathy for her was limited and I felt annoyed when she almost married John Carter.
Speaking of John Carter, the writers did him wrong with his love life. He was the Prince of ER and the way they closed his story line at the end was not really satisfying.
All of the incestuous relationships had me going "Really?" and I felt the writers were just lazy and wondering which characters they can hook up next from week to week.
Top supporting characters I really despised:
- Tie between Abby's mom Maggie Wyczenski and Susan's sister Chloe Lewis.
- Archie Morris - Really did not see him as a Doctor but as some clown / humor element for the writers.
- Dave Malucci - Had no real story or character depth, just annoying.
- Robert Romano - In a good way, he was that villain worse than Carrie Weaver and someone you can relate with if you work anywhere with a crappy boss. I like the way the writers developed his exit plot.
- Lucy Knight - My god was an awful character.
- Simon Brenner - Horrible character to add towards the end to 'spice things up'.
- The kids of Mark Greene and Samantha Taggart. LIke wow, can the kids get any more rebellious?
Characters I liked:
- The OG cast - I felt for Mark Greene, Doug Ross, Peter Benton and Carol Hathaway. Susan Lewis to a certain extent, and when they brought her back, her appeal diminished. Elizabeth Corday was cool.
- Jing-Mei Chen could have had more interesting story lines.
- Greg Pratt - They tried with Greg which was cool but I feel Mekhi was stretched from an acting perspective.
- Neela Nasgotra - I feel she got shafted with her love connections. From marrying someone who got killed to then having the worst flings and crushes. I did feel like she was a very capable surgeon but her personal life was a mess.
- Michael Gallant - I did not like the way his character ended on the show. I really liked his soldier character which had some nobility.
- Victor Clemente - Talent was wasted here and Leguizamo has both depth as an actor and comedian.
Concluding Thoughts - Overall the series was enjoyable to watch. They should have brought in Tony Gates as the character to replace Doug Ross instead of Luka as John Stamos is a way better actor. I was glad to see mostly all of the old school nurses last till the end. Catherine Banfield could not save the last season even though Angela Bassett is an awesome actress.