An additional point that Johnson raises, in the context of a different hospital series, seems a perfect fit for the series in this column:
The dialogue on shows like "The West Wing" and "E.R.," on the other hand, doesn't talk down to its audiences. It rushes by, the words accelerating in sync with the high-speed tracking shots that glide through the corridors and operating rooms. The characters talk faster in these shows, but the truly remarkable thing about the dialogue is not purely a matter of speed; it's the willingness to immerse the audience in information that most viewers won't understand.Throughout each episode of this series the doctors raise numerous diagnostic hypotheses, and I have no doubt that almost all those viewing the series, like me, hear all of these various symptoms or maladies more as doubletalk than as real names - even though they are. We're not really expected to follow the thinking of these doctors. Instead, we're supposed to understand that they're engaged in important professional discussions. And for the viewer, that's sufficient.