I'll just say my peace.
Trauma is a show that is trying to fill a niche that was left open when Third Watch ended in 2005 but Rescue Me was unable to fully articulate on without Police/EMS being involved. It is Third Watch meets The OC, and it sucks because of it. It is so over-the-top for shock value and to make it mainstream, it portrays us so inaccurately, that the producer should be shot.
ER was a good show. Would have been better if they spent a little less time on who was inter-relating with who's genitals, and a little more on anatomy and pharmacology. But still, a good show. Should have ended a lot sooner though, they didn't know when to have it gracefully phase out. Much like "Friends".
Law and Order is good because it, like ER, gives you a basic exposure to the multiple areas of criminal procedure law understandable to mainstream viewers, if not completely accurate. However, I applaud them for never stooping so low as to have a love story involved.
I believe Third Watch was one of the greatest shows to focus on first responders since "Emergency!" was cancelled. Sure, it wasn't always accurate (especially to NYC), and it was occasionally over-the-top, because it seemed all the worst incidents happened to the same people in a short period of time. However, when it comes to the actual CULTURE of first responders, the first 3 seasons were very well constructed, I believe. It covered the fun parts of Police/Fire/EMS, the annoying parts, the boring parts. It delved into our personal lives.. It showed how our jobs can affect our lifestyles, and used "new" members to introduce the layperson to the job through the eyes of those rookies.
I actually had a girlfriend ask me questions about what we do, what it's like, etc. By watching select episodes of the first 3 seasons, I was able to expose her to elements of our culture and explain "how it is", without having to just have her become a FF/EMT and find out.
