Several media commentators made negative comparisons between "Mercy Point" and other television programs. The show was described as reminiscent of a "Saturday Night Live" skit "that sounded brighter on paper than it plays on the air" by "The Sun-Sentinel"s Tom Jicha, who felt it served as a spoof of "ER." Caryn James of "The New York Times" wrote that "Mercy Point" was the "oddball new series", saying it was not compelling either in a dramatic or campy manner. Editor Jason Snell criticized the show as a retread of "Crisis Center" and "General Hospital", describing it as an "utter waste of an intriguing premise", and "The Chicago Tribune"'s Steve Johnson called it the ""ER"-in-space mess". Both Snell and Johnson encouraged UPN to cancel the series following the announcement of its hiatus.