Throughout the series "ER" received positive reviews from critics and fans alike. It scored 80 on Metacritic, meaning "generally favorable reviews", based on 21 critics. Marvin Kitman from "Newsday" said: "It's like "M*A*S*H" with just the helicopters showing up and no laughs. "E.R." is all trauma; you never get to know enough about the patients or get involved with them. It's just treat, release and move on". Richard Zoglin from "Time" stated that it's "probably the most realistic fictional treatment of the medical profession TV has ever presented".