1.First, everyone in the hospital has slept with everybody else and the secret relationships cause DRAMA every season.
2.There's always a group of BFFs that are trying to defy the odds and become the best doctors at the hospital.
3.From the beginning, one intern appears to be a surgical prodigy and gets put on a ton of surgeries by the residents.
4.Every season, there's one favorite patient that appears to be getting better until there's a complication no one sees coming.
5.There's always one doctor who comes from a family of surgeons, but they're trying to escape their family's legacy.
6.More often than not, there's a massive accident, like a chemical spill or a ferry boat crash, that causes widespread panic in the ER.
7.The hospital on-call rooms never function as a place for doctors to sleep, but rather as a perfect hook up spot.
8.A new doctor inevitably arrives to cause trouble at the most inconvenient moments.
9.At some point, one doctor defies the odds and saves a patient in a crazy way, whether it's rescuing them from a storm drain or performing surgery in a stuck elevator.
10.Once an episode, a doctor yells, "They're coding" and/or "Clear," while trying to save a patient.
11.At some point, a beloved intern tragically dies and their death leaves a lasting impression on their fellow doctors and the TV series.
12.Every season, there's one medical mystery that causes the doctors to go into a frenzy.
13.There's sometimes one doctor who is hiding something that could keep them from operating, usually a hand tremor.
14.One doctor in a position of power has a "tough love" attitude that eventually softens as the series progresses.
15.At some point, a parent of one of the doctors is revealed, and we learn about their strained relationship.
16.All of the doctors hang out at the same bar after work because nobody seems to have any friends outside of the hospital.
17.And finally, a family member of a doctor will unexpectedly arrive and shock everyone who works there, making for the perfect episode cliffhanger.