10 TV Shows That Would Have Been Better On HBO

8. ER

Medical dramas are usually one part actual hospital drama, one part stories about life outside the hospital and three parts way too attractive doctors just trying to hook up. ER was no stranger to the formula, but to the show's credit it was something of an innovator in the field of complex hospital based narratives and shocking character moments. The best episodes could juggle 12 stories at one time and always include a scene or two that would have everyone talking the next day. Those are the same qualities that typically define the best HBO shows, making ER a natural fit.

HBO has never really explored the realm of medical dramas and the always dramatic, sometimes risque world of ER would have been an interesting addition to the network's stable. Meanwhile, those times that ER would cut away from a particularly gruesome operating scene or sexy hookup right before things started to get real would be allowed to play unrestricted.