And it was the realism that we appreciate from the later years. Still funny, but not zany.

Very true, the later years were definitely more realistic.

One of my favorites from the later years was when Winchester saved a soldier's leg, and wasn't able to spend much time repairing the minor nerve damage to the soldier's hand. But it turned out that the soldier was a concert pianist. The solider was devastated and angry. Winchester, a big lover of classical music, didn't want the soldier to turn his back on his career, and kept reaching out until he convinced the solider that there were other ways he could stay with music. During the episode, he even admitted to Mulcahy that he knew he didn't have the same bedside manner as the other doctors. I always liked the (few) episodes when Winchester showed his good side.

Kevin