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The Movie: The latest ABC drama after "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives" to be find itself a success, "Grey's Anatomy" started off as a mid-season replacement in its first season, with only nine episodes. The series picked up steam during its first season and became a breakout hit during its second. A prime post-Super Bowl slot netted the show an astonishing 38.1M viewers. One of the show's best elements is that it finally found consistent work for Ellen Pompeo, a wonderful actress who has brightened up moments in small supportng roles in such films as "Old School", "Moonlight Mile" and others. Pompeo stars as Dr. Meredith Grey, a new doctor following in the footsteps of her famous mother, Ellis (Kate Burton), who now suffers from Altzheimers. Her roommates turn out to be a pair of fellow doctors: Isobel "Izzie" Stevens (Katherine Heigl) and George O'Malley (T.R. Knight, who looks an awful lot like Sean Astin to me). Other fellow fresh docs in the Seattle hospital include: Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh) and Alex Karev (Justin Chambers). Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) is Meredith's superior, which she finds out after she has a fling with him. Also supervising the newcomers are Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson) and the Chief of Surgery, Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.). While Pompeo has an enjoyable on-screen presence and manages to show vulnerability and drive equally well, the entire ensemble shares the spotlight quite well, with highlights such as Oh's ambitious fellow newbie and others. The show's cast also has good chemistry with one another, and the series does a mostly fine job of developing relationships (such as the one between the Pompeo and Dempsey characters) without making the show seem like a soap. In fact, the show develops both the relationships and the workplace environment quite well, keeping the overall feeling grounded and at least reasonably realistic. Additionally, while the show is primarily a drama, there are moments of comedy on occasion that lighten the mood without taking away from the overall emotion of the episode. While the show started off as a midseason replacement with shaky future prosects, it grew into a serious hit in its second season, positioning itself as one of ABC's biggest (as well as one of TV's biggest) shows, backed by a major marketing campaign as it heads into its third season (which starts 9/21.) The second season sees the characters and their relationships developing and changing as they continue to face new and varied cases on a daily basis at the hospital. The second season opens with Shepard torn, as Grey (Pompeo) had found out that he was married to Dr. Addison Shepard (Kate Walsh). Grey's ill mother is also admitted to the hospital as a patient. Cristina (Sandra Oh) is pregant by Burke (Washington), but he doesn't know and things are frosty between the two as the season opens. Revealing too much more would spoil too much, but these are a few of the main plot threads that run through season. The performances were excellent during the first season, but the characters grow here as the actors seem to be more comfortable in their roles. Chandra Wilson was nominated for an Emmy recently for her performance and she strongly deserves it, as she gives a character who's tough on the outside a lot of depth. Knight also continues to impress as an everyguy who weathers the storms - personally and professionally - with heart and occasional humor. Pompeo and Oh also continue to shine in this season, as do Heigl and Washington, among others. The show has a solid ensemble cast and every cast member brings their performance up a notch here. Just as good is the fact that creator Shonda Rhimes manages to juggle their stories well once again here, and everyone gets their moment. Overall, I found this show to be very enjoyable. The characters are well-developed, real-feeling people. There are definitely quite a few moments of drama every episode, but the show isn't crisis-after-crisis, and generally allows some breathing room. Holding it all together and carrying it well though, are the characters and the actors. The performances and the writing that backs them up are what makes the show engaging and stand out in a genre that's certainly been done. Season 2 10. 2- 1 25 Sep 05 Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head 11. 2- 2 2 Oct 05 Enough Is Enough (No More Tears) 12. 2- 3 9 Oct 05 Make Me Lose Control 13. 2- 4 16 Oct 05 Deny, Deny, Deny 14. 2- 5 23 Oct 05 Bring The Pain 15. 2- 6 30 Oct 05 Into You Like A Train 16. 2- 7 6 Nov 05 Something to Talk About 17. 2- 8 13 Nov 05 Let It Be 18. 2- 9 20 Nov 05 Thanks for the Memories* 19. 2-10 27 Nov 05 Much Too Much 20. 2-11 4 Dec 05 Owner of a Lonely Heart 21. 2-12 8 Jan 06 Straight to the Heart 21. 2-12 11 Dec 05 Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer 22. 2-13 15 Jan 06 Begin the Begin 23. 2-14 22 Jan 06 Tell Me Sweet Little Lies 24. 2-15 29 Jan 06 Break on Through 25. 2-16 5 Feb 06 It's the End of the World (Part I)* 26. 2-17 12 Feb 06 (As We Know It) (Part II) 27. 2-18 19 Feb 06 Yesterday 28. 2-19 26 Feb 06 What Have I Done To Deserve This?* 29. 2-20 12 Mar 06 Band Aid Covers the Bullet Hole 30. 2-21 19 Mar 06 Superstition 31. 2-22 2 Apr 06 The Name of the Game 32. 2-23 30 Apr 06 Blues for Sister Someone 32. 2-23 23 Apr 06 Under Pressure 33. 2-24 7 May 06 Damage Case 34. 2-25 14 May 06 17 Seconds 35. 2-26 15 May 06 Deterioration of the Fight or Flight Response 36. 2-27 15 May 06 Losing My Religion* * - The DVD set offers special extended editions of these episodes. The DVD VIDEO: "Grey's Anatomy" is presented by Buena Vista Home Entertainment in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen. The picture quality is quite good, as the image remained crisp and well-defined for the majority, with only a couple of slightly softer moments seen here-and-there. Some minor edge enhancement and a couple of slight artifacts were visible, but the image was almost entirely free of issues. Colors appeared natural and accurate, with no smearing or other faults. SOUND: "Grey's Anatomy" is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. The presentation generally remains forward-oriented, as one would expect from a drama like this. Still, surrounds occasionally offer some ambience and other tidbits. Audio quality was certainly satisfactory, with crisp dialogue, music and sound effects. EXTRAS: Commentaries are included on several episodes: Director Jeff Melman and writer Krista Vernoff offer their thoughts on "Into You Like a Train". Creator Shonda Rimes and editor Susan Vaill record a chat about "Thanks For the Memories". Sandra Oh and director Peter Horton guide through "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" and Creator Shonda Rimes, director Peter Horton and editor Edward Ornelas discuss "It's the End of the World" and "As We Know It". The sixth disc offers more material, starting off with "The Doctors Are In", a 14-minute feature that offers interviews with several of the actors, who answer a set of questions from fans. It's too bad that this feature couldn't have been longer, as it's fun to have fans asking the questions for once. "The Softer Side of Dr. Bailey" is a short profile of actress Chandra Wilson and her character. "Creating Pink Mist" is a 7-minute featurette on effects. We also get a brief set tour from actor James Pickens Jr, 20 deleted scenes (18 minutes) and interviews with the cast on an episode of "Jimmy Kimmel Live" (22 minutes.) Final Thoughts: "Grey's Anatomy" offers characters that are engaging and developed well, solid storylines and a more grounded, realistic feel than shows in the genre usually have. The DVD set offers a few nice supplements and pleasing audio/video. Recommended. |