Excellent prescription. (Grey's Anatomy)

Member Name: jimmyb24

Product:	Grey's Anatomy
Date:	18/03/09 (35 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent, ensemble cast; Brilliant medical scenes.

Disadvantages: Overly emotional - think melodrama as opposed to drama; Meredith's closing summations.

The medical melodrama, now in its fifth season in the US, centres around the professional and personal lives of a group of surgeons in a hectic Seattle hospital. The lead, Meredith Grey, is the main focus of the show, much of which centres on her volatile relationships and personal dramas.

For those expecting another ER, think again; Grey's Anatomy is more a relationship based series, aimed at women - this is not to say it can not be enjoyed by men as well. It is important to note that this is a melodrama, rather than a drama, so a lot of the show focuses on over emotional responses - much more so than ER. As this is the case, the show is not as gritty as ER, although it must be said that there are many excellent medical scenes involving shattered bones, severed limbs and the like. If you're looking to compare Grey's Anatomy to anything, then I would suggest that if Scrubs was a drama, it would be Grey's Anatomy. There is lots of humour, but also some very tender and very dramatic aspects to every episode.

While the emotion and tenderness of the show is appealing to audience members, it can become slightly annoying, especially Meredith's 'John Dorian (Scrubs) style' summations to episodes; while some are poignant and make you think, most tend to lend too much 'cheese' to the episode and induce serious eye rolling.

The show benefits from a wonderful ensemble cast that are extremely watchable; while the ethnic diversity is nice to see, considering that currently there are more than enough shows with primarily white casts. The chemistry between the lead actors is also nice to see, keeping the show fresh and interesting even in the slower episodes.

While there are many aspects of this show that are slightly over the top - the emotion mainly - it has to be said that the show maintains a high quality throughout each season - the 'big' [double] episodes (one appears each season) are always tense, nail biting affairs that are well written and certainly well played.

Ultimately, Grey's Anatomy is for those viewers who enjoy a lot of emotion and relationships in their television habits; but the show also provides those of a less squeemish disposition with enough gore and mutilation to keep them interested.

Summary: An excellent medical melodrama, albeit with a little too much emotion.