greys anatomy

Grey's Anatomy is an Emmy award-winning American primetime television medical drama. The pilot episode aired on ABC on March 27, 2005, following Desperate Housewives. The story revolves around Dr. Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), a surgical intern at the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital in Seattle, Washington. The show features an ensemble cast, but Meredith is featured as the main character, with a voice-over narration at the beginning and end of most episodes.

The title of the show is a pun on the title of the famous anatomy textbook, Gray's Anatomy.

Cast and characters

Main article: List of characters from Grey's Anatomy

The characters of the series include a group of surgical interns, the various physicians who serve as mentors to the interns, and additional people in their professional and personal lives.

Surgical Interns:

• Ellen Pompeo - Dr. Meredith Grey
• Sandra Oh - Dr. Cristina Yang
• Katherine Heigl - Dr. Isobel "Izzie" Stevens
• Justin Chambers - Dr. Alex Karev
• T.R. Knight - Dr. George O'Malley

Residents:

• Chandra Wilson - Dr. Miranda Bailey (Senior surgical resident)
• Sara Ramírez - Dr. Calliope "Callie" Torres (Orthopedic surgery resident)

Attendings:

• James Pickens, Jr. - Dr. Richard Webber (Chief of Surgery)
• Kate Walsh - Dr. Addison Forbes Montgomery-Shepherd (Neonatal surgeon/Maternal-fetal medicine specialist)
• Isaiah Washington - Dr. Preston Xavier Burke (Cardiothoracic surgeon)
• Patrick Dempsey - Dr. Derek Shepherd (Neurosurgeon)
• Eric Dane - Dr. Mark Sloan^[1] (Plastic surgeon)

The show has been lauded for its non-traditional cast. The show's producers pride themselves on the fact that they used a "blind-casting" technique. "Blind-casting" means that the producers did not assign a specific race to each character before casting, they simply chose the best actor/actress for the part, and race was not a determining factor. The cast includes several African-American actors (Chandra Wilson, Isaiah Washington and James Pickens, Jr.), an Asian-Canadian actress (Sandra Oh), and a Latina actress (Sara Ramirez) in heavily featured roles. The Emerald City Bar's proprietor, Joe (Steven W. Bailey) is a gay man.

Criticism, praise, and media coverage

Grey's Anatomy, despite its popularity, has its share of detractors. The show has been widely criticized by various groups, many of them medical, for inaccurately presenting medical situations and greatly exaggerating the degree to which doctors and medical professionals fraternize with one another. ^[2] In particular, the show was initially targeted as showing a disrespect for nurses (several lines of dialogue had doctors referring to nurses in sarcastic or belittling ways; in the pilot episode, Meredith is offended when Alex thinks she is "just" a nurse). The creator defended this line saying that it shows what would be offensive to a surgeon and that in the scenes after it is seen that the nurses know more than the new interns. Second season episodes seem to address this, as a nurses' strike shows how lost the hospital is without them.

However, supporters of the show have defended its lack of realism, claiming that a dry, precise medical show would lack the charms^[3] that make Grey's Anatomy so popular with its wide audience and pointing out that very few TV programs, including ones purporting to be far more serious, hew strictly to realism.

Another criticism drawn against the show^[4] is the parallels of Grey's Anatomy's format with the NBC drama comedy, Scrubs. Both shows use a diary style narration by the main character, with many similarities between the characters on both shows. Given that Scrubs first aired in 2001, some have noted that Grey's Anatomy has "borrowed" these elements and popularised them for the mass audience, even to the point of Scrubs referencing it directly with the main character Dr. John "JD" Dorian talking about Grey's Anatomy and saying "it's like they've been watching our lives and just put it on TV."

In 2005, ABC gave the hit show a vote of confidence by announcing that Grey's Anatomy would receive the coveted post-Super Bowl time slot which aired on February 5, 2006^[5] The special episode got a record-high 38.1 rating. The network's faith in the show was proven further when it removed it from its comfortable post-Desperate Housewives berth and scheduled it opposite the CBS ratings blockbuster CSI: Crime Scene Investigation in fall 2006. The gamble paid off dramatically, with the season premiere drawing 3 million more viewers than its formidable crime drama competition.

The series has twice been featured as a subject of special episodes of the ABC News program 20/20, including one 2006 episode on the realism of the sometimes outlandish medical stories of Grey's Anatomy, and real cases similar to them ^[6][7]. Additionally, a 2005 broadcast of ABC News Nightline more specifically covered Grey's Anatomy's multiracial cast and race relations depiction in entertainment.

Seasons

See also: List of Grey's Anatomy episodes

Season 1: (2005)

Nielsen Ranking (2004-05 U.S. TV season; based on average total viewers per episode): #9 (18.5 million viewers)^[8]

Season one began airing March 27, 2005 and ended on May 22, 2005. Meredith Grey, daughter of the once-renowned surgeon Ellis Grey, becomes an intern at the Seattle Grace Hospital. She meets fellow interns Cristina, Izzie, and George who will be her closest friends during the intern program. Other characters include Dr. Miranda Bailey, who is nicknamed "The Nazi" due to her "tough love" capability; Alex Karev, another intern who is not very popular with the other interns (especially Izzie); and surgeons Dr. Derek Shepherd and Dr. Preston Burke. The chief of surgery is Richard Webber. The season chronicles the first few months of the intern program and the day-to-day life of a surgical intern. Recurring plots include Meredith's battle to keep her mother's Alzheimer's disease a secret and her relationship with Dr. Shepherd. Others include George's infatuation with Meredith and a power struggle between Dr. Burke and Dr. Shepherd.

Season 2: (2005 - 2006)

Nielsen Ranking (2005-06 U.S. TV season; based on average total viewers per episode): #5 (19.9 million viewers)^[9]

The second season began airing September 25, 2005, and concluded on May 14 and May 15, 2006 with a three-hour finale spanning both nights. The first season originally contained 13 episodes, representing ABC's original midseason order for the show. However, it was decided to end the season early because ABC executives wished for the show's first season to end with ABC's Desperate Housewives (which had the timeslot before Grey's Anatomy for the first two seasons). Rather than condensing or throwing out plotlines, Grey's Anatomy producers chose to end the season with the ninth episode and save the following episodes for the second season. Episodes 10-13 were then held and broadcast as the first four episodes of Season 2. ABC ordered 22 episodes in addition to the four being carried over, bringing the total number of episodes for the second season to 26. The count apparently does not include the recap specials "Straight From The Heart" and "Under Pressure"; however, a 27th original episode was eventually added to the season. "Bring the Pain," which aired as the series' 14th episode, has been cited in series creator Shonda Rhimes' blog as having been originally intended as the first season finale. On some of the weeks airing after its highly-watched February 5, 2006 post-Super Bowl episode, the program attracted more viewers than its lead-in, Desperate Housewives.

Season 3: (2006 - 2007)

On May 16, 2006, the morning following the close of the second season, ABC announced plans for a third season of Grey's Anatomy to anchor the network's Thursday evening programming^[10], set to air at 9 PM EST. As Thursday has historically been the most competitive programming night among American broadcast networks, the announced schedule change for the series has been viewed by media analysts as another vote of confidence in the series from ABC. By extension, the move of the series has been cited as one potential factor for competing network NBC's decision to move its own Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, originally intended to air Thursdays at 9 p.m. EST. ABC announced on July 18, 2006 that the third season would premiere on September 21, 2006.

ABC first tested the series' potential for Thursday audiences on February 9, 2006, as it aired an encore of the Super Bowl XL-leadout episode titled "It's the End of the World." The following Thursday, February 16, 2006, the network repeated the second part of the story arc, "(As We Know It)." Both airings began at 9:30 p.m. EST, and thus positioned Grey's Anatomy against CBS' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Without A Trace also Survivor and NBC's long-running medical drama ER. Solid performance on these nights, with the repeat airings maintaining a strong second-place finish, may have been influential in the fall scheduling decision.

The series officially assumed its new Thursday slot on July 6, 2006, as part of a two-hour event featuring a repeat of the pilot episode, "A Hard Day's Night." Throughout July and August, the series aired twice weekly — once in the new Thursday time period, and once in its previous Sunday time period. Two actors, the previously recurring Sara Ramirez and Eric Dane, join the regular cast as Callie Torres and Mark Sloan. Even though there have been rumors of Kate Walsh's departure, there has been no official confirmation.

Grey's Anatomy performed strongly in the show's new timeslot in its season premiere. It was able to snatch away the #1 position from CSI: Crime Scene Investigation during the 9 p.m. hour, bringing in an impressive 25.14 million viewers throughout the hour and a strong 10.9 rating in the vital 18-49 demographic. In comparison, CSI's season premiere earned a competitive 22.04 million total viewership and and a 7.5 rating in the 18-49 demo. [10]

Awards and nominations

Awards won

Golden Globes:

• Best TV Supporting Actress: Sandra Oh (2006)

Screen Actors Guild:

• Best Female Actor in a Drama Series: Sandra Oh (2006)

TV Land Awards:

• Future Classic (2006)

NAACP Image Awards:

• Outstanding Drama Series (2006)
• Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series: Isaiah Washington (2006)

Television Critics Awards:

• Program of the Year (2006)

Emmy Awards:

• Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series: Linda Lowy, John Brace (2006)

Awards nominated

Emmy Awards:

• Outstanding Drama Series (2006)
• Outstanding Makeup For A Series (Non-Prosthetic)
• Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup For A Series, Miniseries, Movie Or A Special
• Outstanding Direction in a Drama Series: Peter Horton (A Hard Day's Night) (2005)
• Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series: Linda Lowy, John Brace (2005, 2006)
• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series: Sandra Oh (2005, 2006)
• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series: Chandra Wilson (2006)
• Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series: Kate Burton (Ellis Grey) (2006)
• Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series: Christina Ricci (Hannah) (2006)
• Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series: Kyle Chandler (Dylan Young) (2006)
• Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series: Shonda Rhimes (It’s the End Of The World, As We Know It ) (2006)
• Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series: Krista Vernoff (Into You Like A Train) (2006)

Golden Globes:

• Best Television Series - Drama
• Best Actor in a Drama Series: Patrick Dempsey (2006)

Screen Actors Guild:

• Ensemble in a Drama Series (2006)
• Best Male Actor in a Drama Series: Patrick Dempsey (2006)

DVD Releases

Season Releases

Music

See also: Grey's Anatomy (soundtrack)

The show's main title theme is a snippet of "Cosy in the Rocket", by British artists Psapp. It is featured in the soundtrack album released via ABC corporate cousin Hollywood Records on September 27, 2005. A list of all the songs aired for each episode can be found on the program's official website. [11] Grey's Anatomy has been instrumental to the success of Snow Patrol's "Chasing Cars" and The Fray's "How to Save a Life", both of which became top 10 hits after appearing in the show.

A second soundtrack, featuring songs from Season Two, has been released September 12, 2006.

Catchphrases

The characters on Grey's Anatomy speak in a very contemporary way, resulting in unique dialogue. As a result, the show has spawned a couple of catchphrases.

• A trend began of "McLabeling" characters or adding "Mc" to other terms

1. McDreamy: the first of this trend is a nickname given to Derek Shepherd by Cristina Yang
2. McMarried: said by George O'Malley after Meredith Grey finds out that McDreamy is married
3. McBastard: said by Izzie after she finds out McDreamy is married
4. McSteamy: Mark Sloan is given this nickname by the female interns. Before picking the name, the female interns were thinking about using McSexy and McYummy.
5. McHot: Addison Shepherd is given this nickname by Alex Karev
6. McYeah: George agrees with Alex when he calls Addison McHot
7. McDog: the dog shared by McDreamy and Meredith
8. McLife: according to Meredith, after getting her McDreamy and McDog, Addison now has Meredith's "McLife"
9. McVet: given to veterinarian Finn Dandridge
10. McVomit: something George says he is holding back as female interns discuss other McNicknames
11. McGuilty: what Cristina calls Derek for having sex with Meredith and then asking her what their encounter meant.
12. McNasty: what Cristina says to Meredith after she is told Meredith had sex with McDreamy at prom.
13. McWife: used by several characters to describe Addison

• Euphemisms for female genitalia or other sexually related terms

1. Va-jay-jay: Dr. Bailey's euphemism for vagina: during the season 2 episode "(As We Know It)", George was assisting Addison Shepherd in Dr. Bailey's childbirth, and Bailey told him to "stop looking at my va-jay-jay!" On the "Frequently Asked Questions" page of the show's official website, Shonda Rhimes credits assistant Blythe Robe as her source for the phrase.
2. My good girl: A supporting character called her genitalia "my good girl" in the episode Damage Case.
3. V-card: Chief Webber's wife Adele (Loretta Devine) used the phrase "cashing in her V-card" to describe her niece losing her virginity in the second-season finale.

• The characters often say "seriously", usually at the end of a sentence, as a question or as a pronouncement. On the "Frequently Asked Questions" page on the show's website at ABC.com, creator Shonda Rhimes explains that one of the writers, Krista Vernoff, used the saying all the time and it spread to the writing staff, and eventually, to the dialogue.

Networks

First run

Grey's Anatomy is broadcast on the following channels around the world:

Syndication

Grey's Anatomy will air in syndication in the USA on Lifetime Television beginning in January 2007. Initially, the show will air once a week beginning with the first season. In Fall 2009, Lifetime can begin airing the show daily. Lifetime will pay $1.2 million per episode, for up to 200 episodes.^[11]

Trivia

• Every episode title comes from the title of a song. Episode 1.07 "The Self Destruct Button," though widely said to be an exception to the rule, is named for an AC/DC song.^[12]
• Some countries, such as the United Kingdom, air the first season as 14 episodes. This includes all of the episodes filmed originally for Season 1 (up until Season 2, Episode 4), and one more episode, aired in the USA as Season 2, Episode 5. This is also reflected by the Region 2 DVD boxset, which also contains 14 episodes for the first season.
• On Oprah, Isaiah Washington said that he originally auditioned to play the role of Dr. Shepherd.
• In Canada, CTV failed to air the Season 3 premiere as scheduled, inadvertently broadcasting Episode 2 instead. When this was realized, they announced that Episode 1 would be shown before Episode 2 the following week.^[13]
• Sandra Oh was originally looking to audition for the part of Dr. Bailey.
• Hot Doctor is a drinking game based on Grey's Anatomy

References

External links

• ABC.com: Grey's Anatomy
• Grey Matter - Writers' Blog
• Grey's Anatomy at the Internet Movie Database
• Grey's Anatomy at TV.com
• LIVINGtv Official Grey's Anatomy Mini-Site
• five Official Grey's Anatomy Mini-Site