Product Description
-------------------
Grey's Antomy revolves around the personal and
professional lives of the doctors at Seattle's Grace Hospital,
and examines the complex relationships involving Meredith Grey
(Ellen Pompeo), the bumbling George O'Malley (T.R. Knight),
Addison Forbes Montgomery (Kate Walsh), and the arrogant Preston
Burke (Isaiah Washington). GREY'S ANATOMY also stars Sandra Oh,
Justin Chambers, and Chandra Wilson. The show's successful
formula relies on mixing intense medical procedures with its
characters' emotional struggles. This collection includes series
1 to 5 of the hit medical show.
.co.uk Review
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Greys Anatomy: Season 1
Just when you wanted to say "Oh no, not another hospital drama,"
Grey's Anatomy turns into one of the most addicting series on
television. With no big stars and no hype, the ABC series debuted
as a mid-season replacement and became a bonafide smash in its
nine-episode season. The series, a hybrid of House's medical
detectives and Dawson's Creek's hormones and catchy pop-rock
soundtrack, follows five competitive surgical interns at the
fictional Seattle Grace Hospital. There's optimistic ex-model
Izzie (Katherine Heigl), bumbling do-gooder George (T.R. Knight),
competitive glacier Cristina (Sandra Oh), cocky womanizer Alex
(Justin Chambers), and the show's namesake, Meredith Grey (Ellen
Pompeo), whose medical career is complicated by her famous
surgeon mother who now lives with Alzheimer's, and her
frowned-upon relationship with another surgeon, Derek Shepherd
(Patrick Dempsey, enjoying the best career revival since Rob
Lowe). The doctors juggle romance and foster friendships while
trying not to stab each other in the back over surgeries. Grey's
Anatomy's first season, while entertaining, went a little far
trying to find its groove, overdosing on Meredith's overly
simplistic voice-overs ("At the end of the day... faith is a
funny thing"), and musical montages. It has the usual trappings
of a hospital drama (unusual cases, such as the patient with the
70-pound tumor, and trysts in the on-call room), but with more
warm fuzzies and light touches. Pompeo, who can sound just like
Renee Zellweger if you close your eyes, is likeable but not
strong enough of a presence compared to her co-stars. Luckily the
quirky dialogue and stellar acting by the ethnically diverse
cast, particularly by Chandra Wilson (Dr. Bailey, aka "the Nazi")
and Oh, who won a Golden Globe for best supporting actress, more
than make up for it. --Ellen A. Kim
Greys Anatomy: Season 2
For viewers bored or distressed by the constant gore and
breakneck speed of hospital dramas like ER, Grey's Anatomy comes
as a breath of fresh air. Unlike other shows set in the world of
medicine, this series is just as concerned with its characters'
personal lives as with their medical careers, and thrives by
stressing the way in which the two intertwine. After all, for
surgical interns who have chosen to dedicate their lives to
medicine, the hospital largely becomes their home. Extremely
well-written, the series mixes serious issues like mortality with
funny storylines and wit. Each character is well developed and
individualized, coming off as real rather than stereotypical.
Rather than standing on its own, each medical challenge sheds
some light on the doctors' personal experiences, bringing the
hospital environment to a refreshingly relevant level. While the
series may not be the most realistic medical drama on television,
it is certainly the most compelling and entertaining, containing
such juicy plotlines as love triangles, affairs between
co-workers, and secret romances. This release contains every
episode from the show's well received second season, picking up
right where the first left off, with Meredith discovering that
her boyfriend, Derek, has been hiding the fact that he's married.
Shocked and betrayed, Meredith embarks on a messy healing process
that involves angry shouting matches and a string of one-night
stands. As usual, the show avoids taking itself too seriously by
interjecting serious themes with light-hearted dialogue and
humorous medical emergencies. Rounding out the already impressive
ensemble cast are new characters like Derek's wife (Kate Walsh)
and new love interests for most of the cast. While the season
contains plenty of laughs, it keeps the intensity up as well, and
ends on a decidedly sombre note.
Greys Anatomy: Season 3
In the third season of Grey's Anatomy, one medical intern will
get married to a superior while another is left standing at the
altar. Two interns will lose their parents. And one main
character will try to commit suicide--or not fight very hard to
save her own life. There will be multiple hook-ups, infidelity,
and trust issues. In between the soap opera-style drama that
attracts millions of viewers in the US each week, interns
Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh), Izzie
Stevens (Katherine Heigl), Alex Karev (Justin Chambers), and
George O'Malley (T.R. Knight) will also perform some medical
miracles. At the end of season 2, Izzie was distraught over the
death of her fiancé, Denny. Now she finds that her very rich
boyfriend has left her millions of dollars. Instead of putting
the money into the bank and allowing it to accrue interest until
she decides what she wants to do with it--as sensible Dr. Miranda
Bailey (Chandra Wilson) suggests--Izzie mopes around the house in
an irritating stupor. Actually, irritating is an apt description
for several of the main characters. It takes a leap of faith to
believe that sexy, spectacular, and rich orthopedic surgeon
Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez) would be even vaguely interested in
wishy-washy George. Previously, he'd convinced himself that he
was in love with Meredith. Now he's pining for his other
roommate, Izzie, even though he's already got Callie. And rather
than welcoming her into their fold, Izzie and Meredith (and to a
lesser extent Cristina) give Callie the mean-girls .
They may have rebuffed him at one point, but they don't want
Callie to have him, either. There is something very needy about
this group of interns who have no one to turn to but each other
when a crisis occurs.
Viewers get some in into "dark and twisty" Meredith's
upbringing, as she spends more time with her cold and demanding
mother, who is suffering from Alzheimer's, and her milquetoast
her, who didn't fight very hard to have contact with her as a
child after her mum kicked him out of their house. It's no wonder
Meredith ended up emotionally damaged and unwilling to completely
open up to Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) ... a.k.a. McDreamy.
Though the show's title implies that Meredith is the most
important character, it's not true. The ensemble cast, which also
includes James Pickens Jr. as Dr. Richard Webber (who had a long
and complicated affair with Meredith's mother) and Kate Walsh as
Derek's ex-wife Addison, is fantastic. And it's difficult to
outshine Oh, who has some of this season's funniest and emotional
moments as she navigates a relationship with Preston Burke
(Isaiah Washington), who is far more romantic and traditional
than she is. Though not as compelling as the show's debut season,
this third year still packs a strong emotional punch. --Jae-Ha
Kim
Greys Anatomy: Season 4
Season four of the hit ABC medical drama was on shaky ground from
the season premiere, which left Cristina (Sandra Oh) at the altar
by Burke (Isaiah Washington, fired after the press-frenzied third
season); Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) and Derek (Patrick Dempsey)
downgraded to no-relationship-just-sex status; and George (T.R.
Knight) pondering divorce from Callie (Sara Ramirez) to pursue
love with his best friend, Izzie (Katherine Heigl). That last
pairing made for one of the worst decisions in the series thus
far; George and Izzie always worked so well as friends without
the will-they-won't-they element, but suddenly throwing them into
bed and watching them fumble their way to coupledom (an attempt
that mercifully doesn't last) was painful to watch, in particular
because Heigl, who had won an Emmy for the previous season, was
reduced to a lot of whining and fretting. Meanwhile, Meredith's
family issues come to a head when her half-sister Lexie (Chyler
Leigh) begins her internship at Seattle Grace and instantly tries
too hard to bond. And as she once again drives away Derek with
her trust issues, Meredith finally gets smart and enters therapy
(one of the redeeming elements of the season, with Amy Madigan as
the hard-nosed counselor) to "get healed." The writers' strike
became a welcome blessing for the show, which had seriously
derailed before its hiatus; during the strike, creator Shonda
Rimes has said she reexamined the direction of the show, making
for an ultimately satisfying second half of the season. Standout
episodes include "Forever Young," in which a high school bus
c leaves the staff pontificating their own adolescent
cliques; "Lay Your Hands on Me," with a standout performance by
Chandra Wilson as Bailey, whose crumbling marriage comes front
and center when her toddler gets in an accident; and the season
finale "Freedom," in which Meredith and Derek save two
brain-tumor patients in love (Jurnee Smollett and Marshall
Allman), leading to their own (lasting?) reunion, Bailey heads up
an effort to rescue a guy who lay in concrete to impress a girl;
and Callie finds herself attracted to the new cardiac surgeon,
Erica Hahn (Brooke Smith). --Ellen A. Kim
Greys Anatomy: Season 5
Season 5 is a pivotal one for the riveting Grey's Anatomy. The
doctors at Seattle Grace Hospital bloom and show new layers, the
drama meets and exceeds that of previous seasons, and the show
marks an important milestone--its 100th episode--with
developments that, as with all the great Grey's episodes, brim
with belly laughs and moving tears.
The season gets off to a slow start, with perhaps a bit more
relationship angst than even diehard fans would prefer. Meredith
(Ellen Pompeo) and Derek "McDreamy" (Patrick Dempsey) start out
with the familiar push-pull of their love affair--but a
resolution, at last, is in their future. Callie (the excellent,
and newly glamorous, Sara Ramirez) wrestles with her sexual
orientation. Cristina (Sandra Oh, never better) is still picking
up the pieces from her ruined engagement to the departed Burke
(Isaiah Washington). To help her, or maybe to throw her for
another loop, the series introduces the gruff, macho
doc, Owen (one of TV's sexiest hunks, Kevin McKidd).
Yet series creator and still active writer Shonda Rhimes unveils
story arcs about midway through the season which have the
surgeons' operating room dramas intersecting with the characters'
private lives--with waves of heartbreaking results. Fans may take
issue with "Dead Denny" (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and his endless
visitations--complete with sex--with Izzie (Katherine Heigl)--but
as the season builds, Izzie's mystery illness, and her deep love
for Alex (Justin Chambers) are treated with delicacy and respect,
and Denny's character both reacts and ultimately supports.
There's a wedding--a fairy-tale one--celebrating the show's 100th
episode, and the love of the characters, and the pain they've
overcome to get there--are equal parts of the very human, very
lovely, result. The season finale is among the show's best ever,
with the e of two beloved characters, George (T.R. Knight) and
Izzie, left unknown and laden with sorrow. --A.T. Hurley
