"Grey's Anatomy" A Hard Day's Night (2005)

Director:

Peter Horton

Writers:

Shonda Rhimes (creator)
Shonda Rhimes (written by)

TV Series:

"Grey's Anatomy" (2005)

Original Air Date:

27 March 2005 (Season 1, Episode 1)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Plot:

Meet Meredith Grey. Daughter of famous surgeon Ellis Grey and currently a first year intern at Seattle Grace Hospital...

Plot Keywords:

Bed | Intern | Mother Daughter Relationship | Medical | Shipper

Cast

Ellen Pompeo	...	Dr. Meredith Grey
Sandra Oh	...	Dr. Cristina Yang
Katherine Heigl	...	Dr. Izzie Stevens
Justin Chambers	...	Dr. Alex Karev
T.R. Knight	...	Dr. George O'Malley
Chandra Wilson	...	Dr. Miranda Bailey
James Pickens Jr.	...	Dr. Richard Webber
Isaiah Washington	...	Dr. Preston Burke
Patrick Dempsey	...	Dr. Derek Shepherd
Skyler Shaye	...	Katie Bryce
Randall Arney	...	Mr. Bryce
Kate Burton	...	Ellis Grey
Robbie Troy	...	Mrs. Bryce
Moe Irvin	...	Nurse Tyler Christian
Lynne Marie Stewart	...	Pre-op Nurse (as Lynn Marie Stewart)

Runtime:

60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

USA:TV-14

Company:

Mark Gordon Company, The

Trivia:

The character Alex (Justin Chambers) wasn't in the original pilot, so his scenes were filmed later on and in re-shoots.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Izzie and the other interns are awaiting the helicopter on the hospital roof, you can see a corner of her face in a close-up shot that shows her wearing her black glasses. But in the previous and subsequent long shots she is not wearing the glasses.

Quotes:

Dr. Cristina Yang: [Meredith and Cristina are looking for the cause of a patient's seizures] Are you seriously not going to tell me why you won't work with Shepherd?
Dr. Meredith Grey: No. What about infection?
Dr. Cristina Yang: No white count, no CT lesions, no fevers, nothing in her spinal tap. Just tell me.
Dr. Meredith Grey: You can't comment, make a face or react in any way.
[pauses]
Dr. Meredith Grey: We had sex.
Dr. Cristina Yang: [Goes back to the medical discussion] What about an aneurysm?
Dr. Meredith Grey: No blood on the CT, no headaches.
Dr. Cristina Yang: Okay, no drug use, no pregnancy, no trauma.
[pauses]
[...]

Soundtrack:

Life Is Short

Good, but far from great

E.R., House, Nip/Tuck... Seriously, was there any real need of another hospital drama? Probably not. Does that mean Grey's Anatomy is a load of rubbish? Certainly not. It just isn't as good as the aforementioned serials.

The main problem seems to be the fact that when you name a show after the leading character, said person should be a little out of the ordinary. Exhibit A: Buffy (and its spin-off Angel), Huff and, again, House - three programs featuring edgy, scarred protagonists who would like to make a difference but struggle to accept themselves. What does Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) have that makes her so special? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. In fact, the Seattle Grace Hospital intern who got in because of her famous mother (Kate Burton) is the least interesting character of the first episode, and that's something that stuck for the rest of the inaugural season.

Not that the concept itself is bad: having Meredith endure a 48-hour shift on her first day at work and then realize her boss, Dr. Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey), is actually the man she slept with the night before is a fun idea, if used the right way. Unfortunately, the right way is not blasting the viewer's ears with pseudo-philosophical reflections, told in a never-ending voice-over that is more often than not annoying: sure, it worked for Sarah Jessica Parker in Sex and the City or, staying in the medical field, Zach Braff in Scrubs, but those shows are funny and original - Grey's Anatomy, on the other hand, sets out to satirize the clichés of the genre, and succeeds admirably: the gallery of supporting characters is amazing, from the hard-working overachiever (Sandra Oh, the cast's standout) to the anxious momma's boy (T.R. Knight) via the strict supervisors (Isaiah Washington and Chandra Wilson). Shame creator Shonda Rhimes sacrifices their screen-time in favor of Meredith's pointless musings.

And yet I like the show. How come? Well, the writing gets sharper in later seasons, and so does the narrative impact of the surgical procedures (whereas Season One is a soap opera, with less operating tables and more sex); the supporting cast is perfect (Oh and Dempsey especially); and despite the overall uninspired narration the series never gets boring, courtesy of a pace that leaves no room for dead air.

In short: a polished, if rather shallow opening episode. It ain't E.R., but hey, no one ever said it had to be.