"Grey's Anatomy" Save Me (2005)

Director:

Sarah Pia Anderson

Writers:

Shonda Rhimes (creator)
Mimi Schmir (writer)

TV Series:

"Grey's Anatomy" (2005)

Original Air Date:

15 May 2005 (Season 1, Episode 8)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Plot:

Meredith grows increasingly dissatisfied with fact that she knows nothing about Derek's life. Meanwhile...

Plot Keywords:

Intern | Mother Daughter Relationship | Medical | Shipper | Punctuation In Title

US TV Schedule:

Tue. Jan. 5

6:00 PM

LIFE

Save Me

#1.8

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 (credit only)
Isaiah Washington	...	Dr. Preston Burke
Patrick Dempsey	...	Dr. Derek Shepherd
Joan McMurtrey	...	Zoey Glass
Kevin Rahm	...	Mr. Duff
Josh Stamberg	...	Tommy Walker
Sarah Hagan	...	Devo Friedman
Sarah Utterback	...	Nurse Olivia Harper
Ping Wu	...	Seymour Glass

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:

Every episode of the show is named after a famous song. "Save Me" is a song by Aimee Mann.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: Devo "Esther" Friedman refuses to take a porcine heart valve because of her strong Orthodox Jewish religious beliefs. Also, right before her surgery she requests that a rabbi bless her - and the rabbi that the hospital supplies is female. In Orthodox Judaism, female rabbis are not considered legitimate, and most Orthodox rabbis would not object to using the porcine valve, since life takes precedence above all else. However, Devo/Esther's particular branch of Orthodox Judaism and/or her personal religious convictions could certainly account for any perceived discrepancy.

Quotes:

Dr. Meredith Grey: I want facts, and until I get them, my pants are staying on.
Dr. Derek Shepherd: Or you could just roll with it, be flexible. See what happens.
Dr. Meredith Grey: I'm not flexible.
Dr. Derek Shepherd: Now there I disagree.

Soundtrack:

Fix You Up

A step back

Alongside the pilot, Save me is the least interesting episode of Grey's Anatomy's first year, primarily because of lazy writing that panders to clichés without the gusto required to make fun of them, which was the main joy of previous shows.

As usual, the main storyline concerns the least appealing character, namely Meredith, who is unhappy about not knowing much regarding Derek, despite the fact they have sex every night. Subplots worth noticing: Cristina has to come to terms with her unwanted pregnancy, Izzie considers getting back in touch with her estranged mother, and everyone at the hospital is startled by a patient with seizures who claims to be psychic.

That last element (the "psychic" guy) is the classic "potentially inexplicable case" gimmick that could ruin a show. In this case, it actually works in the episode's favor, since the silly plot line is handled with the right kind of humor/seriousness balance that is sorely missing elsewhere. Even Sandra Oh, normally the most reliable cast member, does petty much nothing important this time around, leaving it to Patrick Dempsey to save the day (and the last few minutes of the episode) with his natural charm and endearing wit. But hey, with only one more episode until the end of the season, such a misstep isn't that smart a move.