I have to make a blog entry, so I will share this with you.
Dr. Meredith Grey:
Don't look at me like that.
Dr. Derek Shepherd:
Like what?
Dr. Meredith Grey:
Like you've seen me naked!
I have been watching Grey's Anatomy over the last two days. I got Season One, Disc One from Netflix. I have watched three episodes. I know I am very late to the game here, but since nearly everyone I know couldn't stop talking about McDreamy and couldn't stop gushing, I had to see for myself what on earth all the fuss was about.
This is what I've learned so far.
Grey's Anatomy isn't so McDreamy as it is McBeal. If you watched Ally McBeal, if you were a fan, you'll recognize in Meredith a character who is just as self-absorbed and whiny as Ally ever was. Like Ally, she's a well-educated career woman who is more obsessed with her love life than she will ever be with her own career ambitions. Also like Ally she's in an arena that is cut-throat, where people play to win every single moment of every single day. Instead of a law firm, we've got a hospital. Instead of John Cage, we've got the Nazi. Instead of Richard Fish, we've got Dr. Burke. And instead of Billy, we've got McDreamy. We've even got Georgia in the form of Cristina and we've got Elaine in the form of Izzie. Oh and there's George. Who could easily be any one of the number of men who found themselves in love with Ally while she was still obsessing over Billy.
The reason, I believe, that folks are chatting about this show around the water coolers on Friday mornings is because it is not just another hospital show like ER. It is a show about interpersonal relationships that happens to take place in a hospital. The hospital serves as the backdrop. But the patient's stories, their lives that are at stake, don't really hold much value for us as we wonder whether or not Meredith will ever date McDreamy. Or if she'll just continue to obsess.
Again, I've only seen three episodes on Disc One so far. So if you're a huge Grey's fan, you'll have to remember that I'm just now arriving at the party and perhaps cut me some slack if I'm getting this all wrong.
I'm going to keep watching. I watched every single episode of Ally McBeal. Every.single.one. I absolutely loved that show. So if this show can somehow capture that magic all over again? I'll keep watching. For sure.
