I Tivo almost everything I watch these days. I love the flexibility of watching what I want when I want to. It is great not to have to rush home for a show. There are only two shows that I do not Tivo, American Idol, because it is live and Grey’s Anatomy. Usually I do not want to miss a minute of Grey’s, it has been my favorite show for a few years now. This past season has had me thinking of just shoving it on the Tivo list as there are more and more things about the show worthy of fast forwarding through. Here are my reasons to Tivo and not to Tivo, be curious for fans of the show to share theirs.
Reasons to Tivo:
5. Katherine Heigl
Katherine and Izzy were two of my favorite parts of the show up to this season. I hate when real life interferes with my tv watching, but rumors of her wanting out of the show for movies as well as some of her real life have made it harder to enjoy Izzy. Heigl should really sit back and enjoy her role as when well written, Izzy is one of televisions most interesting female characters, and beats the hell out of anyone she has played on the big screen. Heigl is a tv star in my opinion, not a movie star and should embrace her current success. Putting Izzy with George was the final nail in the coffin as I was one of many fans who absolutely despised this pairing and had difficulty getting through their scenes together. On the plus side, having her storyline again connected to Alex at seasons end might signify some positive changes for Izzy in the upcoming season.
4. Patrick Dempsey:
The world went ga ga over Dempsey and his success on Grey’s. I did not. I find him neither a brilliant actor nor as hot as the rest of the world seems to. To me, he brings down the Meredith/Derek storyline. Now all is not lost here, I thought he was great this past season, much better than the previous seasons. His work with Eric Dane was very funny and I have enjoyed his work with James Pickens Jr as well. I find Derek easier to take when with Meredith than without. Some of it is not Dempsey’s fault, the storylines are usually written to center on Meredith and her feelings which often leaves Derek looking like somewhat of a tool. I think Dempsey is a great supporting player, working through a leading role he is really not suited for. Hopefully the show will return to it’s ensemble feel next season and reduce the Meredith/Derek storyline now that they are back together and focus on their other relationships. BTW Patrick, we really do not need to see you on yet another magazine cover...
3. Brooke Smith
Ok, I don’t hate Brooke Smith, I actually quite like her. I do worry though she is diminishing the character of Callie whom I do love. I liked Smith when she was on a few seasons ago, but as a full fledged regular, I worry that she is too similar to Callie, and the characters will simply become caricatures of each other if not separated into different storylines.
2. Losing the day players
Remember how well you used to know all the nurses and extra’s who inhabited the hospital on ER? Remember how in later years, budget cuts changed all of that and you began to see less and less of them? On ER that happened about 7 or 8 years in, on Grey’s it is happening now. Hour long dramas need their supporting cast members, members usually not with a storyline of their own, but ones that breed familiarity and a sense of reality. Nurse Olivia, The Bartender Joe and his boyfriend not to mention Ellis Grey who was killed off. These cast members need to be a part of the show in every episode and not be written off as if they are not important as they are. It was nice to see the Chief’s wife back in the last show of the season, that is a good start. This is particularly important as Grey’s has already begun losing core characters like Burke and Addison, which is somewhat strange so early in the life of a long running drama. I suspect this is only going to continue as it did on ER, so it is even more important to keep your supporting cast intact. It was also comforting on ER as the main cast changed, no matter who was doing the emergency room procedure, Heleh, Chuny, Connie, Lydia or Malik were by their side.
1. T.R Knight
I wrote about my feelings on T.R Knight in the past, so I will try not to repeat myself, but I am not a fan. I was, the first 2 seasons, George was my favorite character. This changed with the whole drama with Isaiah Washington. I hated Burke, but Washington played him to perfection and I feel Washington was short changed during the whole drama. I certainly do not condone his words or actions, but it was obvious to me watching both he and Knight speaking publically during and after the story that there was more to the story than ‘Bad’ Isaiah and ‘Good’ T.R. Knight appeared to exploit the drama and he is the only actor whom I respected less after coming out of the closet. Between his teenage boyfriend (Come on now the man is in his mid thirties...anyone else creeped out by this). A fling maybe, but he is flaunting around a teenager. Sorry if this sounds judgmental, but I worry when a well liked actor comes out, goes on the Ellen show pushing himself as a role model and then starts acting like a knob. Will not help the cause.
George has also become a bit of a joke. George early in the series was a well defined character all blown away by having him bed most of the female cast. Even if Knight was straight this was not believable given how the writers had carefully put forth the character of George. I could not help buy feel his pairing with Izzy was something the actors wanted more than the writers, and especially the viewers. Thank goodness they finally came to their senses, although it should have happened much earlier than it did. Hopefully I will go back to loving George again next season. I suggest reestablishing a Callie/ George pairing as I felt this pairing had some legs. The writers of Grey are committed to their characters for sure, but are not always committed to storylines and pairings except for Meredith and Derek. Come on Grey’s give us the George we grew to love, not the George of the last couple of seasons. Knight is a great actor, but George has certainly lost his way.
On The Fence about: Lexie Grey
I disliked Lexie for much of the season, but she was growing on me by seasons end. Chyler Leigh is likeable but I worry that she will not have a long shelf live on the season unless the writers remove her from either being a Meredith copycat or a source for Meredith’s growth. Pairing her as a friend for George was a good start, but again this was a role Meredith and Izzy used to have, so in the long run unless they explore other options for Lexie she might not be with us long.
