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Cal's Anatomy is an Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning American primetime television medical drama. It debuted on ABC as a midseason replacement on Easter Sunday, March 27, 2005, immediately following the popular Desperate Housewives. The story revolves around Dr. Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), a surgical intern at the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital in Seattle, Washington. The show features an ensemble cast, though Meredith is featured as the central character, providing voice-over narration at the beginning and end of most episodes. The title of the show is an allusion to the anatomy textbook Gray's Anatomy.
Cast and charactersThe characters of the series include a group of surgical interns, the various physicians who serve as mentors to the interns, and additional people in their professional and personal lives.
Seasons
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
Season 1: 2005
Image:Greys01cast.jpg The season 1 cast of Grey's Anatomy Season one began airing March 27, 2005 and ended on May 22, 2005. The first season was shortened by the network to nine episodes instead of 14. (The original season finale was "Bring the Pain."). Meredith Grey, daughter of the once-renowned surgeon Ellis Grey, becomes an intern at the Seattle Grace Hospital. She meets fellow interns Cristina Yang, Isobel "Izzie" Stevens, and George O'Malley who will be her closest friends during the intern program. Other characters include Dr. Miranda Bailey, who is nicknamed "The Nazi" due to her "tough love" capability; Alex Karev, another intern who is not very popular with the other interns (especially Izzie); and renowned surgeons Dr. Derek Shepherd and Dr. Preston Burke. The chief of surgery is Richard Webber, who was once more than close friends with Meredith's mother. The season chronicles the first few months of the intern program and the day-to-day life of a surgical intern. Recurring plots include Meredith's battle to keep her mother's Alzheimer's disease a secret and her relationship with Dr. Shepherd. Others include George's infatuation with Meredith and a power struggle between Dr. Burke and Dr. Shepherd in the hospital. The season's end introduces Kate Walsh as Dr. Addison Montgomery-Shepherd, Derek's estranged wife. Season 2: 2005-2006
Image:Fullcast-s2a.jpg The season 2 cast of Grey's Anatomy Season 3: 2006-2007Image:Cast 13.jpg The season 3 cast of Grey's Anatomy On May 16 2006, the morning following the close of the second season, ABC announced plans for a third season of Grey's Anatomy to anchor the network's Thursday evening programming,[4] set to air at 9 p.m. ET. ABC first tested the series' potential for Thursday audiences on February 9, 2006, as it aired an encore of the Super Bowl XL-leadout episode titled "It's the End of the World." The following Thursday, February 16, 2006, the network repeated the second part of the story arc, "(As We Know It)." Both airings began at 9:30 p.m. ET, and thus positioned Grey's Anatomy against CBS' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Without A Trace,Fox NetworksThe OC, and NBC's long-running medical drama ER. Solid performance on these nights, with the repeat airings maintaining a strong second-place finish, may have been influential in the fall scheduling decision. The move to Thursdays was viewed as a vote of confidence in the series from ABC, as well as a bid to attract more advertising dollars, since movie studios heavily advertise movies on Thursday evenings for that weekend's box office. The move was cited as one factor for competing network NBC's decision to move its own Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, originally intended to air Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET. ABC announced on July 18, 2006, that the third season would premiere on September 21, 2006. The series assumed its new Thursday slot on July 6, 2006, as part of a two-hour event featuring a repeat of the pilot episode, "A Hard Day's Night." Throughout July and August, the series aired twice weekly — once in the new Thursday time period, and once in its previous Sunday time period. Grey's Anatomy performed strongly in the show's new timeslot in its season premiere. It was able to snatch away the #1 position from CSI: Crime Scene Investigation during the 9 p.m. hour, bringing in an impressive 25.14 million viewers throughout the hour and a strong 10.9 rating in the vital 18-49 demographic. In comparison, CSI's season premiere earned a competitive 22.04 million total viewership and a 7.5 rating in the 18-49 demographic.[5] Once the season commenced, the show had two previously recurring actors, Sara Ramirez (Callie Torres) and Eric Dane (Mark Sloan), join the regular cast. The series' opening credit sequence was also dropped beginning this season, with a title card displayed at the end of the first act and credits displayed over the opening of the second act of each episode. Season 4: 2007-2008The show was renewed for a fourth season on March 21, 2007.[6] ReceptionHigh profileIn 2005, ABC gave the hit show a vote of confidence by announcing that Grey's Anatomy would receive the coveted post-Super Bowl time slot which aired on February 5, 2006.[7] The special episode got a record-high 38.1 rating. The network's faith in the show was proven further when it removed it from its comfortable post-Desperate Housewives berth and scheduled it opposite the CBS ratings blockbuster CSI: Crime Scene Investigation in fall 2006. The gamble paid off, with the season premiere drawing 3 million more viewers than CSI. The series has twice been featured as a subject of special episodes of the ABC News program 20/20, including one 2006 episode on the realism of the sometimes outlandish medical stories of Grey's Anatomy, and real cases similar to them.[8][9] Additionally, a 2005 broadcast of ABC News Nightline more specifically covered Grey's Anatomy's multiracial cast and race relations depiction in entertainment. CriticismsCal's Anatomy, despite its popularity, has its share of detractors. The show has been widely criticized by various groups, many of them medical, for inaccurately presenting medical situations and greatly exaggerating the degree to which doctors and medical professionals fraternize with one another.[10][verification needed] In particular, the show was initially targeted as showing a disrespect for nurses (several lines of dialogue had doctors referring to nurses in sarcastic or belittling ways; in the pilot episode, Meredith is offended when Alex thinks she is "just" a nurse). The creator defended this line saying that it shows what would be offensive to a surgeon and that in the scenes after it is shown that the nurses know more than the new interns. Second season episodes seem to address this, as a nurses' strike shows how lost the hospital is without them. However, supporters of the show have defended its so called "lack of realism", claiming that a dry, precise medical show would lack the charms[11] that make Grey's Anatomy so popular with its wide audience and pointing out that very few TV programs, including ones purporting to be far more serious, hew strictly to realism. Another criticism drawn against the show is the parallels of Grey's Anatomy's format with the NBC comedy, Scrubs. Both shows use a diary-style narration by the main character, with many similarities between the characters on both shows. Given that Scrubs first aired in 2001, some have noted that Grey's Anatomy has "borrowed" these elements and popularized them for the mass audience, even to the point of Scrubs referencing it directly with the main character Dr. John "JD" Dorian, mentioning Grey's Anatomy, saying "It's like they've been watching our lives and just put it on TV" in the episode "My Buddy's Booty." George is sometimes also called 'Bambi', a nickname Carla frequently uses when talking to JD on Scrubs. The writers of "Grey's Anatomy" seem to tacitly mention "Scrubs" as well. During the season two finale, at a particularly dramatic moment, the character of George exclaims, "Why didn't I take the internship in San Diego? None of this would be happening if I was in San Diego." "Scrubs" is thought to be set in a hospital somewhere in southern California -- likely San Diego. Grey's Anatomy, on the other hand, is set in Seattle. Isaiah Washington controversyIn October 2006 as Season 3 began, the show's actors attracted media attention when Isaiah Washington was alleged to have referred to another cast member as a "faggot" during an on-set altercation with Patrick Dempsey. This cast member transpired to be T.R. Knight who came out about his sexual orientation following media speculation. While Washington denied using the word, he issued a public statement apologizing for his "unfortunate use of words." The controversy later reignited at the 2007 Golden Globe Awards. After the show won for Best Drama Series, the cast and crew appeared in the pressroom to answer reporters' questions. While creator Shonda Rhimes was being asked about the incident, Washington unexpectedly stepped in front of the microphone and stated: "No, I did not call T.R. a faggot." (The Hollywood Foreign Press Association placed the footage on their website) Afterwards, in an interview with Access Hollywood, Katherine Heigl criticised Washington for revisiting the incident publicly and using the slur in the pressroom and said she thought he shouldn't be able to speak in public. Later that week, Knight appeared on Ellen DeGeneres' daytime talkshow and said he and others had heard Washington use the slur during the October incident. Knight also stated that many of his coworkers stood up for him and confronted Washington about the incident.[citation needed] LGBT group GLAAD then called on Washington to apologize.[12] Network executives went on to reprimand Washington, who then agreed to undergo counseling and issued a statement saying: "I can neither defend nor explain my behavior...I can also no longer deny to myself that there are issues I obviously need to examine within my own soul, and I've asked for help."[13]. SpinoffOn February 21, 2007, The Wall Street Journal reported that ABC was pursuing a spin-off of Grey's Anatomy featuring the character Addison Montgomery.[14] Subsequent reports affirmed the news, stating that an expanded two-hour broadcast of Grey's Anatomy, expected to air in May, is to serve as a backdoor pilot for the potential spinoff. The backdoor pilot episode is understood to feature Montgomery being close to leaving Seattle Grace Hospital.[15] The broadcast will serve as the 22nd and 23rd episodes of the season (out of 25), and will be directed by Michael Grossman, according to Variety.[16] Taye Diggs (Day Break, Kevin Hill), who has been announced as a guest star for the two-hour episode,[17] is tapped to star in the spinoff series opposite Walsh.[15] Gossip columnists Kristin Veitch and Michael Ausiello report that the spinoff will be set in Los Angeles.[18] Briefly, it was rumored and proven false that Lisa Kudrow (Friends) would join the cast. [1] The rest of the cast include Amy Brenneman (Judging Amy), Sean Faris (Life As We Know It), Paul Adelstein (Prison Break), Tim Daly (The Nine), Chris Lowell (Veronica Mars, Life as We Know It) and Merrin Dungey (Alias (TV series), Summerland). ABC has also said, for the time being, the new series will be called-"Private Practice". This two-hour episode is set to air on May 3rd, 2007. References to the showOther shows have referenced Grey's Anatomy, or its characters and setting, as the show grew in fame and popularity. In the second season of The Office on NBC, character Kelly tells co-worker Kevin "I was watching 'Grey's Anatomy' and there was a life guard on it. And he had skin cancer too." In the fifth season of Scrubs Elliot asks J.D., "Can't we just go home, and put on our PJ's, and watch "Grey's Anatomy"?" In response, J.D. says, "Oh, I do love that show. It's like they've been watching our lives and then just put it on TV." In the 6th season, Dr. Cox later listed Grey's use of voice-overs as one of the things that he hates in life (in a self-referencial jab at J.D.'s similar use of voice-over), and Elliot bemoaned the vagueness of Grey's voice-overs. In the third episode of season 4 on The O.C., Dr. Neil Roberts is offered a new job at Seattle Grace Hospital, which he describes to his daughter as "wonderfully quirky." On the following episode, Kaitlin Cooper asks her mother Julie Cooper if Neil is still being bossed around by a short, sassy lady, presumably a reference to Dr. Miranda Bailey. In the tenth episode of season 4 on The O.C., Seth Cohen goes to visit Dr. Neil Roberts at Seattle Grace Hospital. Seth asks him, "So, you likin' it up here?" to which Neil asks, "Seriously?" and Seth responds, "Seriously"--a phrase which is often repeated by the interns on Grey's Anatomy. One scene between Seth and Neil take place in an outdoor dining hall very similar to the one featured on Grey's Anatomy. In the TV show Degrassi: The Next Generation Emma asks Manny to come over and watch TV saying it will just be: "you, me, and McDreamy" - referring the nickname established for Dr. Shepherd. Two of ABC's 2005 hit shows featured neurosurgeons named Shepherd (spelling varies) as male leads. Lost focused on a spinal surgeon named Jack Shephard, while Grey's Anatomy's main character was, of course, Derek Shepherd. In the third season, Lost also introduced a character named Dr. Juliet Burke, although her professional training is closer to that of Addison's. In a 2007 episode of Family Guy, mayor of Quahog Adam West reads an excerpt of a kid's book entitled "The Pet Goat" to a class of schoolchildren. The dialogue of the first page of the book says that the pet goat thinks that he would probably enjoy Grey's Anatomy if he had the time to watch it, to which the farmer replies "You should make the time." In the season 5 Family Guy episode "No Meals on Wheels" Peter's neighbor Joe asks Peter if he'd like to come into his house and watch Grey's Anatomy, Peter responds: "Oh boy Joe, I gotta tell ya… that sounds awful." Awards
Wins
Nominations
DVD releasesSeason releases
Music
For a list of songs from each episode, see Music of Grey's Anatomy
The show's main title theme is a snippet of "Cosy in the Rocket", by British artists Psapp. It is featured in the soundtrack album released via ABC corporate cousin Hollywood Records on September 27, 2005. A list of all the songs aired for each episode can be found on the program's official website. [2] Grey's Anatomy has been instrumental to the success of Snow Patrol's "Chasing Cars" and The Fray's "How to Save a Life", both of which became top 5 hits after appearing in the show. "How to Save a Life" was the song used for all Grey's Anatomy previews, as well as being the music for the show's Season 3 promotional music video. There was also a Season Two video with Chasing Cars as its track. However, in another instance of "borrowing" from NBC's Scrubs, the show has used two artists who made their breakthrough on the comedy, Joshua Radin and Cary Brothers. The two artists feature quite prominently on Scrubs due to their connection with Main Lead, Zach Braff. The Greenskeepers' song "Lotion" was featured prominently in the season 2 episode "Much Too Much," which was originally broadcast on November 27, 2005. As the song plays in the background, Dr. George O'Malley tells Dr. Meredith Grey that if she does not curb her recent promiscuity, she will end up in a pit with a killer ordering her to rub the lotion on her skin; a reference to the movie Silence of the Lambs which "Lotion" also pays homage to. "You Don't Know Me" and French band Los Chicros' "Back in the Wild" remixed by the same band have also been featured on Grey's Anatomy. A second soundtrack, featuring songs from Season Two, was released September 12, 2006. CatchphrasesSpoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
The show has spawned several catchphrases, many of which are only used once or a few times. The use is noted in the following form (Season, Episode # of that season)
NetworksFirst runGrey's Anatomy is broadcast on the following channels around the world: UKGrey's Anatomy is shown firstly on cable channel Living and then on national terrestrial channel, Channel Five, the first season as the producers intended, i.e. up to episode 5 of season 2. Channel Five premièred the rest of season 2 in March 2007, with a big advertising campaign with phrases such as Love is inoperable and Worth getting sick for. New ZealandAfter 'Losing My Religion' aired in August of 2006, Time Has Come Today will start airing on February 8th, 2007. [3] AustraliaSeason 3 premiered on February 18. Ironically, Channel Seven will move Grey's Anatomy to Sunday nights in 2007 against CSI. Out of the three episodes so far of season 3 that have been screened in Australia only the premiere beat CSI in the ratings [4] SyndicationGrey's Anatomy began airing in syndication in the United States on Lifetime Television on January 7, 2007 at 11 pm. Initially, the show is airing once a week beginning with the first season. In Fall 2009, Lifetime can begin airing the show daily. Lifetime will pay $1.2 million per episode, for up to 200 episodes.[19] In Canada, CTV played episodes in the summer. TriviaImage:GreysAnatomyFacebook.JPG Meredith and McDreamy's relationship in the show was parodied for an April Fools Day prank on Facebook.
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