Shonda's Shows this Fall
Grey's Anatomy is back from the dead!
After the dark and twisty third season in which 1) George lost his father, 2) Meredith drowned accidentally on purpose, died, and came back to life only to lose two mothers and get slapped by her spineless father, 3) Burke and Cristina got through a conscience-torturing ordeal together only to have him eventually leave her at the altar [though technically, he walked out before she even made it that far], 4) George cheated on his new wife, Callie, with Izzie, and 5) Meredith and Derek were really neither here nor there.... Shonda and Co. have so far delivered on their promise of a light, fun fourth season.
"A Change is Gonna Come" was classic, old-school Grey's. It had everything we love about the show that was sorely lacking throughout most of last season - our beloved interns (now residents) hanging out and exchanging barbs, quirky and unusual cases, tearjerking moments revolving around patients and their loved ones, the inimitable ass-kicking Nazi, and of course, porny MerDer (in slow motion, at that!).
I was also pleasantly surprised by Lexie Grey, who we hatefully dubbed "McBarWhore" for hitting on Derek towards the end of season three. When news got out her character was becoming a regular, those of us who ship MerDer were livid, not unlike when Addison first appeared. And like Addison, Lexie is turning out to be endearing and sympathetic, albeit in a completely different way. She has none of Addi's bitchiness, confidence, and edge. Instead, she is introduced to us, all "d
opey and wide-eyed" as Meredith aptly describes her, struggling through her first day as an intern. She babbles inappropriately and loses her way around Seattle Grace, but shows us she's not such a dummy after all when she talks some sense into George, in a way that can only be described as adorable. This new girl is winning me over. I felt so bad for her when big sister Meredith ignored and walked away from her at the end. Kudos to Shonda not just for writing this character so well, but for casting Chyler Leigh in the role.
Another nice surprise was the almost-gay moment shared by the hottest Mc-eamys in the world. At last, there's some real hope for these two. It'll be interesting to watch them rekindle their friendship, especially now that Addison and Burke are gone, leaving just the two of them stooges.
Lastly, the best surprise of all, was the break up sex between Meredith and Derek. I honestly had no idea where the writers were going to take these two, so even though they "broke up," I'm taking the fact that they tore each other's clothes off in the on-call room as a good sign. :) I loved this season premiere so much that I'm not even going to rant about how annoyingly self-absorbed Izzie still is. Even she had her moments this episode... I'm too much of a sucker for fellow animal lovers. The ratings are in, and unsurprisingly, CSI beat out GA this week, but I'm hoping more people start watching again week and propel it back to the number one slot.
Oh, I almost forgot that I meant to blog about Private Practice as well!
I badly want PP to succeed because I'm such a huge fan of Kate Walsh, but honestly, if it doesn't pick up next week I'm afraid it'll wind up like last season's most highly-anticipated new show, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Like Studio 60, which was the brainchild of The West Wing's Aaron Sorkin and boasted of a powerhouse cast, it has an enviable pedigree: the creative team of Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers who created ratings juggernaut Grey's Anatomy, and an amazing cast of respected veterans (Tim Daly of Wings, Amy Brenneman of Judging Amy, and Taye Diggs). And like Studio 60, the reviews of its pilot are pretty harsh. Hopefully though, it'll fair better than in the succeeding episodes.
What scares me is that the best scene in the entire episode was when Addi performed "cr
azy MacGyver surgery" to save her patient. Does this mean that this show needs surgeries (in lavender gear!) to stay afloat? It needs to be able to stand on its own, without any shades of Grey. Seeing as how a homey, Santa Monica health co-op is nowhere near as exciting as the surgical wing of the best (fictional) hospital on the West Coast, I don't know what magic they'll perform to pull this off. Whatever it lacks in pace, I hope it makes up for in character depth.
I'll be back to watch it next week, keeping my fingers crossed that the second episode is a vast improvement over the pilot. If it really is, then maybe Private Practice will be here to stay.
After the dark and twisty third season in which 1) George lost his father, 2) Meredith drowned accidentally on purpose, died, and came back to life only to lose two mothers and get slapped by her spineless father, 3) Burke and Cristina got through a conscience-torturing ordeal together only to have him eventually leave her at the altar [though technically, he walked out before she even made it that far], 4) George cheated on his new wife, Callie, with Izzie, and 5) Meredith and Derek were really neither here nor there.... Shonda and Co. have so far delivered on their promise of a light, fun fourth season.
"A Change is Gonna Come" was classic, old-school Grey's. It had everything we love about the show that was sorely lacking throughout most of last season - our beloved interns (now residents) hanging out and exchanging barbs, quirky and unusual cases, tearjerking moments revolving around patients and their loved ones, the inimitable ass-kicking Nazi, and of course, porny MerDer (in slow motion, at that!).I was also pleasantly surprised by Lexie Grey, who we hatefully dubbed "McBarWhore" for hitting on Derek towards the end of season three. When news got out her character was becoming a regular, those of us who ship MerDer were livid, not unlike when Addison first appeared. And like Addison, Lexie is turning out to be endearing and sympathetic, albeit in a completely different way. She has none of Addi's bitchiness, confidence, and edge. Instead, she is introduced to us, all "d
opey and wide-eyed" as Meredith aptly describes her, struggling through her first day as an intern. She babbles inappropriately and loses her way around Seattle Grace, but shows us she's not such a dummy after all when she talks some sense into George, in a way that can only be described as adorable. This new girl is winning me over. I felt so bad for her when big sister Meredith ignored and walked away from her at the end. Kudos to Shonda not just for writing this character so well, but for casting Chyler Leigh in the role. Another nice surprise was the almost-gay moment shared by the hottest Mc-eamys in the world. At last, there's some real hope for these two. It'll be interesting to watch them rekindle their friendship, especially now that Addison and Burke are gone, leaving just the two of them stooges.
Lastly, the best surprise of all, was the break up sex between Meredith and Derek. I honestly had no idea where the writers were going to take these two, so even though they "broke up," I'm taking the fact that they tore each other's clothes off in the on-call room as a good sign. :) I loved this season premiere so much that I'm not even going to rant about how annoyingly self-absorbed Izzie still is. Even she had her moments this episode... I'm too much of a sucker for fellow animal lovers. The ratings are in, and unsurprisingly, CSI beat out GA this week, but I'm hoping more people start watching again week and propel it back to the number one slot.
Oh, I almost forgot that I meant to blog about Private Practice as well!
I badly want PP to succeed because I'm such a huge fan of Kate Walsh, but honestly, if it doesn't pick up next week I'm afraid it'll wind up like last season's most highly-anticipated new show, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Like Studio 60, which was the brainchild of The West Wing's Aaron Sorkin and boasted of a powerhouse cast, it has an enviable pedigree: the creative team of Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers who created ratings juggernaut Grey's Anatomy, and an amazing cast of respected veterans (Tim Daly of Wings, Amy Brenneman of Judging Amy, and Taye Diggs). And like Studio 60, the reviews of its pilot are pretty harsh. Hopefully though, it'll fair better than in the succeeding episodes.
What scares me is that the best scene in the entire episode was when Addi performed "cr
azy MacGyver surgery" to save her patient. Does this mean that this show needs surgeries (in lavender gear!) to stay afloat? It needs to be able to stand on its own, without any shades of Grey. Seeing as how a homey, Santa Monica health co-op is nowhere near as exciting as the surgical wing of the best (fictional) hospital on the West Coast, I don't know what magic they'll perform to pull this off. Whatever it lacks in pace, I hope it makes up for in character depth.I'll be back to watch it next week, keeping my fingers crossed that the second episode is a vast improvement over the pilot. If it really is, then maybe Private Practice will be here to stay.
posted by gloriagiselle at 11:08 PM
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