Is Grey’s Anatomy Worth Watching?
A rookies review for Grey’s Anatomy
Apologies for being a little late with this one. Grey’s Anatomy has been running since 2005, and I only stumbled across it on Disney+ a few monts ago, on the recommendation of Rosie Ramsey of Shagged. Married Annoyed podcast. fame.
It has more than 22 seasons behind it. I’m very much a Grey’s virgin, so this will be a short review written from the early episodes, with plenty still to discover. But for anyone who hasn’t watched it yet, my advice is simple: you should.
What’s it about?
The show follows Dr Meredith Grey, a junior doctor. Where I’m up to, she’s a surgical intern, right at the bottom of the hospital pecking order. However the her colleagues are equally part of the drama
Why Grey’s Anatomy works
As an Englishman, I’ve always been put off hospital dramas by Casualty and its spin-off Holby City. I’ll admit I only watched bits of both, but that was enough. Every procedure seemed to come with hushed, deadly serious “adrenaline scenes”, with everyone spitting out medi-speak as if they were performing a sacred rite.
Grey’s doesn’t do that. In surgery, the staff are focused and the medical jargon is there, but it never tips over the top. The show doesn’t take itself too seriously, and it’s all the better and surprisingly enjoyable for it.
What really sets it apart is that the characters’ personalities affect how they do their jobs. They’re medical staff,and not gods as you would get in either Casualty or Holby and I like that.
They also have hormones. Meredith, her fellow interns and the rest of the staff all have romantic lives that spill into the hospital. In the very first episode, Meredith discovers that the man she had a one-night stand with is now her boss.
The verdict
It’s probably aimed more at women than men. I’ll confess I started watching under duress because I couldn’t find anything else. But men, don’t let that put you off. It’s a genuinely good drama.
Will I watch every season? Probably not; I don’t have that kind of stamina. But that’s the beauty of it: it’s ideal for dipping in and out of. If you want something good to watch, give it a go. You won’t be disappointed.
Because in the end, that’s what makes Grey’s brilliant: its doctors are human beings, not gods.
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