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| Grey's Anatomy | | Date Created: Mar 27, 2005, 10:56 PM |
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Yes, we even review TV shows on CanYouHearMeNow?
I promised I'd review this show when it came out and tonight was the premier episode. It's on ABC at 9 (MST).
The reason I was interested in Grey's Anatomy was because it's about a group of surgical residents (the first year they're still called interns) and I was once one myself. Also, it's a real drama with an ensemble cast which seemed like the show, ER, which was quite good in its first few years. Also Sandra Oh is in it which seemed interesting since I'd just seen her in a rather different part in the movie, Sideways.
So what does a real surgeon think?
There's some potential here if it grows, but it's starting from a fairly low level and could get worse. It sometimes takes awhile for an ensemble cast to get established and the story line has to get established too. That's a nice way of saying we're in character development.
The hospital the series was shot in is a VA hospital in southern California but the setting of the show is in Seattle. There were some inconsistencies with real life such as saying their surgical residency will be seven years. (It's five for general surgery -- cardiac, neurosurgery, and plastic surgery usually go another two). And this leads to an expected problem. In order to move the drama they have to time compress (they try to avoid this by posting the hour in their 48 hour shift). I could be wrong but I don't think 48 hour shifts are allowed these days. The other problem is conflating roles. You may recall that from Marcus Welby until maybe ER, doctors were portrayed as doing everything and anything.
In the first episode we see interns, residents, and attending surgeons performing surgery ranging from appendectomy to open heart to neurosurgery. What residents get to do and when varies by training programs but they don't get put in the position shown in this first show. Cardiac surgery and neurosurgery are specialty areas and the attending that the show opens with sleeping with one of the new residents seems to be a general surgeon but does a neurosurgical procedure with his resident "partner" helping.
There were other medical situations and procedures that didn't ring true, but at least it's not like Scrubs and Nip/Tuck. If I were Entertainment Weekly, I'd give this a B- or C+ but I'll give it another week or two. I still haven't figurered out Lost yet...
And one nurse I know well didn't think much of it. |
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