We all know at least one long lasting primetime TV show that crawled its way into our hearts and when they ended we were devastated. Some include 7th Heaven (11 seasons), Friends (10 seasons) and Smallville (10 seasons). After being renewed for its thirteenth season, Shonda Rhimes’ oldest [TV] child, Grey’s Anatomy, should be counted among these legendary, lovable shows. The show’s pilot, “A Hard Day’s Night,” premiered in March 2005 and was watched by a whopping 16.25-million people. Similarly, its equally—if not more popular—medical predecessor, E.R., premiered in September of 1994 and drew in 23.8 million viewers. Fans of the medical genre wasted no time becoming loyal to the brand new hospital full of awaiting drama.
As great as it is for any loyal primetime TV follower to have many seasons to dive into, 12 seasons is A LOT, so we’re tired. Because of that, it’s time for Grey’s Anatomy to end. Let’s think about all the times you’ve cursed at your television or live-tweeted your frustrations. I respect the Shondaland empire; however, over the past 12 seasons, my emotions have taken a hell of a ride on the Shondaland rollercoaster.
Grey’s is unique in the way that you may require multiple Alice Pieszecki (L Word) style in-depth charts: for patients, relationships, illnesses, and deaths. You can always count on someone dying. Odds are it’s someone you love and they depart in some way that severed your heart strings. George joined the army then gets hit by a bus resulting in his death (still crying several years later), a gunman walks into the hospital and shoots and kills a dozen people, Owen has PTSD, Cristina has an abortion that ultimately plays a significant role in the break up her marriage with Owen after he throws it in her face, Jackson and April lose a baby, get a divorce, and then accidentally gets pregnant after pre-divorce sex on the kitchen table. Some of the episodes have nearly made me give up on the show.
Episode 8×24 entitled “Flight,” may be the rawest episode to date. This episode saw the death of Meredith’s half sister, Lexi, the loss of Arizona’s leg and and the emotional destruction of our main cast. The aftermath of the episode let viewers engage in a tiny bit of self-flagellation by witnessing the death of Dr. Mark Sloan and a tough decision about whether to sue the hospital. This episode almost took me out—I still haven’t finished it, but I still came back because I had to know what happened, of course.
Meredith is now the definition of a certified BAMF, but she wasn’t always that way, she was put through countless trials, finding out she has not only one but two half-sisters—who both end up also being doctors, putting her hand on a bomb inside a man’s chest, and the death of her husband, Derek Shepherd, a.k.a. McDreamy, which still affects many (here’s to hoping Derek has his own ER, Dr. Greene flashback moment). Amelia Shepherd, formally on Shonda’s Grey’s spinoff Private Practice comes to Seattle Grace to fill a Shepherd shaped hole in the show, which she does not do very well or at all.
Bottom line, Grey’s isn’t going anywhere for a while. I am anxious for a new extended plotline and/or characters with more unique qualities and for current characters to stop whining. The repetitiveness and predictability make me assume the show is going to be dragged out for no reason FOREVER. I need some fire back in my medical drama.
