Reviews of last night's season premiere of Grey's Anatomy have been strong, but the show fell significantly in ratings compared to a year ago, when Season 3 premiered amid a Meredith-Derek-Finn love cliffhanger.
With 24.9 million viewers, CSI outperformed its own 2006 opener by some 13 percent, and in doing so, trumped ABC's Grey's Anatomy, which garnered 20.5 million (down from last fall's 25.15 million).
Although Grey's Anatomy fared better among advertisers' key demographics, this is Gil Grissom & Co.'s biggest margin of victory over the ABC titan. The Office (9.67 million) also bested its previous premiere by 670,000.
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24 Comments
September 29th, 2007 9:19 AM
I read about the reviews yesterday and was disappointed. But, I realized with everything that happened last year and then the SO SAD finale of season 3 that it was probably going to take a few episodes for GA to get back to where they were a year ago. I really hope that the fans just stick with the show and give Shonda a chance to bring GA back to where it use to be. I think Shonda realizes the impact that season 3 made to the fans and that GA may have lost some viewers. But, I think this season will be different. I wonder if Shonda truly realized that GA was a show that really sucked everybody in from the beginning and we were all hooked from the first episode. We are all truly vested into all the characters and when season 3 came along and she decided to take most of the characters in a different direction, it was way too much to handle for the viewers because this is GA and yes there is drama and yes people die, but it truly was TOO depressing and made us the viewers feel we were losing what we had grown to love to watch from week to week! I have said before that I for one have NEVER been so involved into a TV show before as I am with GA. Especailly the characters and reading from day to day what goes on with them (especially.. Patrick Dempsey) ha! And naturally my favorite couple is Mer/Der. I love Ellen and Patrick together. Anyway, from reading these posts through the last couple of years it seems that all the fans feel the same as me! (Sometimes, my two grown sons get really concerned about me being so involved with this show) I think they think their Mom is losing it! (ha)Its really funny how they pick on me about it!
But, seriously I think it may take a few episodes to get GA back on top. I think we'll get there, I just hope the fans are loyal enough to stick with it! I know that I will!
September 29th, 2007 10:13 AM
I think it's because they fired Burke (Isaiah Washington) and let Addison go. Season 4 would be so much better with them.
September 29th, 2007 10:20 AM
I enjoy watching Grey's but that epsiode of CSI was really good. I'll admit that even I was watching it and Grey's.(I was doing like the some major channel flipping).
September 29th, 2007 10:26 AM
Kathy SERIOUSLY well said. I couldn´t of said it better myself.
September 29th, 2007 10:52 AM
Last year, I counted down the days until the premiere. This year, I counted down the days until The Office premiere. Then, I watched Grey's online the next day.
That is to say, I haven't given up, but I came close. Shonda grossly miscalculated last year, and this year is going to have to resemble Season 1 and the early part of Season 2 to get me to watch it live on Thursdays.
September 29th, 2007 1:14 PM
This cannot be a surprise. We all saw it coming. During the summer, Grey's Anatomy (normally a winner in rerun ratings, was at times ranked third behind FOX all summer) in ratings. Fans got in to both the Office and CSI. Critics kept saying, there is something else to return to this fall because of what GA delivered in it's third seaon (which wasn't all that good) that fans now were investing in other television and would make that move. Some wanted to say people would watch GA no matter what, but long time GA fans KNEW; deliver low quality and even the die hard GA fans had every right to move on to better...and that's what nearly five million did. The sent a message to Shonda Rhimes. Let's hope she's listening.
And even though the show still did very well, the amount of viewers who left was VERY significant. What CSI ended up giving people with it's season opener was not only loved by fans but critics were highly impressed (where critics were mixed on GA's Season Four Premeire) One critic titled his oniline review as "When Grey's Anatomy Jumped the Deer" Funny, but there's a little bit of truth there.
Look, I LOVE GA, but even at the Emmy's a reporter said "Grey's has A LOT to prove to fans again." That statement could not be more true. The problem is, fan may not return no matter what Shonda gives them now. Once trust in quality is gone, it's a hard thing to get back. Just ask the makers of LOST, the quality came back after a dissapointing season two, but the ratings they once had, did not.
Grey's will still be strong. When fans left both LOST and Desperate Housewives, though the ratings drop was felt, the shows still rank very high, but the fans have now spoken. When they said to GA is "we have options now" THEY MEANT IT. Private Practice should have cleaned up in ratings by GA's popularity alone and guess what? It was almost neck in neck in ratings to the Bionic Woman and fans said, the following week they will return to Bionic Woman and because what CSI gave fans in it's opening way beyond great, chances are, those who jumped ship, might just stay on the ride they are on now rather than GA too. That's the price paid when you have on set fights, firings and a low quality to a show once so endearing. You can't just think the fans will accept anything. They are smarter and have more choices now than to just sit still and take anything.
Grey's is a favorite, I'm here with it for now, but the creator must realize what was done in S3 and really make the changes it's gonna take to get it back. It won't happen in two further episodes. It will be a season long thing to prove to fans as it took a season for the fans to turn. And though I love this show, now that Shonda has this AND Private Practice, I'll be hoping, but not surprised by the backlash to what was done to the storylines and characters in season three.
September 29th, 2007 1:44 PM
Well said, Kathy and Claire.
Shonda, we all told you so. Maybe you should have listened, instead of sitting on your high horse.
September 29th, 2007 2:43 PM
GA is addictive and I will watch it faithfully. That said, the season premiere lacked the thrill I usually get from the show.
The teams of interns under the new residents dilute the story line and interfere with the interactions among the stars.
Regardless of Isaih Washington's obtuse behavior, he was a fabulous character and it is less of a show without him. Performance is more important than personality. We all have to work with people who are obnoxious. Why should the GA team be any different than the rest of the world?
Was there anything more electrifying than he and Christina interacting? What a loss!
Re: New interns - Meredith's sister leaves me cold. The attraction between she and McDreamy is too contrived. Very amateur soap opera-ish.
George and Izzy - Let's not overdo it.
Callie ought to get written out of the script. She is a deepwell of disappointment - Disappointment when george marries her, Disappointment when she wants to have a baby, disappointment when she starts building friendships with other female docs - disappointment when she takes the stage from Bailey. When she enters a scene, the authenticity of the other characters wanes. She sucks the real life dynamics out of every scene she is in.
After one episode of Private practice, i think we can expect Addison's return. Loser.
We'll see if the dynamics can be maintained. Tighten up the story line. We have characters we have grown to love, with all their gifts and foibles. Don't try to replace them. If you can't carry on a plot line without introducing 10 new characters, wind this up and start a new show.
September 29th, 2007 4:09 PM
Very disappointing opening. I will give it another episode, but will give up if there is no improvement. The dialog was amateurish.
September 29th, 2007 6:01 PM
Well its official, I miss Burke already and forever, he was what was missing from the premiere. Its going to be hard to replace him and Christina for me, they had such great chemistry and they are both great actors. I think it was really noticable that Burke and Addison were gone, but I'm going to keep watching, there is no way we can solve all the problems from season three in the premiere, don't jump ship yet everyone! I think it will get better, and I think its going to be interesting to see Callie redeem herself with George and her job, we will see the claws come out! I don't think Meredith should have been so stuck up to her sister, that was dumb, she acted so stuck up at the end. Hope that ends.