Is Grey's Anatomy on Life Support?
According to a less than flattering article in the New York Post, Grey's Anatomy is barely hanging on, struggling to keep viewers from pronouncing the show dead.
Read the article on the state of Grey's Anatomy below - which does not reflect the views of this site - and let us know whether you agree with some or all of it:
Grey's Anatomy started out as a fresh and quirky hospital drama that focused on the personal lives of the doctors rather than bizarre medical anomalies, but in recent seasons has distracted viewers with disturbing cases and depressing plot lines.
This year, love is back on the fever charts.
Desperate for a ratings boost, ABC has paired Grey's Anatomy with its spinoff, Private Practice, in a two-hour crossover event which will feature the return of Addison Forbes Montgomery (Kate Walsh) to Seattle Grace Hospital.
The timing couldn't be worse for the show's main character, Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo). Despite its ups and downs, the only remnant of the good old days on Grey's Anatomy is the relationship between neurosurgeon Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) and resident Meredith.
Last week's episode, "Beat Your Heart Out" was supposed to end with Derek's marriage proposal to Meredith, which would have been a landmark event for the series - and fans rooting for MerDer to find their version of happily ever after.
We say "Supposed to" because, alas, McDreamy's plan ultimately went awry when he received an urgent call from California - his ex-wife Addison begging for his help saving her brother Archer's life and setting up this week's crossover special.
Fans seem to cling to Derek and Meredith because the rest of the Grey's Anatomy world has fallen to pieces around them. Several original characters on the show have found their lines drastically reduced or rendered irrelevant.
George O'Malley, played by T.R. Knight, had the misfortune of being paired in one of the worst on-screen relationships ever with Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl), and now it takes 30 minutes for him to even make an appearance in an episode.
Reformed jerk/lothario Alex Karev (Justin Chambers), who's supposed to be in a relation ship with Izzie now, also finds himself without a solid storyline.
Connecting the dots here is Izzie, who's gone from being one of the most emotionally riveting Grey's Anatomy cast members to a sigh-inducing spaz.
It seems as though Grey's Anatomy writers, led by creator Shonda Rhimes, are exacting revenge on Heigl by giving her the worst storyline to date: a fling (yes, sex included) with her dead former patient and soulmate, Denny Duquette.
Heigl made waves when she withdrew her name from Emmy contention last year saying that her character wasn't worthy, a slap in the face to Grey's Anatomy writers, including Rimes.
She was rumored to have demanded more money and was really more interested in furthering her movie career than in developing Izzie's character.
It seems that Denny is finally out of the picture, but it's possible that we're seeing the beginning of the end of Izzie Stevens on Grey's Anatomy.
In last weeks episode, Izzie, convinced she was ailing, duped her interns into running a battery of tests. Her results indicated anemia, but they are delivered at the same time as a patient who gets a surprise cancer diagnosis.
Old-fashioned TV savvy suggests that the test results might have been switched and that Katherine Heigl is soon headed for the Big Pink Slip.
Reportedly, Melissa George, who plays Meredith's resurfaced friend Sadie Harris, said of Rhimes, "She's really lovely, until she wants to punish you."
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February 10th, 2009 9:45 AM
Sadly enough, what they are saying about George is true. He used to be one of the most important characters on the show, and now he seems to be lost in the mist. What happened to George O'Malley?!!?
February 10th, 2009 9:54 AM
Not giving George much screen time has been a mistake, in my opinion. He should still have the friendship with relationship he had with Izzy. It was funny and dramatic. Remember them fighting and then that lady finally had a seizure? Thats the stuff I miss. I have no interest in Callie's story line with a woman or a man.
February 10th, 2009 9:59 AM
I don't even know what to say. NICOLE HOMEWOOD from the New York Post-- you're description of Greys as a sinking ship, like the Titanic just after the iceburg hit when the Captain knew what was going to happen, but the passengers all kept dancing and refusing to believe--- WAY WRONG! See the difference here is that the passengers (fans) actually have power over whether the ship sinks or not. I realize there are some fans who post that they feel the ship is sinking. Some passengers who have lost so much faith in the Captain that they have lost all faith in the strength of the ship. But those fans are are few and far between. The truth is, the majority of the passengers still love the ship and think she is very seaworthy. True, there may be parts of her they are unsure of, or they would like to change... But the majority of these passengers are so amazed by this ship that once a voyage is over, they can not wait for the next one!!!
And, as for Izzie-- I really don't think she's going to die. I do not think this is an exit for Katherine Heigl. Really, Ms. Homewood is just supposing. Like the rest of us about all the happenings on the show-- we all are always chatting about what's going to happen next. We are all always trying to guess what Shonda's got up her sleeve-- she's not always predictible-- part of the Greys magic, for better or for worse. Ms. Homewood's ideas of what's going to happen are just doomsday, for whatever reason or problem she has. And as for TR? We have the promise of more George soon-- that I believe. The fans calls have been heard-- more George to come!
Bottom line is, NICOLE HOMEWOOD, if Greys was really barely hanging on, and if Greys was really no longer gripping, would you bother to be talking about it and writing an article about it?
February 10th, 2009 10:17 AM
I just love how they keep on thinking that this is the end of Izzie Stevens, when it has been said numerous of times that she is not leaving the show because of this.
I doubt Grey's is in trouble. House on the other hand....
February 10th, 2009 10:54 AM
I have to say how much I love how they are saying that Grey's is "sinking." I just went and looked at Nielsen's overall Season rating and Greys's comes in 2nd for Thurs nights (next to CSI) and 12th overall which is pretty damn good considering all the other shows are American Idol and Dancing with Stars. I don't see them going anywhere anytime soon...and to back up Nina, House wasn't even on the ratings
February 10th, 2009 11:06 AM
I agree that the show is making it's viewers a bit crazy. I don't know if she's just Punishing Izzie, But Izzie has ALWAYS had a hard time. I saw this coming though, I knew something was wrong with her the second she saw Denny again. PLus, Her daughter has cancer. Can't forget that.
As for Callie....I like her but so many characters are conflicted, it needs to stop, I Know it's a drama but why make the viewers mad? All We want is some love again. Mer and Der. Come on! Be together all ready, bring back our good old o'mally, and Show Alex's good side a little more. That's all we want.
February 10th, 2009 11:08 AM
Grey's Anatomy is, and will always be the best show in the world. The fans love it, obviosly, and as long as it is still on we we'll still love it and watch it and want it to continue!! I hate when just one person can make a show look bad when millions of people watch it and think that it is THE BEST!
February 10th, 2009 11:22 AM
The person who wrote this article is exagerating first the sinking is PrP. The low rating for PrP are the reason for the crossover. Why is it that people can just watch and see what happens to Izzie instead of speculating maybe is something awesome and after is done, I bet everybody is going to say Shonda is a genius she revive Grey's anatomy. Season 5 is awesome. Just because a few people don't have a storyline doesn't meant the show is sinking.
February 10th, 2009 11:27 AM
The only thing the press finds to talk about is bad not good, there are a lot of good things going on. MerDer are together they may not be engage but they are together and don't think they will be apart anytime soon. How about Christina and Owen hello they are hot, complicated but hot. Lexie and Mark I'm not a big fan but you know is good there is no weird drama. This person who wrote this article needs to watch the show once in a while.
February 10th, 2009 12:22 PM
I swear, if they cancel Grey's I WILL kill someone! They maybe need to bump up on advertising but GREY' ANATOMY IS THE BEST SHOW EVER! I told my friend to try it and she loved it! I agree with ana, just because 2-3 characters don't have a story line doesn't mean the show is dead. The main story lines like MerDer, Meredith and Christina friendship, Slexie, Callie and Izzy potentially dying are amazing story lines that make up for George and Alex.
Shonda is brilliant and she is god!