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STUDIO: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
MSRP: $59.99
RATED: Not Rated
RUNNING TIME: 1105 Minutes
SPECIAL FEATURES:
· Four extended episodes exclusively for the DVD release
· One-on-one with series star Ellen Pompeo
· A visit to the race track with star (and race-car enthusiast) Patrick Dempsey
· Cast and crew members’ favorite scenes
· "Prescription for Success" – A look at how a new character is created
· Audio commentaries
The Pitch
”It’s E.R. infused with an overload of estrogen.”
The Humans
Ellen Pompeo, Patrick Dempsey, Sandra Oh, Katherine Heigl, Isaiah Washington, T.R. Knight, Sara Ramirez, Chandra Wilson, James Pickens Jr., Eric Dane, and Kate Walsh.
The Nutshell
Season 3 of Grey’s Anatomy finds the staff of Seattle Grace Hospital in all sorts of emotional turmoil. Spurned lovers. Love triangles. A race for Chief resident. An 8 million dollar check. And an episode featuring the weathered visage of Fred Ward. As one character describes, "Working in a hospital is like high school with scalpels."
The Lowdown
After a steady diet of rough-around-the-edges shows like The Shield, The Wire, Rescue Me, and Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman, this show was a refreshing bit of light drama. The show is fluff, for sure, but it’s the good kind of fluff that sticks to the roof of your mouth, is tasty, and stays there for hours while you try and dislodge it with your tongue. A weird analogy….but that’s all I’ve got.
"We have eternity to know your flesh? Really? That’s the line? Okay."
The solid casting is what sets Grey’s Anatomy apart from other medical shows. Where the characters and actors in E.R. are tired, the ones in Grey’s Anatomy are fresh-faced, likeable, and free of the contrivances of a show in it’s umpteenth season. The show is all about relationships, and does a great job at tracking all of them throughout the season.
The standout actor of the show (for me, anyway) is the character of Izzy Stevens, played by the beautiful Katherine Heigl. As if her work in Knocked Up wasn’t proof enough, she proves in every episode that she has both the dramatic and comedic chops that a leading lady should have, and makes you wonder why she’s not being seen in theaters more often. In any given episode she goes through a range of emotions, and given her character’s story it normally always hits heartache at some point. She is getting over the death of her fiance, a death that she blames herself for. Also, throughout the season, a romantic relationship between herself and her (married) best friend George (T.R. Knight) develops. I think the best thing I can say about her character is that when something good happens to her, you’re glad.
Sark didn’t know what he was or how he got there….
The on again/off again relationship that does get old is the relationship between title character Jennifer Grey (Pompeo) and reduced-to-a-nickname Dr. Derek Shepherd, aka McDreamy aka Patrick Dempsey. Their relationship can change at the drop of a coin or a scalpel. They’re the not as compelling Jim Halpert and Pam Beasley of the show. The aspect of their relationship that I do enjoy is that Shepherd is Grey’s superior, they both know it, and at no point during the show do they let their relationship get in the way of him being a teacher to her.
The best relationship of the entire show, though, belongs to Dr. Alex Karev (Chambers) and an incredibly disfigured woman known only as Jane Doe. He finds her trapped beneath a pipe while at the scene of a ferry explosion, and as he takes care of her throughout the rest of the season, he finds himself forming a bond with her that teeters on the brink of love, one that he rejects adamantly, as he is the playboy of the show.
The rest of the characters get their own slice of story, but genrally aren’t as interesting as the rest of the cast. Preston Burke (Washington) and Christina Yang (Oh) get engaged and try to hide Preston’s arm tremors from everybody else. Dr. Webber (Pickens) tries to find a replacement for himself so that he can retire. And Dr. Sloan (Dane) and Dr. Montgomery (Walsh) do their best to not have sex as often as possible.
….?
As it is a medical show, guest players are a necessity, and they are consistently up to par with the main cast. They are asked to do a lot of heavy lifting in a very short period of time, and a lot of the emotional resonance of an episode can be placed on them. The reoccurring cast does a really good job at carrying their characters, given limited screen time throughout the entire season. In particular, Jeff Perry as Grey’s slightly scatterbrained but well meaning father. The only big gripe I have with the show is that the guest patient of the show usually always gives the main characters a piece of wisdom that applies directly with what they’re going through for that specific episode. It’s unavoidable, but irksome.
The Package
There are several special features included with the set. All of them are pretty standard issue EPK style features. The most interesting out of all of them details the research and makeup process of Jane Doe. As she is a supporting character over many episodes, her swelling and disfigurement goes down in every episode, until she doesn’t need the makeup anymore. It’s a nice looking set, seven discs tucked inside a glossy cardboard case. The cover touts season 3 as being "Seriously Extended", as certain episodes have been given a few extra scenes for the DVD release.
All in all, for fans of the show, this is an obvious must have. For people who have never seen the show, give it a rental and you might find yourself hooked.
8 out of 10