Every so often there's a show that taps into the collective "now." The criteria for such a show is pretty simple: throw together some realistic characters, soap opera relationships, an interesting central location and a trendy soundtrack and voila, you've got yourself a show that captures a short period in time but ultimately might not have a lot of lasting power once it's gone.

Enter Grey's Anatomy. It's the Friends of today or 90210 and Melrose Place before that. It's quirky, serious, filled with get togethers and breakups and it has a great soundtrack. Revolving around a group of Seattle Grace Hospital interns, Grey's Anatomy provides a nice balance of drama and humour to make it the kind of show that appeals to a broad mix of folks. That might explain why it's also one of TV's highest rated shows.

Although named for and narrated by Dr. Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), the show is successful due in large part to its ensemble feel. With no few than ten regulars, plenty other reoccurring characters, plus the various walk-on patients, everyone has a story to tell. The feel is balanced and everyone is fit somehow into each episode (unlike this past season of Lost where main characters would disappear for episodes at a time). The thread that weaves throughout the season is the idea of choices, be it relationships, careers or medical procedures. And with choices comes consequence. And with consequence comes drama. What I really liked about the show was its seamless transition from tense drama to humour and back to drama. Sometimes it's quiet and happens slowly, while other instances have it go back and forth in single scenes.

The third season of Grey's Anatomy is certainly a pleasure to watch. Having episode after episode on DVD, I found myself on the addicted side spending a few hours at a time going through it. I did appreciate the fact that I was able to pick up on a lot of the ins and outs of the show within a few episodes as I hadn't seen any of the show prior to this (some may say I live under a rock). I do wonder though how long the show will last - at least at its present level. One could compare it to the long past its prime medical drama ER as far as setting goes. Should the cast start a revolving door, such a result could very well happen. In the meantime I'll enjoy the laughs, drama and catchy soundtrack and hope that the soap opera doesn't become the only thing to it.

DVD Features

Give yourself a few days to get through Grey's Anatomy: Season Three. Not because of the quality of the show but because of the sheer size of the set. Spanning 25 episodes over seven discs (including four extended episodes - "Time Has Come Today", "Where the Boys Are", "Great Expectations", and "Wishin' and Hopin'") plus extras you'll have to go a whole day without sleeping or going to the bathroom to get through it all.

Each episode is shown in an enhanced widescreen format (1.78:1 aspect ratio) with Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround audio to really put you in the middle of the hospital fun. Audio commentaries are available on "Time Has Come Today" (Kate Walsh and Chandra Wilson), "Wishin' and Hopin'" (Ellen Pompeo and Kate Burton), and "Desire" (Sandra Oh).

"Making the Rounds With Patrick Dempsey" highlights the man who who be McDreamie. It was funny listening to his co-stars talk about his love for racing as all I could think about was him riding the lawnmower in Can't Buy Me Love. "Shades of Grey: One on One With Ellen Pompeo consists primarily of an interview with the show's namesake. "Prescription for Success: Making Jane Doe a Star" explores one of the seasons better known patients. There's also a fairly extensive collection of deleted scenes, favourite scenes and outtakes. Finally, there are previews for The Game Plan, Brothers and Sisters: Season One, Ugly Betty: Season One, What About Brian: The Complete First and Second Seasons, Desperate Housewives: Season Three, Lost: Season Three and Soap.net. After you get through all of those, there's a preview of Grey's fourth season.

Buy the DVD.

©Movie Views; September 22, 2007