Ten Reasons Why Grey's Anatomy Has Jumped the Shark

[Brian Damage]

There was a time when Grey's Anatomy was must see TV, ABC drama peaking as the fourth most watched show in the nation during the 2006-07television season. But lately when Thursday night rolls around, I'm more likely to record it and move on to watch another show in primetime. Clearly then somewhere between the end of the third season and this past season (its sixth), Grey's Anatomy has lost its magic. While the reasons for this are numerous, here are my top 10 reasons why this one great show "has jumped the shark."

Grey's Post-it Marriage
Maybe it was a cute idea at first, or maybe it was the writers not wanting to admit that they wrote themselves into a dead end. Whatever the reason, Dr. Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) and Dr. Meredith Grey's (Ellen Pompeo) post-it marriage put an end to whatever sexual tension was left in their on again, off again, relationship. The Post-it marriage though begs the question, "what constitutes a Post-it divorce?" Is it as simple as ripping the Post-it note in half?

Derek Shepard as Chief of Surgery
Sure Derek Shepard's hair may be one of the biggest reasons for the success of Grey's Anatomy's, but so too is his wistful disposition. Making him the Chief only takes away from his charm, something the show cannot afford to do. Now that he has a Post-it marriage and is bog down in a bureaucratic job, can he still be called Dr. McDreamy? Hardly. It is time to set Dr. Shepard free again.

The Mercy West Debacle
Quick, name the doctors (or the actors) who came over to Seattle Grace in the merger with Mercy West this season? Hard to do isn't it? Why, because this infusion of new blood into the show never took. At best the doctors from Mercy West made for short lived comic relief or background fodder for the doctors at Seattle Grace. Don't believe me, then look at what happened during the season finale, when two of the Mercy West doctors were taken out by a gun man in the hospital. As for their names, the residents from Mercy West included Dr. Reed Adamson (Nora Zehetner), Dr. Jackson Avery (Jesse Willams), Dr. Charles Percy (Robert Baker) and Dr. April Kepner (Sarah Drew). And yes, I had to look them up.

[Brian Damage]

Addison and Burke's Departure
It's no accident that the show started dropping in the ratings the season after ABC spun off Kate Walsh's character, Dr. Addison Montgomery, into her own series, Private Practice. The departure of cardio god, Dr. Preston Burke (Isaiah Washington) did not help either, as the chemistry he had with Dr. Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh) has not been duplicate within the Yang-Hunt relationship. Shows like this depend heavily on the chemistry of the cast, and making more than one major change a season is never a good idea.

Izzy Leaves without Saying Goodbye
Katherine Heigl's (Dr. Izzie Stevens ) run-in with the writers and her desire to leave the show are well documented, but in the end her character was not suppose to go out the way it did. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly (April 2, 2010), Heigl revealed that it was her decision not to return from the leave of absent she took during the show's sixth season. Heigl's decision robbed fans of the badly needed goodbye her character deserved. In place of a heartfelt goodbye we saw her husband Dr. Alex Karev (Justin Chambers) sign off on divorce papers.

Meredith Grey's Looks
Let's face it, any show that has doctors with nicknames like McDreamy and McSteamy, is a bit dependent on the looks of its character. That said, Ellen Pompeo's looks have steadily declined since Grey's Anatomy's first season. Maybe it is age catching up with the actress, her marriage in 2007, or giving birth in 2009 that have played havoc with her looks, but whatever the reason may be, Dr. Grey's looks are slipping while Dr. McDreamy's looks have remained basically the same. Harsh criticism, perhaps, but truth is in Grey's looks.

The Dr. Yang, Dr. Hunt, Dr. Altman's Relationship Triangle
We get it Dr. Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd) is damage goods due to war related trauma. We also get that he has a special kinship with Dr. Teddy Altman (Kim Raver), and that Dr. Yang does not want to give up on him. But enough already, someone has to either poop or get off the relationship potty, since this lifeless love triangle has carried on for one show too many. Let's hope that the season six finale has finally put an end to this insipid plot line.

Lexi Grey goes Blonde
Maybe it's me, but I think Little Grey made for a better character when she was an off-beat, slightly ditzy, eternally optimistic red head. To me Lexi Grey (Chyler Leigh) was better off as the newbie red head that chased George O'Malley (T.R. Knight) around, than as the blonde maturing doctor trying to settle down with Dr. Mc Steamy, or Dr. Karev, depending on what plot line you wish to follow.

Arizona Roberts needs a Breakup
Why is it that in a hospital full of doctors who can't commit to even the simplest relationships, we still find Dr. Roberts (Jessica Capshaw) tied down with Dr. Torres (Sara Ramirez)? Doesn't the ever cheerful, roller skating, Arizona Roberts deserve better than to be bogged down with Cali Torres? I mean really, just because she is gay, does that mean she can't enjoy the same dysfunctional trysts that the rest of the doctors do?

Doctors and Nurses
Hasn't Grey's Anatomy exhausted every possible combination of doctor to doctor relationship by now? Would it really kill the show to have a doctor fall for say a practical level headed witty nurse now and then, or better yet, how about a gold digging cafeteria worker? All I am saying here is, this show really needs to explore other more complex and equally dysfunctional relationships.


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