Grey’s Anatomy: The Complete Fifth Season

Review By: Dan Deevy
DanDeevy@TheCinemaSource.com

Season Grade: B
DVD Features Grade: B-
Overall Grade: B-

There are some shows that have flawless seasons that keep you riveted from the first to the last episode and others that have incredibly strong starts and finishes that make up for a lag in the middle; Grey’s Anatomy Season 5 is an amazing example of the latter.

It’s true that the drama off screen was just as intense as it was on screen but it doesn’t change the fact that despite all of the in-fighting and bickering they churned out a great season of television. This season was not without its flaws mind you, but when you sit back to reflect on the season as a whole the crappy stuff fades away and you’re left remembering all of the great things that did happen.

Everyone knows the story of how Katherine Heigl turned down an Emmy nomination for her role in season four because she didn’t think the writers gave her character anything of note to play. Naturally the writers, being the forgiving non petty folks that they are, immediately went to work to make her eat her words. So this season Izzie is somehow having an affair with her dead fiancé Denny (Jeffery Dean Morgan) while simultaneously starting a relationship with fellow resident Alex Karev (Justin Chambers). It eventually turns out that it’s a brain tumor that’s causing her hallucinations but oh my God it takes forever for the story to get there! That lag I mentioned earlier in this season, it’s the ‘Denny lag.’ They took a storyline and a character that everyone loved and smashed him into the ground this season by making him confusing, awkward and annoying.

Also unhappy at work this year was Heigl’s best friend T.R. Knight who, following the Isaiah Washington debacle, felt more and more isolated on set and displeased with his working conditions. As a result the writers went to work to make him feel even worse by pretty much down playing his once starring role to a featured one giving him less and less to do each episode. So as the season grew to a close debate over whether or not these two actors would be back for another year grew rampant with every speculation imaginable ranging from killing them both off to maybe one or the other or that there might be another way for these two characters to exit the show.

For some reason, and we’re still not sure why this happened either, but early on in this year actress Brooke Smith who played Cardio surgeon and new lesbian love interest of Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez), Dr. Erica Hahn just suddenly disappeared. Her character leaves the show never to be seen again and no explanation is given as to why.

As amazing a show as it is Grey’s Anatomy is now synonymous for the characters lives being dictated by the real life personal feelings and ...