Not clinical enough to call it a medical drama and not light-hearted enough to call it a comedy, Grey's Anatomy injects you with 10 CCs of melodrama, 5 CCs of humor and 1 CC depth -- call it a primetime General Hospital. The second season of Grey's Anatomy kicks off with Meredith Grey (of the series' namesake) running into her brain surgeon boyfriend's, Dr. Derek Shepherd (aka Dr. McDreamy), wife. Thus, the second season�s driving plot line is in motion 15 minutes into the first episode of the season. From there, the season takes off on a series of episodes filled with twenty-something relationship angst, quirky medical quandaries and melodramatic set pieces that have little to no consequences.
Each episode is book-ended by Meredith's voiceover, which provides the episode's moral. Like a grown up Doogie Howser, Meredith waxes intellectual about her woes, as well the problems of her fellow medical interns - roommates Izzy and George, best friend Christina and obligatory jerk Alex. Each character is in love with another character they can't be with, except for Christina who represents the "together but separate" relationship. When they aren't sleeping with each other, the eager interns are knocking each other over to get the next ambulance full of mutilated car crash victims, gun shot wound patients and a plethora of oddball surgeries.
Pesky melodrama aside, the show does succeed in its quick wit and charming supporting cast. While Meredith, Izzy, George, Christina and Alex are whiney and annoying, Dr. Bailey (Chandra Wilson) along with Dr. Shepherd and Dr. Burke are a breath of fresh air. Dr. Bailey's strong characterization and knack for rattling off career-threatening remarks to interns makes her the most welcome on-screen character, while the down to earth Dr. Shepherd and Dr. Burke (Patrick Dempsey and Isaiah Washington, respectively) provide some contrast to their flighty female counterparts.
Truth be told, you don't need to watch every episode to enjoy Grey's Anatomy . In fact, you may even waste your time, as some episodes' plot lines revolve around events that never happened. Case in point, the episode "Damage Case" is driven by Dr. Shepherd finding out that Meredith spent the night at their dog's veterinarian when he brought the sick dog over late one night. However, that never happened in the previous episode. Instead, that tidbit was shown in the "last time on Grey's Anatomy " recap at the beginning of "Damage Case." Plot holes such as these and melodrama set pieces that are too coincidental to be remotely plausible undermine the show's one attempt at a meaningful theme.
Throughout the season, the show uses the idea of the surgeons' emotional disconnection as a plot device rather than exploring it as a theme. The characters lose patients in surgery and lovers in their personal lives, but there is never any true exploration of a doctor's need for an emotional disconnection if he or she is to continue to save lives and lose patients. The emotional disconnection is, instead, used to create tension in relationships; Christine is cold toward Burke, Meredith sleeps around to forget Derek, Derek's marriage fails because of being disconnected from his wife, and so on and so forth.
Yet, complaining that a weekly prime-time T.V. show isn't investigating any themes is rather moot. As a rule, television isn't a medium through which you gain a better understanding of the human condition. It's a quick fix, an escape from daily rigors, and Grey's Anatomy succeeds on that superficial level. It's fun, empty-headed entertainment with a twist of cleverness, but don't expect a feeling of accomplishment when you finish the second season on DVD; expect relief.
Season Highlights: "Make Me Lose Control," "Into You Like a Train," "Something to Talk About," "Thanks for the Memories," "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer," "Break On Through," "It's the End of the World," "As We Know It," "Superstition," "17 Seconds," Deterioration of the Fight or Flight Response," "Losing my Religion."
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Grey's Anatomy: Season Two Uncut 
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