Grey's Anatomy: The Complete Fifth Season

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 interactions between cast and crew. I can't think of another show that has ever come close to this level of art imitating life.

Fortunately the fifth year at Seattle Grace isn't all about goodbyes. We also welcome several new wonderful cast members this year including the so-much-more-appropriate-for-Christina-Yang (Sandra Oh) Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd) the new head of trauma at the hospital. Owen is a former army doc working on the front lines in Iraq and naturally has some post traumatic stress issues to deal with but he brings a fire and a no-nonsense attitude to the group that helps to balance out everyone else's obsession over relationship details and drama. Also joining us is Jessica Capshaw as Dr. Arizona Robbins the new head of Pediatric Surgery and Callie's newest gal pal. Arizona is youthful, spirited and an all around bright light on the show.

We also have actress Melissa George appearing in 8 episodes as Meredith's friend Sadie Harris from medical school who's spent the last few years working in a morgue who might find dealing with patients before they die a bit more challenging than she planned on. Sadie adds that little bit of crazy to the new group of interns that's necessary for things like practicing procedures on each other and stealing cadavers to practice on in the basement of the hospital. Can't do crazy stuff without a crazy ring leader and Sadie was our girl this year for that.

As always it's not just about the personal lives of our docs, there's a lot of fascinating medical stuff happening as well. The absolute stand out case of the year is in episodes Sympathy for the Devil and Stairway to Heaven where Eric Stoltz brilliantly plays a death row inmate who comes to Seattle Grace for treatment and discovers that he is an organ donor match for a little boy about to die. The dilemma of whether or not to save his life so that he can be executed in six days or to let him die so he can save this little boys life is compelling to say the least. This was the episode that had people doing things they never thought they would and the way the wrap it all up in the end is absolute perfection.

It's interesting that with medical dramas the writing is always such that the emotional crisis facing the patients some how informs on the doctors life and or current emotional situation. Grey's Anatomy follows suit but also takes that to a new level where sometimes it's not only a loosely similar situation they are facing but pretty much the exact same situation. It makes for great story telling because in life often times the only way we are able to discover things about ourselves is by watching and judging

others. Being removed from a situation makes it far more clear. You can't help but wonder though what would happen to the show if the patients got mixed around from week to week and their problems no longer matched up; that would be messy.

Something I admire about this show is how committed it is to its characters evolution. No one stays the same throughout the run of this series; everyone has their highs and lows and everyone grows because of them. This season in particular highlights that as four of our main cast go from being neophyte students to fledgling teachers. Some of them take to it more easily than others but they all learn and change during the process.

Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) goes through perhaps the most radical shift as she finally calms down about all of the relationship fears she's had over the years and accepts that Derek isn't going anywhere and she's OK with that. It's nice to see this shift because frankly the whole, 'get away from me"¦ now come back' thing was getting really old.

Even though George (T.R. Knight) has far less screen time this season his character goes through a maturing process so that by the end of the season when it's time for him to say good bye he's saying it as an accomplished surgeon and as a man; not the scared intern he began as.

My biggest problem with the show is forcing Izzie and Alex together as a couple. It's clearly a relationship of convenience for the writers but it has never, ever rang true for me. Izzie's love for Denny was true love; there wasn't a false note to be found there. Her love for George, although misplaced, also came from a very honest believable place. But to think that she could fall madly in love with Alex Karev the biggest jack ass around is just phony.

The special features on this set include some fun behind-the-scenes featurettes and some deleted scenes (that again should NOT be place in one big bunch on the final disc, but rather should be included with the episodes they were cut from) some outtakes that aren't nearly as funny as last season's and a lot of interviews with creator Shonda Rhimes and producer Betsy Beers two people that while I admire the work they do I don't think I could ever stand to work with or talk to. So those were slightly annoying. The self congratulations and mutual patting on the back was a bit much.

Grey's Anatomy Season 5 is all about the beginning and the end. There are about 8 "” 10 episodes in the middle there that you could skip over and it wouldn't really make a difference, but the investment pays off in the final moments of the finale. If you have somehow managed to not hear about it

or have not seen it then you will be shocked, amazed, scared and devastated by Meredith's final few lines and her Emmy Award Worthy reaction shot. I'd watch the whole season again just to experience the emotional impact of those few moments all over again.

Season Grade: B

DVD Features Grade: B-

Overall Grade: B-