After one of the most earth shattering, edge-of-your-seat, nail biting season finales I have ever seen in my life, Grey’s Anatomy returns for a seventh season to deal with the trauma and the after math of the shooting spree that left 11 members of the hospital staff dead and many other seriously injured.

Rather than begin with a traditional ‘last time on Grey’s Anatomy’ montage to remind viewers of what had happened, they cleverly decided to pick up where they had left off and simply interweave short bursts of memories of the finale into the show; this of course made the premiere feel more realistic and gave the audience a genuine ‘you were there’ feeling rather than the typical disconnected ‘you are watching television,’ approach.

The first thing that is made clear by this initial episode, With You I’m Born Again is that the long term effects of last years’ tragedy will not be immediately dealt with and all wrapped up. In fact, it lets us know that it’s going to be a long, long time before our favorite characters are back to their old selves again and to me that says we’re in for something of a different season.

There are several recurring storylines to follow this year as always; we have the recovery of Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh), the race for Chief Resident (which has an unexpected conclusion), Teddy Altman’s (Kim Raver) marriage to a hot patient (Scott Foley), Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) and Derek’s (Patrick Dempsey) struggle to have a baby, the future of both Callie (Sara Ramirez) and Arizona’s (Jessica Capshaw) relationship and Lexie (Chyler Leigh) and Mark’s (Eric Dane), and little things like the quest to cure Alzheimer’s and Diabetes; All in all, a typical year at Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital.

There aren’t too many new comers this year (let’s be honest this show has had more than its share of radical cast changes) so not adding too many new faces into the mix is a blessing.

Of the new recurring cast members my favorite is without a doubt Altman’s new beau, Henry; and not just because he’s played by the adorable Scott Foley whom some would argue looks enough like me to be my long lost big brother. His story arc touches on huge issues facing our country today all revolving around the ludicrous health care system we are stuck with. Henry has serious, recurring medical issues that require surgery and constant follow up care in order to keep him alive and well. Naturally, he got dumped by his insurance carrier and was about to be sent home to die because he could no longer afford to pay for his treatment when Dr. Altman stepped in and married him. As the husband of a doctor with great benefits he was able to get his surgery and all the care

he needed to stay alive. Why in the world should anyone, ever be put in that position? Of course the character was lucky that he met someone sympathetic who was not only able to help him, but who actually chose to do so! Not to mention the fact that he was also a handsome heterosexual man so no one would suspect that their motives for getting married were anything less than pure love at first site.

This is Altman’s main storyline throughout this season but she is of course only one supporting player in a cast of 14 lead characters so the issue doesn’t get all of the attention it should but it definitely means something that it was as present as it was.

Our other two newbies this year are less interesting. We have yet another beautiful, brilliant blonde who wants to thaw Karev’s (Justin Chambers) cold dead heart and a curmudgeon head of pediatric surgery who serves as the balance to everyone else’s kind motivations and general good dispositions. Dr. Stark (Peter MacNicol) (aptly named because he is a stark contrast to everyone else) is probably the most accurate portrayal of what real life surgeons actually look and act like. He’s an arrogant ass of a man, he’s short, he’s chubby, his views are archaic; in general he’s a crusty old white guy. That’s what most surgeons are. They don’t all look like they’ve stepped off of a GQ or Maxim photo shoot just long enough to hop in and perform a quick emergency heart transplant. So even though I hate him, his presence on the show is important if only to remind you how much of what we are watching is pure fantasy.

There are a few stand-out shows this year, but nearly as many as I was expecting.

Golden Hour is a great basically stand-alone episode where Meredith takes over running the ER and deals with everything from a child with a broken leg to a man walking in with a knife sticking out of his head. I love episodes like this one because they focus more on the emotional impact of being a doctor and less on the individuals’ character angst. Yes, what makes this show great are the characters but sometimes it’s nice to watch an episode and realize that these fictitious doctors are just stand in’s for countless people throughout the country who actually do this job for real. Having to go from telling a nine year old that his father suddenly died because of a heart defect to then trying to empathize with the parents of a four year old with a broken leg has to be incredibly taxing.

Unquestionably Grey’s Anatomy’s biggest misstep of all time is the musical episode Song Beneath the Song; which for some unknown reason is presented not just once but twice

on this set as both a regular and extended cut. Blending real life drama and the people experiencing it randomly breaking into song is one of the trickiest most delicate things one can attempt to achieve. Musicals like RENT did it flawlessly but then you have shows like this trying to step outside of their comfort zones to do something different and the result is a laughable train wreck. There are many moments where song and its delivery intensify the emotions and heighten the experience of watching as Callie and her unborn baby struggle to live after a catastrophic car crash, but more often than not it falls flat. The transitions from normal life to ‘singing world’ are forced and uncomfortable. In watching it you could see the actors trying desperately not to laugh at each other. It was beyond ridiculous.

One thing that I will say in favor of the musical episode is that it did separate ‘the men from the boys,’ so to speak among the cast. Sara Ramirez (Dr. Callie Torres), Kevin McKidd (Dr. Hunt) and Chandra Wilson (Dr. Bailey) are clearly the most well rounded, well trained actors in the ensemble. A very obvious non-singing fixture in this episode was Patrick Dempsey. Apparently, McDreamy can’t carry a tune even though he looks cute with his little cap and surgeon glasses.

And of course the season wouldn’t be complete without a big wedding, so White Wedding fills that slot very nicely seeing Callie Torres and Arizona Roberts getting hitched in a gorgeous, albeit not legal ceremony. What makes the episode great though is that while they are coming together in an elaborate and beautiful gathering of friends and family to join together for life, we also see Derek and Meredith going to civil court and getting legally married in the most drab, official, red tape looking thing you’ve ever seen. I love the subtle ‘F You’ to the establishment and the many, many states that have banned gay marriage claiming that it isn’t real. The assumption and fear mongering surrounding the ‘threat’ that it will destroy hetero marriage has become laughable at this point. But it’s great to see it shown in this way, in the hope that people will look at it and realize that love is love. And when people join together for reasons of love regardless of their sex it’s a beautiful thing. And when they come together for more ‘official’ reasons, it’s just a business transaction.

The finale of year seven shows us that a mass shooting isn’t the only way to end a season on a powerful note. This year betrayals and surprises are at an all-time high (and just in case you haven’t seen the entire season yet I will say no more). But suffice it to say even though this season ender pales in comparison

to last years, Unaccompanied Minor is effective because it operates on a change to relationships type of basis; not on an adrenaline fueled death inducing one.

The special features on this 6 disc set include one featurette and one short, but funny, well edited gag reel. The featurette is a behind-the-scenes look at that awful musical episode, Song Beneath the Song. The interviews with the cast and crew make you almost feel bad for hating the episode so much… but not quite. What it does do though is explain how in the world this show came to be. This was clearly a case of the creator of a highly successful show wanting to do something and no one wanting to tell her (or scream at her) “This is a BAD IDEA!” So they ran with it and they got what they got.

We also have a feature of unaired scenes from the entire season chopped up and listed one after the other in a single place. This is the lamest way to present this material. In my opinion if you aren’t going to invest the time and the money into making longer cuts of the actual show with these deleted scenes added back in, then at least have the decency to package the scenes with the episodes they are a part of; that way, when you have finished watching an episode you can go immediately into the cut scenes and watch them and figure out where in the chronology they fit. I defy anyone to watch 22 hours of programming and then when all is said and done go back and watch less than a minute of a scene and know where it fits and why it might have been important. It’s just a waste.

Speaking of waste we also have 6 webisodes called Seattle Grace: Message of Hope that, while cutsie, don’t add anything to the show overall or the experience of watching the DVD’s. It’s just something extra they put together to throw up on the web in an attempt to keep up with the times. But I’d say skip them.

Grey’s Anatomy: The Complete Seventh Season is satisfying, emotional and exciting at times but falls short when compared to previous years. There comes a point when your show just can’t be as good as it once was. So, while I definitely enjoyed the time watching them, I don’t remember nearly as much about these last 22 hours as I have in past years. They are hanging in there, they just aren’t excelling in the way they used to.