out of boredom i popped in the grey’s anatomy dvds that i brought back from china for a friend and watched a few episodes from the second season. pretty soon i was frustrated by the shortage of likeable characters. i say shortage and not dearth because there are still a couple of them that i can sort of warm to (dr. bailey for one). the problem is they are far far outnumbered by the annoying ones, who happen to occupy 98% of air time.
i get it that the characters are supposed to be “real,” with real flaws, weaknesses and vulnerabilities like real people. what’s problematic for me is that there is so amazingly little to like about these people. as it gets closer to the end of the second season i can’t help feeling this is actually a game show where contestants vie for the titles of “america’s biggest a**hole” and “seattle’s biggest idiot.” at first your attention is gripped by their seemingly inexhaustible creativity to come up with new and ever more outrageous ways to annoy. but soon the tricks run out and you realize these people will be flaunting the same annoy traits and repeating the same sorry acts unapologetically for the remainder of the season. people like dr. “no matter how badly i hurt and torture others, i’m still the biggest victim” shepherd, dr. “i’m the kind-hearted and innocent boy-next-door whose feelings got hurt and now can’t stop whining” o’malley, or dr. “i’m ambitious, i’m strong, i only have one facial expression” yang.
i have to admit the show does have its moments. it is most inspirational when someone dies, is on the verge of dying, or comes back from the brink of death. maybe the writers should put some of the annoying doctors in one of those situations (preferrably the first kind) to make the show less insufferable. maybe they have done that already, but i won’t find out because i’ve given up on this show.
for more information, google “i hate grey’s anatomy.” those guys say it better.
