The Doctors Are In

(From The Newark Star Ledger)

Q: Just wondering what you think of the new ABC show GREY'S ANATOMY. I really enjoy the characters and writing on the show. It reminds me of ST. ELSEWHERE, although not quite as quirky.

A: When GREY'S debuted this spring, I mentioned the writing was crisp, sometimes funny and sometimes moving, and the cast was solid. But unless you've never watched a doctor show before, this one can't help but feel more than a little familiar throughout.

Eight episodes later, my opinion hasn't changed much, except I don't even mind the recycled elements anymore. What I think works especially well is the way it blends the early formulas of ER (young, eager doctors working absurd hours) and FRIENDS (young, attractive pals living together and trying to figure out what to do with their lives).

I'm not crazy about the decision to make the SANDRA OH character (CRISTINA) pregnant so soon, but I've grown suprisingly fond of these people in short order. Of the new network dramas from this past season, I'd rank it a comfortable FOURTH behind LOST (ABC), VERONICA MARS (UPN), and HOUSE (FOX). Not bad for a show that was only supposed to fill in for BOSTON LEGAL for a month and the disappear quietly.

Oh, and while I can see some shadings of ST. ELSEWHERE -- one of the greatest dramas in TV history -- in the comedy and the interns' exhausting schedules, this feels like a much more conventional show. I can't imagine GREY'S doing an episode where one of the doctors visits Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory in shortt order, or one that cycles back and forth over a half-century in the life of the hospital, to name two of the best, boldest ST. ELSEWHERE shows.