It happened to “How I Met Your Mother” (2005 - 2014). It happened to “Gossip Girl” (2007 - 2012) and, most tellingly, it happened to “Private Practice”(2007 - 2013). When a TV show is on the far side of the hill, audiences can tell.
And, as the writers behind “Friends”(1994 - 2004) -- undoubtedly the sitcom of its time -- demonstrated so elegantly, when a beloved series is past its prime, sometimes creators and audiences alike have to be cruel to be kind. Know when to say goodbye; put it out to pasture; send Rover to live on the farm with Auntie Marge. Choose a trite expression to soften the blow, and then, for the love all things good -- end it!
Now at the start of its 11th season -- that’s right, it’s been more than a decade since Meredith and McDreamy first met in Joe’s Bar (some perspective: The average Tufts senior was 11 years old when the series started) -- “Grey’s Anatomy” (2005 - present) is in desperate need of some tough love.
Limping along week to week, “Grey’s” four new episodes lack focus, feeling at once scattered and repetitive. Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) and Derek (Patrick Dempsey) fight over whose career is more important while Callie (Sara Ramirez) and Arizona (Jessica Capshaw) duke it out over how -- and if -- to make time for a new baby between their busy schedules and career aspirations. Alex (Justin Chambers) and Bailey (Chandra Wilson) also get caught up in professional conflict, turning mentor against mentee. Couple after couple acts out the tragic struggle of the over-educated, I’m-too-smart-for-my-scrubs mid-career professional, constantly seeking endless love and Harper-Avery awards. Unfortunately, this conflict feels just as flat and uninteresting the second and third time as it did the first. Repetitive themes make each subsequent scene feel monotonous and unnecessary, even within the same episode.
Worst of all, the series now lacks drama, a requisite ingredient for a great season of “Grey’s.” It seems all that professional angst has left little room for the darker, steamier content that characterized the show in its heyday. Where are the life-and-death moral dilemmas: to LVAD or not to LVAD? Where are the pulse-pounding liaisons in on-call rooms and supply closets? Where are the bombs encased in body cavities? Gone, all gone. Pass the tequila, please.
In all seriousness, however, fan favorites like Chandra Wilson, Patrick Dempsey and, of course Ellen Pompeo, continue to churn out satisfactory performances, punctuated by the familiar quirks and pizzazz of their characters. But even Dempsey’s killer smile and perfect hair can’t make up for stagnant storylines and lackluster writing.
As the familiar faces of the show bicker and fade, a transfusion of new blood -- Dr. Amelia Shepherd (Caterina Scorsone), transplanted from the “Grey’s” spinoff “Private Practice,” and Dr. Maggie Pierce (Kelly McCreary) -- is a thin attempt to keep things fresh. While both Scorsone and Pierce do admirably, the sister-sister act (Amelia is Derek’s little sis, and Maggie is Meredith’s half sister) already feels tired. And, at least so far, neither comes close to filling the hole left by Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh) when she left the series at the end of last season.
Simply put, the new season of “Grey’s Anatomy” confirms fans’ worst fears -- the show is truly on its way out. All that remains to be seen is if it will make a graceful exit, a la “Friends,” and give out with a final, gasping breath (see: the death of “HIMYM”) or slowly fade out of relevance like “Private Practice.” The best option for a Meredith Grey fix already exists on Netflix; at least ten previous seasons means there are plenty of re-runs.
The final nail in the coffin? New episodes are no longer available for free on the ABC website the day after they air. Sad but true: it’s just not worth it anymore.
But if, like a tragic accident, it’s just too hard to look away, “Grey’s Anatomy” is still airing on ABC at 8 p.m. on Thursdays.
