Grey’s Anatomy – Poignant? Pained? Puerile?

I’m torn sometimes… It’s a pretty straightforward formula, the old medical drama…. Casualty is still the stone cold classic…

Old lady reaching for toast, trips over terrier, sets house on fire and next thing you know 14 people are in ambulances, heading for the one ward where all the cameras are…

The American shows are more about the people in the hospital, ever since ER, it’s always been about the doctors, the nurses and the interaction between the two…And the hotter the doctor / nurse combinations, all the better…

It also is about the adrenalin rush, the cut and spurt of blood, the shouting and the drama that the high speed life saving creates. ER is probably modern TV’s formative medical drama, although I have a soft spot for what is now probably the hopelessly slow and old fashioned St Elsewhere. No one seems to show that one on the 853 Gold TV channels that exist on my Sky box. I don’t know why, but I’d love to see it again.

Anyway, we’re here today to dissect the season finale of Grey’s Anatomy. In terms of medical drama, the leading surgeon is probably Dr. Phil. No, the large moustachioed man does not feature, but the show might as well be set in his studio. It’s all about feelings. And talking. Oh God, the talking.

Grey’s Anatomy talk a lot. They all shag each other sure, but the sexy time is far outweighed by the need to talk to everybody afterwards. Oy.

I go through phases of hating the transparent, issues on your sleeve, overwritten, overwrought shite that they produce. But, there are other episodes that tug on the heartstrings in unexpected ways.

Yes, they’ve killed off small kids just for the tears, they even killed an entire prom night of kids in one particularly gory episode. But it’s the non lethal, small wins that lift the spirit, or cause a moment of ocular dampness.

So, to the finale of the current series. It would take a reasonable amount of summarising, to list off all of the various episodic twists that are hanging, tantalisingly in search of resolution, so, instead the short version.

There are lots of hot young, wannabe doctors. They are nearly doctors. One of the hottest, now has brain cancer. She is pretty much toast. Like the old lady in Casualty.

She has had all the various procedures. She, portrayed by Katherine Heigl, has shaved her head, looks like Sinead O’Connor, hallucinates, got married in a wheelchair (near enough) and has been knocking on death’s door for so long, that he’s had to crank up the stereo.

Anyway, we’re all waiting for her to pop her clogs, or drop dead, or fade away. And have been for three or more episodes.

It’s 11 minutes to go. She’s still not dead.

Don’t even start me on the world’s longest running, will they won’t they get married thing between Grey (whose Anatomy, it may be… although that sounds rude) and McDreamy, (who is now getting McAged and McWhatever).

Oh God. She didn’t die.

Oh God. Now I’m a bad person. (Worse person? Sheesh I dunno)

Nope. She just died.

Or did she… And what the hell happened to George?

Conflicted as always. Is it right or wrong to allow yourself to be emotionally tweaked by glossy TV? Do I really care? Should I care?

In all honesty, I should be watching Questions and Answers.