Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Grey's Anatomy: Season Four Blu-ray Movie Review

Soap opera for the girls, and gore for the guys. What more could one ask for?

Reviewed by Lindsay Mayer October 23, 2008

Anyone who is even a casual viewer of broadcast television in the U.S. will notice a distinct trend in series themes. It goes without saying that the majority of these dramatic shows are merely primetime soap operas, but their costume changes little from one network to the next. Two of the most popular types of contemporary programming are the crime/law dramas, and the medical dramas. Grey's Anatomy falls under that latter category. Using an odd dichotomy of horrific trauma and complicated interpersonal relationships, the show has drawn a respectable following since its 2005 debut.

This Blu-ray set covers the series' most recent, 2007 season, which ran only 16 episodes and suffered a three month hiatus when the Writer's Guild of America strike began in November of 2007. Fans debate whether the show rebounded well after such a blow, but the story continuity did not seem to suffer much. Grey's Anatomy has been plagued with "off the set" problems before and since, as a matter of fact. Actor Isiah Washington, who played a prominent role as cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Preston Burke, was the subject of much gossip and spotlight when he supposedly got into a spat with fellow actor Patrick Dempsey over an insulting epithet; Washington later admitted use of the word "faggot" to describe cast member T. R. Knight, and the press picked it up. After much ado, Washington's contract was not renewed by ABC Studios, prompting the wounded actor to claim they only took him off the series because he was black. Another Grey's actress, Katherine Heigl, raised eyebrows when she did not submit her work on season four for consideration to the Golden Globes, feeling the material allotted to her character was not sufficient enough to warrant a nomination.

The surgical interns of Seattle Grace Hospital are quite the eager bunch.

Nevertheless, despite being steeped in drama offscreen, Grey's Anatomy has trudged along valiantly. Even with its unpredictable air times and shifting cast, the series continues to draw in curious viewers, having bowed its fifth season a month ago. The further adventures of the trauma surgeons at Seattle Grace Hospital are depicted in this set's fourth season, intercutting the characters' love lives with bizarre medical cases that amount to some sort of televised rubbernecking. One can't help but gawk. Of all the cases weird and squicky the staff must deal with, there are among other things a victim of internal decapitation, a corroded artery which subsequently ruptures, a baby strung out on meth, and a man encased in a block of concrete. The staff saves many a life, but lose a few along the way as well. The same goes for their personal relationships, of course.

Grey's Anatomy, which takes its name from the classic medical reference book Henry Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body, is a play on of words in a sense because it initially revolved around the central character of Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), who began as an intern at the hospital in the first season. Grey still remains a primary focus, opening and closing each episode with some pseudo-philosophic musings on life or love or addiction. She has arguably become more diffuse as a central character as the seasons have gone by however, since as much time is devoted to the other staff as it is to her. The fourth season opens with the revelation of her half-sister, who shows up as a new surgical intern. Meredith does not want anything to do with Lexie Grey (played by Chyler Leigh), but her resolve erodes over time. The hard-nosed Dr. Erica Hahn (Brooke Smith) replaces Isiah Washington's character Preston Burke as head cardiothoracic surgeon, much to the chagrin of some of Seattle Grace's residents. Grey struggles with her relationship to "McDreamy" Dr. Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey), while the lewd plastic surgeon Dr. Mark Sloan (or "McSteamy") toes the line with several of the female surgeons. Relationships bounce back and forth, and one wonders with all of this implausible drama why someone's evil twin doesn't show up, or a former love doesn't come back from the dead.

As with most mainstream films or television series in the U.S., the cast are impossibly gorgeous, and even the "plain" characters are merely cute. It's hard to feel bad for pretty people who glorify the live-to-work cultural mentality by slaving away in a highly stressful occupation for 12 hours a day. The same sentiment is doubly so for the drama of their relationships. At one point, a "merely cute" character has to choose between his just-married hot Spanish wife, or his hot blonde lover - all of whom, of course, work together. Realistic leverage like the chief resident's rocky marriage to a frustrated and lonely stay-at-home father is provided here and there, but not nearly enough to counterbalance the fantasy.

In all truth, I am not exactly the best candidate for this series' intended audience. Never having an interest in the show, I viewed this fourth season really not knowing what to expect. Newcomers will be able to follow the series without much trouble, as Grey's Anatomy is hardly a linear format - unlike a series such as LOST. The series' content, on the other hand, was hardly enthralling. If I wasn't rolling my eyes at the operatic drama between all the pretty doctors, I was squirming from the surprising amount of gore. Perhaps that's the value of high definition - the level of detail on all the prosthetic limbs, or the intense hue of gushing blood, make the material all the more effective in eliciting an emotional reaction from its audience. Worked on me, at least. Overall, Grey's Anatomy is understandably engrossing for the voyeuristic crowd, but its unorthodox methods of entertainment were rather off-putting for this sensitive viewer.

Grey's Anatomy: Season Four Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Encoded in AVC and averaging about 20 Mbps, this Grey's Anatomy box set comes to Blu-ray in its original 1.78:1 broadcast ratio. It's somewhat tough to judge the picture quality of this release, as much of the material isn't ideal to "show off" high definition capabilities. The sterile environments of modern hospital wards is mostly interpreted in a bland color palette of blues, whites, and grays. Still, the show's lighting makes the best with what it has, and the transfer boasts good flesh tones and moderate detail on smaller aspects like skin, textiles, and hair. I found myself enamored with Dr. Webber's beard, of all things.

When a more expansive spectrum appears, it is welcome relief, and the scattered tones are reproduced well. Most notable is the scarlet hues of blood, which stands out very well, without artifacts like posterization. Black levels and shadow detail are very good - satisfactorily deep and without crush. The bright, unforgiving blaze of hospital lights show nice white levels that do not bloom. Contrast overall is quite impressive, and the picture is pristinely presented. On a whole, the series feels like it could have been sharpened a notch, but it is a satisfactory transfer in the long run.

Grey's Anatomy: Season Four Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Audio options offered up on this four disc set are a lossless PCM 5.1 encoding, as well as Dolby Digital 5.1. Being primarily a dialogue driven dramatic series with sporadic periods of trauma ward chaos, Grey's Anatomy is very front heavy, relying on the center and front channels much of the time. The PCM track is a good deal fuller and boasts more clarity than the Dolby mix, with easily comprehensible conversation between the many talking heads. This medical drama has become particularly known for its soundtrack, which uses singles from many hitherto unknown or non-mainstream artists. The music is well mixed into the action, creeping in during tragic scenes or making a loud presence at happier moments. The rears are reserved for ambiance, filling out the overall presentation during livelier sequences like the arrival of maimed patients or during walkthrough shots in a busy hospital setting. LFE is used to subtle effect, lending gravity to a scene or supporting a bass-filled song or two in the backdrop. The aural presentation on Grey's Anatomy, like its visual quality, is not especially remarkable, but it is a decent offering considering the series' content.

Grey's Anatomy: Season Four Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Grey's Anatomy fourth season set is rather light on extra features. The bulk of the content can be found on disc four, which provides a handful of short featurettes that consist mostly of interviews. As a reference, all of the set's supplements are presented in high definition AVC with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. New Docs on the Block is an 8 minute profile of the fourth season's latest additions to the cast, including Brooke Smith as Dr. Erica Hahn, Lauren Stamile as Nurse Rose, and Chyler Leigh as new intern Lexie Grey. On Set with Patrick and Eric, at 5½ minutes, talks with the "McDreamy" and "McSteamy" duo as they reflect on their respective characters' dynamic with one another, as well as the day-to-day interaction the actors have between themselves and the rest of the cast and crew. Good Medicine: Favorite Scenes is the longest featurette at 14 minutes, wherein the cast and crew share some of their most memorable moments from the fourth season. A bit of a "clip show," if you will. Dissecting Grey's Anatomy: Unaired Scenes is 12 minutes worth of snipped bits and deleted scenes from various episodes within the season. In Stitches: Season Four Outtakes is the obligatory 4½ gag reel of flubbed lines and giggle fits, although it's so sanitized that very little of it is genuinely amusing.

The last feature on disc four is somewhat useful for Grey's Anatomy newcomers like myself. Quick Cut is a brisk, 4½ minute summary of the main character storylines from the first to the third seasons, and even a bit of the fourth. Although far too many names and events are thrown out in too short an amount of time, if viewed twice or thrice, it serves well as a "Grey's Anatomy 101" sort of crash course. Audio Commentaries are to be found on discs one through three of the set. Actress Chyler Leigh and associate producer Karin Gleason sit in on the season premiere "A Change is Gonna Come" on disc one, providing bubbly anecdotes and asides on the complexities of filming with such a large cast, among other things. Actress Lauren Stamile and executive producer/director Rob Corn discuss "Forever Young" on disc two, and "The Becoming," an extended episode on disc three, features actress Sandra Oh and director Julie Anne Robinson. An interesting novelty feature is provided on the entire run of this set; SeasonPlay tracks which episode you last viewed, and at what point in the runtime it was stopped. SeasonPlay will pick up at that particular point for continuous viewing. It also allows a viewer to skip around to other episodes with or without marking it SeasonPlay's continuity. The feature is convenient for non-marathon watchers, but otherwise really just a fluffy widget.

Grey's Anatomy: Season Four Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The fourth season of Grey's Anatomy was plagued with actor controversies and a lengthy writer's strike, but in the end it managed to produce 16 episodes before the typical autumn to spring air dates passed. Full of the series' signature scandals and outrageous medical trauma cases, the fourth season is sure to please fans of the show, even if some subplots lagged a bit. The uninitiated have no reason to feel trepidation, as the storylines and characters are fairly ease to pick up on via context clues over time. The premiere Blu-ray release of Grey's Anatomy features good picture and sound presentation, with a handful of supplements that may disappoint fans of extensive extra features. Overall, this set is recommended to established fans of the series, or for the curious television fan with a taste for the ubiquitous medical drama.