Customer Reviews

Grey's Anatomy: The Complete Fourth Season [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(81)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

In season 3 of Grey's Anatomy everything fell apart. Everything that could go wrong did. George and Callie split, Izzie and George made a huge mistake (in my opinion) in trying to make things work out. Meredith feared commitment and Derek wanted to commit. And in the aftermath of Meredith's near death experience, she finally broke down. And then there is Burktina (Cristina and Burke)...which never happened. Like I said, everything that could go wrong did. Season 3 was about breaking the characters, exploring them and making all the mistakes. Season 4 is about mending and fixing those mistakes.

This season started slowly, painfully slow I shall say. The characters seemed stuck, all of them. And try as they might, they were unable and unwilling to change. Then, it happened, slowly, but surely, they started to evolve. They started to look beyond themselves and their problems and they started to grow and mature.

The first half of the season (pre-Writer's Strike) was slow and all consuming within itself; it refused to be bothered with the world around it. The first half of the season brought in a lot of change, but none of the characters were equipped or willing to deal with it. Cristina refused to confront her non-wedding, Meredith was still reeling from her near-death experience and her inability to commit with Derek. Nevermind the fact that she has to deal with a new sister! Izzie and George had to deal with a new relationship and a failed one. Alex had himself and Ava to deal with. We also saw some new characters and some characters leave. All in all the first half of the season was horrible, stale, and unable to foster change.

And then the strike happened, and the creative juices must have been at their peak because what we saw in those 5 last episodes was pure brilliance. The characters finally exploded into full blooded beings in our TVs, they were finally in route to who they are supposed to become and they are finally a testament to what Grey's Anatomy is supposed to be: great, emotional and captivating.

I mark the beginning of the change with the arrival of Addison, she came in waltzing in her Zen zone and her unwillingness to get stressed out and reminded everyone of who they are supposed to be and what they are supposed to be doing, all the meanwhile getting stressed herself. The show then became magnificent; my blasé viewing of the show went out the window and FINALLY I became engaged in it once more. The second half of the season was so good that I made every other crappy episode worth it. It even made season 3 worth it because we finally got to see our characters evolve. Thus, whereas Season 3 was the breaking apart of everything, this Season 4 was the mending and evolution of Grey's Anatomy.

Grey's is great...but the season premiere was pretty silly with that whole Izzie-deer thing, I mean, c'mon, I know it's TV and all, but let's have a little realism. I, too, felt she was pretty flat this whole season, but didn't we just learn that was because she is persuing more film roles (the reason she withdrew her name from the Emmy's).

Meredith and her progression with therapy was pretty cool; even with all her whininess (and her high pitched laughter), her future with Derek looks pretty promising. And who cares about Derek so long as he looks good!!

Callie and Hahn--I agree that's an interesting dynamic, but Grey's has been viewed as the multi-racial TV drama, so why not incorporate the whole lesbian thing too? It's not my cup of tea, but after what Callie's gone through (and Hahn never gave into Sloan's pursuit), that too was a natural progression.

Christina and the aftermath of Burke...you know, at the 3rd season finale, I thought the whole, "I'm free" thing was pretty powerful, but we haven't seen really anything more from Christina and how she wasn't herself when she was with Burke--but what HE made her. I think she will have some growth in the 5th season.

George is a bit of a geek--but whatever. Who didn't see him and Lexie getting together at some point?? Hasn't this show made sex with pretty much everyone standard??

Chief and Sloan--supporting characters with little weight this season (I think), but I do believe we will see Sloan's role grow more in the coming season. He doesn't do much but sleep with everyone, but that has to change at some point...?

Alex--I have yet to figure that one out, but Ava/Rebecca has to go away once and for all.

Bailey--our precious Bailey--who I think holds the show together--that was a big bummer about her and her husband, but she is trying to put her family first.

Overall, I believe the season was better after the strike was over and the writers and producers found once again what made Grey's so special in the first place. I believe they set up the end of season 4 for a great season 5....should be great to watch come the fall!!!

Season 4 suffered because of the strike, like many shows. Although, in Grey's the first episodes of the year were just...blah, a bit of a let down after the previous 3 entertaining and exciting seasons. But not to worry, it picks up in a BIG way once the writers ended the strike and the season ends solidly and you'll be thankful you hung in there with all the ups and downs.

I, like many fans, was getting sick of Meredith and her whining. Just when you thought she was going to grow up and stop sabatoging her life...she keeps it up. But stay tuned till the end of this season! Same for George and Izzy & Alex & Ava...it was a mess, but by the end things are figured out. I think part of the reason the first episodes were rough going, was the introduction of several new characters. By the end of the season we got to know them better and I enjoyed watching them on screen more. Overall this season started a bit sour, but ended on a high note.

The season finale completely rescues this lost season. The main problem with this season is that the hookups and partner-swapping gets to ridiculous levels, almost as if the writers were trying to put people together until they figured out what worked. It had the feel of something like 90210, when they had no choice but playing rotating partners with the cast members.

As a result, the romantic issues in the season became trite and annoying. However, like I said, the finale portends for better episodes to come, so let's hope that happens!

Season Four picks up in quality where the show dropped off during the third season. Grey's gets its groove back in a year that re-integrates the brilliant comedic writing and satisfying (yet not over-the-top) dramatic storylines that drew us to this show during the first two seasons.
The departure of Addison Montgomery at the end of season three was particularly saddening as her character added so much to the series. However, the new characters in season four introduce some fascinating unchartered territory for Shonda Rhimes to deal with. Erica Hahn, played by Brooke Smith, adds an interesting dynamic to the season as she replaces Burke as Seattle Grace's Head of Cardiothoracic Surgery. Her presence threatens Cristina Yang's ego and even has one characters questioning their sexuality. Meredith Grey's sister, Lexie (played by Chyler Leigh), also arrives at Seattle Grace and becomes a series regular in season four. Her presence lays out a potentially interesting story arch for Meredith, as she becomes the first member of her family who admires her and loves her unconditionally. For the first time, Meredith is forced to seek professional assistance in working out her personal issues- the scenes that she shares with her therapist provide some of the most entertaining material of the season.
New relationships are built, old ones crumble, and the staff at Seattle Grace is faced with challenges that deeply affect their lives in a season that reminds us of why we started watching Grey's in the first place!

Okay, I'm a Grey's Fanatic, and will undoubtedly purchase this to complete my collection, however, I am a little peeved that I'm paying $38 for such a short season. Season 1 only had 9 episodes, but at least the DVD was $19.99 instead of $38.

After the atrocious 3rd season, which can only be called painful, Grey's Anatomy ditched Isaiah Washington, a dead weight in most scenes in Season 3, with the exception of his excellent scenes with Patrick Dempsey. However, the show lost a lot of energy with the departure of Kate Walsh but manages to recover a little with the addition of Brooke Smith reprising her role as Erica Hahn, who shakes up the hospital in a good way.

The first three episodes are excessively weak, dragging on the silly Meredith and Derek "broken up" storyline. However, in "The Heart of the Matter" the focus on Callie Torres gives Sara Ramirez a chance to shine and starts an upward incline for the season. Episodes 9, 10 and 11 ("Crash into Me" and "Lay Your Hands on Me") are strong, reminiscent of some of the average episodes of Season 2, especially with the focus on Chandra Wilson's Miranda Bailey. The show never goes wrong with a focus on her and she gives a great performance in "Lay Your Hands on Me". Her scene with Patrick Dempsey in that episode is one of the more touching moments in the series, quiet and poignant.

Post-strike, however, the show really took off gaining an energy and focus. Previously meandering, relationships and storylines started to move towards an end point, coming together in an excellent season finale that leaves you wondering where the characters are going to go from there. The strength of the season finale is that the two main cases, Meredith and Derek's clinical trial and the boy encased in concrete, are not based on fast-paced adrenaline but rather slower, emotionally driven cases.

One of the main drawbacks of the season is the underutilization of Sandra Oh. Without having Cristina being constantly punished and "taught lessons" in her relationship with Burke, it's almost like the writers have no idea what to do with her and instead have her bouncing around as a prop in the other character's storylines. The finale remedied a little of that, and left us with some hope that Cristina will have recovered enough to be strong in her own right again. Amazing performances by Sara Ramirez, Ellen Pompeo and surprising emotional depth in the last few episodes from Justin Chamber made this a good season for Grey's Anatomy, certainly better than the wholly depressing Season 3.

Seriously? So the writer's strike was horrible for everyone. However, Grey's survived gracefully. This season was great with the original lighthearted comedy mixed in all of the drama that we fell in love with in the first season. I love this season as much as any other if not more, but we're being charged the price of a full 26 episodes for 17??? The first season only cost $19.99 and this season isn't all that much longer. Now, this may be cheap, but seriously??? Full price??? Seriously. (I'm still buying it the second it's released. It's like crack.)

As expected, season four of Grey's had a rocky running (along with countless prime time shows). Grey's tried to prove its worthiness as a successful series by bringing a large fan base into the fourth season. This season, however, was a test to the devotedness of its viewers. Grey's was a few short coming into their fourth season with the loss of Isaiah Washington's character--Dr. Preston Burke--and Kate Walsh's, Dr. Addison Montgomery. The show tried to compensate the loss by bringing in Burke's rival, Dr. Haun (played by Brooke Smith) and throwing in another twist to Meredith's life--Lexie Grey. This season's downfall was the entire first half (pre-strike), but admittedly got better as the season progressed. Is it worth the price? As a fan (and owner) of the first three seasons, I feel the need to complete the collection. Otherwise, I would invest in any prior season over this "rocky" one and hope that season five comes on a lot stronger.

Another wonderful season for Grey's Anatomy! In season 3 everything fell apart, it was about time too, for a long time everyone were being pushed to the limit and three was a season of liberation so we can have new beginings or fix what is broken. Season four was just as amazing and wonderful as the other seasons, plus everyone went about fixing what was broken, accepting what can't be changed and giving up on what is not meant to be. The writing was insightfull and at times poetic, the characters evolved and opened up more and Grey's is geting to be one of those rare kind of shows that is worthy of being elevated to the statues of a wonderful novel. Some quotes from the season to keep you going as you wait for your dvd:

Meredith: Don't wonder why people go crazy. Wonder why they don't. In face of what we can lose in a day, in an instant, wonder what the hell it is that make us hold it together.

Meredith: There's a little animal in all of us and maybe that's something to celebrate. Our animal instinct is what makes us seek comfort, warmth, a pack to run with. We may feel caged, we may feel trapped, but still as humans we can find ways to feel free. We are each other's keepers, we are the guardians of our own humanity and even though there's a beast inside all of us, what sets us apart from the animals is that we can think, feel, dream and love. And against all odds, against all instinct, we evolve.

Meredith: Change; we don't like it, we fear it, but we can't stop it from coming. We either adapt to change or we get left behind. And it hurts to grow, anybody who tells you it doesn't is lying. But heres the truth: the more things change, the more they stay the same. And sometimes, oh, sometimes change is good. Oh, sometimes change is everything.

Meredith : There's a clarity thing when you cross over the edge. There's a moment when everything just melts away and you're fearless.