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Feb 23, 2007

Grey's Anatomy Jumps the Shark

greys_anatomy.jpgMy wife and I first watched Grey's Anatomy after last year's Super Bowl. It was a re-cap episode that essentially caught us up with everything that had happened since then, and we've been hooked since. The show has 'must see TV' status on our Tivo. But tonight the show has surely Jumped The Shark. The hints were all there last week, when Meredith drowned, and the episode ended with her waking up in a hospital room surrounded by some of the key 'previously departed' from the show. My neighbor TJ saw it coming then, stating firmly last weekend that the show had jumped.

Now I recognize that this is just a prime-time medical soap opera. Others have joined and left our list, we used to watch ER, I guess that stopped when Dr. Green died. We currently watch House pretty regularly, but it is much more of a medical-CSI, while Grey's is ALL soap.

Anyway, so tonight after her body lay cold on the table for most of the episode while she's talking to the dead, her own dying mom shows up to tell her she's proud of her and talks her back into living. And then the kicker, Dead Denny gets his farewell to Izzy... pu-leeze! My wife doesn't want to admit it, and I'm sure we'll continue watching the show on it's inevitable downward spiral (which is further evidenced by the announcement of pending spin-offs), but TJ was right. This show has jumped.

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Dec 13, 2004

Chris Wins Survivor

SurvivorI'm doing a lot of reviewing lately, and tonight my topic is Survivor. When this show aired it's first season, we didn't watch it. And for weeks among family and friends and the water cooler we found ourselves left out of the biggest TV buzz of the season. And so, determined not to let that happen again, our family has become dedicated Survivor fans. Tonight, Chris has won the 9th season, Survivor Vanuatu, overcoming long odds from his balance-beam choke on episode one, to being the only guy left in a tribe full of woman.

What's the staying power of this show to us? For one, Survivor has become the only must-see family television in our house. It's a shared family pleasure to watch regular (and often irregular) people compete and scheme against each other for the chance to be on television and the possibility to win some serious money. We chose our favorites, and boo the villians, and it's a good time.

The show is also a lesson in life. Strangers are thrown together, all there to play a game they know to be cutthroat, and they want to win the money. Yet over the days together, competing as teams, and working together in alliances, they form relationships, good and bad. And by the time the final vote comes about, there's always a major boilover of emotions that cracks me up. Sure, it's gotta hurt to be on the jury, coming so close and now having to chose which of the people that beat them will get the money. Some handle it well, and graciously acknowledge the victors. But others pull out the bitterness... boo hoo, you lied to me, I thought we were friends, you would say anything for the money... waa waa waa...

Certainly real relationships can develop on Survivor, hell, Rob and Amber are getting married (but that may have been Rob's ultimate post-game play, right?), but to the Survivor cry-babies out there I'd like just say, "Get a grip. You were out-played, out-witted, and out-lasted. So save the tears and be a good loser".

OK, so maybe I should get a life, but Survivor provides some harmless escapism and fun family TV time, and we'll likely keep watching as long as they keep churning 'em out.

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