dopey TV

some folks might argue
that all TV is dopey
not just some of it

I'm having an ongoing "argument" with my brother-in-law over whether or not the show Grey's Anatomy is an idiotic show pandering to the masses or not a bad show at all, if you ignore the voice over and cut it some first season slack.

I'm on the not such a bad show side of the argument. I like characters and I like the premise of "Holy crap, how did we turn into adults all of a sudden?"

But I concede that the writers treat the audience like we're all morons. The show breaks no new ground. It repeats all the cliches:

What? Chick totally against having an affair with her boss has an affair with her boss? What? she might be pregnant now? Shock!
What? The beautiful doctor is actually really smart? Shock!
What? the asshole frat boy doc has a heart of gold - sort of? Shock!
What? There's a "code" between doctors that means don't rat out the drunk anesthesiologist? Wasn't that on ER a hundred and fifty years ago? Shock!

There's nothing new to the show. And the acting isn't superior. So why do I like it? Why does it have a season pass on my woefully inadequate 40-hour TiVo? Why do I insist on defending its mediocrity whenever my brother-in-law woefully (and mostly rightfully) describes how dumb it is?

I don't know. I just kind of like it. Sometimes it's nice to not have to think. But even that's not a good reason. That's a CSI reason - and I'm kind of done with CSI.

Maybe it boils down to the characters.
the blond, smart, cute girl with a secret
the other blond, smart, pretty girl who had a secret but doesn't anymore
the nerdy boy destined to only be friends with all the smart, pretty girls
the ambitious asian
the egotistic surgeon
the mean resident
etc.

Even if they're cliche, I like them. Maybe it's because I can't personally relate to any of them, so I don't bring any baggage. Maybe it's because most of the actors are fairly new so I don't compare them to better shows or movies they've been in.

I can't figure it out. But I like the show. It's not like Lost or the X-Files or Wonderfalls or Firefly. It is woefully sad compared to those shows. Yet I like it.

Pop culture has officially overtaken me. Andy Warhol would be proud.

***UPDATE***
um, could I have said "woefully" ONE MORE TIME?

Comments

[Craig]

I think it's that you're hungry for serial episode television, rather than contained-in-one-episode shows (CSI)? Maybe that's what you're latching on to - cliched writing be damned...

[Kari]

Maybe you're right, Craig. With Lost and Desperate Houswives, serialized shows are definitely making a comeback. I hope it's not a fad. I loves me some interesting characters that do more than study blood spatter or solve scary crimes. Perhaps HBO has saved network television. The Sporanos Effect.

[Chris]

You and the "other" brother-in-law disagree on something?? Wow! I'm a little jealous :)

[Debra]

I love "Grey's Anatomy"! I think it, "House" and my assortment of must-watch cartoons are all I do watch, though I miss the first two more often then not.

I've watched maybe 2 episodes of X-Files and wasn;t impressed, and Wonderfalls (was the the one where the lion talked to her?) wasn't one I could get into at all. My friend bought it on DVD and made me watch it... fell really flat.

I think "Grey's" is good because it's interesting, funny at times, dramatic, little sub-plots, the suddenly adults thing is good too- it probably appeals to a lot of people in the 20 to 30 age range more or less on that level.

The characters also aren't completely cliched- the model? She's not a dumb blonde, and the Sandra Oh's character isn't infallible or overly sexy or anything else we see in a lot of Asian characters.

The RN? Funny, but you notice she brings a nice dose of a (yes, stereotyped) black woman's "this is my house, and I'm in charge here" to the show, rather then our white patriarchal system?

[Debra]

I should probably ad that I also never watch ER....