After 12 seasons, Grey’s Anatomy still manages to remain one of the most popular TV shows.
Grey’s Anatomy is a great serial. In fact, it is one of the best TV series ever, and Thursday’s episode 9 of season 12 proves just that. The evolution of television has given us so much to admire. Prestige dramas have risen offering a lot of creativity and liberty.
However, there is always something more about an event episode. It is a TV stunt that is advertised with all the might. It may be any random event that may threaten a beloved character in the series. It sends fans running towards their television sets.
And Shonda Rhimes is very much familiar with the way a stunt is spun on TV. In the tradition of ER, NYPD, and Law & Order, Rhimes is a master when it comes to creating a loud and effective stunt episode – something that the viewer absolutely needs to see.
She has done almost everything from crashing a ferry and an airplane. She has also blown up Coach Taylor and killed McDreamy. Yet, on Thursday she proved beyond doubt that she still has the same touch despite the series being on air for more than 12 seasons.
In an age of streaming, Grey’s Anatomy has managed to retain the charm of the old series while offering a first-class experience to its fans. Thursday night’s episode of ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ was a blockbuster in every sense of the word. Scenes of Dr. Meredith Grey beaten up and left in a hospital room by a patient were promoted with a vigor that only suits an event episode. Stunt TV is cheap. Yet, it is beautiful at the same time.
In other words, it is a wager that can only repay if the series has a solid fan following that has invested so much in the characters that they fail to see the implausibility of characters that become larger than life. They being to care deeply for those characters so an event episode that actually blackmails a caring fans, does not seem like an exploitation of the audience. It becomes a worthy payoff.
Characters that we care so deeply for that the ludicrous scenario we’re about to watch doesn’t reek of a ratings grab or audience exploitation, but instead delivers a dramatic payoff.
It is the mid season premiere of the show. Most fans do not care about half of the characters in the series but when there is a crisis with Alex, Bailey or Meredith, there is simply no turning back from the TV.
