Grey’s Anatomy The Complete Fifth Season Review

• Release Date: September 15th, 2009
• Publisher: ABC Video
• Price: $36.99 on Amazon
• Run Time: 1032 Minutes
• Special Features: Dissecting Grey’s Anatomy, In Stitches, 100th Episode Tales From the O.R., Extended Episode, Heaven Sent
• Starring: Ellen Pompeo, Sandra Oh, Katherine Heigl, Patrick Dempsey, Justin Chambers, TR Knight, Chandra Wilson, James Pickens Jr, Kevin McKidd, Sara Ramirez, Eric Dane, Chyler Leigh
• Genre: Medical Drama

Grey’s Anatomy is one of the highest rated shows on television and the fifth season continued that trend. I am wondering though if the show itself or behind the scenes actually has more drama the last couple of years. In the last couple of years Grey’s Anatomy has easily had the most controversy behind the scenes as any show on television. With the controversy and terrible beginning to the fifth season things weren’t looking good for the fifth season of Grey’s Anatomy. Thanks to the surprisingly good final episodes of the season, the fifth season of Grey’s Anatomy is still a very solid show.

With another season comes more trouble at Seattle Grace. Derek and Meredith’s relationship is on-again off-again like usual. A new doctor arrives at the hospital as another doctor leaves. Seattle Grace has to deal with a falling reputation. A familiar face returns to the hospital but has grave news for one of the doctors. The season also ends with an explosive finale that puts several doctors lives in danger. That is just some of the things that you can expect in the fifth season of Grey’s Anatomy.

Grey’s Anatomy has been on quite a long journey in its five year life. Season two was one of the best seasons of recent television history. Then things started to go downhill in seasons three and four. Things didn’t stop in season five. The first half of season five is probably the farthest Grey’s Anatomy has ever fallen. From “Ghost Denny” to “The Parking Lot Disappearance”, the first half of the fifth season was quite bad if not terrible. It got to a point where I actually thought about dropping the show from my television schedule. The mighty had fallen and fallen quickly.

Thankfully for the fifth season, the second half of the season was actually quite good. The final couple episodes were very good. The final couple of episodes were actually some of the best episodes of Grey’s Anatomy since season two. The lead up to the season finale was good and the season finale itself (despite being quite depressing) was the second best season finale in the show’s history.

So the fifth season was a tale of two halves. The first half of the season was terrible. The second half was quite good. When you combine the two together the second half doesn’t quite make up for the horrible beginning. If the whole season was like the second half it would have been the second best season of the show. That wasn’t the case though. The first half of the season alone is why the fifth season is getting a lower rating than it normally would.

Grey’s Anatomy’s special features are hit and miss. The quality of the special features is quite good. All but possibly the deleted scenes are worth watching. The problem comes in that there should have been more special features. Even though I am not a fan of commentaries I think at least a couple could have been added to the DVD set. The DVD set could also have used one of two other special features. The quality of the special features are high but the quantity is lacking. More details:

• Dissecting Grey’s Anatomy-12 deleted scenes from the season. Pretty much your typical deleted scenes in my opinion.
• In Stitches-A four minute blooper reel. I honestly think every single DVD set now needs to have a blooper reel. Overall it does have some funny moments.
• 100th Episode: Tales From the O.R.- A 18 minute look behind the scenes of how the 100th episode was created. This feature is similar to most making of features. It had it’s moments but it probably could have been cut down since there is some filler material in my opinion.
• Heaven Sent-This special feature is a nine minute look at the character of Denny. I honestly think this feature should have been put in season two since the feature mostly focuses on his season two stint on the show. He does appear in the fifth season as well but in the infamous “Ghost Denny” role. The feature is quite good until the talk switches to the fifth season.
• Extended Episode-Episode thirteen, “Stairway to Heaven”.

Overall the fifth season of Grey’s Anatomy is a very up and down season. The beginning is terrible but the ending does a good job making up for the first half of the season. If you have never seen Grey’s Anatomy before I suggest starting with the first season and making your way towards the fifth season. Fans of Grey’s Anatomy should pick up this set since it is still a good purchase despite the poor beginning to the season.