The chemistry of Anatomy

I came home from Singapore/KL to an empty house because my parents and brother were in Punta Fuego for the long Labor Day weekend. Sweltering heat aside, the peace and quiet was sheer bliss after the frenetic week I had had. After unpacking all my things, I holed out in my parents' room with take-out salad and pasta, cranked up the air-conditioning, and watched the entire first season of Grey's Anatomy in one sitting.

Having been deprived of new House episodes for so long (blast you, AXN, gimme my Vicodin NOW!), Grey's Anatomy came into my TV-viewing life as an intoxicating breath of fresh medical-series air. Before I watched the first episode, I had this notion that the show centered on Patrick Dempsey's character, since he seems to be getting all the attention, positive press, and award nominations. Turns out he just plays a supporting role to Ellen Pompeo's Meredith Grey, the Alley McBeal-esque protagonist, the intern who gets into a tricky relationship with her attending, Derek Shepherd a.k.a. Dr. McDreamy (which he SO is). Though I don't exactly adore Meredith, as she tends to be whiny and erratic, the romance between her and Shepherd is really, really HOT.

But what makes Grey's Anatomy all the more addictive is the great dynamic among the other supporting characters. Sandra Oh, who plays feisty, competitive intern Cristina Yang, a cross between House and Ling from Ally McBeal (and therefore my favorite character of the show), gets hot and heavy with Isaiah Washington's quietly forceful Preston Burke, another attending surgeon (and yes, Jen, he jumped up a hundred notches on the sexiness meter midway through the season ;p). Katherine Heigl plays the lovable, soft-hearted blond beauty Izzie Stevens, who I suspect will one day get involved with cocky bad boy Alex Karev, played by Justin Chambers. The love/hate banter and loaded looks between the two have to be leading somewhere. Then there's T.R. Knight's pitiful pushover George O'Malley, token long-suffering guy best friend who's secretly in love with the leading lady, and a wonderful foil to all the strong female characters surrounding him. And last but definitely not the least, resident Miranda "the Nazi" Bailey, played with much acerbic aplomb by Chandra Wilson, is the cold shower to the sizzling passions raging inside Seattle Grace Hospital.

The characters of Grey's Anatomy are a smart, spirited, and sexy bunch, which appeals to more intellectual viewers, but at the same time their quirks and flaws make them endearing and engaging. Admittedly, the writing isn't as sharp as House's, the medical cases aren't as educational, and there are times when all the doctors (save the Nazi) begin to look like unprofessional, love/sex-starved maniacs. But this show is one that is driven by the personalities of its characters more than intelligent storylines or snappy one-liners. The heart of Grey’s Anatomy is precisely that: heart. And I for one have fallen head over heels for it.