Tube Talk: "Grey's" Blacks Out Marriage

At Seattle Grace, commitment is toxic—and often fatal.

Okay, I admit it. When it comes to television and movies, I'm a sucker for the romantic comedies with the ludicrous obstacles, the longing looks, the delayed gratification, and the really bad jokes. This plot construction has been a time-honored girl magnet since Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice hit the stands, and probably even before. But, it doesn't work for every medium. With television shows, the push-me, pull-me between romantic leads can only hold water for so many episodes. Eventually, someone has to make a decision—and often, the decision kills the chemistry that attracted viewers in the first place. (Remember how unwatchable "Lois and Clark" became as they prepared for the wedding? Ick.)

"Grey's Anatomy," ABC's primetime hospital soap, charged out of the gate with the formula in full effect. Girl (Ellen Pompeo's Meredith Grey) meets guy (Patrick Dempsey's "McDreamy"), who is (gasp!) her boss. After falling for him anyway, she finds out he's married. Will he leave his adulterous wife for his adulterous girlfriend? There you have the first two seasons of "Grey's Anatomy." Silly premise though it was, the show was peppered with interesting patient story lines, good supporting characters, and fairly sharp, funny dialogue—enough to keep me coming back week after week.

But once the main conflict was resolved (early in Season 3 when boy and girl FINALLY choose each other), the engine of the show cranked to a halt. If this had been a film, the music would have swelled, the credits would have rolled, and the audience would have fumbled for their car keys on their way out the door. But, no. A zombified version of the show still limps along. Whether the creative juices haven't yet been replenished or whether there are too many new cooks in the kitchen, the strong characters developed in the first two seasons have become plot puppets with little consistency from week to week. For instance, is the Dr. Bailey (Chandra Wilson) who let her husband walk out the door without a fight last night really the same Dr. Bailey who told her coworker that the people you love always have priority over your career? It's almost like the writers haven't watched their own show.

In a strange effort to revive the show and keep ratings high, the writers have been viciously hunting down all couples since the end of Season 2, when a main love interest was killed off after proposing to one of the interns. This seemed okay at the time, as it felt like a one-time bout of bad luck. But Season 3 and Season 4 have ruthlessly mowed down every married (or potentially married) couple in its path. The idea of marriage is either toxic (Cristina and Burke, Callie and George) or fatal (Denny, George's dad, and Meredith's step mom don't survive). After running out of main characters to break up and guest stars to kill off, the writers fell upon supporting roles, leaving both the Chief and Dr. Bailey on their own after decades of marriage.

Season 4, which ended abruptly with last night's episode as a result of the writers' strike, has decimated the playing field. No couple is left standing, with the possible exception of McDreamy and his new scrub nurse, Rose (Lauren Stamile). There are no interesting combinations left, and the patient plot lifts have been flat to nonexistent for the past two seasons. The show has stagnated as much as the characters' love lives. Sharp dialogue has been replaced by terse, stale phrases and lingering, awkward beats—usually between the titular character and McDreamy trying to out-break-up each other.

Of course, it's unrealistic to assume that every couple that walks down the aisle (or talks about it) will live happily ever after. But many do stay together—and marriage doesn't have to be a fallow field for writers. After all, "I Love Lucy," "The Cosby Show," and even "Everybody Loves Raymond" lasted for years on the air with (gasp!) married protagonists that kept the audience interested. If ABC must keep the malingering "Grey's" on the air, there has to be more than a group of single losers to keep viewers engaged. Exploring more mature relationships—and bringing back the light, witty touch from earlier seasons—could pull it out of the downward spiral.

"Grey's Anatomy": **