Was that Bruce from “Jaws” there in the water with Meredith in last Thursday’s “Grey’s Anatomy”? Hmm, methinks the shark jump may have occurred here.
Not that I was ever a “Grey’s” devotee. It’s entertaining enough soap opera, but the show has always taken itself a tad too seriously for my taste. Teenage girl seriously. All those mopey ballads playing in the background. All the unlikely opposites-attract love affairs. All those ultra-meaningful glances and dovetailing events. Even the episode titles are taken from (sigh) “significant” songs (“The First Cut Is the Deepest,” “Owner of a Lonely Heart,” “From a Whisper to a Scream”). Oddly enough, I’m actually a sucker for that “here’s the existential meaning” narration done by title star Ellen Pompeo. She’s good. I gave the slickly made show a positive review when it debuted in March 2005, which was more than most critics did. But three seasons in, I’ve had enough.
First true shark sighting: Four weeks ago, with the simultaneous marriage proposals (Burke-Yang and George-Callie). Too quick, too cute, too aren’t-we-clever.
Second shark sighting: When a silly soap tries to go epic, you’re in trouble. You’re in the land of helicopters chopping off doctors’ arms, then returning to crash-land on the victim fatally just weeks later (see Paul McCrane’s “ER” character arc). Three weeks for the “Grey’s” ferry crash to play out this February sweeps? Another sad sign. [At right: ABC photo by Vivian Zink.]
Definitive shark sighting: The big tease, ponderously rendered. We’re killing off the lead character! And -- and -- she’s going to have a near-death experience in the afterlife! With ghosts from previous episodes! The concluding moments of last Thursday’s hour had me looking for a barf bag.
Sorry, this isn’t a gray area anymore. Just like Meredith foundering in the drink off the pier -- as the mute little girl looks on mournfully (paging Mr. Shark!) -- “Grey’s Anatomy” is going down for the third time. Glug, glug.
(With thanks, as always, to Jump the Shark creator Jon Hein of Melville.)