The brother and I had a rather interesting and unecessarily drawn out debate today. After what must now be the 3rd or 4th episode in Season Two of Grey's Anatomy, he rolled over from his comfortable dent in the couch, focused on me and spouted some garbage about how the producers of Scrubs could sue Grey's Anatomy for the shameful pillaging of Scrubs story lines. This didn't go down well with me. As a dedicated viewer of the Shepherd-Grey-Shepherd triangle I assumed my natural duty and begun the tortuous defence of Grey's writers/producers/cast/whoever.The brother's argument was as follows:
- Grey's copied Scrubs by being a hospital show
- Grey's copied Scrubs by being a witty hospital show
- Grey's copied Scrubs' use of the main character (JD/Meredith) as a narrator at the start of the show
- Grey's copied Scrubs' storyline of the unwanted wife who forces herself on a wilfully estranged husband and takes up a job at his hospital
- Grey's is worse than Scrubs because its cheesy and its a stupid show for chics
My argument was somewhat more dynamic. To tackle his first point, I stated that Grey's involved actual complex medical procedures whereas Scrubs centred more on areas like the hospital cafeteria than the "O.R.". I also added that the characters in Grey's were real people who sometimes had to be cheesy, as what would human life be without the odd ounce of Dairylee thrown in here and there? Now the bit about the ex-wife storyline, I believe that Grey's handles the situation in a much more realistic and daft-stunt-free manner. Secondly, there're a number of differences. Shepherd left his biatch of a wife because she cheated on him with his best friend. She then showed up and took the job as the best gynaecological surgeon at Seattle Grace, and ruined his relationship with Grey (for which I will never forgive her, no matter how nice they attempt to make us believe she is!) Cox on the other hand (the dude in Scrubs, if you're still following) left his wife because he hated her (see how much more simplistic this stupid show is?). She then showed up at his hospital and became a secretary! Did she interrupt an exciting and too-good-to-be-true relationship? NO!!! That's because no one in their right mind would ever go out with Cox! He has nothing on McDreamy (a.k.a. Shepherd).. Do you hear me? Nothing!!
*Inhale*
Perhaps the creators of Grey's took the piss by deciding to include one or two witticisms here and there in the show? There's already one funny hospital show, so why the hell should they be such blatant copy cats, and make another? Is that not the most ridiculous argument you've ever heard? I have found, (and my findings are usually accurate.. some of you even hail me as "Prophetess P") that regulars of Grey's are never regulars of Scrubs, and vice versa. They are completely different shows! To be a Scrubs fan.. first, you've gotta be male cuz yeah I'll admit its funny, but I'll also be the first to add that its incredibly daft and extremely unrealistic! You'd also have to be a bit of a neanderthal. Okay.. I'm being a bit extreme, but the brother pissed me off and I'm even more frustrated cuz I'm waaay too tired to write all my arguments out properly. Drifting in and out of sleep is not good blogger practice, neither does it produce a stimulating read.
Shit! I am actually falling asleep, and my face is still smothered in Aveda facemask... Good night!
1 comment:
i have to disagree with you. i'm female, and i find Scrubs to be so much more entertaining than Grey's Anatomy. the escapist surreal humor of Scrubs is incredible, and you can't possibly follow the humor of dr. cox's verbose rants if you're, as you say, a neanderthal.
Grey's Anatomy has a legion of followers because it follows along the lines of a soap opera and provides so much drama that people who revel in that kind of stuff love it. i know this because the people who try to get me to watch it are drama vampires. it's not a bad show, but i think it's highly overrated. it draws you in with intense cliffhangers, which of course makes you want to come back and watch more. in the case of Scrubs, however, most fans keep watching because the characters are highly entertaining and the gags are hilarious, yet it still has heart. it tackles the issues of doctor/patient relationships, doctor/doctor relationships and just normal everyday relationships without going overboard with the cheese like Grey's Anatomy does.
as for realism...of course it's not going to be realistic. neither of them are, but in different ways. whereas Scrubs doesn't take itself seriously with the daydreams of J.D. and the visual jokes, the relationships these characters have with each other are so much more subtle and real than the ones in Grey's Anatomy. that show is a prime example of how TV makes people think that this is how people really act, but honestly, anyone who's smart enough to become doctors would not do the incredibly stupid things those characters do. when i'm watching that show, all i can think is, "why would you do that? why would anyone do that? what is WRONG with these people?" that is not realism, that is just as escapist as Scrubs but on a different level.
also, your assumption that cox left his wife because he simply hated her is wrong. they act like they hate each other, but they really don't. plus, she cheated on him with one of his favorite protégés. close enough to mcdreamy and mcsteamy for me to think your brother might have a point. another correlation between the two shows is the "tough-love" policy of both the Nazi and Dr. Cox. when i first saw Grey's Anatomy, i immediately saw that they served the same purpose, except one's a woman and the other uses a lot more words.
perhaps it's just coincidence. perhaps shows about hospitals have to have essentially the same characters. all in all, though, it seems to me that the creators of Grey's Anatomy just basically wanted to make what they thought Scrubs should've been.
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