Un artículo buenisimo a Ellen, Patrick y Eric:
MEREDITH Grey might not be the best person to ask for relationship advice. After all, the surgeon is locked in a tumultuous on-again, off-again relationship with fellow doctor Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey).
Still, the actress who plays the title character on Seven’s Grey’s Anatomy, Ellen Pompeo, does have some words of wisdom for relationship tragics out there.
“I think the best advice is to always put yourself first. Don’t compromise your own integrity for a man. And that’s it,” Pompeo says.
Although, sounding a little like her character, Pompeo is not so sure she has the prescription for success.
“It’s not really great advice because Shepherd treats Meredith very well, with the exception of that first little glitch of not discussing his marital status when they first met,” she says.
Grey’s Anatomy, now in its fourth season, has redefined the medical drama series. Sure, these doctors at Seattle Grace have work to do, but what we’ve seen is that everyday emergencies can just as easily revolve around relationship breakdowns, upheavals and illicit liaisons.
The show continues to be a success both in the US and Australia. Pompeo believes it has much to do with the way the cast has been able to gel.
“Clearly, the show is a combination of editing and writing, but I think that the one thing that is very hard to deny is, despite how crazy the storylines get, the fans are still there. And I think that’s because of the inherent chemistry of the cast,” she says. “For some reason, for whatever reason that I don’t know that you can quantify, we have some sort of chemistry, all of us. And ... the actors are able to pull (the storylines) off because we all have this energy that runs between us. I think that’s what we have to be grateful for and I think that’s what the fans feel.”
Pompeo’s co-star, Dempsey, believes people identify with the characters’ daily struggles.
“There’s a universal feeling, I think, with all the different characters,” he says.
And yet the series suffered some serious criticism in the US last season, with some questioning its direction.
Dempsey, for one, believes criticism, so long as it is not malicious, is integral.
“You need to listen to it in order to grow. And the show is like a person. It’s going to go through its growth periods and that’s important too,” he says.
“I think it’s healthy for the show, and I think it’s important that people do speak up and say, ‘This is what I like. This is what I don’t like. And this is why I feel that way’. And then you can choose to listen to it or not.”
Through much of season three of Grey’s, Meredith has been fumbling her way through a bizarre love triangle involving Shepherd (also known as McDreamy) and Dr Mark Sloan (played by Eric Dane and otherwise known as McSteamy).
Dane is realistic about his moniker.
“It doesn’t suck,” he declares.
“I honestly believe that the name became popular because Patrick’s character, McDreamy, was already so popular, and it was a counterpart to him.
“But, you know ... it changed my life. I haven’t seen the downside to this nickname yet.”
It’s true that the whole McDreamy/McSteamy angle has worked in both actors’ favour. Like Dane, Dempsey is philosophical about his tag.
“I’ll always be connected to the name. There’s nothing I can do now about that. I just have to accept that, and hopefully in the future, you know, I can do other things. But it is what it is.”
Even so,
Dempsey, for one, says he is tiring of the McDreamy/McSteamy tug of war over Meredith. “It needs to move on. We’ve gone as far as we can with the longing,” he says.
But fear not, Grey’s fans. Writers too have decided enough is enough and new character
Dr Erica Hahn (Brooke Smith) will soon serve as a new love interest for Dr Sloan.
Obviously, one of the biggest changes this series was the loss of Isaiah Washington, who played Dr Preston Burke.
Washington’s contract with the show was not renewed following a run-in with Dempsey on the set of the show. The altercation was related to Washington’s use of a derogatory remark towards co-star T. R. Knight, who plays Dr George O’Malley, specifically about his homosexuality.
Asked how he feels about Washington’s departure, Dempsey says: “There’s two parts to that. It was a great character that we’ve lost and I think that’s a tragedy. And then the other stuff, it’s much better in the long run, I think.”
Yes, but do the actors miss him?
“The character of Burke, certainly,” replies Dempsey.
Another difference this year has been the addition of Meredith’s half sister and intern Dr Lexie Grey (Chyler Leigh). There is a bit of friction between the two characters because Lexie grew up with their father, whom Meredith rarely saw.
“Lexie has to win her over and Meredith has to get over her own issues and her own blocks and open her heart a little bit,” says Pompeo.
“I think that she’s been very hurt in her life so her heart is closed, which is why she can’t open her heart to Derek.
“It’s why she can’t open her heart to Lexie. But in time I think that her heart will open slowly and she’ll be able to receive love.”
