It's a grueling and eventful first 48 hours for the new crop of surgical interns at Seattle Grace Hospital in the debut episode of
Grey's Anatomy. Among the newcomers are Meredith Grey (
Ellen Pompeo), still struggling to emerge from the shadow of her celebrated surgeon mother Ellis Grey (Kate Burton); fiercely competitive Stanford grad Cristina Yang (
Sandra Oh), who will in time become Meredith's best friend; former fashion model Isobel "Izzie" Stevens (
Katherine Heigl), a bit put off that she's no longer the sole center of attention; amiable, naïve George O'Malley (T.R. Knight); and Alex Karev (
Justin Chambers), who wastes no time proving himself to be a pompous jerk. After a pep talk from chief surgeon Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.), the interns are placed in the not-so-tender care of supervising doctor Miranda Bailey (
Chandra Wilson), also known as "The Nazi" for reasons that become instantly obvious. During their two-day shakedown cruise, the rookies come face to face with the harsh realities of hospital life, with Meredith tending to a girl suffering from seizures, George enduring his first appendectomy, and Cristina finds that it's no picnic workiing under veteran surgeon Preston Burke (
Isaiah Washington). But the biggest shock of all is reserved for Ellis, when she discovers that her handsome "one-night stand" from the previous evening happens to be her new boss, Dr. Derek Shepherd (
Patrick Dempsey)!
Peter Horton received an Emmy nomination for his direction of this inaugural episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide