Gray's Anatomy first aired in 2006 in the UK with an initial 14 episode run which was cut down to carry a few of the episodes over to the second series. Opening with the introduction to Meredith Gray, who has brought home the perfect stranger for a one night stand, we were soon hooked on the intern's professional and personal life. Discovering that her one night stand was going to be one of Seattle's leading surgeon's as well as her boss was only one of the many twists and turns that she would face as she starts her career at Seattle Grace Hospital. Mix that with the fact that her mother is a legend at the hospital and you can understand why she is apprehensive about her new placement. Meredith is played by Ellen Pompeo in her first major role after cameo's in Friends, and Law & Order. She is decent enough, but is frankly outshone by the actors she is working with. The main problem with her is that she is unconvincing in the more emotional scene's, something that is required if you're going to carry a show in your character's name.

Isobel, better known as Izzie, is the one whose back ground is revealed earliest. Growing up in a trailer park, she has had past dalliances with fashion magazines. She is the softest of the women, and the most approachable. She doesn't get many stories in the first series really, but I know from the second series that her character will develop enormously as the show gets underway.

Alex is the selfish intern of the five. He moves from one nurse and intern to the next, using each one for his own sexual desires. He is the fast talking wide boy who everybody loves to hate. Their is a great story mid-series where Izzie's past is revealed, and he takes great pleasure in exposing her. He is also extremely insensitive and finds himself in hot water quite a few times over his straight talking approach to patients who really should be dealt with in a more sensitive way.

Shonda Rhimes has delivered a fast paced action packed alternative to the dreary ER which also has the quirky narrative of Desperate Housewives. The storylines are mostly secondary to the trials of the interns, but that doesn't mean that they aren't involving or engaging. The most notable storylines from the first season include Meredith's difficulty in dealing with her mothers secret alzheimers, as well as how she deals with the arrival of McDreamy's (played by Patrick Dempsey) ex-wife who just happens to be too damn good and likeable for the audience to actually hate. Their are also great story's about Meredith putting her career at risk to save a baby being born who everybody wrongly writes off as dead, George unwittingly having to look after the chief's dying friend who needs a new liver, and a dying woman who used to be Merediths mother's scrub nurse.

The main cast are: Ellen Pompeo / Sandra Oh / Katherine Heigl / Justin Chambers / T R Knight / Chandra Wilson / James Pickens Jr / Isaiah Washington / Patrick Dempsey / Kate Walsh