Grey's Anatomy ~ Such a Disappointment

When ER was in its heydey, a friend of mine whose husband suffers from multiple and major illnesses said that it was unbearable to watch.

I'm still watching Grey's, but I'm about finished.

Today, out for breakfast with a friend who has sustained some major hits of her own, I verbalized my feelings for the first time and found that she had already had all the same thoughts.

All having to do with the first episode of the season and George's death.

First, the FIVE STAGES OF GRIEF, intoned in a solemn voiceover by Meredith at the beginning of the episode and used to frame it as a nice little package. Make your way consecutively through each stage, check it off as you finish, and voila! -- you have done your grief work and can return to prime time. It takes something like 42 minutes.

Second, the scene between George's mother and the new doc, who had some very nice things to say about George and left Mom beaming, all resolved and grateful. I think we all know that in real life she would have collapsed, sobbing, into his arms, and gone home to stare out the window for many days and months ahead. Maybe years.

Third, the subsequent episodes. Big merger in the works, people losing jobs, Callie applying for a job in Cleveland, Izzie's hair growing back -- everyone all done with the grief thing.

I'm not saying that the show should have turned into a morgue. But we're talking about their colleague of all these years, Izzie's best friend, Callie's ex-husband, Lexie's ex-crush, Meredith's ex-one night stand and, of course, his mother's son . . . Hello? Not a word? No one having a little meltdown at an inappropriate time in an inappropriate place?

I have sadly concluded that my once favorite show is completely idiotic.