Release Date: 9/11/07

The Show

It’s hard to construct something entirely new and groundbreaking on television these days. Anytime you release something, you’re privy to comparisons to other series that may have done something similar. Really, that comes with the game, and the key is to add something to the genre that no one else has done yet. And well, if you don’t have that, you better hope your cast is engaging and capable while the writing is top notch and giving your cast witty and snappy things to say. Enter, Grey’s Anatomy, a series about a group of young people just trying to get by in the medical profession and handle their personal lives at the same time.

Prior to viewing the series, I initially wrote it off as another “E.R.” rip off. Boy, was I ever wrong. The ensemble cast, led by Ellen Pompeo, Sandra Oh, Patrick Dempsey, and Katherine Heigl hold their own very nicely under the tense situations brought on by the hospital backdrop. Interns at the Seattle Grace Hospital, they must navigate their way through relationships, social issues, romance, and the trying situations surround their patients. It’s a mentally taxing profession, and the cast really shows their chops with each episode. ABC has a bonafied hit on its hands with Grey’s Anatomy as the series enters its highly anticipated fourth season.

The 7-disc set includes all 25 episodes from the third season with a Play All option found on each disc.
Disc 1
1. Time Has Come Today
2. I Am a Tree
3. Sometimes a Fantasy
4. What I Am
Disc 2
1. Oh, the Guilt
2. Let the Angels Commit
3. Where the Boys Are
4. Staring at the Sun
Disc 3
1. From a Whisper to a Scream
2. Don’t Stand So Close to Me
3. Six Days – Part One
4. Six Days – Part Two
Disc 4
1. Great Expectations
2. Wishin’ and Hopin’
3. Walk on Water
4. Drowning on Dry Land
Disc 5
1. Some Kind of Miracle
2. Scars and Souvenirs
3. My Favorite Mistake
4. Time After Time
Disc 6
1. Desire
2. The Other Side of This Life – Part One
3. The Other Side of This Life – Part Two
Disc 7
1. Testing 1 – 2 – 3
2. Didn’t We Almost Have It All

The DVD

The main menu comes with an introduction and includes clips and music from the show scrolling in the background. Submenus are treated similarly.

The video transfer is offered in 1.78 Widescreen Format. The picture looks superb with a good amount of detail and bright colors. The whites are without noise and this is a good picture all around.

The audio is offered in English Dolby Digital 5.1. The sound provides good clean dialogue. As it’s mainly dialogue driven, the show is frontloaded, but that’s all you need for this. Subtitles are available in English, French, and Spanish.

The Extras

The 7-disc set comes in a digipak encased within a cardboard box. There’s also an insert booklet that includes an episode guide and bonus option directory. It all looks great, however, I found it a little difficult to find out which 3 episodes had Audio Commentary tracks. The Seriously Extended label the DVD set receives also only means that each of the 4 episodes were extended by a minute more of unaired footage.

Making Rounds with Patrick Dempsey offers approximately 10-minutes of cast, crew, and other various speakers swooning over the actor. In a similar vein, Shades of Grey: One on One with Ellen Pompeo offers an 8-minute piece where the cast and crew speak on the actress and her role on the series.

Good Medicine: Favorite Scenes offers a 9-minute feature offering the cast sharing their favorite moments from the third season.

The bonus options round out with 9 Deleted Scenes that run a total of 13-minutes and a 4-minute reel of Outtakes.

Final Thoughts

While Grey’s Anatomy – Season Three – Seriously Extended didn’t exactly deliver on the bonus options like I thought it would, fans will no doubt enjoy the series’ third outing on DVD. This is an easy purchase for fans.

- Morris Tang