The hit series "Desperate Housewives" has proven to be a hard act to follow. ABC has been trying to fill the 8 p.m. time slot with a show that is just as popular as "Housewives" and may have found a winning combination with the new show "Grey's Anatomy."

"Boston Legal" — the spin-off of the now-defunct "The Practice" — is being bumped this season for "Anatomy," which has attracted more of the "Housewives" viewers to stick around.

"Grey's Anatomy" focuses around five medical interns and their daily lives at a Seattle hospital trying to become surgeons.

The primary character Meredith Grey (played by Ellen Pompeo) is "inbred royalty." Her mother was a famous surgeon that med students have to learn about. The pilot begins the whirlwind that is the lives of Meredith and the other interns in a mix of sanity control and grueling work.

The first show automatically gave Meredith a little notoriety when she wakes up on her couch and kicks her one-night stand out of her house so she wouldn't be late for her first day of work. But what are the odds that the guy would turn out to be Dr. Derek Shepard (Patrick Dempsey), an attending as well as her boss?

Meredith is assigned to a group with three other interns, Cristina ("Sideways" star Sandra Oh), George (T.R. Knight) and Isobel "Izzie" ("Roswell" alumna Katherine Heigl). They are assigned to Dr. Bailey (Chandra Wilson) also known as "The Nazi" because of how difficult she is to work with. Another intern, Alex (Justin Chambers, known for his role in "The Wedding Planner"), switches to their group because of his fascination with those involved.

The group is highly diverse, but the characters are great together. Cristina is sarcastic at every moment possible and is competitive. Former model Izzie tries her hardest to please everyone — patients, friends and her bosses — and goes out of her way to care for her patients.

Usually being described as 007 is a compliment, except when it's because of the fact that he has a license to kill, and George found that out the hard way. He barely made it through med school and is being pushed to the limit at the hospital while facing his feelings for Meredith. Alex is the "bad boy" of the group. He's sexist and egotistical and adds so much to the interaction of the characters.

The first three episodes of the season have had the perfect mix of hilarity and drama and breathe fresh air into the stale — i.e. highly overdone — medical drama series.

Music has played an important part in these episodes as well. Instead of using mainstream music, "Anatomy" has been using lesser-known artists like Tegan and Sara, Rilo Kiley and Keane. The music sits in the scenes and acts like another important character and drives the emotions that should be felt by the audience at that point and time.

Writers provide audiences with a wide variety of storylines with some of the wildest, romantic and heart-wrenching storylines and so far only three episodes have aired. The mixed sexual tension of Derek and Meredith and the dramatic case of a rape victim — who fought back and bit off a highly important part of her rapist — is an odd combination that works for example.

"Grey's Anatomy" is entertaining and dramatic at the same time. The cast, which includes several recognizable actors and actresses, is compatible, funny and believable at the same time. Watch one episode and the obsession will begin.

Grade: A

This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on April 14 2005.