TVSquad

This just goes to shoow that not nearly enough people own TiVos.

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GA is appointment television. Especially these last few weeks (even if the episodes are kinda meh) with the cliffhangers.

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The best I can guess (being one of the few girls in my dorm who are not obsessed with the show is that the male leads are hot and perfect (and would be indistinguishable personality wise if they were not all such distinct "types"), there's a broad range of characteristics among the females (making it easy to classify yourself as a "Meredith" or an "Izzie"), and it romanticizes a job that quite a few are being pushed into. Also, the plot is such that it can easily be sumarized in breathless bursts of exposition for new viewers, or even non-viewers who aren't really all that interested. And, well, the more well seen a show is the easier it is for more people to bond while talking about it, and the more those who haven't seen it are compelled to see it because everyone else it talking about it, and thus begins a deadly cycle of peer pressure to watch a show most will admit is not even that good. As you can probably tell, I'm not a fan, and although I have watched it (only) twice, have no real urge to watch it again.

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I will show my age with this one but when I was in college we had to all get together to watch Knots Landing. We would get ready to go out before 10 pm, grab some drinks, watch Knots and then head out. It was appointment tv for us. So I can get groups wanting to get together to watch Grey's. The show is somewhat similar with some comedy, drama, relationships, beautiful actors, etc. Plus it's Thurs night at 9 pm. Partying never started early in college and I'm sure that's still the case now. Even though there was always something almost every night of the week, Thurs was usually the kick off to a long weekend of drinking.

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Grey's Anatomy has a very wide appeal because it's so ethnically diverse. Until it came along there was never a medical show that had such a diverse case of surgeons (not just docs). To have so many female surgeons and surgeons of color who are at the top of their field, or in a top surgical program is just astounding. This kind of show appeals to kids in college because it gives them hope that they'll graduate and work in a workplace that's going to be diverse (gender and race), which could very well be the case.

The whole incident with TR Knight and Isaiah Washington also outed TR. I'm sure there are millions of viewers who watch the show in support of TR (and to see how long it will take for Isaiah Washington to get himself fired).

GA is also one of those rare shows that can change the country's lexicon. The writing is very distinctive and the use of certain words like 'seriously' in a plethora of contexts can change how people talk. I remember that Buffy the Vampire Slayer had a similar effect on all of the big fans I knew (myself included) and it was also appointment TV for us even though some of us had TiVo and DVRs at that time.

When I was living in the dorms, life stopped for NBC's must see tv lineup on thursday nights straight through ER. This is no different, but it's interesting to see that it's not the whole evening of TV that's stopping traffic on the campus -- it's just one show.

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I would say that it's because the show is popular not just with students but also with adults. For example, I work a campus job that is during the night only (6:00 - 9:30). On Thursdays, they cut the shift at about 8:45 so everyone can get home to watch Grey's on time. Crazy, I know. I'm more of a Betty fan, myself.

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I honestly have no idea what the appeal is. I've only seen 2 or 3 episodes and I frankly did not care one bit. Even seemingly down-to-earth rational people flip out over this show. And I can't even fathom watching anything on TV now (except maybe The Office back-to-back) over Scrubs and 30Rock.

It kind of offends me as a fan of television that it is so popular. But then again, Survivor is still on the air. And Dancing with the Stars. And pretty much all reality TV.

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We generally have pub nights on Thursdays but no girls dare to leave the house until after Grey's is over. Then the first 10 minutes at the pub are all Grey's talk and anyone who hasn't seen it yet is pretty much screwed.

It's a total cult. I remember the day Season 1 came out on DVD you couldn't walk 5 steps in my school without running into a girl with an HMV(DVD retailer here) bag.

http://www.mediaobsessed.com

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It is extremely popular. Even my Spanish professor (female) mentioned Pat Dempsey in class once and all the women got excited. It was kind of sickening really, since I think I'm the only one in class who doesn't watch it.

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For me, it's all about the characters. They are all very different, all very interesting, and all very flawed. They are gorgeous to look at and feel like they could be your real friends. The chemistry between the characters, especially Meredith and McDreamy, is amazing!

The show has interesting guest stars (patients) who often have conditions that are related in some way to what the characters are going through themselves. Events on the show are often metaphors for the characters. There are little subtleties within episodes and even between seasons that are significant yet missed by the casual observer.

Most of all, each episode invokes a wide range of feelings and emotions. Grey's can make you laugh, make you cry and everything in between. It's addicting. It's entertainment at its best!

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Two words

Eye Candy


Both for the guys and the girls.

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I can tell you why "Grey's Anatomy" is SO popular among college students. Students identify with the emotions, struggles and relationships of the characters in GA. The character development in GA is good, consistent, and complex. These people are us...flawed and still in the game.
Shondra Rhimes is BRILLIANT! She cares about her characters and lovingly and painstakingly continues to add depth and dimension in an otherwise shallow medium (Loved Mark's hand on Derrick in the 2/15 episode).

College students want the "real deal." They want to see triumph AND struggle, love won AND lost, beauty AND brains, happy AND sad, a life where sometimes things work out AND other times when they do not. Life is just NOT black and white..there is a lot of grey (no pun intended). Life has no easy answers and Shondra shows us that neither does life on "Grey's."

Signed
"Not a College student but an insightful 54 year old"
Liza

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There's always THAT show that comes out that EVERYONE has to watch. A few years ago it was CSI and then there was Knots Landing in the eighties, ER in the 90s and now it's Grey's. Right now Grey's has hit its peak in terms of popularity and whether or not it can hold it is hard to say.

I agree with the poster who said that Shondra Rhimes cares about her characters. I have never seen a show that was able to balance screen time between characters as brilliantly as this one.

This is one of of the reasons CSI has had its butt kicked so badly because their creators really didn't bother to focus on character development save for one or two character. After a while, fans got ticked off by not seeing their favourite character on screen so much and God forbid that the storyline were given to other characters besides the main two, but I digress.

Grey's is a rather addictive show to watch. But the life of a TV show is fragile and in a few years there will be another HOT show to come along and replace it. That's just life.

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I love Grey's Anatomy and watch it with my friends every Thursday night, even if it means skipping on the bar scene. I watch it because it's intelligent and sexy. I mean, hot doctors? That's a fantasy for anyone. Also, the close interactions between the characters mirror that of the typical college student,....living with the people you go to class with. It's like a smarter, sexier, more dramatic version of the life you want to live.

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This is probably the lame answer, but I think it's because the show is a lot of fun and not full of itself. ER, a show I like and have been watching since day one, takes itself far too seriously sometimes. Grey's takes very little seriously and it's not ashamed to be that way. It's light entertainment, which is what makes it the perfect foil to CSI's gritty drama and realism. Also, it doesn't hurt that Grey's is an ethnically diverse bunch of eye candy.

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There's no doubt that Grey's Anatomy is a good show. The acting and diverse cast are strong. I think that CSI is showing its age (7 years) and some viewers are quitting it to watch Grey. So you just have to put your comedy performances on another day, just not Thursday. Because Grey's is just too red hot a show at this moment. Much like the powerhouse high numbers of 30 million or more that American Idol gets on Tuesday and Wednesday.

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I'm going to join Tammy and show my age, too, but even more so I'm afraid. We didn't have VCRs when I was in college, so there was no choice but to watch when something was broadcast.

My friends and I had several shows that just had to be watched and we watched them as a group. I was a mini-party lasting about an hour and everything would stop to watch whatever was the show of the moment. I suppose the same thing applies to Grey's, but I can only speculate having never seen a single frame of the show.

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Good lord, I'm a university student, and I have no idea why I've seen all but two of Grey's episodes (the last two). I haven't REALLY liked it since season one. The only character I sympathize and identify with is Bailey. Now I just watch it to see Addison be a hot redhead. Bah at everyone else. I don't schedule tv time for Grey's. It conflicts with my Supernatural viewing, which is also full of pretty.

So, my opinion is that people probably watch for various amounts of reasons. I don't see what the big fuss is about Grey's anymore, but someone else might love it to death. I think the people who love it to death outnumber people like me, though. There's no way you can say "all college students" watch for this reason because college students aren't inherently a certain type of personality. We go to post-secondary school. That's about it for linking us together.

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i'm also in the "not seeing the appeal of grey's anantomy". i hate to say this but the show kinda lame. it's friends meets ER.

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Shameless comedy plug.

I watch the show for one reason and one reason only. It doesn't suck. That can't be said about most of television. Even most of the shows raved about here suck. Boring and dull storylines plauge television.

Thursday night is the only weekenight I turn on my television. If I miss the show, I catch it online. I used to be a TV junkie, watching it all the time. Now, between my work and school schedual, the only show I make time for is Greys.

I refuse to watch reality shows. Sitcoms suck by simply being sitcoms. Greys is interesting. I'd even watch this show if it didn't have super hot women on it. (God, if you really exist, prove yourself by arranging a 3 way with me, Kate Walsh, and Sara Ramerize. The cute redheaded intern that gave George the Syph can clean us up.)

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