What intially drove me to watch when the show first aired is that the characters were roughly the same age as me.

What got me hooked, however, was the writing. Ever notice how the commentary in the beginning always comes full circle in the end? I also like that the "theme" that the monologue talks to in the beginning is often portrayed in each one of the characters throughout the episode, and then wrapped up in another monologue at the end of the show. It sort of reminds me of the old "Wonder Years" days.

But that's just my two cents!

While I do not watch the show myself, I do understand the aspects that make it so popular.

First off, St. Elsewhere, ER, and many other shows have proven that people like to watch shows that are based in hospitals. These are central locations that people can relate to as everyone has been in one at least a handful of times during their lives.

Hospitals are symbols of strength and weakness, fear and hope, love and apathy, life and death. There is no other type of location that I can think of that emcompasses so many of the emotions that we deal with on a daily basis. On one hand, hospitals are known as a place that you want to go when you are in serious trouble, while it is also a place that people do not want to have to go to.

Doctors and nurses have to be dedicated to the type of work that they do. They must have a passion for what they do if they want to be successful. We see these doctors and nurses at times of need when they have to be focused on us, and on whatever is bohtering us.

Grey's lets us in to that other side that we do not get to see. It shows us the trials and tribulations that the medical staff goes through when they are out of the watchful eyes of the patients. It shows their human side, not the superhuman side that we need to see when we are laying in front of them. Grey's shows us their weaknesses that counter their strengths that the patients see.

Anatomy Descriptive and Surgical by Dr. Henry Gray (Gray's Anatomy) is a textbook that is considered the bible of showing what goes on in our bodies. Grey's Anatomy shows us the inner workings of the minds and hearts of the cast of characters. It bears emotional states in a simple story form, but it allows for complex sub-plots that draw fans in week after week.

It is a show that draws you in to the characters that you know are supposed to be superhuman (emergency room doctors), but are as human as we are. They have the same faults, the same fears, the same loves, and the same pain. While the characters have changed over the years, the basic premise of laying the characters bare on our table remains the same. That is what has kept people coming back seson after season.