1.1 A Hard Day's Night

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"A Hard Day's Night"


Episode Number: 1.1 (Pilot)

Season: 1

Original Air Date: March 27, 2005

Writer: Shonda Rhimes

Director: Peter Horton

Special Guests: Laura Larsen, Randall Arney, Skyler Shaye, Robbie Troy, David Veigh
Pilot Episode

Synopsis
Hookups
It's a grueling and eventful first 48 hours for the new crop of surgical interns at Seattle Grace Hospital in the debut episode of Grey's Anatomy. Among the newcomers are Meredith Grey, still struggling to emerge from the shadow of her celebrated surgeon mother Ellis Grey; fiercely competitive Stanford grad Cristina Yang, who will in time become Meredith's best friend; former fashion model Isobel "Izzie" Stevens, a bit put off that she's no longer the sole center of attention; amiable, naive George O'Malley; and Alex Karev, who wastes no time proving himself to be a pompous jerk. After a pep talk from chief surgeon Richard Webber, the interns are placed in the not-so-tender care of supervising doctor Miranda Bailey, also known as "The Nazi" for reasons that become instantly obvious. During their two-day shakedown cruise, the rookies come face to face with the harsh realities of hospital life, with Meredith tending to a girl suffering from seizures, George enduring his first appendectomy, and Cristina finds that it's no picnic working under veteran surgeon Preston Burke. But the biggest shock of all is reserved for Meredith, when she discovers that her handsome "one-night stand" from the previous evening happens to be her new boss, Dr. Derek Shepherd!






Recap of Events:

Meredith Grey wakes up next to a guy named Derek. She promptly says good-bye to him, presumably for good, as she goes off for her first day of work as a surgical intern at Seattle Grace Hospital. Meredith, along with fellow interns Cristina Yang, Izzie Stevens, and George O'Malley, all get assigned to surgical resident Dr. Miranda Bailey, but they will all come to know her as "The Nazi" (for her abrasive treatment of interns).

Meredith's first patient, a teenage beauty pageant contestant, recently began suffering from seizures so severe they threatened her life. As a neurological disorder that might need surgery, a neurosurgeon new to Seattle Grace gets put on the case to work with Meredith. That neurosurgeon is none other than Dr. Derek Shepherd, Meredith's would-be one-night-stand. Derek wants to talk to Meredith about the previous night, but Meredith wants none of that. He's an attending, she's an intern, that's what their relationship should be.

Meredith forms an immediate bond with Cristina that gets quickly tested when Derek chooses Meredith over Cristina to scrub in on brain surgery (it would've been a first for either of them). Izzie is assigned to do rectal exams amidst frustrating bouts of deciding when it's appropriate or not to bother Bailey. And George gets selected by the arrogant Dr. Preston Burke to actually perform a surgery - an honor he allegedly bestows on the intern who shows the most promise, but in actuality is for the intern he just wants to torture and make an example of in front of the others. George freezes up during an appendectomy with Burke and gets branded "007" - license to kill - by a fellow intern that rubs everyone the wrong way - Alex Karev. Alex also insults Meredith, but he gets his comeuppance when she is able to offer a proper diagnosis for one of Alex's patients in front of Dr. Richard Webber, Chief of Surgery at Seattle Grace.

Dr. Webber, by the way, turns out to be a friend of Meredith's mother, the famous Dr. Ellis Grey (whom all the interns hold in the highest regard). We get the impression that the relationship between Meredith and Ellis wasn't the best - Ellis didn't think Meredith had what it takes to go to medical school -- but no one, save for Meredith, knows that early onset Alzheimer's Disease has left her a shell of the person she once was, relegating her now to a nursing home.


Best Moments
Best Quotes





  • (Bailey is sleeping, and Izzie needs help with something)
    Izzie: Dr. Bailey, I don't mean to bother you...
    Bailey (interrupts, but keeps her eyes closed): Then don't.
    Izzie: It's Mr. Jones.
    Bailey: Is he dying?
    Izzie: No.
    Bailey: Then stop talking to me. (Izzie stands up, Bailey gets up, really annoyed) What is it? (cut to Mr. Jones' room where Dr. Bailey has just finished inserting a central line. Izzie is watching) Next time you wake me he better be so close to dead there's a tag on his toe.





Opening Statement/Quote:

The game. They say a person either has what it takes to play or they don't. My mother was one of the greats. Me, on the other hand…I'm kinda screwed.

Ending Statement/Quote:

I can't think of a single reason why I should be a surgeon, but I can think of a thousand reasons why I should quit. They make it hard on purpose. There are lives in our hands. There comes a moment when it's more than just a game, and you either take that step forward or turn around and walk away. I could quit but here's the thing, I love the playing field.


Music:
Title Reference:

  • "A Hard Day's Night by The Beatles
  • "Portions For Foxes" by Rilo Kiley
  • "Dance" by O.A.O.T.S.
  • "Into the Fire" by Thirteen Senses
  • "Life is Short" by Butterfly Boucher
  • "Ready to Rise" by Vaughan Penn
  • "Super Cool" by Bang Sugar Bang
  • "They" by Jem
The pilot episode title refers to the 1964 song composed and performed by The Beatles.
Goofs:
Aha! Moments
  • When the interns are on the roof preparing the gurney for the incoming helicopter, Izzie's face is bare. The next shot of her shows her in glasses. In the shot after that, she isn't wearing them again.





  • When Meredith discovers that the new neurosurgeon is her one night stand.





A Hard Day's Night Episode Photo's
Copyright ABC




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