Station 19 – A First Look

By: Krista Freego

I want to start my review off by pointing out that I love “Grey’s Anatomy.” I have been a dedicated fan of the show since the pilot episode. Because I love “Grey’s Anatomy” my expectation for its spinoff “Station 19” may have been too high.  I worship at the altar of the genius Shonda Rhimes. Keeping all of that in mind, try not to kill the messenger.

In watching the two-hour series premiere “of Station 19” I couldn’t help but constantly compare it to both “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Chicago Fire.” When I first learned that the Shondaland series was getting a spinoff I was excited. I am no longer excited.  Prior to announcing the spinoff I tolerated the character of Ben Warren (Jason Winston George) on “Grey’s Anatomy.” I loved the aspect of his character where he could stand toe-to-toe with his wife Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson) and wanted to be a true father to her son Tuck. However, that is where my love of Ben ends. At work he was reckless, impetuous and rarely seemed to consider the long-term ramifications of his actions. Ben started off as an anesthesiologist where he made a lot of money and had a relatively stress-free job. When Ben decided that job was not challenging enough and wanted to start his career over as a surgery intern, I respected him for his choice. Once Ben told everyone that he was leaving the operating room for the fire truck though, I no longer had that respect. Instead that respect was replaced with concern that Ben doesn’t really know who he is or what he wants. This additional career change seemed more like aimlessness and less like following a noble calling.  In my mind, if you are going to do a spin off you should probably base it on a character that has a bit surer footing. If Deluca (Giacomo Gianniotti) had decided to go the fire department, that would have been the only career change for him and therefore would look more purposeful and less aimless. However, they did not do that.

Another aspect of this spinoff that threw me off some was the fact that the series didn’t start on Ben’s first day of transition into the fire department. Instead, it starts weeks after he has already changed jobs. Again, I feel this was the wrong choice. The first reasoning that I am not a fan of this choice is because we did not get a proper introduction to the ensemble cast of this new series or even minimal insight into who these new people are. If we had started on Ben’s first day, then clearly there would be introductions, much like all the interns introduced themselves to each other on their first day and were introduced to the attendings and residents on their first day at the hospital. We did not get this introduction. Heck, I did not even know Hughes (Barrett Doss) name, last or first, until towards the very end of the episode and that was because I was actively searching for everyone’s name. The audience shouldn’t have to work so hard to find out the names of these new characters.

Moreover, my issue with “Station 19” is that the last few weeks on “Grey’s Anatomy” has shown Ben trying to have his feet in both worlds – wanting to be a surgeon and a firefighter. I find this character trait of his to be annoying and tiring. And so did Bailey. Therefore, I can’t be completely wrong if Bailey sees it the same way. In fact, it got the point where Ben had to be kicked out of the operating room multiple times. In this first episode of the new series, Ben tries to diagnose the fire survivor at the scene, which is no longer his job. If they had listened to him, he could have caused a brain bleed in the Captain (Miguel Sandoval) and he would have most likely died before reaching the hospital. Montgomery (Jay Hayden) admonished Ben and told him that there is a world of difference between what you can treat in an ambulance and what you can treat in an operating room. Montgomery has to remind Ben what I have been yelling at my television screen for the past few weeks – that he can’t be a hot shot, that people’s lives hang in the balance and that he has to listen and learn. He isn’t a surgeon anymore, he’s a firefighter.

Additionally, I don’t quite understand the choice that was made when Andy is at Grey Sloan Hospital having just followed her father there after he collapsed inside a burning building. It was clear that Andy was trying to be strong for the rest of the members of her station so that she doesn’t have a meltdown until Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) pulls her into a supply closet and lets her cry. It is then that she experiences the full weight of all of her motions. I understand that they want to draw the comparison between Meredith and Andy. Meredith is to “Grey’s Anatomy” as Andy is to “Station 19.” My problem with that is that it does a disservice to the best friendship Andy has with Bishop (Danielle Savre). It should have been Bishop that pulls her aside and is there for her, not Meredith. Again, if you think back to the early years of “Grey’s Anatomy,” Meredith would not have let practically a stranger pull her aside, but she did allow her best friend Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh) do just that. Furthermore, my favorite character so far is Bishop because she is loyal, supportive and also calls it like it is.

I understand that much like Andy placing her hand inside a patient’s chest cavity to keep him alive and then not being able to remove her hand, it was yet another parallel to Meredith with her hand inside a man’s chest cavity on a bomb. Stop making parallels with Meredith and start making connections between the characters in their own story. I never would have continued watching “Grey’s Anatomy” if I hadn’t fallen in love with the connections between Meredith, Cristina, Izzie (Katherine Heigel), Alex (Justin Chambers) and George (T.R. Knight). By focusing more on the connections of “Station 19” characters with characters from “Grey’s Anatomy” you give up opportunities to establish those even more meaningful connections between your own characters. In the end, it is those connections that will make or break the show. You cannot rely upon the popularity of Meredith and Bailey to keep your new show alive. If you don’t put the time and effort and priority into the relationships with your own ensemble characters, then “Station 19” will never be seen its own show.

Also, just as I feel Ben was not the strongest character to choose for a spinoff I do not believe how they chose to portray Andy was the strongest portrayal of a lead character for a series. In the first episode we are shown that Andy takes great care of her father and makes sure he eats and drinks kale shakes. We are told a lovely story about how at just twelve years old she traveled to New York City by plane all by herself and forced her dad to leave during the events of 9/11. It is well established that she is a loving daughter. What this does not established is that she is a leader at the station house or that she is qualified to be a leader at the Station house. At the time the first episode starts, Andy is not even a lieutenant. Andy’s boyfriend, Gibson (Grey Damon), is a lieutenant there. We know that Andy and Gibson are dating because they are making out in the gear room and Andy discovers an engagement ring in his pocket, so he confesses that it is for her. Later that same day Gibson is paired with Andy’s father, the Captain, and while inside a burning building Gibson comes upon a child’s room and breaks off from the Captain. He heads out in search of the child’s room to make sure there isn’t a kid hiding that is in need of rescuing. Once he gets out he can’t find the Captain. When they do find him, the Captain is passed out and doesn’t have a pulse. Andy blames Gibson for leaving her father alone and uses it all as an excuse to push him away and sleep with her ex, Ryan (Alberto Frezza), who is a kind, caring and well-intentioned police officer. By the time the episode ends, Gibson still has no idea that Andy cheated on him. Also, throughout the episode Andy continues to flirt with her police officer ex-boyfriend and Gibson. Perhaps I am in the minority, but the fact that she is so cavalier with other people’s feelings does not endear her to me nor does it make me identify her as a strong female character whose story I want to follow.

The story was interesting and I liked the analogy with the smoke alarms, but overall I was not a fan of this new series. The acting across the board was seamless. My complaint is not the acting or the actors, but more so with the choices made in the first episode.  I really like the characters of Gibson, Ryan, Bishop and Montgomery, so perhaps I will continue watching and give it the benefit of the doubt that it will find its own fitting without continually relying upon the comparisons of mother series “Grey’s Anatomy.”