Grey's Anatomy (season 4) - Reception

Reception

Debbie Chang of BuddyTV.com expressed disappointment in the shows' development throughout the season, by stating it was "all about couples, jumping in and out of relationships, trying their darnedest to have hot sex on the cramped, twin-sized bunk-beds in the on-call room". Chang also noted the little screen time of characters Mark Sloan and Richard Webber, and the lack of romantic development in their storylines. Many critics negatively reviewed Izzie Stevens's development in the show's fourth season, particularly her affair with George. Katherine Heigl herself deemed their relationship "a ratings ploy". Heigl explained: "They really hurt somebody, and they didn’t seem to be taking a lot of responsibility for it. I have a really hard time with that kind of thing. I’m maybe a little too black and white about it. I don’t really know Izzie very well right now. She’s changed a lot." Laura Burrows of IGN stated the series became "a little more than mediocre, but less than fantastic" in its fourth season. She also said that "this season proved that even strong chemistry and good acting cannot save a show that suffers from the inevitable recycled plot." However, the episode "Physical Attraction, Chemical Reaction" received a positive review, with Burrows stating that it "fully encompassed all the things that make this show great: intense emotional drama and macabre OR activities". The Derek/Rose relationship received negative reviews, with Burrows stating that it was "emotional, but not remarkable". Jack Florey of IndieLondon reviewed the characters, stating that their behaviour is the show's biggest problem: "the self-absorbed, pretentious and frequently selfish attitudes that drive the surgeons at the centre of Grey’s exasperate more than reward." As for the storylines, Foley stated that they didn't "ring true" and that "the plot devices became increasingly clunky", noting the lack of realism in arcs such as George and Callie's marriage and the Izzie's affair "as a means of ripping it apart". Florrey also commented on Meredith Grey's arc, by stating that she turned into "one of the most selfish, self-centered characters on television", whereas Mark Sloan's storyline was named "sex-obsessed, borderline misogynistic and close to scandalous". Daniel Fienberg of Zap2It said "One of the season's best performances came from Emmy-nominated guest star Elizabeth Reaser." Pajiba TV reviewed Reaser's performance by stating that it "has been one of the only good things that show's had going for it anymore." Entertainment Weekly called Reaser's performance as Ava the sixth most memorable patient performance on the show. About.com stated that Alex Karev developed into "a bold and overly confident surgeon".

Several actors and members of the production team have been awarded for their work on the show during the season. At the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards on September 21, 2008, Sandra Oh was nominated for her performance as Cristina Yang in the episode "The Becoming", whereas Chandra Wilson received a nomination for her portrayal of Miranda Bailey in "Lay Hour Hands on Me", both for the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. Katherine Heigl who portrayed Izzie Stevens declined to put her name forward for consideration at the Emmy Awards, claiming that she had been given insufficient material on the series to warrant a nomination. Diahann Carroll was nominated for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her portrayal of Jane Burke in "Love/Addiction". The make-up team, consisting of Norman T. Leavitt, Brigitte Bugayong, Thomas R. Burman and Bari Dreiband-Burman, was nominated for both Best Prosthetic Make-Up in "Forever Young" and Best Non-Prosthetic Make-Up in "Crash Into Me". Sara Ramirez's portrayal of Callie Torres was positively reviewed, resulting in her receiving a nomination at the 2008 American Latino Media Arts Awards. At the 65th Golden Globe Awards in January 13, 2008, the series was nominated for Best Drama Television Series, whereas Katherine Heigl's individual performance resulted in a nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Television Series. At the 40th National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Image Awards, Chandra Wilson won Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series, where Shonda Rhimes was awarded at the Outstanding Writing in a Dramatic Series category, for "Freedom". James Pickens, Jr. also received a nomination for his performance as Richard Webber at the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series category. At the 2008 Prism Awards, Justin Chambers was nominated for Performance in a Drama Series Episode, whereas Elizabeth Reaser received a nomination for Performance in a Drama Multi-Episode Storyline. At the Teen Choice Awards in 2008, Patrick Dempsey and Katherine Heigl were nominated for Choice Television Actor and Actress.

The season was the second to air in the Thursday night time slot, at 9:00 ET, after it was moved at the beginning of the third season, following two seasons in the Sunday night timeslot, as a lead-out to Desperate Housewives, which aired at 9:00 ET for its entire run. The season aired as a lead-out to Ugly Betty, then in its second season, which aired on Thursday nights at 8:00 ET. Grey's Anatomy averaged 15.92 million viewers in its fourth season, ranking tenth in viewership. The highest-rated episode of the season was the season premiere, with 20.93 million viewers tuning in and a 7.3 rating, ranking the third for the week. The episode showed a decrease in ratings compared to the previous season premiere, which had almost five more million viewers tuning in and a 9.0 rating. The season premiere also attracted less viewers than the previous season finale, which was watched by 22.57 million viewers, and received an 8.0 rating Although "A Change is Gonna Come" attracted more viewers than Desperate Housewives's "Now You Know", which was watched by 19.32 million viewers, received a 6.7 rating and ranked fourth in the week, the episode was outperformed by CSI: Crime Scene Investigation's "Dead Doll", which aired in the same hour and ranked first in the week, with 25.22 million viewers tuning in and a 8.8 rating. The lowest-rated episode was the ninth, watched by 14.11 million viewers and ranked fourteenth in the week, with a 4.9 rating, seeing a sudden decrease, after the previous episode, the second most-watched in the season, which attracted 19.61 million viewers and received a 6.8 rating. "Crash Into Me: Part 1" was outperformed in the time slot by CSI: Crime Scene Investigation's "You Kill Me", the Thanksgiving special episode which attracted 14.75 million viewers and received a 5.2 rating, ranking eleventh in the week. The season finale was watched by 18.09 million viewers, being the first season finale of Grey's Anatomy to attract less than 20 million viewers. It was ranked fifth in the week, and received a 6.3 rating. There was a significant decrease in the number of viewers, compared to the previous season finale, which attracted almost four more million viewers and received a 8.0 rating.