Season 5 (Grey's Anatomy)

The fifth season of Grey's Anatomy premiered September 25, 2008 and ended May 14, 2009. It was broadcast on Thursday nights at 9 PM on ABC. The season consists of 24 episodes, both starting and ending with two-part episodes.

Summary
Live for the moment. Dive deeper into the lives and loves of "Grey's Anatomy"! The doctors struggle and thrive as they enter uncharted territories of life. Discover what happens in the on-again, off-again world of Derek and Meredith, and witness the budding relationship between Cristina and Owen, Seattle Grace's newest doctor.

Plots

 * Cristina deals with the new trauma surgeon, Dr. Owen Hunt with whom she has a hot and cold relationship.
 * Meredith and Derek move forward in their relationship.
 * The residents receive their first solo surgeries.
 * Callie starts to explore her sexuality.
 * Bailey takes an interest in peds.
 * Izzie gets worried when Denny starts appearing to her.
 * Richard deals with the hospital only being 12th best.
 * Derek's discovery of Meredith's mother's journals from when she was a resident and Meredith's reaction to the journals.
 * Lexie and her fellow interns performing procedures on each other (from injections to surgeries) in an attempt to learn things they believe they are not learning from their residents.
 * The appearance of Meredith's old friend, Sadie, back into Meredith's life and Cristina's reaction to this.
 * The reappearance of Denny Duquette, who is appearing to Izzie Stevens as a hallucination of some sort.
 * The intensity rising between the residents as an opportunity for a solo surgery comes into play.
 * As the Chief announced to Dr. Bailey he had made the request to promote her as an attending in General Surgery, one of Dr. Dixon's comments about the way she cared about kids made her change her mind, choosing Pediatric Surgery as a specialty instead. Convinced by Dr. Robbins, she made an application for a Pediatric Surgery fellowship, which leaves the Chief displeased.
 * Cristina had to deal with the reappearance of Dr. Hunt's old fiancée, with whom he had briefly broke up without telling her he was coming back from war. However, he showed her he would stick with her after a case they shared with an older surgeon who was asked to retire, saying he hoped to still be there for Cristina during the years to come.
 * The new-found romances between Mark Sloan and Lexie Grey and between Callie Torres and new pediatric surgeon Arizona Robbins.
 * Mark and Lexie kept their relationship secret for a moment, Lexie being even covered by Sadie after Mark's "injury", but Lexie asked him to go public with her. During the last episode of the crossover between Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice, Mark told Derek about his new love, but the latter didn't quite appreciate it, especially after the rough day he had had and they had a physical fight because of it.
 * However, Callie's lack of experience with homosexual relationships seemed to make Arizona hesitate in the following episodes, stating she didn't want to deal also with "babies" in her personal life.
 * After learning of her disease, Izzie lets the interns diagnose a "patient x", unaware that it is her. The interns diagnose her with a malignant melanoma that has spread to the brain, skin and liver, giving her only a 5% survival rate.
 * The season ends with a cliffhanger. Izzie codes and George is rushed into a dangerous surgery. While the doctors work to save their lives, Izzie exits an elevator in a dream of some sort and sees George.

Main Cast

 * Ellen Pompeo as Dr. Meredith Grey (24/24)
 * Sandra Oh as Dr. Cristina Yang (24/24)
 * Katherine Heigl as Dr. Izzie Stevens (24/24)
 * Justin Chambers as Dr. Alex Karev (24/24)
 * T.R. Knight as Dr. George O'Malley (24/24)
 * Chandra Wilson as Dr. Miranda Bailey (24/24)
 * James Pickens, Jr. as Dr. Richard Webber (24/24)
 * Sara Ramírez as Dr. Callie Torres (24/24)
 * Eric Dane as Dr. Mark Sloan (24/24)
 * Chyler Leigh as Dr. Lexie Grey (24/24)
 * Brooke Smith as Dr. Erica Hahn (7/24) (departed as of Rise Up)
 * Kevin McKidd as Dr. Owen Hunt (22/24) (as of Beat Your Heart Out)
 * Patrick Dempsey as Dr. Derek Shepherd (24/24)

Special Guest Stars

 * Kate Walsh as Dr. Addison Forbes Montgomery (2/24)
 * Taye Diggs as Dr. Sam Bennett (1/24)
 * Audra McDonald as Dr. Naomi Bennett (1/24)

Recurring Guest Stars

 * Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Denny Duquette, Jr. (10/24)
 * Mary McDonnell as Dr. Virginia Dixon (3/24)
 * Melissa George as Dr. Sadie Harris (8/24)
 * Brandon Scott as Dr. Ryan Spalding (13/24)
 * Jessica Capshaw as Dr. Arizona Robbins (12/24)
 * Eric Stoltz as William Dunn (3/24)
 * Grant Show as Dr. Archer Forbes Montgomery (1/24)
 * Aaron Refvem as Jackson Prescott (3/24)
 * Jennifer Westfeldt as Jen Harmon (3/24)
 * Ben Shenkman as Rob Harmon (3/24)
 * Samantha Mathis as Melinda Prescott (3/24)
 * Lauren Stamile as Rose (2/24)
 * Steven W. Bailey as Joe (4/24)
 * Shannon Lucio as Amanda (1/24)
 * Robin Pearson Rose as Patricia (1/24)
 * Loretta Devine as Adele Webber (1/24)
 * Jeff Perry as Thatcher Grey (1/24)
 * Amy Madigan as Dr. Katharine Wyatt (2/24)
 * Laura Allen as Beth Whitman (2/24)
 * Héctor Elizondo as Carlos Torres (1/24)
 * Mariette Hartley as Betty Kenner (2/24)
 * Kathy Baker as Anna Loomis (2/24)
 * Kimberly Elise as Dr. Rebecca Swender (3/24)
 * Debra Mooney as Evelyn Hunt (1/24)
 * Kathleen Early as Dr. Daisy Pepman (2/24)

Prominent Guest Stars

 * Bernadette Peters as Sarabeth Breyers (2/24)
 * John Getz as Michael Breyers (2/24)
 * Cliff DeYoung as Phillip Loomis (2/24)
 * Tyne Daly as Carolyn Shepherd
 * Faye Dunaway as Dr. Margaret Campbell
 * Samantha Quan as Shelly Boden
 * Suzy Nakamura as Jenn Smith
 * Daniel J. Travanti as Barry Patmore
 * Jim Ortlieb as Jack O'Brien
 * Sam Anderson as Michael Whitman
 * Kellie Martin as Julie Zelman
 * Megan Henning as Willow Zelman
 * Nina Siemaszko as Kate Carlson
 * Sharon Lawrence as Robbie Stevens
 * Leslie Grossman as Lauren Hammer
 * Joshua Malina as Seth Hammer
 * Madeline Carroll as Ivy Soltanoff
 * Molly Hagan as Jackie
 * Amy Gumenick as Becca Wells
 * Liza Weil as Alison Clark
 * Bre Blair as Lauren Pailey
 * Max Burkholder as Duncan Pailey
 * Amy Aquino as Marianne Grandy
 * Tzi Ma as Mr. Patterson
 * Kay Panabaker as Emma Anderson
 * Rosalind Chao as Kathleen Patterson
 * Christa B. Allen as Holly Anderson
 * Perrey Reeves as Margaret
 * Peter Mackenzie as Warren Kramer
 * Wendy Hoopes as Tricia Shelley
 * Erin Cahill as Megan Shelley
 * Susane E. Lee as Beth Dearborn
 * Michael Rady as Michael Shelley
 * Lauri Johnson as Grandma Ruth
 * Bonnie Bartlett as Rosemary Bullard
 * Larry Sullivan as David Young
 * George Coe as Ed Bullard
 * Colleen Flynn as Nancy Mercer
 * Leslie Odom, Jr. as P.J. Walling
 * Saige Thompson as Lindsay Herman
 * Carl Lumbly as Kurt Walling
 * George Newbern as Stan Mercer
 * John Allen Nelson as Arthur Soltanoff
 * Amy Sloan as Kelly
 * Peter Mackenzie as Warren Kramer
 * Emily Kuroda as Kendall Sully
 * Elden Henson as Matt Smithson

Recurring Co-Stars

 * Tymberlee Chanel as Claire (Intern) (10/24)
 * Mark Saul as Dr. Steve Mostow (19/24)
 * Molly Kidder as Dr. Megan Mostow (17/24)
 * Joseph Williamson as Dr. Pierce Halley (13/24)
 * Winston Story as Dr. Leo Byrider (13/24)
 * Gloria Garayua as Dr. Graciella Guzman (15/24)
 * Miguel Nájera as Janitor Mike (1/24)
 * Nicole Cummins as Paramedic Nicole Cummins (4/24)
 * Shi Ne Nielson as Paramedic (2/24)
 * John Cappon as Paramedic John (1/24)
 * Kate Anthony as Nurse Kate (3/24)
 * Moe Irvin as Tyler Christian (2/24)
 * Joy Osmanski as Lucy (2/24)
 * Gordon James as Nurse (1/24)
 * Payton Silver as Dr. Knox (1/24)
 * Candice Afia as Laura (12/24)
 * Amrapali Ambegaokar as Dani Mandvi (13/24)
 * Janina Gavankar as Intern Lisa (2/24)
 * Joyce Thi Brew as Nurse (1/24)
 * Brooke Blanchard as Paramedic Jill (3/24)
 * Martin Yu as Anesthesiologist (1/24)
 * Zibby Allen as Nurse Zibby (2/24)
 * Kerry Carney as ND Resident (1/24)
 * Tim Chiou as Paramedic (1/24)
 * Terrance Christopher Jones as Paramedic (1/24)
 * Mac Brandt as Paramedic (2/24)
 * Susan Merson as Lorraine (2/24)
 * Regi Davis as Kevin Fisher (1/24)
 * Kevin Clarke as Paramedic (1/24)
 * Ariel Felix as Anesthesiologist (1/24)
 * Phil Abrams as Jim Nelson (1/24)
 * Yvette Cruise as Nurse (1/24)
 * Keeshan Giles as Resident (1/24)
 * Wayne Lopez as Paramedic (1/24)

Notes and Trivia

 * On November 3, 2008 it was announced that Brooke Smith (Erica Hahn) had been written out of the show. Before the announcement of Smith's departure, it was announced that Mary McDonnell would appear as Virginia Dixon a cardiothoracic surgeon with Asperger's Syndrome.
 * Though she was originally to only appear in a couple of episodes, Jessica Capshaw has made a deal with ABC, giving her the opportunity to be featured as Dr. Robbins on all Season 5 episodes yet to come at the time, and to even become a series' regular next year.
 * On November 6, 2008, TV Guide reported that Grey’s Anatomy will feature a multi-episode crossover arc with spin-off Private Practice in time for February sweeps.
 * For this season, no promotional photos were made, except for Kevin McKidd, who joined that cast this season. For the other characters, the photos from season 4 were reused. The group photo was photoshopped, with Brooke Smith being replaced by Kevin McKidd.
 * Chyler Leigh fell pregnant with her third child and was visibly showing towards the end of production. As her character, Lexie, was not pregnant, shots of Leigh tended to be from above the chest, or her belly obscured by a chart, desk or lab coat. In the episode where Thatcher apologizes to Lexie and Meredith, Ellen Pompeo kept her hands in her lab coat to make herself look bigger to distract from Leigh's pregnancy. According to Ask Ausiello, Shonda Rhimes also had Lexie comfort eating over her anxiety as a in-joke for her pregnancy.
 * This season is the last one in which Richard Webber is Chief of Surgery for the entire season.
 * There are three episodes where Meredith Grey does not narrate the voice over:
 * Denny Duquette, Jr. narrates the Stairway to Heaven voice over.
 * Alex Karev narrates the voice over of Elevator Love Letter.
 * Izzie Stevens narrates the What a Difference a Day Makes voice over.

DVD Release
The "Grey's Anatomy: Complete Fifth Season – More Moments" boxset was released in region 1 on September 15, 2009. On August 23, 2010 and November 4, 2009, the DVD was released in regions 2 and 4 respectively.

Set Details
The boxset contains the 24 episodes of the season, with one extended. The DVD box contains 7 discs. Other set details are:
 * English (Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround)
 * Audio Commentaries

Special Features
Additional to the episodes, the season 5 DVD set also contains a couple of special features:
 * Dissecting Grey's Anatomy – Unaired Scenes
 * In Stitches: Season Five Outtakes
 * 100th Episodes: Tales From The O.R. – A Behind-The-Scenes Look At The Inner Workings Of Your Favorite Show
 * Heaven Sent – Actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan Talks About The Popularity Of His Character Denny Duquette