Season 4 (Grey's Anatomy)

The fourth season of Grey's Anatomy premiered September 27, 2007 and ended May 22, 2008. It was broadcast on Thursday nights at 9 PM on ABC. The season consists of 17 episodes instead of the ordered 23, cut short by the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike and ending with a two-hour finale.

Summary
Enter a world of change in the irresistible and unforgettable fourth season of Grey's Anatomy. Love, lies and family ties are revealed as the surgeons of Seattle Grace discover that their choices have major unintended consequences. And coupled with the arrival of some very eager new interns, life at the hospital sizzles with more emotion, excitement and heartbreak than ever before.

Plots

 * Meredith, Cristina, Izzie, and Alex are new residents and have their own interns, including George, who failed his intern exam, and Lexie Grey, Meredith's half-sister.
 * Meredith and Derek break up, but continue having breakup sex.
 * Erica Hahn is hired as Chief of Cardiothoracic surgery, replacing Preston Burke. Cristina struggles with working on Hahn's service.
 * Meredith and Derek performed clinical trials on patients with brain tumors. They lost all of their patients except for one whose boyfriend died just before her life saving surgery.
 * Derek starts a relationship with nurse Rose.
 * Addison returns to help out on a case and to see what's changed ever since she left.
 * Callie develops romantic feelings towards Erica.
 * After finally succeeding, Meredith took a risk and reunited with Derek.
 * Derek goes to his trailer in search of Meredith, only to find her waiting on his land with candles dividing each room of their could-be "home". They kiss, and Derek leaves her long enough to break up with Rose.

Main Cast

 * Ellen Pompeo as Dr. Meredith Grey
 * Sandra Oh as Dr. Cristina Yang
 * Katherine Heigl as Dr. Izzie Stevens
 * Justin Chambers as Dr. Alex Karev
 * T.R. Knight as Dr. George O'Malley
 * Chandra Wilson as Dr. Miranda Bailey
 * James Pickens, Jr. as Dr. Richard Webber
 * Sara Ramírez as Dr. Callie Torres
 * Eric Dane as Dr. Mark Sloan
 * Chyler Leigh as Dr. Alexandra 'Lexie' Grey
 * Brooke Smith as Dr. Erica Hahn (as of Haunt You Every Day)
 * Patrick Dempsey as Dr. Derek Shepherd

Recurring Guest Stars

 * Lauren Stamile as Rose
 * Edward Herrmann as Dr. Norman Shales
 * Seth Green as Nick Hanscom
 * Sarah Utterback as Nurse Olivia Harper
 * Kali Rocha as Dr. Sydney Heron
 * Elizabeth Reaser as Rebecca Pope
 * Diahann Carroll as Jane Burke
 * Loretta Devine as Adele Webber
 * Jeff Perry as Thatcher Grey
 * Amy Madigan as Dr. Katharine Wyatt
 * Kathryn Meisle as Liz Monroe
 * Gale Harold as Shane
 * Debra Monk as Louise O'Malley
 * Cress Williams as Tucker Jones
 * John Billingsley as Jacob Nolston
 * Alison LaPlaca as Mrs. Nolston
 * Kimberly Huie as Mary Daltrey
 * Theo Rossi as Stan Giamatti
 * Jana Kramer as Lola
 * Jurnee Smollett as Beth Monroe
 * Jack Axelrod as Charlie Yost

Prominent Guest Stars

 * Kate Walsh as Dr. Addison Montgomery

Recurring Co-Stars

 * Mark Saul as Dr. Steve Mostow
 * Molly Kidder as Dr. Megan Mostow
 * Joseph Williamson as Dr. Pierce Halley
 * Winston Story as Dr. Leo Byrider
 * Gloria Garayua as Dr. Graciella Guzman
 * Tymberlee Chanel as Intern Claire
 * Richard Keith as Mitch
 * Nicole Cummins as Paramedic Nicole Cummins
 * John Cappon as Paramedic John
 * Moe Irvin as Tyler Christian
 * Kate Anthony as Nurse Kate
 * Candice Afia as Laura
 * Amrapali Ambegaokar as Dr. Dani Mandvi
 * Ray Ford as Paramedic Ray
 * Brooke Blanchard as Paramedic Jill
 * Maria Elena Maglaris as Nurse Maria
 * Joy Osmanski as Lucy
 * Shanelle Gray as Sara Giamatti
 * Emma Prescott as Lucy Nolston
 * Suzi Hofrichter as Sandra Nolston
 * Parker Goris as Garrett Nolston
 * Linda Klein as Nurse Linda
 * Kate Mines as Nurse Gloria
 * Crystal Kwon as Nurse Jolene
 * Martin Yu as Anesthesiologist
 * Linda Eve Miller as Nurse Melanie
 * Terrance Christopher Jones as Paramedic
 * Mac Brandt as Paramedic
 * Stephen Bishop as Firefighter
 * Sterling Knight as Kip
 * Jerry Zatarain, Jr. as David
 * Christian Alexander as Will
 * Patricia Bethune as Nurse Ginger
 * Jeremy Rabb as Jeremy Bennett
 * Maile Flanagan as Lab Tech
 * John O'Brien as Tech Jeffrey

Notes and Trivia

 * For the first time in the show's history, two of the series regulars were not returning. Kate Walsh's character was transferred to the Grey's Anatomy spin-off, Private Practice. On June 7, 2007, it was announced that Isaiah Washington's contract had not been renewed.
 * On June 11, 2007, it was announced that Chyler Leigh, who guest starred in the final two episodes of the third season as Lexie Grey, was promoted to series regular, instead of a 13 episode story arc as previously planned.
 * Brooke Smith joined the main cast, reprising her role of Erica Hahn in the season's fifth episode.
 * Originally, 23 episodes were planned for this season, but it resulted in a 17 episode season due to the Writer's Strike.
 * During the Writer's Strike, the current cast of Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice performed in a charity event, Good Medicine, for the Solidarity Fund set up by the Writer's Guild of America for all those who had been put out of work because of the strike.
 * On February 20, 2008, it was confirmed that Grey’s Anatomy would return on April 24, 2008 for five new episodes. Where the Wild Things Are was the first episode shown after the incubation resulted from WGA strike.
 * Kate Walsh reprised her role of Addison Forbes Montgomery in Piece of My Heart. Her appearance played a pivotal role in the burgeoning romance between Erica Hahn and Callie Torres, as she was the first one to suggest that perhaps they were an item.
 * Dawson's Creek alumnus Joshua Jackson was scheduled to make his return to television in a multi-episode arc as a doctor with his first appearance in the season's eleventh episode. Jackson's appearance was cancelled due to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike.
 * It was once reported that a new male character would be introduced in season four. This character would somehow be in "competition" with Derek Shepherd. This idea was obviously not put into fruition until the next season, with the arrival of Owen Hunt.
 * Almost all the cast had a kiss, including Meredith and Derek, George and Lexie, Richard and Adele, Alex and Izzie, and Erica and Callie. To prepare for the lesbian storyline, which continued in season five, Grey’s consulted with GLAAD.
 * All voice overs this season are narrated by Meredith Grey, excluding the voice overs from:
 * Lay Your Hands on Me, of which Miranda Bailey narrates the voice overs.
 * Freedom, Part 2, of which there is no voice over.

Reception
Nielsen Ranking (2007–08 U.S. TV season; based on average total viewers per episode): #8 (15.9 million viewers).

DVD Release
The "Grey's Anatomy: Season Four – Expanded" boxset was released in region 1 on September 9, 2008. On November 23, 2009 and November 5, 2008, the DVD was released in regions 2 and 4 respectively.

Set Details
The boxset contains the 17 episodes of the season, with one extended. The DVD box contains 5 discs. Other set details are:
 * English (Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround)
 * 1.78:1 aspect ratio
 * Subtitles: English, French, and Spanish
 * Audio Commentaries

Special Features
Additional to the episodes, the season 4 DVD set also contains a couple of special features:
 * Extended Episode — "Forever Young"
 * New Docs on the Block – Interview with Brooke Smith, Chyler Leigh and Lauren Stamile
 * On Set with Patrick & Eric – Behind the Scenes with Patrick Dempsey and Eric Dane
 * Good Medicine – Favorite Scenes
 * Dissecting Grey's Anatomy – Unaired Scenes
 * Bloopers