10 Running Gags On Grey’s Anatomy, Ranked
Grey’s Anatomy is hardly a funny show, but these running gags bring a much-appreciated lightheartedness to the series.
Grey’s Anatomy is not a show that gives off comic vibes under any circumstance, although it has had its fair share of funny moments, episodes, and character quirks. Being a medical as well as human drama, the series is hardly fun and games but there are some inspired elements that have become running gags over the years.
These gags aren’t necessarily all amusing or funny but rather clichés that have come to be associated with the show. From elevators where potential or current partners meet constantly and sometimes at the worst moments, to on-call rooms where sleep is the last thing happening, there are the relatively humorous gags. But there are also darker motifs like medically curious cases that have come to define the series and heartwarming characters whose recurrent appearances put a smile on fans’ faces.
The Twisted Sisters
‘The twisted sisters’ was a term that Derek and Owen had for Meredith and her ‘person’ Cristina. There was a time on the show when the lead protagonist and her best friend were inseparable and they would help each other through all their many dark and twisty moments. That, and tequila.
Of course, that is a running gag that died out with the departure of Cristina Yang but for ten seasons before that, they saw each other through the worst of times and offered a should to lean on whenever things got complicated.
The On-Call Room
One hilarious running gag revolved around the on-call room where attending and residents would end up at the drop of a hat with their respective partners in tow. The on-call room, meant as a space for rest for doctors on call, was used generously by all and sundry for copious doses of sex.
Whether it was Cristina with Burke or Owen, Bailey with Eli or Ben, Mark and his many shenanigans, most notorious of whom was Callie, Alex with his interns, the on-call room became a standing joke on the show for everything it must have seen.
Everyone Ends Up Involved With Everyone Else
Speaking of sex, the sheer volume of it that everyone has on the show is yet another cliché. There seems to be hardly anyone, perhaps with the exception of Richard and Miranda, who haven’t been paired together at least once and haven’t slept together at some point or another.
Whether attendings, residents, interns, or nurses, everybody ends up hooking up with everybody else to the point that it appears as though the writers are trying to experiment with pairs and see which ones happen to work.
The Surprise Pregnancies
For a show that claims to be a medical drama, the amount of pregnancies that happen at the drop of a hat is amusing, to say the least. It would seem only reasonable that doctors and medical professionals would be a tad more aware of birth control.
But turns out surprise pregnancies that lead to tremendous drama are very common on Grey’s, as everyone from Cristina Yang to Teddy Altman, Callie Torres, and Amelia Shepherd have experienced them, and April Kepner was once almost certain that she had conceived accidentally, although she hadn’t.
The Curious Cases
Fans of the show would recall any number of cases that were, in one word, curious. From medical mysteries that require the entire surgical team at Seattle Grace/Grey Sloan to rack their brains to curious, extremely difficult cases that need the best surgeons to pour over them for hours before they can decide the best surgical approach, Grey Sloan has had its share of interesting cases.
The Cupid Elevator
The elevator on Grey’s has possibly seen more couples being formed and unformed than anyone or anything else. From couples kissing and falling in love to friends sharing beautiful moments and even open-heart surgeries being performed on the elevator, the latter played a crucial role, especially towards the beginning of the series, and even later sometimes.
The ‘cupid’ elevator was acknowledged by the writers themselves when they let Addison Montgomery Shepherd go on a rant in what acted as a back-door pilot for the Grey’s spin-off Private Practice. Addisonmade a bit of a fool of herself talking to the ‘elevator God’ that later turned out to be the security keeping an eye on those who rode the elevator.
The Plastics Posse
Mark Sloan had coined the term for himself and his mentees, especially Jackson Avery, whom he treated almost like a son. Mark would pressure Jackson often to use the term to refer to the plastic surgeons, i.e. themselves. The latter, however, had no qualms in letting Mark know that he hated it.
After Mark’s tragic death, Jackson did take it up and tried to induct Ben Warren into using the term. So even though Mark himself was gone, the term stuck and the ‘Plastics Posse’ continued for a while.
The ‘Mc’ Labels
One of the longest-running gags on the show has been the various ‘Mc’ labels given to various people at various times, starting with Cristina Yang coining the very appropriate term -‘McDreamy’ – for the very dreamy Derek Shepherd.
Since then, there has been a barrage of other ‘Mcs’, whether it was ‘McSteamy’ applied to Mark Sloan, or the brilliant ‘McBastard’, a term George used for Derek when the gang had just found out that he was married to the most recent ‘McWidow’, that came full circle and was once again used by Cristina for the handsome Cormac Hayes.
The Girl Bonding
The series can take credit for showing some very fulfilling moments of bonding between strong women.
From Meredith and Cristina, Arizona and April, to Addison and Callie, and of course, Maggie, Amelia, and Meredith who have become sisters from what started out a very bumpy journey full of high strung emotions and distrust, girl bonding is a running theme on this series manned mostly by women.
Celebrating The Good Bokhee
Finally, the faithful Bokhee has been a staple on the show for its entire run, and for the longest time, she had no lines of her own. Her only job on the show was to offer the surgeons their various surgical instruments as they operated on their patients.
Bokhee became such a fan-favorite that the writers finally gave the veteran scrub nurse an iconic dialogue where she called Meredith Grey ‘Wonder Woman’ after the latter had broken the hospital’s record of the longest single surgery ever performed. Bokhee continues to be on the show even today and one can only hope that she would be with it until its final curtain call.