A ton of great guest stars (including the erstwhile Harold Abbott, Ellis Grey and Andy McPhee) couldn’t distract from the many MANY problems that plagued The Deep End‘s first episode. Then again, Grey’s Anatomy‘s first couple episodes were next to unwatchable in my opinion and it turned into a monster hit (and, at times, a thoroughly enjoyable watch).

Clearly little more than a desperate attempt to replicate the success of Grey’s, The Deep End is an experiment in transplantation. What if “the network that brought you Grey’s Anatomy” brings in a production team that has never worked on Grey’s Anatomy and asks them to replicate the basic plot and tone of Grey’s Anatomy and plops the product into the most popular TV setting after a hospital (a law firm)- great idea right? They can do pretty, happy things that Grey’s does like have overly attractive people all sleep with each other, no matter how unprofessional it is and they can use heavy handed metaphors like drowning to make sure the audience really understands how hard it is on these poor brilliant kids in their first year at their dream job. The whole ordeal lacks any imagination of any kind.

Then again, I do really like Billy Zane and Rachelle Lefevre (she has incomparably pretty hair, that’s important on shows like Grey’s Ana… sorry, The Deep End). And I will watch Tina Majorino in absolutely anything (predictably, she’s already the highlight of the show). I’m excited to see that Matt Long has a job (in related news, the Bobby to his Jack is also working, starring in the upcoming film “The Lightning Thief”, which is just further proof of the stupidest cancellation in WB history). On screen, Norbert Leo Butz never maintains the appeal that he has on stage but I like him enough to not really care. And the creator of the show spent a significant amount of time working on How I Met Your Mother so he can’t be completely lacking in funny. Right?

In conclusion, this show is pretty bad. And I will watch it every single week until it gets cancelled, which I don’t see happening any time soon. Resistance is futile.