If Grey's Anatomy has sometimes foundered over its lifetime, season 6 gets the story lines back on track and keeps the action moving, and engaging, in every single episode. The cast changes are small but extremely effective: the growing focus on Owen (Kevin McKidd) and his relationship with Cristina (Sandra Oh), and the departure of one of the main doctors of Seattle Grace. The season focuses on several new world orders at the hospital, including the merger with another hospital and the subsequent jockeying for position by the two groups of doctors, and the battle of the chief, Dr. Webber (the amazingly talented James Pickens Jr., never better), with alcohol, and the resulting shift in power on the staff. The personal lives of the doctors are involving and sometimes surprising--the relationship of Arizona (Jessica Capshaw) and Callie (Sara Ramirez) takes on new importance and complications as the season plays out. For once, the coupledom of Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) and McDreamy, Derek (Patrick Dempsey), is not in question, yet the writers manage to focus on making their challenges seem very real against the backdrop of turmoil in the workplace.

This season of Grey's Anatomy also features one of the most intense, memorable, and elegantly executed season finales in recent memory. A former patient's family member, carrying an apparently bottomless grudge against Seattle Grace, affects the whole staff--the whole city--in a final episode that requires at least a couple of hankies. Yet the Grey's writers and directors never fall into melodrama, which gives this season its added layer of impact and involvement.

Extras include more than 20 additional minutes of that season finale, a must-see for any Grey's Anatomy fan. There is also a cute bloopers feature, several excellent unaired scenes, and a lovely featurette on the Emmy-winning actress Chandra Wilson, who plays Dr. Amanda Bailey. Grey's Anatomy may be named for Pompeo's Dr. Grey, but it's Dr. Bailey who provides the soul of the series. An absolute must for any Grey's Anatomy fan. --A.T. Hurley