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It's a grueling and eventful first 48 hours for the new crop of surgical interns at Seattle Grace Hospital in the debut episode of Grey's Anatomy. Among the newcomers are Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), still struggling to emerge from the shadow of her celebrated surgeon mother Ellis Grey (Kate Burton); fiercely competitive Stanford grad Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh), who will in time become Meredith's best friend; former fashion model Isobel "Izzie" Stevens (Katherine Heigl), a bit put off that she's no longer the sole center of attention; amiable, naïve George O'Malley (T.R. Knight); and Alex Karev (Justin Chambers), who wastes no time proving himself to be a pompous jerk. After a pep talk from chief surgeon Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.), the interns are placed in the not-so-tender care of supervising doctor Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson), also known as "The Nazi" for reasons that become instantly obvious. During their two-day shakedown cruise, the rookies come face to face with the harsh realities of hospital life, with Meredith tending to a girl suffering from seizures, George enduring his first appendectomy, and Cristina finds that it's no picnic workiing under veteran surgeon Preston Burke (Isaiah Washington). But the biggest shock of all is reserved for Ellis, when she discovers that her handsome "one-night stand" from the previous evening happens to be her new boss, Dr. Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey)! Peter Horton received an Emmy nomination for his direction of this inaugural episode.