What if Derek and Addison stayed together?  This scenario is presented, along with some much more implausible ones.  Let’s be honest, even if you made a different choice in life, that wouldn’t change the essence of who you are, would it?  Maybe it would.  Before she started dreaming, Meredith thought: what if my mother had never been sick?  Ellis Grey was a world-class surgeon, before she was stricken with Alzheimer’s.  Last Thursday’s episode showed what it would be like if Ellis Grey remained in her prime.  In Dreamland, Ellis and Richard are married and Meredith is Richard’s stepdaughter.  As a matter of fact, her name is Meredith Webber, not Grey.  How bizarre!  Owen and Callie are married, and Alex and Meredith are a couple.  Kepner is one of the cool kids, and Charles Percy is alive! I loved it.  The episode also showed hints of how some things were always meant to be.  Even though Owen and Callie are married, she and Arizona make a connection over shared surgical success.  There is a faint glimmer in their eyes as they look at each other, but of course their lives don’t allow that connection to develop.  Owen is still shell-shocked from the horrors of war, but we see what it would be like for him with a different support system in place.

It was most interesting to see well-established characters acting completely differently.   Miranda Bailey and Derek Sheperd are two of the most ambitious, brilliant doctors at Seattle Grace.  Could you imagine them being meek, passive, and underachieving?  This parallel universe shows a timid Bailey who is too afraid to confront Ellis with an oversight she made in a patient’s evaluation.  Ellis is arrogant and pushy, and her influence remains unchallenged.  She and Richard display favoritism towards Meredith, even offering to bump her rival Cristina from a surgery in order to give Meredith the opportunity.  That’s right, Cristina and Meredith are rivals and enemies, not “besties.” 

Unbeknownst to Meredith, her fiancé  Alex is cheating on her with Kepner.  When Cristina spitefully spills the beans about the affair, Alex’s golden ticket of marrying Ellis’ daughter is ruined.   The episode ends with Meredith and Cristina sharing a drink and becoming unlikely friends.  Despite the fact they are operating in an alternate reality, we see that maybe Cristina and Meredith’s friendship would have happened anyway, even if other circumstances were different.

In “real” life at Seattle Grace, Derek is an ambitious doctor and a loving, supportive husband who maintains clear professional boundaries between himself and his wife.  In Dreamland, he is the opposite.  He’s a skilled surgeon, but a petty individual who is mean to his wife Addison, even though she is pregnant with their baby.  Instead of nurturing and supporting her, they bicker constantly.  His face is covered in stubble and he looks like a burnout.  As a matter of fact, the residents don’t call him McDreamy.  With his sour disposition he is known as McDreary, a gloomy Gus who sucks the joy out of any room.

I think it’s a difficult task to keep a venerable series like Grey’s Anatomy fresh and new.  I’m satisfied with the strong writing and character development I continue to see each week, and I don’t think the show needs to resort to gimmicks to keep loyal viewers like me interested.  Having said that, I appreciate the writers’ willingness to play around with different ideas and have fun.  We all have wondered “what if, “ at some point in our lives.   What if we had taken the other job, or gone to the other school, or chosen the other guy.   Can we change destiny, or are some things going to happen no matter what?  It was nice to see the writers shake things up a bit.  Keep up the good work ABC!

Season 8, Episode 13: “If/Then” (original air date February 2, 2012).

Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 9/8c on ABC.

Images courtesy of ABC and Vivian Zink.

Teddy (Kim Raver) has stopped torturing Cristina (Sandra Oh) and now the two are on a surgical tear.  They have been relentless, and it’s obvious that Teddy is escaping her pain by throwing herself into her job.  Cristina still feels guilty and indebted to Teddy, plus she really does enjoy all the surgeries.  It’s a match made in heaven for them, but hell for Owen.  When they try to horn in on someone else’s cardio patient, he has to intervene.  He orders the pair of them to take a break and get some rest because they are a liability issue if they are running on fumes.  Teddy and Cristina defy his wishes, and this leads to a huge fight between Cristina and Owen.  More on that later.

Meredith is the only fifth year resident who hasn’t decided on an area of practice.  Everyone is encouraging her to follow in the footsteps of her legendary mother, renowned surgeon Ellis Grey.  Bailey makes her pitch for general surgery, because that way Meredith wouldn’t be limited to just one organ or area of the body.   Webber (James Pickens Jr.) is performing a liver transplant, and Meredith will assist him in the procedure involving two bickering sisters.  He’s celebrating a great milestone: his 10,000^th surgery.  The transplant surgery is very special, but things take an unexpected turn when his wife Adele (Loretta Devine) shows up unannounced at the hospital.  Her Alzheimer’s has worsened, and she was found wandering by a neighbor.  April tries to soothe Adele, but she is agitated and demanding to see her husband.

April ends up taking her to the surgical gallery so she can see Webber, but she turns on the speaker and interrupts the procedure.  I though Kepner should have handled the situation more effectively instead of potentially distracting Richard with a personal and very distressful domestic situation.  Kepner is still very underwhelming as Chief Resident, because she’s not tough enough.  Fortunately, Meredith (having lots of experience dealing with her mother) was able to advise Webber of how to calm Adele, who is hysterical at this point.  He recalls a positive memory they share and begins singing “My Funny Valentine,” as he did on their wedding day.  In a touching scene, she sings along with him and is comforted.

The aforementioned scene normally would have made me cry, but mercifully my tear ducts remained dry.  I mentioned earlier that Owen (Kevin McKidd) and Cristina had a major difference of professional opinion regarding Cristina and Teddy’s surgical binge.  They defied his orders and laughed behind his back, and Owen tries to put his foot down by banning Cristina from Teddy’s surgical rotation.  She is vehemently against the idea, and an argument ensus.  The problem is that they decide to have this discussion at Zola’s first birthday party.

Cristina blasts Owen, telling him that his mishandling of Henry’s death is the reason they are in this position in the first place, and that Teddy gets whatever she wants.  Owen charges that Cristina is selfish and always gets her way, and their tempers really start to flare.  As Owen details her past selfish behavior he does the unthinkable: he brings up the abortion.  He yells at Cristina that she killed their baby, and her jaw nearly hits the floor.  This makes perfect sense though.  Owen was extremely hurt by their decision, mainly because his input seemed insignificant.  He tried to stand behind his wife through a decision that he opposed with every fiber of his being.  It looks like he has repressed his feelings all this time and that he and Cristina may be in real trouble.  I can’t WAIT to see what happens next week!

Season 8, Episode 12: “Hope for the Hopeless” (original air date January 19, 2012).

Grey’s Anatomy airs on Thursdays at 9/8c on ABC.

Images courtesy of ABC and Randy Holmes.

It was all hands on deck as the doctors worked to separate the twins in a career-defining procedure.  It’s a “peeds” case, so Arizona (Jessica Capshaw)is front and center, but all of the alpha personalities are present, including Webber and Sheperd.  They practice the surgery numerous times on dolls before the actual procedure.  Arizona finds it difficult to defer to her colleagues, and eventually Callie has to firmly put her in her place.  The surgery is ultimately a success, but there were some interpersonal bumps along the way.

Karev (Justin Chambers) has loads of pediatric experience and has worked with Arizona extensively.  He should’ve had the inside track on the surgery, but he allowed Webber to psych him out.  His mistake during the practice sessions cost him a role in the surgery.  After the twin girls were successfully separated, one of the babies went into kidney failure.  Karev came up with the idea of taking a kidney from the baby’s sibling, and Arizona was going to let him scrub in.  While scrubbing in, Webber (James Pickens Jr.) manages to get in Alex’s head AGAIN, and guilts him into giving up the surgery.  Webber feigned disappointment and regret at feeling like his career was on the downswing, so Karev gave up his spot out of sympathy.

Meanwhile, Webber knew exactly what he was doing by playing upon his sympathy.  He basically yelled “gotcha!”  I felt bad that Alex was duped.  He rarely shows kindness to his counterparts, and I think the fact that Webber is former Chief Resident played a large role in his decision.  Later, Webber acts as if his betrayal was intended to be a teachable moment – but I thought it was a dirty trick and that Webber was above that sort of behavior.

Derek and Meredith are settling into their roles as parents, and couldn’t be happier.  Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for Cristina, Teddy, or Lexie.  Teddy is understandably grappling with Henry’s death.  She hasn’t taken any time off and is still performing surgeries.  She is subjecting Cristina (Sandra Oh) to the torture of reliving Henry’s death over and over by repeatedly asking her to describe what happened in the O.R. in painstaking detail.  Whenever she is summoned, Cristina finds Teddy and dutifully recites what happened, always ending with the time of death.  It’s almost as if Teddy is looking for someone to blame, but eventually she obtains a modicum of closure and accepts Cristina’s medical explanation.  It will be difficult, but now maybe she can begin to heal.  The same can’t be said for Lexie, who can’t seem to get over Mark even though he has a new girlfriend.  I think she was crazy for dumping Avery, but I guess it was for the best if her feelings weren’t true.

Best of the episode: A successful surgery for the conjoined twins.

Worst of the episode: Webber’s double-crossing.

What to look for next: Trouble on the home front as Owen and Cristina bump heads.

Season 8, Episode 11: “This Magic Moment” (original air date January 12, 2012.)

Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 9/8c on ABC.

Images courtesy of ABC and Kelsey McNeal.

When we last saw the crew at Seattle Grace, things were looking dicey.   Meredith and Alex had been dispatched to transport an infant from a smaller hospital with less equipment to Seattle Grace.  Their ambulance stalled on a remote road in the rain, and when the driver went for help, the stationary ambulance was stuck by another vehicle.  Alex, Meredith and the baby girl emerge relatively unscathed, but when they exit the ambulance they see that five people have been thrown from the other vehicle.  Things have now gone from bad to impossibly worse. 

Each victim from the other car has varying injuries, except for a teenaged girl who seems largely unhurt.  While Alex and Meredith administer to her family, she is tasked with caring for the ailing infant.  It’s an intense scene as we survey the carnage.  We learn that one victim is unaccounted for, and I fear that he may have been ejected from the vehicle.  He’s actually pinned under the car, and Meredith tries desperately to free him as yet another vehicle approaches the blind turn.  Just when we think that they’ll be struck again, we see that it’s another ambulance arriving to the rescue.

Back at Seattle Grace, Teddy (Kim Raver) is still performing heart surgery on the patient that Torres and Avery nearly killed in their negligent orthopedic surgery.  No one has told her that Henry is dead, because she’s still in the middle of a delicate procedure and a patient is depending on her.  It seems cruel that she is carrying on cheerfully with her duties on what will end up being one of the worst days of her life.  She wants Cristina to assist in the procedure and won’t take no for an answer.  Owen asks Cristina to do the impossible.  He needs her to operate alongside Teddy knowing that her husband is dead.  In an amazing display of fortitude, Cristina does what is required. 

It’s almost sadistic to watch Teddy bop around happily in an effort to perk Cristina up for this “dream” surgery that’s on her bucket list.  She even asks Cristina about Henry periodically, which was painfully awkward.  When the surgery concludes, Cristina immediately pulls Teddy aside and breaks the news to her.  She did it compassionately but deliberately, and Teddy seemed to appreciate it.  If she had waited for Owen to tell Teddy (which is what he wanted), it would have been unnecessarily prolonging something that had gone on long enough.

This was an intense episode all around.  The people injured on the side of the road with Meredith and Alex were a family returning from a camping trip.  A grandmother and mother end up dying, leaving a 17 year old to tend to an injured younger brother and sister.  Her father is on life support, and she ultimately must grow up overnight and make some very adult decisions.  It was heart wrenching to watch someone so young endure so much tragedy in rapid succession, but I suppose it happens every day. 

One of the accident survivors ended up being treated by Mark’s new girlfriend, a gifted surgeon at a neighboring hospital.  She works with Derek to salvage the girl’s eye in a complicated procedure.  Begrudgingly, Lexie (Chyler Leigh) realizes that Mark’s new girlfriend is a good catch and actually very likable.  I wonder if Mark’s unavailability will make her regret her choices with Avery.

They saved the best for last, and at the end of the episode, after a long day – Derek and Meredith get the most wonderful surprise: Zola is back!  We’ll have to wait for an explanation, but it looks like the Sheperd family just got bigger.  What a great episode! I was beginning to have withdrawal.

Season 8, Episode 10: “Suddenly” (originally aired January 5, 2012).

Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 9/8c on ABC.

Images courtesy of Richard Foreman and ABC.

But what does “supercouple” mean outside of the soap opera? And do they still exist?

To the second question the answer is – totally.  But the first is a bit more complicated.

The main ingredient for a TV supercouple is audience devotion. The second most important component, plain and simple, is drama.  Supercouples are those romances that last for years and years, through marriage and divorce, breakups, betrayals, passionate reunions, and tragedy. They are couples the audience will root for no matter what happens between them, knowing without a shadow of a doubt that the two people involved are meant for each other.

Personally, I’m a huge fan of the supercouple. It’s a long-standing institution that continues to work today, just in different ways and through different forms of media. Supercouples are troubled, they don’t get a happily ever after until the end of the series – if then – and they tug at the viewers heartstrings.

Buffy and Angel from Buffy the Vampire Slayer are a great example of a supercouple. On another end of the spectrum, so are Ross and Rachel from Friends. Both couples dealt with many obstacles, separated multiple times, but ultimately still managed to convince a large audience that they were meant to be together.

There are a handful of supercouples on current TV shows as well.  Chuck and Blair from Gossip Girl come to mind automatically as a couple that, despite many breakups, still maintains audience love and support. Meredith and Derek from Grey’s Anatomy are in the same group, having been together, on and off, for the past several years of the show’s run.

Then there are would-be supercouples that just don’t work for one reason or another. Maybe it’s that the stakes aren’t high enough. Maybe it’s just a lack of chemistry. But no matter how many times they break up and reunite, these less-than-super combinations just fail. Finn and Rachel from Glee fall into this category. Don’t get me wrong, I love Glee, but it’s just hard to invest in Finn and Rachel as a couple and have that intense desire for them to be together.

So now that you know what a supercouple is, do you have any that you love? Any that you hate? Right now I’m digging Barney and Robin from How I Met Your Mother as my comedy supercouple and Chuck and Blair from Gossip Girl for drama.  So who are you cheering for? Who do you hope split up for good in the second half of the season? And who do you think will become a supercouple, given some time?  Tell us your thoughts in the comments!

Photos courtesy of ABC Photo Archive, The CW Network, CBS Corporation.

For the past few weeks Meredith and Derek have tried to regain custody of Zola in the aftermath of Meredith’s monumental lapse in judgment when she interfered with Derek’s Alzheimer’s trial.  I wonder if she would make the same decision if she had it to do all over again.  I thought things were looking up for them after Alex managed to wrangle a hearing for them in front of a judge; but the social worker notified Meredith that their journey is over.  It’s a crushing blow to the couple, and it looks like Meredith is giving up on the idea of motherhood, at least for now.  Derek feels like he pushed her into the decision and is now afraid of losing Meredith.

Meanwhile, Henry (Scott Foley) has been admitted with very serious complications.  He’s always been ill, but his recent respite probably made Teddy forget just how grave his condition can be.  They have been blissful, but his health troubles threaten to ruin their happiness. He needs to have the tumors surrounding his lungs removed, and Webber doesn’t know how to perform the surgery with a laser, which would be most efficient.  Understandably, he doesn’t want his first time to be on his colleague’s husband.  Teddy has performed the procedure before, but of course she can’t operate on her spouse. That leaves Cristina, who Teddy is confident can perform the procedure just as she would.  They recently performed an identical surgery, and Cristina is the only one who can do it.  Webber is on board, but Owen is hesitant.  As Chief Resident and Cristina’s husband, he thinks the stakes are too high. They all agree that if they can conceal Henry’s identity from Cristina, she should be able to perform the surgery dispassionately and successfully.

While this very intense storyline is at the forefront, there are two other nail-biters playing out.  Callie and Jackson (Jesse Williams) must come to terms with a costly patient error.  A patient who had spinal surgery is near death because one of the screws they inserted in her spine is poking through her heart.  Jackson is still a resident, and he’s going to make mistakes.  Callie makes him feel like he screwed up royally, and he did – but it’s her job to oversee him.  Maybe if she wasn’t reading a magazine while he was operating, she would have noticed something.

Meredith also deals with a patient in dire straits.  She hasn’t had long to think about Zola when Arizona calls her into action. She and Alex must travel to a nearby urgent care center to transport a newborn baby needing surgery.  The weather is terrible, and the ambulance breaks down before they return with the baby.  She needs her tubes and incubator, but it is dangerous for them to remain in the broken down vehicle on a poorly lit road in a thunderstorm.  The paramedic leaves on foot while Meredith and Alex quibble about what to do.  Their ambulance is struck by an oncoming vehicle, and we see the accident from their perspective, in the inside of the ambulance.  They are thrown against the ambulance wall as the vehicle appears to flip over.  Great. Just we need.  The umpteenth tragedy.  My anxiety was eventually alleviated, as Meredith and Alex emerge from the accident largely unscathed.  It looked bad initially, but when they step outside they see just how lucky they actually were.  Three lifeless bodies lay in the road – the occupants of the ill-fated vehicle that struck their ambulance.

Back at Seattle Grace, things take a turn for the worse.  Cristina (Sandra Oh) has no idea that Henry is the patient, so at first she’s all “been there done that” about it, but she ultimately does the best that she can during the surgery.  Things continue to go south and Webber has to intervene the old fashioned way and crack open Henry’s chest.  Their efforts prove futile, and Henry eventually dies on the table.  Webber gave it all he had, and Cristina did a fine job with the laser.  It wasn’t anyone’s fault, but they will have to tell Teddy that her husband is dead. In an awkward moment, Owen must pretend that Henry is still alive, because Teddy hasn’t finished her own surgery yet on the patient that Callie and Jackson botched.  The episode ends with Teddy still thinking that Henry pulled through.  How sad!!

This was another great episode.  Things haven’t been that intense in a while, and it was a reminder that Grey’s can be equally suspenseful as emotional.  I look forward to seeing if Derek and Meredith re-commit to starting a family or if they accept what has happened to them.  See you next week!

Season 8, Episode 9: Dark Was the Night (original air date November 10, 2011)

Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 9/8c on ABC.

Images courtesy of ABC and Jordan Althaus.

The good vibes continued to flow freely as Mark (Eric Dane) further displayed his apparent man crush on Avery.  Gone are the days when Avery was a lowly resident scrounging for surgeries.  Mark has taken quite a liking to his brilliant student and makes an effort to mold his protégé.  You’ll recall that Avery’s mother warned him about Lexie and Mark, and Avery’s seen enough to know that she harbors residual feelings for her ex.  He’s so uncomfortable about the situation that he withdraws from a complicated nerve procedure for which he’d been preparing for weeks.  It would be the perfect feather in his cap on his record of wins and losses if he could successfully perform the surgery.  Instead, he pawns it off on Karev to avoid Mark.  More on that in a bit.

The episode opened with a failed heart transplant.  The heart’s recipient died before the organ could be transported, so Seattle Grace was basically left with a perfectly good heart that was “all dressed up with no place to go.”  They put the heart in a box connected to valves that kept it pumping.  It was a creepy but fascinating sight, especially as the heart became a sort of oracle throughout the episode.

Last week Teddy (Kim Raver) told Cristina to submit a list of dream surgeries, and promised her that she’d do her best to make sure she got to perform them.  Webber takes a look at Cristina’s list and scoffs at her choices, telling her that she needs to talk to the heart in a box.  She’s confused at first, but eventually she makes a breakthrough by looking at every procedure on her list and comparing it to dealing with the heart in a box.  If it’s less cool than the heart in a box, it’s eliminated.

Webber (James Pickens Jr.) is a big believer in the heart’s power and tells Avery to consult it too.  He sits before the heart and eventually gains clarity about Lexie.  The episode ends with him choosing the “Plastics Posse” (Mark) over Lexie.  He explains that he’s aware of the feelings she has for Mark and that he can’t continue to avoid Mark because of the awkwardness those feelings cause.  He can’t afford to hurt his career, and he chooses Mark.  In a great moment, he asks Lexie if she can tell him to choose differently…and she can’t. Great scene!

Lexie got dumped, but at least she fared better with her patient.  She’s still adjusting to working with her brother-in-law, but things are getting better as they continue to perform impressively difficult surgeries.  This week their patient is a stubborn author with more than one active aneurysm.  Alfre Woodard made a guest appearance in the role, and she did a great job, as always.  She refuses to get the surgery until she finishes her novel, and so Lexie ends up taking dictation to speed up the process.  The woman’s story parallels Lexie’s own love life with Mark and Avery, and it’s obvious that Avery’s suspicions are right.

The episode ended on a high note for everyone, except Teddy.  Looks like Henry is sick again.  Bailey and Meredith finally made up, but more importantly – we’re left to wonder if Lexie and Mark will reconnect now that she’s free and clear.  I liked Lexie with Avery, but that may be just because he’s so darned cute.  I can’t deny that she and Mark once had something good.  Next week’s episode promises to be another great one – stay tuned.

Season 8, Episode 8: Heart-Shaped Box (original air date November 3, 2011).

Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 9/8c on ABC.

Images courtesy of Randy Holmes and ABC.

The gang is supposed to play a softball game against a rival hospital, and it came as no surprise (at least to me) that none of them are very good (or terribly interested) in playing. Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) and Cristina (Sandra Oh) get drunk in the outfield, Teddy begs for the chance to pitch, and everyone generally complains about how they have better places to be.

Except Mark (Eric Dane) who is busy making out with an eye doctor from the opposing team. If you’ll recall, last week Callie (Sara Ramirez) put the kibosh on him and Arizona’s (Jessica Capshaw) excessive bonding time in the kitchen. She told him he needed to start having sex again, and apparently he took her advice, which makes everyone happy.

Or almost everyone, because Lexie (Chyler Leigh) doesn’t seem to be enjoying it much at all.

Owen (Kevin McKidd) is struggling with the new chief position, and sees the softball game as a chance to bring his staff together as a team under his leadership.  He takes his coaching skills back to the hospital as well, putting them to good use when Derek (Patrick Dempsey) turns down a patient. A mother brings in her daughter (who has a brain tumor) and requests a standard procedure. Derek believes he can try something new and remove the entire tumor, giving the girl a life she never expected to have, but at a much higher risk. When the mother doesn’t want to gamble with her daughter’s life, Derek advises them to return home and get the standard surgery from any number of competent neurosurgeons.

Hunt disagrees, telling Derek “we don’t send people home. That’s not who we are. It’s not who you are.”

It seems the Zola situation is affecting Derek more than he lets on, even though he and Meredith have managed to maneuver their marriage at least somewhat back on track (still with the understanding they don’t talk about work.)

For her part, Meredith is still secretly helping with Bailey’s trial, unable to let her mother’s research go until she has figured it out. She does, but Bailey (Chandra Wilson) continues to be a hateful you-know-what about Meredith being anywhere near her lab. To be honest, this whole storyline bothers me, because it’s out of character for Bailey to be so unforgiving. Yes, everyone knows Meredith screwed up. But everyone forgave Izzy for way worse back in the day.

Their feud explodes on the baseball field, Meredith being drunk enough to ask Bailey what her problem is to her face. Ex-Chief Webber (James Pickens, Jr.) puts a stop to it, insisting that whether or not they like each other right now, they need one another to get the trial back on track – which is the most important thing. Looks like Bailey and Meredith will be working together (getting Meredith out of those “ridiculous pink scrubs”) at least for the foreseeable future.

Callie is pretty much the only doctor at the hospital who continues to connect with her patients, and her story this week is endearing and heartfelt. A garbage man falls from his truck and is crushed by a car, leaving his hand demolished. Which would be a sad thing to begin with, but turns out the man’s passion is woodcarving – something he’ll no longer be able to do if he loses his fingers. Callie works her crazy ortho-magic and ends the episode with a beautiful message about the things that let us live and the things that are worth living for.

Poor Avery. I have to say, he’s been growing on me this season. I’m not sure I’m even on a Mark and Lexie bandwagon anymore, but it’s clear from this week’s episode that’s where Shonda is taking us. Lexie is having a jealousy issue with Mark and his new girlfriend, even though Derek assures her it will last no time at all. When she loses her cool during the game and beans the girl in the chest (Lexie, um, thought she was stealing), Avery calls her out. He (and everyone else) realizes there’s something between Lexie and Mark, and it looks like we’re going to explore just what that is in the weeks to come.

If you’ll notice, I’ve pretty much wrapped up this review and I’ve yet to mention Alex (Justin Chambers) once. He wasn’t around the hospital much, because he was busy trying to track down Zola’s adoption records and find out what was going on with her case. He bribes a public official (illegal) and tries to influence a federal judge (also illegal) to put the baby back in MerDer’s care because of her medical issues, if nothing else. It seemed as though his little quest failed, then at the end of the episode the judge agreed to set a hearing date for their case. Looks like we’ll be moving forward on that storyline soon as well.

Tidbits:

* Cristina finally pleased Teddy by letting April take the lead on a cardiac case. It looks as though she’ll be returning to her old form soon. On the downside, she and Owen are still not talking about her abortion, a fact that surely will blow up in their faces soon.

* Henry (Scott Foley) was around, getting the bad news that his eyelet device might cause diabetes since they’re having trouble with the trial. I hope he doesn’t die. I love Scott Foley.

* Next week George’s mom is returning to the hospital. Interested to see what old feelings she stirs up in everyone, as well as a potential Mark and Lexie reunion!

Season 8, Episode 7 “Put Me In, Coach” (original airdate October 27, 2011)

Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursday nights at 9/8c on ABC.

Images courtesy of ABC/RICHARD CARTWRIGHT.

It’s a bit disheartening to think of doctors trying to preserve their win-loss record like a college football coach.  Their patients are real people with families, not just numbers on a stat sheet.  Even the best surgeons lose patients; they’re not God.  That being said, the residents still want to keep the losses to a minimum.  To that end, they are trying to end up on rotations that will challenge and impress without being too risky.  Adversity doesn’t just build character, it reveals it.  Some of the residents did themselves no favors by playing it safe.

Cristina (Sandra Oh)  ends up with Callie in an orthopedic surgery involving a patient with permanently poor posture.  Say that three times fast.  The young man’s neck is permanently in a downward position, as if he’s looking at his feet.  Cristina thought she’d have a routine fracture procedure or hip replacement, but Callie assumed that Renegade Cristina would welcome a challenge and thus presented her with a very complicated case.  The neck surgery will actually entail three separate procedures and is far from routine.  Cristina clams up when she sees that it won’t be the cakewalk she imagined, and when things get dicey during the procedure – she chickens out by asking that her name be taken off the procedure.  When the patient is out of the woods it’s too late for her to attach herself again.  No guts, no glory.  If you’re too afraid to get the losses then you don’t deserve the victories either.  Callie cautions her that she may be losing that part of her that made her a good surgeon in the first place by playing it safe.

Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) has recently been working in Obstetrics, which is considered a monumental downgrade.  Her peers chide her for sporting scrubs from the “vagina squad,” but she ignores their good-natured ribbing.  Meanwhile, Little Grey has taken her place with Derek in Neuro.  She’s not finding him too friendly of a boss, but that changes when she brings him a patient with a challenging brain tumor – a woman for whom Meredith just delivered a baby girl.  The woman and her husband must decide if they should proceed with the risky procedure or be content with what little time they have left.

While some are taking risks, some are playing it safe.  Alex (Justin Chambers) has always been pretty ballsy, but the fifth year jitters are getting to him too.  A patient presents for open heart surgery, and is concerned about the scar that will be left after the procedure.  He asks about another procedure that will be just as effective, but will not leave a scar.  It’s called a “tavi,” and it’s a lot riskier than the standard procedure.  Alex wants to minimize his losses and doesn’t want to perform the tavi.  Teddy is supervising him, and ultimately it is she that performs the procedure because Alex seems unwilling.  Just like Cristina, Alex punks out.  It was good to see more depth of character in this episode.  Alex and Cristina are known as two of the more gutsy residents, but they chickened out when the chips were down.  Will they over-compensate next week by taking unnecessary risks?

This was another great episode.  One thing to watch out for in the coming weeks is Kepner settling into her role as Chief Resident, and whether or not Meredith is able to mend fences with Bailey, who has not forgiven her for costing Richard his job.  Stay tuned!

Season 8, Episode 6: “Poker Face” (original air date October 20, 2011).

Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 9/8c on ABC.

Images courtesy of ABC and Ron Tom.

The elder Dr. Avery presents a unique opportunity for Seattle Grace with a cutting edge surgery.  She reveals her patient, a young man named Ryan.  Ryan was fortunate to beat penile Cancer, but it left him without a penis.  Seattle Grace has the chance to make history as the first hospital to successfully perform a penis transplant.  The residents are chomping at the bit to be selected to assist with the procedure, and the winner will be chosen by skills lab performance.  Mark takes the lead because he views the procedure as one best suited for Plastics, though he thinks the patient should get a prosthetic penis instead.

The elder Avery is like most mothers: prying and doting.  Jackson (Jessie Williams)  sent Lexie out of town for a couple of days, in preparation for his mother’s visit. He didn’t want her to have to answer a thousand nosy questions. Catherine is a brilliant doctor but meddlesome mother.  Jackson tells the others that she has a problem respecting boundaries.  She also berates her son for his choice to work in Plastics with Mark instead of with Derek in Neurosurgery.

If Jackson wants his mother to respect his professional choices, he’s going to have to prove that he’s becoming a better surgeon.  He gets his chance during the transplant surgery.  He and Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) win the skills lab battle and are chosen fair and square, so there are no concerns of nepotism when Jackson assists his mother.  When  Meredith is called away from the surgery,  April fills in.  She later makes a critical error that threatens the transplant, and Jackson saves the day with a complicated procedure that he learned from Mark.  This pretty much shuts Catherine up and validates his choice to work in plastic surgery.

The most intense storyline involved Derek and Meredith.  They haven’t heard anything about Zola from the social worker, and Derek is getting anxious.  Meredith tells him to be patient, but things take a turn for the worse when Alex (Justin Chambers)  receives a page during the skills lab.  The page is for Zola, who has been admitted with seizures.  She has a high fever and a distended abdomen.  Alex wants to page Derek (Patrick Dempsey) and Meredith, but Arizona and the social worker tell him there’s no way he can do that.  It would be a breach of confidentiality and it could jeopardize the adoption, which is already on shaky ground.  Alex wrestles with the decision because he feels like he’s already ruined Meredith’s life once when he tattled on her, and he doesn’t want to mess up with her again.

Alex tells Cristina that Zola has been admitted and the two of them agree to tell Derek and Meredith.  Derek goes crazy and wants to intervene, but Meredith is the cooler head.  It takes Owen, Arizona and Meredith all to convince Derek to let Arizona handle it.  He fears that the shunt he implanted is causing a problem and so he’s the one that should fix it.  He will have to trust Arizona to heal Zola while he and Meredith wait.  This ordeal brings them closer together, although I’m sure they would have preferred different circumstances.  At the close of the episode they find out that Zola will be fine.  They run into their social worker while she waits for the elevator, and she can see from their faces that they’ve shed some tears.  She realizes that they knew about Zola but didn’t intervene.  Maybe that will be considered in their favor when a final custody determination is made.

This was another entertaining episode, and although last week was a nice change of pace, I’m glad to return to the regular format.  Although Mama Avery was nosy, she picked up on Mark’s residual feelings for Lexie when he attempted to tell her how lucky Jackson was to have her.  Is Mark still holding a torch for Lexie?  I’m sure that’s something that will resurface this season.  Stay tuned!

Season 8, Episode 4: Loss, Love, and Legacy (original air date October 13, 2011)

Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 9/8c on ABC.

Images courtesy of ABC and Richard Cartwright.

The fifth year residents are strutting around the hospital like proud peacocks.  There’s a new crop of interns to punish, plus they will get a chance to perform their own solo surgeries.  That’s too much ego to contain, so when April tries to assert herself as Chief Resident, she meets with a lot of resistance.  This whole set up is like when a parent leaves one child in charge of their sibling, who is only a year or two younger.  It doesn’t really work because there’s no respect.  The person giving you orders seems more like a peer than a boss.  April tries to direct them, but they pretty much do whatever they want to do.  Callie confides to April that she was once Chief Resident and couldn’t hack it.  She encourages April but admits that she might not be cut out for the job, and there’s no shame in that. 

Avery pleads with Teddy to perform a solo cleft lip surgery without assistance.  She assigns the cosmetic procedure to Sloan instead, even though it’s Avery who had been working with the patient first.  Eventually she agrees to let Avery perform the surgery after he makes a compelling argument.  Cristina is eyeing a valve resection, under Teddy’s supervision.  Alex has some sort of gastro intestinal procedure, and Meredith will be performing brain surgery on a man with an aneurysm.  Teddy has been trying to impress upon Cristina the importance of the simple, easy steps.  Because she’s trying to teach her a lesson, she doesn’t allow Cristina to perform the valve surgery and decides to give her an easy appendectomy instead. 

All of the residents end up with less than successful surgical outcomes except for Meredith.  Arizona psyched Avery out of his cleft lip surgery, and Mark had to intervene.  Cristina inexplicably forgot one of the steps during the appendectomy, and Teddy didn’t remember either! One of the nurses had to pitch in.  Alex didn’t make any mistakes, but his patient did not survive.  It is Meredith who exceeded expectations, despite bumping heads with Derek in the O.R.  She made a judgment call and the procedure resulted in success.

Derek was not too impressed with Meredith’s successful solo, because he thinks that she acts recklessly and without proper regard for consequences.  Sometimes this is a good thing and sometimes it’s not.  This compassionate, but reckless abandon is what lead Meredith to stand in front of a deranged gunman for Derek, almost taking a bullet for him.  It’s also what leads to her interference with his trial.  I think Derek finds her behavior frustrating and dangerous.  Through it all, he takes his marital vows seriously and is trying to hang in there with Meredith.

Owen and Cristina are doing slightly better than they were last week.  Cristina had the abortion, and their interactions have been awkward and stilted ever since.  She confides in Meredith that she thinks Owen is still upset about the whole thing and may have some residual resentment towards her.  Nevertheless, she agrees to have a celebratory dinner for him, since he was given Chief Webber’s vacant position.  When they settle in for dinner at home, she realizes that Owen has no anger about what has happened.  They actually appear to be doing just fine, which is great for Cristina.

I thought it was a good episode that continued to flesh out the interpersonal dynamics around the halls of Seattle Grace.  I think a big theme this season will be people’s adjustment and acceptance of change and their ability to rise to the occasion.  April will have to find her way as Chief Resident, and the other residents will have added responsibilities as well.  Webber will not be the fixture he once was, and Meredith and Derek will continue to fight for their marriage and their child.  High drama! I think the season is off to a pretty good start.

Season 8, Episode 3 Grey’s Anatomy: Take the Lead (original air date September 29, 2011)

Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 9/8c on ABC.

Images courtesy of Jordin Althaus and ABC.

When we pick up the action it’s clear that Derek and Meredith are in trouble.  She’s still in the doghouse with Derek, and Alex is still in the doghouse with Meredith.  He’s been ostracized because his peers think that he betrayed one of their own.  Things go from bad to worse when Meredith is fired and Alex realizes once and for all that he can’t undo what’s been done.  He’s depressed and has turned into a mope.  He will have to find a way to regain everyone’s trust, and it won’t be easy.

A familiar plot device with Grey’s is the disaster or big emergency that will unite everyone in a singular task.  For the season premiere, a huge sinkhole has swallowed up some citizens, injuring them severely.  A couple in crisis is among the injured, and the wife will have her leg amputated at the scene.  At first Owen (Kevin McKidd) and Callie (Sara Ramirez) attempt to walk her husband through the procedure, as it is too dangerous for any of them to travel down in the sinkhole.  It was gut-wrenching to watch the husband attempt the impossible task of amputating his wife’s leg.  He tried but could not complete the procedure.  Owen risked his life, repelling down into the sinkhole to save the couple.  After seeing the man suffering greatly, he knew that he could not perform the amputation, and it was unfair of them to ask him.  I think subconsciously Owen didn’t mind risking his life, because he feels that his own family structure is in jeopardy and he doesn’t have the same incentive not to risk his life that others may have.  He tells Callie that she can’t go in the sinkhole with him, because she has a wife and baby to live for. 

Owen may not have the same family structure as Callie, but he has a wife that needs him.  Cristina is unwavering in her choice to terminate her pregnancy, and if she keeps the baby to appease Owen she will end up miserable for the rest of her life.  Meredith explains to Owen that she knows what it’s like to have a surgeon-mother who seems to value her career over her child.  It’s not a fun feeling and Cristina doesn’t want to subject a child to that.  It’s a difficult decision, and she could use the support of the man that pledged to love her for life.  Owen softens and it looks like he finally accepts Cristina’s decision. 

Alex gets his chance to atone for his mistake with Meredith when she makes a rash decision.  Fearing that Zola would be removed from her custody by the social worker, Meredith takes the child and flees.  She ignores all phone calls and pages. Finally she comes to her senses after the temporary split with reality.  Alex makes up a story about needing to run some tests on Zola and how that’s the reason Meredith was distracted.  She says that she didn’t get the pages because she’d been fired so she turned the pager in.  It’s a flimsy story and unfortunately the social worker recognizes Meredith’s dishonesty and removes Zola from their home because their circumstances have changed. 

Last but not least, April is the new Chief Resident! She has the logistical part figured out but doesn’t have command or authority over the other doctors.  She isn’t assertive, and the sinkhole disaster is exposing flaws in her leadership.  Bailey decides to conduct a “Gunther,” a team-building exercise used to eliminate interpersonal differences among doctors.  They all work together on a real patient, and one of them will emerge as a natural leader while others are more suited to taking direction.  Of course it initially appears that Cristina is the natural leader, but when her competitive nature nearly kills Alex in the OR, a new leader emerges and  Avery is the Gunther.  Just when Sloan had underestimated him.  This doesn’t bode well for April as Chief Resident, but she managed to survive her first day.

This was a good two hour episode; jam packed with more than enough drama to start the new season.  There were some really sappy, cheesy moments but I’m willing to overlook them, for now. Good start.

Grey’s Anatomy Season 8 Episode 1 and 2: “Free Falling/She’s Gone” (original air date September 22, 2011).

Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 9/8c on ABC.

Images courtesy of Ron Tom and ABC.

Most Shocking Season Finale

When brainstorming for this season’s most shocking season finale, I considered a variety of different shows. But the show I kept coming back to was Hawaii Five-O. Let me first say that I’m a big fan of this reboot. All season long, we watched the easy-on-the-eyes Steve McGarrett (Alex O’Loughlin) and his task force take down the bad guys with his slightly unconventional methods in beautiful Hawaii. Unfortunately, things finally caught up with this tight knit task force in the finale and severely divided the team—McGarrett, who uncovers a connection between the Governor and Wo Fat, is framed for the murder of the Governor and a member of her staff. Chin takes his old job back with HPD as a lieutenant and Kono is arrested for stealing the money from the evidence locker that they used to save Chin earlier in the season. Plus, Danno is left to try to reunite the gang, while his ex-wife (pregnant with their second child from their affair) returns to Jersey with their daughter, Grace. So, the Governor is dead, the task force in disarray and Steve McGarrett is in handcuffs—not what I was expecting at all. This finale left me shaking my head and wondering how are they going to resolve all of this next season? -Allison Toner

Grey’s Anatomy. I’m not an avid watcher of Grey’s Anatomy but I find it fascinating how Meredith Grey seems to constantly sabotage her life and her own happiness. Now, the girl’s done some bonehead moves in the past but this season she may well have outdone herself by fiddling with the results of a “blind” trial study, throwing her career, hospital, marriage and baby plans all up in the air when the shocking secret finally came out (Thanks, Alex). We’ll have to wait until next season to find out where the balls will all lie, but if Meredith doesn’t swallow a big slice of humble pie, she may well lose it all. –Keshaunta Moton

The Vampire Diaries. It should come as no surprise that this year’s most shocking season finale came from the show that was consistently shocking each and every week. With its wild weekly twists and turns The Vampire Diaries has become the most roller coaster-esque show since Lost went off the air, and the season finale was no different with Stefan turning to the dark side, Elena finally getting the hots for Damon, and Jeremy dying only to be resurrected with the ability to see dead girlfriends. It’ll be great to see where they take all of this for season three, but until then all we can do is speculate. -Matt DeGroot

Underwhelming Season Finale

Kitchen Nightmares. Gordon Ramsay is by far one of my favorite television personalities, with his gruff attitude and straightforward business sense. I’ve followed and been a fan of all his shows, both on Fox and on BBC America, and that includes the American version of Kitchen Nightmares. The fourth season has now come to a close and unfortunately what I’ve noticed is a lack of everything that used to get me excited about Ramsay’s kitchen antics. Typically, we’ve come to expect stubborn restaurant owners, grimy kitchen scenes and loads of expletive bleeping.  American viewers love their over the top melodramas but what used to be shocking has become forced and seemingly rehearsed to keep the masses tuned in. The season finale featured a pair of brothers who run the Oceana restaurant on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. While they were probably the most brutish crew we’ve seen this season, it was still missing the draw you’d expect for a final episode. While one brother lost his mind, the other submitted completely, as the story tends to go in most Kitchen Nightmares episodes. When season finale time rolls around, you look forward to the best of the best and even with its good moments, it was still pretty blah. –Desiree Neall

Although it is one of my favorite shows, my underwhelming season finale pick would have to be Men of A Certain Age. As far as the rules of “TV land” go, I suppose the episodes that ran from Dec. 6, 2010 – Jan. 10, 2011 would be considered the first half of the second season, since the Jan. 10, 2011 episode was called the “season finale,” then I will address it as such.  And for the sole reason that viewers like me were in such anticipation for the new season to begin only to see it come to a quick, 6-episode end like a seed planted on stony ground that without developing root, grows up too fast, is burned by the sun, and dies, its season finale, too, died for me in an underwhelming, I-don’t-even-remember-what-it-was-about death.  Nevertheless, like other men of a certain age who have weathered and sustained the test of time, the series still has room in my TV heart for revival, and on Wednesday, June 1, I look forward to it. –Savannah DuBois

Show That I Will Need to Watch Reruns of During the Summer Because I Can’t Survive Without it Otherwise

I don’t typically watch reruns over the summer; I use it as an opportunity to catch up on shows I’ve fallen behind in. This time around, I’ll be trying to get up to speed with House and Grey’s Anatomy, in addition to Mad Men. Ever since Community has been on the air, it’s thrown a wrench in my summer plans. I’ll be re-watching episodes of that for sure, since each installment requires a few viewings, I think. Of course, I’ve got Larry David to keep me company, too. –Lauren Tyree

Fringe. I’m not sure if I’m going to rewatch because I can’t survive without it, exactly, but I’m hoping there will be more clues to recognize now, more plot lines and comments and Walter-isms that can help me better wrap my head around the crazy finale and prepare my fried up brain for next season. The whole Peter never existed thing requires much thought, and I’m hoping watching again from the beginning will remind me of all the nuance and hints and Observer comments I’ve probably forgotten (or at least filed away in a spot in my brain that’s currently being utilized to obsess about ice cream or something). I’m pretty excited about it, too. –Trisha Leigh

Best Overall Show of the 2010/11 TV Season

Nothing is funnier or more underrated to me than Louie on FX. This is comedian Louis CK’s brilliant show that is sort of a mash-up of his stand up comedy and his life as a divorced dad with 2 small daughters; plus the insane thoughts that go through his head on a daily basis. It’s fantastic. My second choice would be Men of a Certain Age. Another underrated, well crafted, brilliantly written and acted show that touches upon the friendship of three men in their forties, dealing with all of life’s questions and doubts. –Kelley Lynn

Californication came back from an overly long hiatus with both guns blazing, but it was Community that was the most consistent, unique, and hilarious single-camera comedy of the season. They dared to push scenes and concepts further out of the box than in its freshman year and while the more school-focused storylines were and are always the strongest, Community proved it can do whatever the hell it wants and it’s going to be comic gold. –Keith Kuramoto

Above all other shows, Top Chef All-Stars made me salivate in anticipation each week, and I honestly wish it could have gone on forever. –Lauren Tyree

The Killing. AMC is fast becoming one of the best networks to air quality entertainment these days. I don’t typically enjoy the cop/forensic dramas but The Killing has sucked me in with its unique storyline, startling plot twists and ever developing characters. The Killing has officially been added to my DVR list. –Desiree Neall

FRINGE. I know, I already talked about this show but seriously? There isn’t a better written show on network television. The acting is done with such subtle precision it’s a crime none of the cast (particularly Anna Torv) has been nominated for an Emmy. The writers keep us guessing, keep blowing our minds into little pieces, and making us think about what, exactly, might be possible. -Trisha Leigh

The Vampire Diaries continued to prove that one episode of their CW program can be infinitely more satisfying than a season of True Blood. Following Katherine’s introduction, ensuing hijinks, coupled with Damon’s sweet dance moves, a masquerade and an original named Klaus made it the best of the season for me. –Josh Hatala

Dare I say RuPaul’s Drag Race simply because it has a few of the elements that I enjoy most in a TV show: good fashion, a bit of on-going, climactic drama, and humor. -Savannah DuBois

The Good Wife has totally delivered for its second season: the Peter/Alicia/Will triangle expanding to include a salacious past between Peter and Kalinda, prompting the much longed for Will and Alicia get down, which I’ve been in favor of since episode 3. Oh yeah. -Keshaunta Moton

Hands down this goes to the potent fourth season of Mad Men. The characters got richer and their circumstances even more fascinating. It’s been an agonizing wait for season five so somebody please make it be January already! -Matt DeGroot

Worst Overall Show of the 2010/11 TV Season

Outsourced. Ugh. Unfunny, stereotyped, phony characters. Every moment of the show feels fake to me, and watching it made me cringe, not laugh. –Kelley Lynn

Skins. Are you fucking kidding me with this shit? MTV, I salute you proudly for seeking out creative content in narrative shows, a risky gamble for a network that is fueled by lowest-common-denominator programming, but Skins is a painful ho-hum shit fest that tries so desperately to be controversial, except no amount of controversy can cover the fact that the series needs to be put to bed. Not since Psycho has a shot-for-shot remake ended up being so lost in translation. Do yourself a favor and spend the 45 minutes you would have killed on an episode and put on “Eyelid Movies” by Phantogram, a band that was featured in the pilot. You’ll have a much better time. –Keith Kuramoto

Because of my fierce devotion to the original, I never loved NBC’s The Office, but it jumped the shark so long ago that the writers are now receiving messages in bottles from the shark. –Lauren Tyree

Celebrity Apprentice. Between the Comedy Central Roast, being the butt of all jokes at this year’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner, and a failed publicity stunt threatening the general public with a supposed run for the White House, Donald Trump has had one rough year. However, he still continues to put his name out there in any form possible. The only thing worse than viewing the Trump logo plastered to the side of a monstrous building is to view an exhausted show featuring hardly memorable celebrities, then stamped with the Trump brand name. Enough is enough already, Don. –Desiree Neall

The Paul Reiser Show. One episode. One. I haven’t the slightest idea why anyone thought this would work. We’ve had Seinfeld, which will never be replicated. Larry David has Curb Your Enthusiasm, which is amazing and also will never be replicated. Why could we possibly need a show that tries to be like Seinfeld and guest stars Larry David? Answer: We don’t. I bet NBC wishes they would have figured that one out BEFORE wasting money on a pilot. -Trisha Leigh

Maybe it’s just me, but I think the reason shows like Shedding For the Wedding only stick around for one season is because America is a little tired about feeling bad about itself…and then having to watch a show about how people feel bad for superficial reasons. Give up the reality genre, CW, because this was kind of abysmal. –Josh Hatala

The Game simply because it was one of the biggest anticipated shows I’ve seen on Facebook since FB’s inception, and by, let’s say, episode 3 of its return season, it had let down its fans and viewers and hardly anyone talked about it. By the season finale, hardly anyone discussed how the cliffhanger will end.  A show with that much anticipation and popularity that was brought back in part by petitions from FB fans should not, in 2 or 3 episodes, stray that far from the essence of the show that it loses those who fought for it. –Savannah DuBois

There are so many worthy competitors for the title of this season’s worst television show; conveniently enough, the majority of them are located on the E! network. This network has brought us the likes of every single Kardashian (much to their shame), and forever tarnished the title “girl next door,” but of all this pretentious trash, one show has got the cake on this: Bridalplasty. Passing plastic surgeries out like bubble gum, these desperate women on this show are a complete train wreck, sucking the beauty and joy out of “Happily Ever After.” -Keshaunta Moton

BEST NEW SHOW

AMC’s The Killing may not be enjoying the media frenzy and cult following that The Walking Dead did earlier in the season, but its methodical exploration of the characters while continuing to focus on one slowly, deeply involving storyline has me hooked. While it can justifiably be considered a modern take on Twin Peaks, minus the bizarre panache of David Lynch, The Killing has managed to create an atmosphere and storytelling trajectory all its own. My only question is how far the series can continue once Rosie Larsen’s killer is nabbed – even the most enthralling of plots can only drag on for so long. AMC has done it again. – Erin Biglow

This TV season brought out the big guns with some very hyped and exciting new shows. Surprising to me was that the best two new shows seem a lot like old concepts that have been around the block.  The Killing, an American version of a Danish series, is more than just a remake. It is a poignant who-done-it that focuses on the repercussions of a murder and not just the crime scene investigation. It takes advantage of a subdued rain-soaked aesthetic and makes you really feel the characters’ emotions. It will haunt your dreams and turn a TV show into an obsession. In the reality realm, The Voice had to go up against comparisons to American Idol and within the first episode it put all doubts to rest. The show relies on the charisma of the judges/coaches and I have to give credit to The Voice for bringing an exciting new element to the singing competition genre and at the same time somehow making Adam Levine likable. – Gabe Callahan

WORST NEW SHOW – WHY IS IT STILL ON THE AIR?

This was a difficult choice as most of the really awful shows were cancelled (thankfully) but after watching Bob’s Burgers, I’m actually going to put this on my “why was this renewed?” list. Bob’s Burgers is on FOX which is the home of animated shows like The Simpsons, Family Guy, American Dad, The Cleveland Show and they also brought us Futurama and King of the Hill. Bob’s Burgers sadly fails to live up to the rest of FOX’s animation line-up. I just don’t find it funny at all and it’s pretty bland and boring. Sorry FOX. – Nicole Cukingnan

SHOW THAT WAS CANCELLED TOO SOON

Most shows try and find their footing in the first season and, admittedly, the first 10 episodes of Caprica, the Battlestar Galactica prequel, weren’t the perfection I’d come to expect from its predecessor. Still, the premise was interesting, both tying itself to the parent series while treading new ground and still tackling issues of politics, war and religion. The cast, including Eric Stoltz, Esai Morales, Alessandra Torresani and the underrated Magda Apanowicz, deserve kudos for their performances with such dark and often existential material. After a long hiatus, the back half of the season was pretty epic and, sadly, we’ll now never get to know where the time jump at the end of the series finale would’ve taken us. – Josh Hatala

MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT

The cancellation of United States of Tara - I’m hoping that this is the result of the world starting to realize that Diablo Cody is a talentless hack who got by with a marketable background and a little bit of luck. Like all of Cody’s work, United States of Tara was cloying, obnoxious, in love with itself, and overstayed its welcome time and time again. Her Oscar win was one of the most insane moments in Academy Award history and her work since that win has shown that when the rubber hits the road, she doesn’t know what she’s doing (sorry, Jennifer’s Body fans — all three of you). The show was an embarrassment for Showtime, who has consistently battled HBO in a relentless fight for the crown of Premium Cable Programming King. Maybe they’ll finally do it now that the court jester is finally out on its ass. – Keith Kuramoto

For me, the most memorable moment of the 2010-2011 television season was not a good one.  It was however, unforgettable.  A few weeks ago a show that I know and love, Grey’s Anatomy, inexplicably turned into something quite different.  Instead of the dramatic acting that I’d come to appreciate, I was subjected to my favorite characters belting out their lines, with varying results.  That’s right: they were singing.  And not in a tongue-in-cheek way; they were serious! Sorry Shonda Rhimes, I wasn’t laughing with you – I was laughing at you.  This is just one woman’s opinion, and I was roundly slammed by plenty of people who loved the episode.  I’m glad that this concept was just a one show deal, and I’m filing it under “Never Happened.” – Tanya Lane

MOST ANNOYING CHARACTER

Nothing against the beautiful Jessica Szohr, but Gossip Girl‘s Vanessa Abrams will go down as one of the most annoying, stupidest, clearly bipolar characters to ever grace our TV screens. The writers realized they’d boxed themselves into a crazy corner for which there would be no recovery, so they smartly decreased her screentime this past season. Sadly, that didn’t make her any less annoying. – Inisia Lewis

Emma Pillsbury on Glee. She is the guidance counselor with the unbelievably annoying voice that makes me want to scream SPEAK UP! because it always sounds like she is talking in the middle of a library. Her character annoys the crap out of me because she is so exaggeratedly prissy, childlike and spineless. Also, I just never care about her storylines and find her boring and grating to listen to. - Kelley Lynn

FAVORITE CHARACTER

Brittany on Glee - Anyone who thinks Dr. Pepper is a dentist and lesbians are “lebanese” is worth watching a show for. The writing on Glee is really killer, so for Heather Morris to rise above the Santanas and Sue Sylvesters is impressive. Brittany constantly out-dumbs herself, but I still love watching her every week. And I’m not even remotely ashamed to admit that I’d die to be on “Fondue for Two.” – Renata Sellitti

My favorite character in this season’s line-up of shows is a toss up between Ron Swanson (played by Nick Offerman) from Parks and Recreation and the lovable Phil Dunphy (played by Ty Burrell) from Modern Family, but in the end, the scale tips in favor of my favorite meat loving libertarian who once summarized his feelings about people like this:

“The less I know about other people’s affairs, the happier I am. I’m not interested in caring about other people. I once worked with a guy for three years and never learned his name. Best friend I ever had. We still never talk sometimes.”

Ron Swanson is a middle-aged man with a mustache only the gods could create and a desire for all government to end. But until that day comes, he heads the Pawnee Parks and Recreation Department and wistfully prays for the day everything becomes privatized and all businesses run as smoothly as a Chuck E. Cheese. It’s a pipe dream, but he holds onto it nonetheless. While trying to keep a nutty cast of characters in line, Ron unwittingly functions as the glue of the Parks Department. Some may argue that is Leslie Knope’s job but I submit to you Ron Swanson’s name for consideration. Ron’s deadpan office management keeps everyone somewhat in check (I think the old live land mine he keeps in his office probably helps too). My favorite scene this season is when Chris Traeger (played by Rob Lowe) makes Ron come out into the open and sit in the middle of a large donut shaped desk. As Ron swivels to avoid anyone that comes his way, you can understand the sheer pain he feels in doing anything to assist Pawnee citizens. It’s a tragic moment as you realize Ron does his best work when he’s locked in his office playing with his 1933 Luger and eating giant Renaissance fair turkey legs. Cheers, Ron Swanson. –Aswathi Zacariah

Stay tuned for Part 2 when our writers name the most shocking season finale, the overall best and worst shows from the 2010-11 season, and much more!

Photos courtesy of IMDb Pro, The CW, ABC and AMC.

Last week, Alex uncharacteristically spilled the beans about Meredith’s interference with the Alzheimer’s trial.  Alex and Meredith are good friends, and he didn’t do it thoughtfully.  He did it at a bar, and seemingly for no reason.  That’s why I don’t respect it.  It’s not that no one should tell on Meredith.  What she did was horrible from a professional standpoint, and for many other reasons.  But Alex isn’t a goody two shoes, and that’s not his style.  The only reason he blew the whistle was because he was having a bad day and a competitive moment.  Now he has to live with the consequences of his actions; but more importantly – Meredith does. The fallout is instantaneous.  Derek is livid and wants answers.  So does Chief Webber, but Meredith reveals nothing in an effort to minimize the damage.  Webber asks a reluctant Alex for information and he begrudgingly gives a report about when he saw Meredith do what she did.  From that information the Chief is able to deduce that Adele was the patient with whom Meredith tampered.  This softens him a bit, but Derek is unwavering in his furor.  The Chief goes through the motions of suspending her, and ripples spread through the hospital as word travels.  Cristina takes Alex to task for snitching, and you can tell that he regrets it.  It’s too late now.

Meanwhile, the Chief Resident will finally be named.  It was Alex’s to lose, and lose it he did.  Hunt names April Kepner, of all people.  Talk about a shock! April has come a long way, but I don’t think she’s got the proverbial stones for the job.  Since Meredith, Alex, and Cristina were not options, Hunt should have gone with Avery.  He’s proven himself honorable and selfless, and he’s a doctor that people would respect.  I’m not sure April is there yet.  If there was any doubt as to why she was chosen, Hunt makes it clear to Alex who can’t believe Kepner was selected. Hunt angrily tells Alex that after betraying one of the most well-liked people in the entire hospital who happened to also be one of his best friends, no one would trust him or come to him with anything.  Earlier he tried to do damage control by telling Hunt that he only revealed what Meredith did in an effort to prevent her from becoming Chief Resident, not to get her fired.  Hunt said that if he blew the whistle without thinking it through, then he’s just as dumb as Meredith.  Great point!

For a minute it looked like there would be another classic disaster situation at the hospital, when word arrives that there has been a plane crash and that the survivors will be coming to Seattle Grace.  Surgeries are rescheduled and patients are bumped to make room for the crisis.  This includes Teddy’s husband Henry (the patient she married).  They wait and wait, but no one arrives.  Sadly they realize that no one is arriving because there are no survivors.  All of the families have gathered in the cafeteria awaiting news, and now instead of being apprised of their loved one’s injuries, they will shortly be making funeral plans.  Tragic, but I’m glad the writers didn’t rely on this tried and true hospital drama mainstay: the emergency/crisis/disaster. Been there done that. 

There were some big relationship developments in this episode.  When Meredith and Derek discuss her actions, he is unmoved to hear that Adele was the patient she helped.  What makes matters worse is that Meredith grasps the severity of what she did, but doesn’t recognize that it was a mistake, because it’s a “complicated” situation.  I agree that it is, but look at the consequences.  She made a grave mistake and for Derek to hear that if she had it to do all over again she’d do the same thing, it’s just too much for him to take.  He says that Meredith has been saying for weeks that she wouldn’t make a good mother, and maybe she’s right.  He doesn’t want to raise a child with someone who doesn’t know the difference between right and wrong.  Who knows what will happen with Baby Zola now?

While Meredith longs to be a parent, nothing could be more distant of a desire for Cristina Yang.  She’s said before that she doesn’t want children.  Owen sort of assumed that this would change one day.  While asking a potential blood donor about her last period, Cristina realizes it’s been a while since she had her own monthly visitor.  She gets Lucy to perform an ultrasound and finds out that she’s 6 weeks along. Damn!  This is disastrous for Cristina.  When she tells Owen he tries to balance between joy and soothing Cristina, who is not happy at all.  He repeatedly tells her that he loves her and that he wants her to be happy.  He knows that she’s not happy about this; but they can talk about it.  I wonder if she’ll come around, but she does not.  At the end of the episode she decides that she will get an abortion.  I think to myself: he’s gonna divorce you, and I don’t blame him.  He kicks her out and she goes to Meredith’s place – which by the way is empty because Derek is M.I.A.  And Meredith has Baby Zola, temporarily. 

Alex is having a rough day.  He snitched on his bestie and ruined his chances for Chief Resident.  Remember last week that Lucy stole his job in Africa.  While he’s drowning his sorrows at the bar, Lucy comes in and says “Tell me not to go to Africa.”  He responds, “Go to hell.”  I couldn’t have said it better myself.  Honey, get over yourself.

There were MAJOR cliffhangers in this episode.  Will Derek and Meredith reconcile and be one big happy family?  Is April really cut out to be Chief?  Will Owen take Cristina back?  My guesses are yes, no, and no.  I can’t wait until next season!  Shonda Rhimes, YOU DA MAN, and I mean that as a total compliment. You rock!

Season 7, Episode 22: “Unaccompanied Minor” (original airdate May19, 2011.)

Images courtesy of Randy Holmes and ABC.

You may recall that when April first joined the show, she was fired for negligently causing the death of a patient.  We discussed how that early lethal mistake helped prepare the character for Chief Resident by cultivating a new attention to detail.  Ms. Drew was pleasantly surprised at being made a permanent, regular cast member two years ago, and although her character is still on the periphery sometimes – she is increasingly coming to the forefront and finding a voice.  Initially her character was part of the new crop of doctors from Mercy West, a competing hospital.  As an outsider, she was often marginalized, and being a 28 year old virgin certainly didn’t help – but Drew thinks her character is a special one that many viewers can relate to.  We discussed if she’d like to see April lose her virginity, and she would be fine with it as long as it unfolded naturally and in an appropriate way.  We’ve seen the exploration of younger characters losing their virginity on television shows before, and I think such a development would fit in nicely with her character’s evolution.

In last week’s episode we saw April stand up to Dr. Stark, and Ms. Drew mentioned that in the past April has tried to impress her superiors at the expense of her relationship with her peers; but all that is changing.  April has become a fan favorite over time, and that’s a testament to the humanity Sarah Drew brings to the role. We discussed the events that most shaped her character, and she felt that her character’s initial mistake is the driving force behind her recent success.  Rigidly following protocol may not endear her to her peers, but it makes her an efficient doctor, and that can only help in the race for Chief Resident.

With Broadway experience under her belt, Ms. Drew relates well to fellow cast mate Kevin McKidd, who also has “big stage” experience.  She feels that her work environment is a family atmosphere, and she has learned a lot from all of her co-stars.  She counts Sandra Oh and Sarah Ramirez as two strong influences and greatly admires their respective work ethics.  Playing the same role day in and day out has its mundane moments, but she enjoys the familiarity of the character and feels like she really knows April Kepner after two years in the role.  She was surprised and overjoyed that creator Shonda Rhimes decided to make her character one of the regulars, but had worked with Rhimes in the past and revealed that the character was created especially for her.

Hopefully one day we can check her out on the silver screen, but for now we get to tune in once a week and see her on Grey’s.  Look for Sarah Drew in a few plays this summer, one of which will be on PBS.  It’s been our pleasure to watch her growth over the past two years, and I think the sky’s the limit for this talented young actress.  Who knows, maybe April could be Chief Resident after all…we’ll find out Thursday – stay tuned!

Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 9/8c on ABC.

Images courtesy of John Russo.

Back then, Cristina would have been at the forefront; she has since shown that she’s mortal and, more importantly, may lack the maturity required to lead.  The stakes are very high, and Meredith has painted herself into a corner with her rogue actions a few weeks ago.  Avery hasn’t really had the opportunity to showcase his surgical skills, but he has proven instrumental in Webber’s trial involving the mice.  When he drops out of the trial, it looks like he’s shooting himself in the foot.  He tells Webber that he would rather focus on gaining surgical experience.  During the individual interviews for Chief, Owen tells Avery that at times he seems like a quitter and that he’s making a mistake.  Avery respectfully disagrees.  It’s not until much later in the episode that we learn that Avery withdrew because he doesn’t want to ride his grandfather’s famous coattails to an Avery award.  Owen figured it out even though Avery never said anything.  He’s a really stand up guy and I respect that.

Here’s who I don’t respect: Lucy.  She has an opportunity to take a position at Baylor (in Texas) and is casually trying to gauge whether or not Alex wants her to go or stick around.  Meanwhile, Arizona broaches the possibility of Alex taking her place at the clinic in Africa and continuing what he’s started.  When Alex doesn’t reject the position outright, Lucy feels a little insecure and unsure of the nature of their relationship.  I don’t think Alex realizes what’s going on until Cristina points it out to him and Arizona tells him to consider his feelings for Lucy before taking the position in Africa.  Once he “gets it,” he turns the job in Africa down and tells Lucy that she is a factor to consider and that he wants her to stick around.  By this time she’s taken an earlier page from his book and announces that she is actually going to take his position in Africa. What?!  You know what, that really pissed me off.

This is why Alex Karev is a misunderstood guy and why he comes off like an a-hole sometimes, when he’s really not.  Every time he sticks his neck out there, someone tries to chop it off.  What a bitchy move by Lucy.  How was Alex supposed to know the nature of their relationship?  She made a point of dissing the hell out of him initially, and it certainly seemed to me that their relationship was more physical than anything else.  She had to be convinced that he was actually a good guy, if you recall.  So it’s understandable to me that he wouldn’t exactly know where they stood.  Alex said that he better win Chief Resident now, and I think that he will.

Let’s eliminate people who won’t win Chief Resident: April, Cristina and Meredith.  April killed someone, remember? I didn’t forget about her negligence that resulted in a woman’s death in her first season on the show.  Colossal error that was ultimately forgiven – but she was fired. No endorsement from Starks or newfound attention to protocol is going to change that. Cristina is married to Owen and has burned her bridge with Teddy, so she’s out.  He told her in as many words in the past episode that she is better suited for surgery as opposed to the duties of a Chief Resident.  I agree.  Now as for Meredith, she’s an excellent doctor – but at the very end of the episode Alex blurts out to Owen that Meredith screwed with the Alzheimer’s trial!  Alex, I’m very disappointed in you, you snitched!

Quick recap of everyone else:  Lexie still pines away for Mark, who has that baby glow that women adore.  He brought Baby Sophia to work and Lexie’s heart melted.  I think she should stick with Avery, but I understand Mark’s appeal.  Derek and Meredith are one step closer to adopting Zola, but it looks like her actions may put that in jeopardy.  Only one episode left! I’m excited and sad at the same time!  Still one of the best shows on TV.

Season 7, Episode 21: “I Will Survive” (original airdate May 12, 2011)

Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 9/8c on ABC.

Images courtesy of Adam Taylor and The CW.

Callie and Arizona’s parents are visiting for the wedding, and tensions rise as they try to rehearse every detail.  Callie is stressed because her mother is acting weird, Arizona is stressed because her father is micro-managing, and she misses her deceased brother. He was an important part of her life and would have wanted to be there for her special day.  On top of that, neither father seems to like Mark very much.  Callie’s mother keeps coming up with a convenient excuse to avoid holding her grandchild, while the other three other grandparents can’t seem to get enough of her.  Finally her mother admits that she disapproves of Callie’s lifestyle in its entirety.  Her relationship with Arizona, her “illegitimate” child, and most importantly – the wedding, which is supposed to be the reason she’s there in the first place.  Callie is very hurt and I feel her pain.  Even as an adult, most of us still want to please our parents, or at least make them proud.  What should be a special day for Callie may be ruined. 

Back at Seattle Grace, Alex is getting his project off the ground and the children have arrived for medical care.  Derek takes a special liking to an infant with spina bifida, while April and Dr. Stark treat a ten year old with HIV and serious internal damage from an old shrapnel injury.  Meanwhile, Avery is charged with caring for mice for Chief Webber in the hopes of FDA approval for a trial with human patients.  Derek and Meredith are preparing to move into the second phase of the Alzheimer’s trial, and as for Cristina, well…

Cristina remains in limbo while Teddy refuses to allow her back on her surgical rotation.  Teddy is still sore about Cristina’s insubordination during Callie’s surgery, even though she ended up being right when she performed the procedure successfully despite Teddy’s protestations.  During her surgical hiatus, Cristina is at a real disadvantage because she’s being outshined by her counterparts.  Forget scoring a basket, Cristina can’t even get in the game.  She asks Owen for help and he tells her to apologize to Teddy.  When Teddy later asks Owen for 20 reasons why she shouldn’t let Cristina back on her rotation, I start to think that Teddy is being petty. Hey, that rhymed! Anyway, I’m thinking that Cristina is a good surgeon and Teddy is letting her ego get in the way, but I was wrong. It turns out that Cristina got lucky with saving Callie.  She never thinks she is wrong, and that is a dangerous trait in a surgeon.  Owen says that Teddy should just explain that to Cristina, but Teddy says there is no explaining anything to her; she has to learn it for herself.  And until she can do that, Teddy is ok with being the “bad guy,” but could Cristina have dealt with killing Callie Torres if it had all gone wrong? Fair point. 

Things continue to go awry with the wedding when the priest bails on Callie too.  Enter Bailey to save the day.  She gives Callie a pep talk and officiates the ceremony too (who knew?).  While Callie and Arizona marry, Derek and Meredith do the same.  I guess their whole marriage by post-it thing wasn’t official? I’m not exactly clear on that…but remember the baby with spina bifida? Derek decides that he and Meredith should adopt her, since they want a family of their own and have been having difficulty.  Meredith is surprisingly ok with this idea. I didn’t expect her to balk at the idea of adopting an African orphan or anything like that, but Derek did just sort of spring it on her out of the blue.  They hadn’t discussed adoption at all, but it looks like they will have a new addition, and they seem happy.

The episode closes with Cristina putting her foot in her mouth with Teddy at the wedding reception.  Bad timing, bad idea.  Cristina still doesn’t “get it” and may have permanently ended her chances for Chief Resident.  Her brilliance has never been an issue; it’s everything else.  She assumes that Teddy can’t handle having been wrong about Callie, but it’s Cristina who is in the wrong.  If you think that’s exciting, check this out: Alex knows that Meredith switched the trial files.  She does the smart thing by denying it and playing dumb, but the stakes are high.  If she’s found out then Seattle Grace will lose its accreditation and everyone will suffer.  All of Alex’s pediatric work will go down the drain.  Will he blow the whistle? I doubt it, but the plot thickens! I can’t wait for next week’s episode.

Season 7, Episode 19: “White Wedding” (original air date May 5, 2011)

Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 9/8c on ABC.

Images courtesy of Richard Cartwright and ABC.

The episode picks up right where it left off the previous week.  Arizona and Callie have been involved in a serious car accident.  As Arizona puts it, “I asked her to marry me and then this truck came out of nowhere.”  Not exactly true my stately friend.  I seem to remember Arizona being distracted, and she crashed into the rear of the truck, so how exactly did it come out of nowhere? Looks like you ran up on it to me.  Anywho, Callie is on the wrong side of the windshield, as she had momentarily taken off her seatbelt when the crash happened.  Buckle up people!  Callie is having an out of body experience, as she overlooks the scene, and her own body as it lies motionless on the car.  And then, she begins to sing.  One of the familiar, emo tunes frequently featured on the show.  Only it’s the Callie version.  Callie is played by actress Sara Ramirez, who has a decent voice, at best.  I don’t really want to hear it.  I don’t care if every member of the cast could have a second career on Broadway – I don’t want to hear it!  This is a drama, not a musical.  The entire concept was very corny and it seemed like a parody. 

Things worsened for Callie when she was finally transported back to Seattle Grace.  Not only was she dying, but now others were singing too.  Bailey sang.  Hunt sang.  Lexie and Alex even chimed in, and they were particularly horrible.  The unintentional comedy meter was broken during this episode.  I don’t watch Glee, but I’ve seen Fame before.  Singing works, when that’s the point of the show.  Singing works when your characters are…singers?  I don’t think singing works when your characters are doctors.  Moreover, with the exception of actor Kevin McKidd (Owen Hunt), none of them have a voice that should be heard outside of a shower!  There are some actors who can actually sing (i.e. Jamie Foxx) and some who can carry a little tune (i.e. Gwyneth Paltrow), but for the most part the cast of Grey’s Anatomy should stick to what they do best.

I also take issue with using an experimental concept like this to advance such a pivotal storyline.  Callie nearly died, and her baby was delivered early and is in very grave condition.  I would have rather had a more traditional episode that was less distracting.  My Twitter and Facebook timelines seemed to reflect a mixed opinion of the episode, but I know I was not the only one who disliked it.  I laughed out loud and almost found the show unwatchable.  Who would think I’d ever say that about Grey’s Anatomy??  I appreciate the creative attempt, but I do not think the end result was successful.  Maybe if all of them had good voices I would have liked it a little more.  Justin Chambers (Alex Karev), God bless his heart. He was really awful.

This episode was great for laughs, but not much else.  At least Callie and the baby are alive (for now).  If I had to sit through that awful singing and then they died at the end that would have been even worse.  Fail.

Season 7, Episode 18, “Song Beneath the Song” (original air date March 31, 2011.)

Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 9/8c.

Images courtesy of Ron Tom and ABC.

Mark, Callie and Arizona continue their weird three-way arrangement.  This time Mark and Arizona are butting heads while trying to plan Callie’s baby shower.  Callie is totally geeked about it, but Arizona thinks it’s a miserable activity.  Mark is more excited about the shower and is really making an effort to be an active participant in Callie’s pregnancy, both as a parent and as best friend.  Arizona would be my least favorite character on the show, were it not for Dr. Starks.  She is snarky and bitchy, and always has a snide remark.  If she’s not angry at Mark for something, she’s whining to Callie.  Mark is genuinely a good guy.  Yes, he was resident playboy at Seattle Grace for a while.  But his heart is in the right place and he is trying to do right by his child.  Arizona should cut him some slack.  Mark is going to be in the picture forever, like it or not. 

The Chief’s wife is still being treated for potential Alzheimer’s disease.  Chief Webber would like for her to be in Derek’s trial, but Derek is reluctant to bend the rules to accommodate them.  For her part, Adele is resistant to the idea.  She’s in denial about her illness and eager to show everyone that she is normal and healthy.  A spot opens up when a patient drops out of the trial, but first she must meet the criteria for the trial by passing a test.  Ultimately, she narrowly misses being eligible for the trial, but it’s clear that she has some deficits.  In an oddly humorous but touching scene, Adele breaks down with frustration at the inevitable reality of her illness.  She laments that she and Richard are finally happy again, and now this happens. The timing couldn’t be worse, and she tearfully pleads with Meredith to tell her that she’s okay.  This was a powerful scene but I laughed a little bit. I love Loretta Devine, but for all of her croaking I don’t think I saw a single tear roll down those cheeks. Good scene anyway!

Webber really has his hands full.  He has to select the next Chief Resident, tend to his wife, and to top it off he and Bailey have a diabetic patient in dire straits.  If they don’t get FDA approval for an experimental procedure to save her life, she will surely die.  Eli has been the patient’s nurse and is familiar with her history.  When the woman’s husband expresses frustration with Bailey about her care, Eli intervenes and smoothes things over.  That was a good thing, but he oversteps his bounds shortly thereafter.  As Bailey apprises the patient’s husband of the experimental procedure they want to perform, Eli butts in before she can finish.  He undermined her authority and made it seem as if she were being deceptive.  They keep their cool in front of the patient, but later on Bailey tries to check him on his behavior. At the end of the day, they can’t get FDA approval for the surgery in time, so Webber rolls the dice and performs it anyway.  Fortunately, it was a success. 

Although there were a lot of tense moments in the last episode, there was still love in the air for a few folks.  Lexie and Jackson can’t keep their hands off each other, and Lucy (gasp) actually makes the move on Alex, after shutting him down repeatedly.

As a peace offering for having to endure the baby shower, Callie takes Arizona away for the weekend to a bed and breakfast.  On the way there, Callie gets a call from Mark and Arizona chimes in with her usual bullcrap.  Finally Callie tells it like it is: Arizona is jealous of Mark.  Callie asks her what else she wants her to do about the situation, and Arizona says: marry me.  While this scene transpires, Arizona constantly looks between Callie and the road in front of her.  I start yelling at the TV: “pay attention to the road!”  It only takes a second to be distracted while driving; this scene could have been handled in a  much more realistic manner.  The scene came off like a soap opera cliffhanger, it was laughable, predictable, and poorly executed.  I think it would be cheesy to have Callie seriously injured or killed off in a car accident at this point.  Overall, this scene was not well done and doesn’t fit, like O’Malley’s deadly accident a few seasons ago – which, unfortunately, worked much better than this one.  Still, I look forward to seeing where this goes next week.

Best of the episode: The other docs teasing April about Stark’s romantic interest

Worst of the episode: The final scene.

What to look for next: What happens to Callie??

Season 7, Episode 17:  “This Is How We Do It” (original air date March 24, 2011)

Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 9/8c on ABC.

Images courtesy of Ron Tom and ABC.

The episode opens with the annoying threesome.  Callie has a sonogram, which shows that the baby is doing well so far.  That joy was short-lived when they begin arguing over whether or not to have amniocentesis.  Callie is unsure, Arizona is for it, and Mark is against it.  Not only do they disagree about nearly everything, but Callie is in a perpetually grumpy mood.  Arizona and Mark are annoying, but Callie is equally irksome.  Meredith probably hopes to have a reason to be as grumpy as Callie one day, as she and Derek have been using fertility drugs to get Meredith pregnant. 

This week Meredith has a patient with Alzheimer’s and a young son who has been playing the very adult role of parent while caring for his ailing mother.  The woman’s husband works around the clock, so the family is under immense pressure.  They are so busy dealing with the woman’s Alzheimer’s that they haven’t adequately tended to their son’s medical issues, which involve a protrusion on his neck.  While they are at the hospital caring for his mother, Meredith suggests that they get the bump looked at.  They diagnose the boy with a protruding trachea and schedule a surgery.  Arizona, Cristina, and April were treating the boy, and Stark will perform the surgery.  He asks what took the boy so long to be seen and they explain that he came in for the first time that day.  His mother has Alzheimer’s and they were overwhelmed and hadn’t been able to address the lump until now.  Starks, being the a-hole that he is, orders them to call Child Protective Services because the boy is being neglected.  This guy is a real piece of work. I was seething as I watched this episode! I can’t remember the last time I’ve been so angry at a character.  The doctors tell the family that a social worker will visit them, trying to make it sound routine.  The woman’s husband isn’t buying it and when they figure out what’s going on they become hysterical. 

While they battle with Stark, Bailey treats the Chief’s wife Adele, who is in the ER yet again after falling and injuring herself.  Once again she gives conflicting reports of her fall and cannot remember details.  Bailey gives her a full work up and has the same neurological concerns that Meredith had.  The CT scan is normal but something is clearly wrong.  When Bailey approaches the Chief about the problem he is again reluctant to delve deeper.  Meredith forewarned Bailey that the Chief didn’t want to hear any talk of Alzheimer’s, but Bailey takes a different tack with him.  She simply tells him that if it was her wife suffering from an unknown neurological problem and she knew Derek Shepherd, a renowned neurologist – she’d have him take a look.  The Chief finally faces an uncertain truth and later asks Derek for help.

If that’s not close enough to home, Meredith also faces a health scare.  Her fertility drugs are causing some frightening side effects, namely loss of vision.  She is unable to assist Derek in surgery because she can’t see what she’s doing.  Earlier she’d had Alex examine her, but he didn’t find anything wrong.  Derek is concerned and a little angry that she didn’t tell him sooner.  They, along with Lucy, omnipresent OBGYN – decide that she should discontinue the fertility meds for the time being.  She wants to continue taking them, but is risking permanent disability.

As I mentioned before, the best thing about the show is the writing.  It is very subtle.  A few weeks ago I could not have imagined Avery and Lexie as an item.  Now, it makes perfect sense.  With the help of a transplant patient, she learns that it is possible to have more than one true love.  Teddy’s patient has suffered from Cystic Fibrosis and will be receiving new lungs.  He is there with his girlfriend at his side.  The prognosis looks good until the doctors discover that the patient and his girlfriend have a secret that can jeopardize both of their lives, especially his.  Both he and his girlfriend have the deadly disease, making his transplant a virtual waste.  A person with Cystic Fibrosis cannot be around another person with the disease, but they are fine around everyone else.  It is unhealthy for the patient to continue his relationship, and if he wants the lungs, they will have to break up, otherwise they are wasting them.  The couple is devastated, but eventually agrees to go their separate ways.  Lexie explains to the girl that it seems like she’ll never love like that again; but it’s not true.  She thinks about herself and Mark.  Later, Avery tells her that it’s hogwash that you only get one soul mate and he makes it clear that he’d like to be next in line to try. A few short weeks ago the idea of these two together would not have worked, but because the show is so well-paced, it seems perfect.  This burgeoning relationship has unfolded naturally, and it doesn’t feel forced.  Avery seems genuine and Lexie is open-minded.  I can’t wait to see where this goes next and how Mark responds when he finds out.  Stay tuned!

Best of the episode: Starks relenting on his demand for CPS to get involved.

Worst of the episode: Starks. Sorry, I really hate this guy.

What to watch for next: New couples Lexie and Avery / Alex and Lucy

Season 7, Episode 16: “Not Responsible” (original air date February 24, 2011)

Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 9/8c on ABC.

Images courtesy of ABC and Eric McCandless.

It’s 6:00 pm and Meredith is swamped.  Alex is off work, but needed to come in and sign some charts and complete his paperwork.  Teddy is trying to wrap things up because she has a date.  For everyone else, it’s business as usual.  The backdrop of the episode is the PAC 10 conference championship game (college basketball), and everyone is trying to watch. 

Meredith begins with three patients who have reached that critical hour.  Her first patient is a relatively young man named Oliver who presented with chest pains.  Oliver hopes to be released quickly so he can take his son to the game for his birthday, but Meredith and Teddy do a quick consult and agree that they should run more tests.  Meredith’s second patient is a four year old with a broken femur who is in a lot of pain.  There are no available operating rooms, and he is long overdue for surgery. 

Perhaps Meredith’s most important patient during the golden hour is Chief Webber’s wife Adele, who has fallen and injured her wrist.  Meredith pages Callie, but doesn’t mention that the patient is the chief’s wife.  When Callie shows up she is ticked off, and she’s not the only one.  The Chief is angry that he wasn’t immediately informed that his wife was at the hospital.  To her credit, Meredith takes it in stride.  Adele explains that she fell off a step ladder while looking for Christmas decorations.  She also forgets details about the conversation she had with Meredith only a few moments ago.  Although her wrist has been taken care of, Meredith orders a CT scan because she has some neurological concerns.  When the Chief finds out, he is very angry and seems to be in denial about the possibility of his wife having Alzheimer’s.  He tells Meredith that her personal experiences with the disease and her work on Derek’s trial are clouding her judgment.  I agree that Meredith is probably more attuned to the disease than the average doctor would be, but that doesn’t mean that she’s wrong.  There’s no way someone should be looking for Christmas decorations after Christmas.

While Meredith deals with one of the more stressful days on the job, Bailey and her new boy-toy nurse Eli are feeling amorous.  Bailey isn’t one of the more adventurous docs at Seattle Grace.  While nearly everyone has engaged in some hanky panky at work at some point, Bailey has not.  Eli brings her out of her shell, and she nervously agrees to sneak off to one of the rooms with him.  When Derek and Meredith are on the lookout for a place to be alone, he ends up walking in on Eli and Bailey with Meredith in tow. He quickly backs away with Meredith, who hadn’t seen them in the room.  Derek injects Meredith for fertility purposes, and was looking for somewhere discreet to do it.  At first it seemed that he was slyly trying to have a quickie at work, but when he spoke of “giving it to her,” he really meant an injection. 

Alex is slowly but steadily endearing himself to Lucy, who sees that he is kind and caring, despite her initial impression of him.  He goes the extra mile for his pediatric patients, and ends up feeling sympathetic for the four year old with the broken femur.  He gives up his prized basketball tickets to pitch in and help the young patient.  Avery, the recipient of those tickets, invites Lexie as his date.  I knew he was making a move on her!

Best of the episode:  Meredith making a great case for herself as the next chief resident.

Worst of the episode: Her patient died unexpectedly and never got to take his son to the game…on his birthday!

What to watch for: Alex and Lucy.

Season 7, Episode 15: The Golden Hour (originally aired February 17, 2011)

Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 9/8c on ABC.

Images courtesy of Danny Feld and ABC.

Lexie (Chyler Lee) has not forgiven Mark for getting Callie pregnant.  She views it as something he did intentionally and feels betrayed.  He’s pretty bummed about losing her, but has other things on his mind as Callie tries to assert her pregnancy independence against him and Arizona (Jessica Capshaw.)  Her pregnancy is apparently a democracy, between Mark, Arizona and herself.  They vote on whether or not she should be allowed to drink coffee and end up voting against it.  I don’t know if it’s hormones or caffeine deprivation, but Callie is in a foul mood all day at the hospital.  She snaps at April, although I concede that April is rather annoying, in that sugary sweet way.  She and Owen (Kevin McKidd) are treating a trauma patient who injured himself while acting as a human slingshot.  Of course that didn’t end well.

Meanwhile, Chief Webber presents Meredith with an interesting choice.  She can continue with Derek on his Alzheimer’s study, or she can resume her mother’s research into Diabetes.  You’ll recall that Meredith discovered some of her mother’s old medical journals and gave them to the Chief.  It turns out that the elder Grey had begun some very insightful research.  The Chief is so enthusiastic about Meredith receiving this “gift,” from her mother and continuing her work.  It almost seems as if he has made the choice for her, and I wondered if there was something else going on.  Like, maybe Derek spoke to the Chief about getting Meredith off of his trial.  I didn’t know, but it seemed a little odd to me.  After poring over her mother’s writings for a day, Meredith decides that she would rather remain on the Alzheimer’s trial.  I figured that would be her choice.  Alzheimer’s has had a greater impact on her life, and the woman who scribbled in those journals that the Chief finds so fascinating is not the mother she knew.

Something to remember from here on out is that everyone is competing for Chief Resident.  So every week there will be frenzied attempts to land the most difficult, impressive surgeries.  The first step is to get in the game, and if you aren’t in an operating room, you don’t have a chance.  Alex makes a regrettable blunder when his sharp tongue gets him in trouble.  He’s a great doctor, and beneath that abrasive exterior beats a very warm heart.  But you wouldn’t be able to figure that out based on some of the things that come out of his mouth.  When he refers to a newborn organ donor as a “turnip” from a “cabbage patch,” it’s over.  The new obstetrician I mentioned last week, Lucy Fields, sees to it that he is removed from the case, despite having been involved for the past month.

The biggest storyline of last week’s episode was the admission of Lexie and Meredith’s father to the hospital after he experiences excruciating pain in his abdominal area.  They both fear that he may be experiencing complications from the liver transplant surgery, but that proves not to be the case.  Lexie is particularly vexed because his new girlfriend arrives, and she looks like she could be Lexie and Meredith’s sister rather than mother.  In other words: she’s half his age.  Meredith could not care less, but Lexie is upset.  She calls the girl a “tatted up skank,” and is very rude.  When Meredith finally puts her in check and refuses to join in her hatred for the woman, Lexie softens up.  She’s been an emotional wreck about Mark and is probably taking it out on people who don’t deserve it.

Speaking of Mark, he has dispatched Avery (Jessie Williams) to find out if Lexie has been thinking of him and if she is depressed about their split.  Avery has little information, but is determined to find out, as Mark has promised him a cleft palate procedure if he comes through with the info.  After baiting her with chocolate, he catches Lexie at a vulnerable moment and she confides everything in him. It’s clear that she has been hurt by Mark but that she still loves him.  This is valuable information and would definitely be useful in getting the surgery, but when Mark asks him to pony up, Avery remains quiet.  He lies to Mark that he couldn’t get any information, and I am momentarily impressed that he decided not to use her vulnerability against her.  Everyone must be feeling charitable, because Mark lets him assist on the surgery anyway.  Maybe I patted him on the back too soon, because it sort of looks like Avery might use the info he learned to his own advantage.  Is he secretly interested in Lexie himself?  I guess we’ll find out.

Best moment of the episode: Meredith realizing that she can make her mother proud by doing Alzheimer’s work, not necessarily continuing the work her mother had started.

Worst moment of the episode: Lexie giving her father’s girl a tough time.

What to look for: Is Avery going to make a move on Lexie?

Season 7, Episode 14: “P.Y.T. Pretty Young Thing” (original air date February 10, 2011)

Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 9pm on ABC.

Images courtesy of ABC and Eric McCandless.

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We were left with a mini-cliffhanger as Callie dropped the bombshell that she was pregnant with Mark’s baby.  Just as Arizona was in the midst of trying to regain her trust and affection, a huge monkey wrench was thrown into the situation.  Will Arizona stay or will she go? Recall that when they were a happy couple and Callie raised the topic of children, Arizona wasn’t exactly keen on the idea.  Now that she has been apprised of her shortcomings, Arizona is re-dedicated to making it work with Callie.  In that same vein, she not only accepts Callie’s pregnancy, she welcomes the opportunity to raise a child with Callie.  This is a weird situation, because Mark has embraced his role as well.  Callie gave him an “out,” telling him that he doesn’t have to raise the kid or play a role in its life.  Mark wants no parts of that scenario.  She tells him that he can be “Uncle Mark,” and that he doesn’t have to be a fixture in the baby’s life.  Finally he tells her to stop saying that; he doesn’t want to be the cool uncle, he’s the Dad.  Remember that his relationship with the daughter he recently discovered didn’t turn out too well.  This is a chance for Mark to be a father, and his heart is in the right place. 

The only down side to this scenario is that Lexie isn’t exactly on board.  She may come around later, but right now I think she feels duped by Mark, again.  They were just starting to reconnect, and now this happens.  I think she should give Mark a chance.  Everyone knows Mark and Callie are just friends; there is nothing more to it than that.  Even Arizona understands that.  It’s not like Mark cheated on Lexie when he  slept with Callie, so maybe after she cools down she can see it from a different perspective.

Speaking of perspective, Derek is having a hard time separating Meredith the wife from Meredith the surgeon.  She would’ve loved the chance to work with him on his Alzheimer’s trial, but he selected Alex instead.  Sure, Meredith is close to the disease, from a personal standpoint.  That doesn’t mean that she wouldn’t be an asset to him in the trial. 

One of the trial participants is a middle-aged man named Daniel who has been married for over 20 years.  Unfortunately the disease has taken a painful toll on the man’s wife, who is forgotten when he is not lucid.  It was during one of these extended mental states that he fell in love with another woman named Victoria, while in a nursing facility – and she is the person he calls out for, post-surgery.  Get a load of this, Victoria is also married!  So, essentially there are two scorned spouses who watch helplessly as their mates fall in love with other people.  Daniel’s wife begs Alex to ensure that her husband get the test drug rather than the placebo, which would be an obvious ethical violation.  She makes a compelling case, and it is clear that she’s the martyr in the relationship.  In the end, Alex doesn’t bend the rules, and Daniel regrettably receives the placebo.

Cristina continues to rebound nicely and return to her former self.  Everyone is up for Chief Resident, and she and Avery both try to get on Teddy’s surgical rotation for the day.  She is treating an elderly patient, and Avery and Cristina try their best to worm their way into the woman’s heart.  To her credit, Cristina seems to have made a sincere connection.  Avery, it seems has sunk to a new low, and he callously reminds Christina that her recent mental state has kept her out of surgeries for a while.  But Cristina plays the victim just long enough to have Avery spinning his wheels while she swoops in and grabs the surgical spot. 

Overall,

Best of the episode: Cristina’s deft maneuvering to out-hustle Avery and land a spot on Teddy’s surgery. 

Worst of the episode: Lexie freaking out on Mark when she hears about Baby Sloan.

What to watch:  Callie’s OB-GYN was pretty cute. Look for Alex to make a move on her next week.

Season 7 Episode 13, Don’t Deceive Me (Please Don’t Go) (originally aired February 3, 2011).

For more on Grey’s Anatomy click here.

Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursday nights at 9pm on ABC.

Images courtesy of ABC/Randy Holmes.

Most likely to stage a comeback

The Marriage Ref. Just kidding. This show is terrible. – Keshvar Alikhani

I hate to say it, but American Idol still dominated the ratings even after the suckfest of Season Nine. The major changes they’ve implemented to distract viewers from the lack of Simon Cowell (i.e., J. Lo and Steven Tyler) will likely work and see the singing competition return to its former glory. Or, it could implode once and for all. But I doubt it — Idol has become an American institution and will surely invade our living rooms for many years to come. – Erin Biglow

For everyone’s sake I’m rooting for 30 Rock to come back and do what it used to do, be funny. – Gabe Callahan

V. With no level of uncertainty I can say V got screwed by ABC last year. A FIVE MONTH hiatus after only four episodes coupled with a timeslot change and an admitted dip in the middle of the season plot- and pace-wise, I was kind of shocked to see V on the network’s 2010-2011 slate, yet not so surprised when the network trimmed two episodes from the already short season order. I’ve seen the first three episodes, which pack more drama, answers and action than the previous season. – Josh Hatala

American Idol. The show’s relevancy has always been in question, but this is the biggest dynamics shift in reality TV history. If people still watch, it’ll be a successful reboot.  – Keith Kuramoto

Big Love. The ins and outs of this polygamist family got a lot of critical praise season 2 and 3 but turned pretty boring during season 4. With an end in sight, the writers can focus on ending the show in a satisfying way and giving the Henricksons (and the fantastic actors) an exceptional farewell like they deserve. – Inisia Lewis

Parks and Recreation (new addition of Rob Lowe, new energy, etc) – Kelley Lynn

Doctor Who. Honestly this show really went nowhere to stage a comeback, but I feel like this is the year that Doctor Who will rise into the eyes of the general public. With the Doctor and companions Amy, Rory, and the mysterious River Song, returning for the sixth season, I can’t wait to see what Steven Moffat has lined up for Who fans. – Bilal Mian

GLEE, sorry to say it but the fall season’s shows were mostly a miss. Glee needs to rally up the troops and get on board if it wants to remain relevant. – Keshaunta Moton

Dynasty. So they remade Melrose Place, then 90210. So I thought, what other Aaron Spelling-produced show hasn’t been touched yet?  How about a little Dynasty? Could you imagine? Sounds silly, but nowadays everything comes back. Either that or Batman.  And I mean live-action, 1960s, Adam West and Burt Ward-style Batman. Wouldn’t that be boss! – Desiree Neal

House M.D. might have an awesome comeback because the focus throughout the seventh season seemed to dwell on shaky relationships. Especially between House and Cuddy. Since the first episode they got together, there seemed to be hints of them not working out. Whether this is an issue that’s reflected off their own doubts or some foreshadowing is unclear. The tension between each relationship is crazy exciting. - Zarna Patel

Grey’s Anatomy. This show started its comeback with last season’s stressful and amazing finale. Its comeback has continued with strong episodes thus far in season seven. – Allison Toner

Viewers of Desperate Housewives (myself included) seem to be jumping back on board with the long-running soap opera after some disappointments in recent seasons. The show is now more self-aware and campier than ever; I can’t wait to see how they wrap up this season. – Lauren Tyree

Most likely to be a disappointment

Off The Map. Shonda Rhimes (creator of Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice) knows how to make a medical drama that has me sobbing through every episode. She’s also got a knack for creating characters that make my heart race and my head hurt. No matter how emotionally draining each episode is, I’m back in front of the TV the next week ready for more. Off the Map definitely has the potential to be as great as its predecessors, but I’ll be comparing everything about it to Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice. And I already love those shows. Unless it’s absolutely spectacular, there’s a good chance I’ll be disappointed. – Keshvar

Everyone looking forward to the slew of brand new medical and legal dramas may have to brace themselves for disappointment — this market has been saturated for years, people. Just because Off The Map takes place in Africa doesn’t mean it isn’t yet ANOTHER show about attractive doctors and their love lives. – Erin

American Idol. New A-list judges and a new format won’t save this show from being a disappointment. That’s the show’s job, to disappoint you. – Gabe

Nikita. I tried to get into this show more but I lost interest after two episodes. – Nicole

Live to Dance. The epitome of mindless, soulless television. Paula Abdul looks like she is on crack. – Adam

Word on the street is America’s Next Top Model has been going down.  It still has a cult following amongst young girls who probably aspire to be on the show, but with girls being senselessly eliminated while others stay and the new girls not knowing simple feminine skills like walking in heels and applying make-up, young adult and older women have grown bored.  I know I have.  Nothing they do excites me anymore.  Tyra needs to bow out gracefully.  Until she does or until she gets a whole cycle of Evas, Danielles, Jaslenes, and Yayas, I anticipate each cycle will be a disappointment.  And from TV One’s Martin marathon, obviously Martin Lawrence still has loyal fans to his comedy, but Tatyana Ali ceased to be cute as she grew up on Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.  She cannot carry a whole show as I doubt she’ll do with Love That Girl.  Also, I’ve heard from a few folks who watched the previews on TV One, and they didn’t like the show.  I doubt it’ll last a whole season. - Savannah

Friends with Benefits. As with a few other shows on its plate, NBC has yet to schedule this romcom starring Ryan Hansen and Danneel Harris. I had high hopes for this during pilot season, but with all the time since and many delays, I’m not keeping my hopes up. – Josh

The Cape. Everything about this show feels awkward and goofy. – Keith

The Cape. It’s like the more noir No Ordinary Family or the anti-ensemble Heroes or the poor man’s Smallville. Either way, if you’re doing a superhero show, you have to do it right or leave the genre alone. – Inisia

American Idol (no more Simon Cowell) – Kelley

Gossip Girl. I’m not afraid to admit that I enjoy Gossip Girl, but every season they retread the same storylines, same relationship, and it is always Lily’s fault. Give us something fresh, Gossip Girl. Give us Dan and Blair. Yea I said it. Dan and Blair. – Bilal

Being Human. Somehow the Brits do it just right and I’m a little more than afraid of what a US version will do to the show. Skins, anyone? – Keshaunta

American Idol. Crystal Bowersox lost to Lee DeWyze last season. What a shame. Could a travesty like this happen again? Seems like a likely scenario. – Desiree

Glee has been such a disappointment, but I can’t help but praise the writers for finally stopping the Rachel-Finn duets and showing the other characters off more. I dislike Kurt being under appreciated at that all boys school. Rachel’s character couldn’t have been more obnoxious with the whole cheating on Finn thing, though the Kurt-Rachel connections were usually bittersweet moments. Comparatively this season is much worse than the first. - Zarna

Happy Endings. Although the promo of this new ABC show, which isn’t set to premiere until April, made me laugh—I feel like it’s a Friends wannabe that will most likely not last. – Allison

Through so many cast changes, what made them decide to hold onto Jason Biggs, of all people? The lukewarm premise of Mad Love on CBS hasn’t quite earned its imminent debut a spot on my calendar. The fact that it’s on my radar at all is perplexing enough, but I’m prepared to eat my hat if it wins me over. – Lauren

Most likely to hit a sophomore slump

Greek. Okay, so this might not fit the category exactly, since the show is returning for its 4th season this winter. But since Greek is about the college experience, and since “sophomore slump” could technically refer to Rusty’s rocky sex life, I’m going with it. Most of the characters will graduate this season, but instead of moving on to bigger and better lives, it seems the writers have found some pretty obvious ways to keep them around. Casey’s most likely heading to Cyprus-Rhodes’ law school, and Cappie is set to continue his mischievous ways as a super-senior 5th year student. The best thing about Greek has always been how good it is at mimicking what life is like for a lot of real college students, but if everyone sticks around and nothing changes, the show is in danger of losing touch with reality. While I’m obviously glad for more Cappie in my life, a post-grad slump seems inevitable if absolutely nothing changes after our favorite ZBZs and KTs graduate. – Keshvar

The one-trick-pony that is $#*! My Dad Says will begin to finally wear thin on clueless viewers, I hope. – Erin

Glee. Katie Couric is going to be on. Wait, did I hear that right? – Gabe

Hawaii Five-0 (but I hope not) – Nicole

Chuck. While it’s technically not a sophomore slump, this season’s mother plotline that was met with eager applause when announced at Comic-Con has yet to live up to the hype. Furthermore, with Chuck in a stable relationship, no menacing evil organization looking, and just family problems to deal with, what drives the rest of the season? Josh Schwartz, if you’re reading, this would be a great time for Jordana Brewster to return to the mix. – Josh

V. Can you still call it a slump when it was never up to begin with? The show can only get better, but that’s because there’s nowhere to go but up. That doesn’t mean the show will actually get good. While the story may improve, rating will continue to decline. – Inisia

V. Like Smallville resisted donning the cape, V held back with outright calling the aliens “aliens,” but that all seems to be going out the window this season. A desperate choice? – Keith

Glee. I already declare that the show has been in a sophomore slump. I know many will disagree, but in all honestly I feel as if Glee is mocking itself the majority of the time. The storylines feel lazy and unimpressive this season. The only ones I really enjoyed were the Kurt bullying episodes. – Bilal

No Ordinary Family. Love this show, but sometimes I wonder what’s the point. – Keshaunta

Jersey Shore. Between Jerseylicious, The Real Housewives of New Jersey and Jersey Shore, there’s only so much we can take until this “Jersey” fad fades out. It’s just bad reality television, much like The Real World on MTV, and I think/hope people will grow tired of the GTL routine. They’ve done really well for themselves thus far, but like the phrase goes, what goes up must come down. – Desiree

Modern Family makes me laugh more than any other show. It’s well written, acted, and the mock-documentary style with commentary is enjoyable and refreshing. Certain episodes like the Halloween one would probably drag it down. - Zarna

Season 2 of Glee will resume in February, and I fear that the quality of the program will continue to diminish as stunt casting, poor song choices, increasingly shrill, overproduced vocals, and lazy character development will ruin its cred among savvier viewers. Nothing will hurt the overall ratings or iTunes sales, though; alas, the show must go on! – Lauren

Most likely to get canceled

Perfect Couples. I really hope this comedy is amazing, mostly because if it’s not we’ll all be forced to endure hundreds of headlines with “witty” jokes about how Perfect Couples wasn’t perfect. Olivia Munn and the Waitress from It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia will both star, which is a plus, but relationship jokes can get old fast, and even though there’s great potential in this cast I wouldn’t be surprised if this show ends up leaving audiences wanting more.  - Keshvar

Perfect Couples. Unless it turns out to be the virtually perfect sitcom, this yawnfest starring Olivia Munn as one-sixth of a group of three different thirtyish couples will likely crash and burn. How I Met Your Mother is already on, folks. – Erin

In six months you will not remember that Perfect Couples was a show on NBC and that the waitress from Always Sunny had her 15 minutes. Man, she’s cute! – Gabe

Mike and Molly. Sorry guys, just not funny enough. – Nicole

Harry’s Law. Kathy Bates stars in yet another television show about lawyers. Destiny drops a suicidal man on top of Harriet (Kathy Bates) and she decides to start her own practice out of an old shoe store. Wow. Sounds like the absolute worst concept for a show a person could imagine. Has Kathy Bates ever starred in anything good besides Misery? The answer, of course, is no. I just crapped a better idea for a television pilot into my toilet. Flush.  - Adam

The Cape. For being the last place network among the majors, NBC is making a lot of strange choices with their mid-season schedule, most noticeably giving various new shows a small episode commitment without promise of when the rest of the full season might air. Pairing the network’s lack of confidence in this series with its uneven tone and the fact that superhero shows don’t seem to be hitting it big on TV yet, I predict this one’s most likely dead on arrival. – Josh

Off The Map. A clumsy blend of Grey’s Anatomy and Lost. It may find an audience, but not the vast amount that ABC wants. – Keith

Happy Endings. Stop trying to make Friends 2.0 happen! Like fetch, it’s just not going to happen! And we already have How I Met Your Mother. – Inisia

Fringe. It’s been moved to Fox’s Friday Death Slot. All the shows we love go here to die. Firefly, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Dollhouse and much more. – Bilal

The Event. Is anyone actually watching this? – Keshaunta

Chase: Strike 1…it was up against Hawaii Five-0 and Castle on Monday nights, which it was not successful against. Strike 2…its season has been shortened and (strike 3) moved to Wednesday nights versus American Idol. Bye bye Chase.- Allison

Even though the relocation of Outsourced to a later time slot may relieve some pressure to maintain sufficient ratings, I’m starting to ween myself off of Gupta’s comic stylings as a preemptive measure. It’s been a secret, shameful addiction of mine. – Lauren

Most likely to get canceled undeservedly

Parks and Recreation. Fans of Parks and Rec were already unsure whether there would be room for this show in NBC’s lineup this season. Numbers haven’t ever been great for Park and Rec, even though the writing and acting have been wonderful and have only gotten better each season. It wouldn’t surprise me if the show didn’t make it to next season, but it would sadden me. – Keshvar

Mr. Sunshine. Although I detest Friends, I actually enjoyed Matthew Perry’s shamelessly self-deprecating, camera-mugging shtick on the short-lived Studio 60, and I feel he’ll be doing more of the same in this upcoming comedy. The title and premise of Mr. Sunshine sound promising (Perry as a beleaguered owner of a San Diego sports arena, The Sunshine Center — hilarious) and the casting of the always great Allison Janney as Perry’s boss proves hopeful, but I have a feeling American TV audiences aren’t keen on such a blatantly wry approach — at least not on a major network. – Erin

Community. Hey I hear things. Not so good things. That’s all I’m saying. – Gabe

The Cape. I’m not sure how well a caped crusader that isn’t Batman will do on TV. – Nicole

The Cape. Here’s the thing, this show looks pretty ridiculous. All the one liners in the previews are unfunny, and you can just tell the acting will be atrocious. But at least it is somewhat of an original idea. There are far too many CSI- and House-like shows on television. I mean, how many times can you recycle the same story lines? Kudos to NBC for at least trying to tap into a different demographic. – Adam

Love Bites. Of NBC’s new series this year, this comedy headlined by Becky Newton was probably the one I was most interested in. It’s been delayed so long due to the star’s pregnancy but for some reason still hasn’t found a place on the Spring line-up. I really hope to be proven wrong, but with no active marketing or timeslot, I can’t say things are looking all that great for the show. – Josh

Southland. It’s such a great show, but if it underperforms as significantly as season 2, there might not be much life left in it. – Keith

Fringe. This has been a stellar third season. The acting is better, the storytelling is better and the sci-fi has been mind blowing. I believe there’s still a lot of story to tell if only viewers would start listening. – Inisia

Men of a Certain Age (brilliantly written, critic favorite, but no one watches it … except me. lol.) – Kelley

Fringe (See Above) and Community. The ratings haven’t been super high on this show, but the show has been overall fantastic. If the move of American Idol to Thursday at 8 is strong enough, it might be able to take a portion of Community‘s viewers. – Bilal

Life Unexpected. This show is too good to be canceled but not good enough to watch. Sorry. – Keshaunta

The Good Guys. To recap again, Fox has had little luck with long running shows. Unfortunately, I do believe this one is deserving of a chance.  Colin Hanks is great, but I’m worried the show may not have the opportunity to show its full potential for too much longer. – Desiree

Outsourced is absolutely horrible. Lots of jokes poking the Indian culture which are more racist than funny. There’s a difference between poking fun, satire, and being a bit cruel. But I think it has a lot of potential. I get a kick out of some jokes because I’m Indian, but I’m also offended at others because I’m Indian. I think it has the most potential in the world if it was just better written. So it might get canceled because it sucks, but I hope it doesn’t and they just get better writers. Or those writers write better. - Zarna

Parenthood. I first started watching this show simply because I’m a big Lauren Graham fan. But the Braverman clan grew on me and it’s a show that I really enjoy each week. Fingers crossed that its ratings are high enough to keep it around. – Allison

Breaking In, Fox’s new comedy starring Christian Slater had an uphill battle getting on the air, though it apparently did well in early tests. I hope it’s given enough time to attract viewers if it ends up being a worthwhile watch. – Lauren

Shows that were prematurely canceled

Terriers! It seems audiences were not willing to give Terriers the chance it deserved, even though every television critic in the world begged us to watch it. It was so dark, smart, funny, and well-acted that I started having romantic dreams about Donal Logue. Donal Logue! In a perfect world, we’d all be watching a little more Terriers, and a little less Two and a Half Men. – Keshvar

Running Wilde. Although this show has received a People’s Choice nomination, I’m still not so sure about it. Don’t get me wrong, I really like Will Arnett but, I hate to say it, besides the few strong and long running contenders, the Fox network seems to be the place where half-hour comedies go to die. – Desiree

Show whose cancellation I’m rooting for

Live to Dance. I can only watch other people dance for so long before the guilt of never exercising overcomes me. Plus, we already have multiple dance competition shows. They’re called So You Think You Can Dance, America’s Best Dance Crew, and Dancing With the Stars, and it doesn’t get any better than those. Also, Mary Murphy and Bruno Tonioli already have me reaching my annoying-reality-show-judge max capacity, and now I’m going to have to deal with the addition of J-Lo and Steven Tyler on American Idol. I just do NOT need Paula Abdul’s unnecessary, unhelpful, and not-entirely-sober thoughts cluttering my life again. – Keshvar

Rules of Engagement, One Tree Hill, Two and a Half Men … yes, these shows are all STILL ON. – Erin

The Marriage Ref. Please, please make this show stop. I promise to be good all year if you just make this show go away. Or pretty much anything on CBS. Those can go too. – Gabe

The Event. – Nicole

It will never happen but I’ll throw it out there anyway…American Idol. I seriously think this show makes the world a worse place to live in. Steven Tyler looks like he is on crack. – Adam

Although I’m a lost fan of Tyler Perry, I did give House of Payne and Meet the Browns a chance before I fell by the wayside.  I did not like either.  Again, word on the street was, before the show went national Perry tested it out on the Atlanta market and TBS had him make changes before they would air it nationally.  It lacks substance and real humor. Perry isn’t a comedian.  He’s not an educator.  He’s not a lawyer.  He’s not able to tap into the realness that shows like Martin, The Cosby Show & A Different World, or New York Undercover provided its demographic audience which is also Perry’s.  Ironically my 6-year-old niece finds the show hilarious, which proves that its appeal is mainly to those with the mind of a child, and since it’s not a cartoon nor are 6-year-olds Perry’s target audience, I’m hoping the show will be canceled soon and very soon.  - Savannah

One Tree Hill. I think it’s finally time to put the nail in this coffin. When half of your cast has left, you’ve done a multi-year time jump and your remaining leads continue to try and book other pilots, it’s time to call it a night. Still, for a show I never thought would last more than two seasons, eight years is a very respectable run. I look forward to what Sophia Bush does next. – Josh

Teen Mom. Please God, make it stop. – Keith

$#*! My Dad Says. Please end this one….pretty please?! – Inisia

Two and A Half Men (it’s awful) – Kelley

American Idol. After 9 seasons and with the majority of the original and new judges already gone it is time to call it quits on this show. Ryan Seacrest also seems too smug nowadays. – Bilal

Real Housewives. Now I know wishing for cancellation of Real Housewives is throwing a penny down the well, but I’m a dreamer and these girls are pointless. – Keshaunta

Nikita. I’m rooting for anything on The CW. Okay, to be completely serious my pick is Nikita.  Much like the original series, La Femme Nikita, I could do without it. And besides that, I don’t predict it to be anything award winning in the future. – Desiree

NCIS. It’s been running since 2003, I don’t know how it’s popular enough to make an L.A. version. The show is basically any FBI novel thrown on screen. I love Abby, but a hot goth forensic scientist is just so lame. - Zarna

Perfect Couples. Let’s make it quick and painless. Get this obliviously stale, aggressively vanilla sitcom off the air and return a bit of dignity to NBC’s Thursday night lineup. – Lauren

For more television reviews and interviews, click here.

Images courtesy of ABC, NBC, ABC Family, and CBS.

There’s never a lack of romance on Grey’s Anatomy.  Unrequited love, confused love, forbidden love – all kinds of love.   Arizona is displaying that stalker love.  Undaunted by Callie’s rejection, she is back at Seattle Grace and determined to win her affections once again.  Callie is playing hardball, and she will not forgive Arizona; she is also being pretty mean.  Mark stands in support of his best buddy, but also tries to help Arizona win her back by encouraging her to assess her flaws.  Throughout the episode he catalogues her faults, including the fact that she’s not a good listener and she bails when things get tough.  I find Arizona rather annoying, but I will admit that she seems to truly care about Callie.  Callie has dissed her pretty badly, but Arizona is relentless.  She even tries to move back in to the place Callie has been subletting.  As the episode concludes, she makes a final pitch to Callie, who drops the following bombshell: she’s pregnant with Mark’s baby.  Despite this shocking news, I actually think the pair of them could still work out.  It’s not like Mark and Callie are romantically interested in one another.  Both Callie and Mark wanted to be parents (remember Mark has a daughter but didn’t raise her).  I envision a kooky scenario where they are all one big happy blended family.

Speaking of family, Meredith and Derek are trying unsuccessfully to start their own.  Meredith neglects her intern because she’s preoccupied with checking pregnancy tests all day.  But that’s the only way the writers addressed Meredith and Derek in last night’s episode.  They spread the action around, highlighting the new relationships of the typically single Teddy Altman and Miranda Bailey.  Both have found companionship in the unlikeliest of places.  Teddy, with a terminally ill patient, and Bailey with a nurse.  They are good characters and so I enjoy seeing them display a gentler side, especially Bailey.  Usually the over-sexed characters like Alex and Mark get most of the action, so it’s nice to see Bailey cut loose for a change.  However, I anticipate her new beau may want more of a commitment than she is willing to give.  She is already downplaying their “thing,” saying that he would never meet her son or anything like that.  Why not? Maybe if she took him more seriously they could get to the next level one day.

Overall I enjoyed the episode because it was well-written and entertaining, but I hope it doesn’t get to be too much like a soap opera.  Everyone has slept with everyone else, and now Callie is pregnant by Mark.  I’m curious to see if Arizona will stick with Callie for the long haul.  She was never really keen on being a parent, but if she truly loves Callie it’s something she will consider.  And how will this baby affect Mark and Lexie’s rekindled romance?  The plot thickens.

Season 7, Episode 12: Start Me Up (originally aired January 13, 2011)

For more Grey’s Anatomy, click here.

Thursdays 9/8c on ABC 

Photos courtesy of Danny Feld and ABC.

There were few positives that resulted from the shooting at Seattle Grace, but one of them was the implementation of a Trauma Unit by Dr. Hunt.  He used his military acumen to train the others in handling a trauma, because they were woefully unprepared when the tragedy happened last season.  Now they must rely on that training to save lives as patients pour in, reminding them of their own recent brush with death.  Chief Webber (sporting an unflattering new bald head) prepares them for what they will face, and for the most part they do an admirable job of streamlining patient care.  Up until this point, Cristina has meandered through the healing process with mixed results. Now it appears that she has finally made a breakthrough, because she’s ready to do more than just listen to a heartbeat with a stethoscope.  She cracks a guy’s chest open in the ambulance, and it looks like we will finally get our Cristina back.  Was there ever any doubt? 

As chaos brews around them, everyone tries to prioritize the patients.  Derek has a tough surgery to perform on a police officer, and Meredith is assisting him.  She also remains in communication with the patient’s wife, who is in the waiting room.  Derek becomes annoyed when it appears that Meredith would rather be with the spouse than in the surgery.  She explains that a very short while ago, she was the wife in the waiting room after her husband was shot, and so she empathizes greatly with the patient’s wife.  Derek is oblivious to this, but Meredith probably should cut him a little slack.  Eventually Derek is able to save the patient, and when he shares the news with the patient’s wife, she gives him a huge embrace.  Now he understands Meredith’s point. A reassuring word from a doctor on one of the worst day of your life means everything.

In one of the more powerful scenes of the episode, the surgeons learn that the patient they are operating on is actually the shooter.  Avery feels conflicted, and thinks they are wasting resources on him when they can be saving other patients.  They have run out of operating rooms, and the shooter is occupying a room (for several hours) that could be used by another patient.  Teddy explains that she had to perform surgery on unsavory patients all the time in Iraq, but she did her job.  Avery morally objects and walks out, and he isn’t the only one.  After Teddy asks if anyone else wants to leave, she resumes the procedure.  I know that Avery was devastated after the shooting at Seattle Grace, but his job is to save lives. All lives. Any life.  He took an oath and doesn’t get to pick and choose who he saves.  Just my two cents.  But more importantly, guess who decides to stick around? Cristina! Yaaay, she really IS back!

Teddy’s O.R. isn’t the only one in turmoil.  The annoying little flea that is Doctor Stark is in full Power Trip Mode.  He and Alex have a 15 year old girl on their table, who is in danger of losing her leg.  They can save it with minimal interference with the other procedures she needs.  Stark doesn’t want to take the time and would rather amputate the leg.  Alex protests but Stark outranks him and insists on removing the leg.  Alex pleads with Arizona (where did she come from?) to intervene, but remember that she quit.  She doesn’t have privileges at Seattle Grace anymore, and Stark is about to take the leg.  She instructs Alex to play defense on him, and he physically blocks him from taking the leg and refuses to prep it for amputation.  Stark is livid.  Arizona asks the Chief for permission to operate, and he grants her privileges.  Because the leg is involved, it’s an orthopedic issue.  Because a child is involved, it’s a pediatric issue.  You know what that means: it’s time for Calzona!  Callie works on the leg and Arizona does her thing, but Callie lets her know that they are only communicating for the patient’s sake – she doesn’t want to talk to her beyond that.  I’m loving this new Independent Callie and I hope she keeps it up.  Arizona needs to know that she can’t just crook her finger and bring Callie running.

I loved this episode and the way it advanced the relevant storylines.  Maybe everyone’s successful handling of this mass shooting can help them overcome the lingering effects of their own tragedy.  It appears that Callie and Arizona are officially over and also that Meredith and Derek are going to resume trying to start their family.  Most importantly, Cristina has turned the proverbial corner. Great episode!

Season 7, Episode 11: Disarm (originally aired January 6, 2011)

For more Grey’s Anatomy, click here.

Thursdays 9/8c on ABC 

All photos courtesy of ABC

FOX

Among all the midseason schedule alterations, the most crucial comes from Fox with the decision to move American Idol from Tuesday-Wednesday to Wednesday-Thursday. This causes the 8 PM timeslot to become a ratings showdown across all networks. Take a second to think about it, The Vampire Diaries (CW), Community and Perfect Couples (NBC), The Big Bang Theory and Rules of Engagement (CBS). All these shows air between 8PM to 9PM. Such a move can possibly bring cancellations to some shows.

Another unfavorable move to fans of Fringe is the show’s shift to Friday, a.k.a. The Place TV Shows Go To Die. Fringe will premiere at 9 PM on Friday nights.

Check out the Fox Schedule below.

MONDAY

Monday, Jan. 10:

8:00-10:00 PM LIE TO ME (Two-Hour Episode)

 

Mondays, beginning Jan. 17:

8:00-9:00 PM HOUSE (All-New Episodes)

9:00-10:00 PM LIE TO ME (All-New Episodes)

 

Mondays, beginning Feb. 7

8:00-9:00 PM HOUSE (All-New Episodes)

9:00-10:00 PM THE CHICAGO CODE (Series Premiere)

 

TUESDAY

Tuesdays, beginning Jan. 4:

8:00-9:00 PM GLEE (Encore Episodes)

9:00-10:00 PM MILLION DOLLAR MONEY DROP (All-New Episodes)

 

Tuesdays, beginning Feb. 8:

8:00-9:00 PM GLEE (All-New Episodes)

9:00-9:30 PM RAISING HOPE (All-New Episodes)

9:30-10:00 PM MIXED SIGNALS (Series Premiere)

 

WEDNESDAY

Wednesday, Jan. 5 and 12:

8:00-10:00 PM HUMAN TARGET (All-New, Two-Hour Episode)

 

Wednesday, Jan. 19:

8:00-10:00 PM AMERICAN IDOL (Two-Hour Season Premiere, Part One)

 

Wednesdays, beginning Jan. 26:

8:00-9:00 PM AMERICAN IDOL

9:00-10:00 PM HUMAN TARGET (All-New Episodes)

 

Wednesdays, beginning Feb. 16:

8:00-10:00 PM AMERICAN IDOL (Two-Hour Episodes)

 

Wednesdays, beginning April 6:

8:00-9:30 PM AMERICAN IDOL (90-Minute Episodes)

9:30-10:00 PM BREAKING IN (Series Premiere)

 

THURSDAY

Thursdays, beginning Jan. 6:

8:00-9:00 PM MILLION DOLLAR MONEY DROP (All-New Episodes)

9:00-10:00 PM BONES (Encore Episodes)

 

Thursdays, beginning Jan. 20:

8:00-9:00 PM AMERICAN IDOL (Season Premiere, Part Two)

9:00-10:00 PM BONES (Time Period Premiere)

 

FRIDAY

Friday, Jan. 21:

8:00-9:00 PM KITCHEN NIGHTMARES (Season Premiere)

9:00-10:00 PM KITCHEN NIGHTMARES (Encore)

 

Fridays, beginning Jan. 28:

8:00-9:00 PM KITCHEN NIGHTMARES (All-New Episodes)

9:00-10:00 PM FRINGE (Time Period Premiere)

 

SUNDAY

Sunday, Jan. 9:

8:00-8:30 PM THE SIMPSONS (All-New Episode)

8:30-9:00 PM BOB’S BURGERS (Series Premiere)

9:00-9:30 PM FAMILY GUY (All-New Episode)

9:30-10:00 PM THE CLEVELAND SHOW (Time Period Premiere/All-New Episode)

 

Sunday, Jan. 16 and 23:

7:00-7:30 PM THE SIMPSONS (Encore Episodes)

7:30-8:00 PM AMERICAN DAD (Time Period Premiere)

8:00-8:30 PM THE SIMPSONS (All-New Episodes)

8:30-9:00 PM BOB’S BURGERS (All-New Episodes)

9:00-9:30 PM FAMILY GUY (All-New Episodes)

9:30-10:00 PM THE CLEVELAND SHOW (All-New Episodes)

 

Sunday, Feb. 6:

6:00 PM-CC ET SUPER BOWL XLV (Live)

10:30 PM ET/7:30 PT GLEE (All-New Special Episode; Approximate Start Time)

 

Sundays, beginning Feb. 13 (no change to lineup):

7:00-7:30 PM THE SIMPSONS

7:30-8:00 PM AMERICAN DAD

8:00-8:30 PM THE SIMPSONS

8:30-9:00 PM BOB’S BURGERS

9:00-9:30 PM FAMILY GUY

9:30-10:00 PM THE CLEVELAND SHOW

NBC

NBC’s return will partially be marked by the introduction of a handful of new shows to the network’s lineup alongside a shake-up to its Thursday night schedule. Monday nights will become home to new shows The Cape and Harry’s Law. Starting March, Wednesday nights will be the home of new reality show America’s Next Great Restaurant.

The comfortable two-hour comedy block we’ve all come to love on Thursday nights has been extended another hour to add room for Perfect Couples and Parks and Recreation. 30 Rock and Outsourced have been moved to 10:00 PM and 10:30 PM respectively to make room for the midseason shows.

MONDAYS

8:00-9:00 PM  CHUCK

9:00-10:00 PM THE CAPE will premiere with a two-hour episode on Sunday, January 9 (9-11 p.m.). New episodes start in its regular time period on January 17 (9-10 p.m.)

10:00-11:00 PM HARRY’S LAW (beginning January 17)

9:00-10:00 PM THE EVENT (returns on February 28, 9-11 p.m.; resumes in its regular time slot March 7)

10:00-11:00 PM PARENTHOOD (debuts in this slot March 7 with all originals)

 

TUESDAYS

8:00-10:00 PM THE BIGGEST LOSERS: COUPLES (beginning January 4)

10:00-11:00 PM PARENTHOOD (beginning January 4 for four episodes)

10:00-11:00 PM LAW & ORDER: LOS ANGELES (beginning February 8 )

 

WEDNESDAYS

8:00-9:00 PM MINUTE TO WIN IT (beginning January 5)

9:00-10:00 PM CHASE (beginning January 12)

10:00-11:00 PM LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT (originals beginning January 5 with two-hour episode, 9-11 p.m. ET)

9:00-10:00 PM AMERICA’S NEXT GREAT RESTAURANT (beginning March 16)

 

THURSDAYS (all beginning January 20)

8:00-8:30 PM COMMUNITY

8:30-9:00 PM PERFECT COUPLES

9:00-9:30 PM  THE OFFICE

9:30-10:00 PM PARKS AND RECREATION

10:00-10:30 PM 30 ROCK

10:30-11:00 PM OUTSOURCED

 

FRIDAYS

8:00-9:00 PM WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE (beginning January 21)

9:00-11:00 PM DATELINE NBC (beginning January 7)

 

SUNDAYS

7:00-8:00 PM DATELINE NBC

8:00-9:00 PM THE MARRIAGE REF (beginning March 6)

9:00-11:00 PM THE CELEBRITY APPRENTICE (beginning March 6)

ABC

ABC plans to enliven its Wednesday Night Schedule with the addition of Off The Map, a new medical drama from Shonda Rhimes (Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice) and new comedy Mr. Sunshine, featuring Matthew Perry’s return to television.

After April 6th, ABC will extend the Wednesday night comedy block by an hour by bringing on new show Happy Endings and fan favorite episodes of Modern Family.

The Wednesday schedule for February 9 through April 6, 2011, is as follows (all times ET):

8:00 PM    THE MIDDLE
8:30 PM    BETTER WITH YOU
9:00 PM    MODERN FAMILY
9:30 PM    MR. SUNSHINE
10:00 PM   OFF THE MAP

The Wednesday schedule beginning Wednesday, April 13, 2011, is as follows:

8:00 PM    THE MIDDLE
8:30 PM   BETTER WITH YOU
9:00 PM    MODERN FAMILY
9:30 PM    COUGAR TOWN
10:00 PM    HAPPY ENDINGS
10:30 PM    MODERN FAMILY Fan Favorites

CBS

CBS’ schedule can be expected to undergo massive shifts starting with Blue Bloods airing on Wednesday nights for four weeks. Fans of Criminal Minds can look forward to the show’s spinoff series Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior, which will air in February along with CBS’ new comedy Mad Love.

Wednesdays, Effective Jan. 19
8:00-9:00 PM  LIVE TO DANCE
9:00-10:00 PM  CRIMINAL MINDS
10:00-11:00 PM  BLUE BLOODS (new time period)

 

Fridays, Effective Feb. 4
8:00-9:00 PM  THE DEFENDERS (new time period)
9:00-10:00 PM  CSI: NY

 

Fridays, Effective Feb. 11
8:00-9:00 PM  THE DEFENDERS
9:00-10:00 PM  CSI: NY
10:00-11:00 PM  BLUE BLOODS

 

Wednesday, Effective Feb. 16
8:00-9:00 PM  SURVIVOR: REDEMPTION ISLAND (Premiere)
9:00-10:00 PM  CRIMINAL MINDS
10:00-11:00 PM  CRIMINAL MINDS: SUSPECT BEHAVIOR (Series Debut)

 

Monday, Effective Feb. 21
8:00-8:30 PM  HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER
8:30-9:00 PM  MAD LOVE (Series Debut)
9:00-9:30 PM  TWO AND A HALF MEN
9:30-10:00 PM  MIKE & MOLLY
10:00-11:00 PM HAWAII FIVE-0

 

Thursday, Effective Feb. 24
8:00-8:30 PM  THE BIG BANG THEORY
8:30-9:00 PM  RULES OF ENGAGEMENT (new time period)
9:00-10:00 PM  CSI
10:00-11:00 PM  THE MENTALIST

 

Friday, Effective April 1
8:00-9:00 PM   CHAOS (Series Debut)
9:00-10:00 PM  CSI: NY
10:00-11:00 PM   BLUE BLOODS

For television reviews and interviews, click here.

Images courtesy of CBS, Fox, NBC, and IMDbPro.

Back at Seattle Grace, Meredith is assigned to Owen’s surgical rotation for the day, and their relationship is becoming strained because of Cristina.  They are both concerned about her recent behavior, but differ in their approach to overcoming her breakdown.  It doesn’t help matters that Cristina is giving Meredith the silent treatment – which she doesn’t deserve in the least.  Nor should Teddy be blamed, as Derek did in a previous episode.  It’s hardly Teddy’s fault.  I don’t think she pushed Cristina too hard.  No one could have predicted how people would respond, and it’s no one’s fault but the man who pulled the trigger that fateful day.  Cristina’s behavior isn’t just affecting her, but others as well.  Everyone cares about her and wants to make sure she rebounds from everything.  People are blaming each other: first Derek blaming Teddy for Cristina quitting the program and now Owen acting like a prick with Meredith.  While performing surgery on a severely injured trauma patient, Meredith adds an extra stitch just before closing him up.  Owen didn’t want her to do it, but she did it anyway.  Everything was fine, and granted, I’m no surgeon – but it was just a stitch.  He throws her out of the OR for insubordination, but we really know that this is about Cristina.  Recall in the last episode that when Avery went rogue in the OR, Owen let it slide.  He was clearly trying to show Meredith up because he resents the way she is dealing with Cristina.  I respect his love for Cristina, but I thought he was out of line. 

Bailey is still trying to eliminate post-op fistulas, and has assigned a research protocol to each resident.  To expedite the process she adds a little incentive.  The first one to present a fistula-free patient will win a gall bladder surgery.  Lexie is making progress until she runs into an obstacle in the form of Eli, male nurse from hell.  Well, not quite.  He’s nice to look at.  And he runs a tight ship, thoroughly unimpressed by Lexie’s credentials.  He tells her that residents come and go, but he’s been there for 12 years and his patients rarely get infections.  His approach ends up being the right one, and it is he who indirectly gives Bailey the answers she needed.  As I said, Eli is cute and he’s been there for 12 years.  He has ostensibly known Bailey a long time and thus ends up asking her out on a date.  She’s so happy about the fistulas that she feels a bit indebted to him.  But it’s no chore to go out with this guy; did I mention that he was cute?

Alex is assigned to Callie this week, and their procedure is relatively straightforward, although difficult.  Callie is slowly but surely getting over Arizona, but she has a long way to go.  Screwing Mark isn’t the answer.  Mark still pines for Lexie, who is doing a good job making him think that she can’t stand him.  By the time the episode ends, the two are smooching like soul mates.  Not every reunion was successful, however.  Imagine Callie’s (and my own) surprise when Arizona comes knockin’?  After literally and figuratively turning her back on Callie in an airport, Arizona misses her terribly and can’t be without her.  Although Callie was a blubbering mess a short while ago, she has come to resent Arizona and has begun moving on without her.  After being dumped unceremoniously, she’s not feelin’ the love.  She listens to Arizona pour her heart out breathlessly, ending by telling her how pretty she looks.  Guess how Callie responds?  She says nothing.  She just closes the door in Arizona’s face.  Priceless!  She’s been Arizona’s puppy dog long enough.

This was a pretty good episode.  There weren’t any freaky patients with bizarre afflictions, but there were major developments and the writing was excellent – as always.  Is Cristina about to get back on the saddle?  Are Lexie and Mark back together, and is Callie gonna stick to her guns with Arizona?  I know it ventures towards soap opera territory sometimes, but Grey’s Anatomy is still one of the best.

Season 7, Episode 10: Adrift at Peace (originally aired December 02, 2010)

For more Grey’s Anatomy, click here.

Thursdays 9/8c on ABC

All photos courtesy of ABC

The hospital is all abuzz about Cristina quitting the program.  Derek is unfairly blaming Teddy, implying that she put too much pressure on her to return to surgery.  He is wrong but it’s only because he feels indebted to Cristina.  He credits her with saving his life and he also knows what it’s like to walk away from Seattle Grace.  He quit before too, and when he feels that the others are staging an intervention he tries to shut it down.  While this is going on, Cristina and Callie are planning an impromptu party for that evening.  Cristina is clearly in the midst of some mental crisis/breakdown/thingy; I don’t know what to call it, but she’s not normal.  She has just said “fuck it.”  I can dig wanting to chuck it all. I’m sure it’s liberating.  But it wasn’t a thoughtful decision, it was an emotional one – and it’s still sad to see a once great doctor just fall off like that.  It would be different if she walked away with her head high, but it almost seems like she let the shooter (Gary Clark) win.  She let it beat her.

To a lesser extent, Avery is having a breakdown too.   He initially freaked out because he thought his string of recent blunders was making the attending physicians avoid signing up with him for any surgeries.  When the Chief is preoccupied with the diplomat, he unloads a patient on Bailey, who now needs Avery’s help.  Bailey wants him to keep an eye on a patient with a fistula.  You can tell this isn’t the hands-on experience Avery wanted, and he feels like his task is menial.  He says that he will keep a vigilant eye on the patient.  However, I think his lack of enthusiasm made him take his eye off the ball for a second.  The patient takes a turn for the worst and Avery is forced to “open her up” while he waits for Bailey to finish up the surgery she’s in the middle of.  By the time Bailey arrives, the patient is dead and Avery loses it.  Before Bailey can say a word he says that it wasn’t his fault; these patients (with fistulas) die all the time.  After his meltdown, Bailey asks him to leave.

Everyone arrives at Cristina’s party later, only she’s nowhere to be found.  Derek tried to give her a head’s up that people were going to confront her about quitting and try to get her to rejoin the program.  The pair end up talking on the roof about what type of floor Cristina should use in her new place.  Downstairs things get interesting when Avery punches Alex in the face.  Alex has been kicking ass as a new resident, and is really on a roll at work.  The new pediatric attending who replaces Arizona is a little worm named Stark, and he tries to steal credit for another one of Alex’s brilliant ideas.  They are treating a baby that received a liver transplant, but who may not survive because the liver is too big and they can’t close her up immediately after surgery.  Alex comes up with the idea of using a ping pong ball to keep the liver from pressing against her organs and this would dramatically increase her chances of surviving the procedure.  Stark ends up trying to take credit for the idea after he made Alex feel like it was ridiculous.  While performing the procedure with Chief Webber, Stark lets Webber assume that the ping pong ball was his idea.  April won’t let him get away with it though, asking “Who came up with the idea again, Dr. Stark – was it you or Dr. Karev?”  Now the Chief knows whose cap gets the feather.

This is a roundabout way of me explaining why Avery decked Alex.  When April tells Alex how Stark tried to take credit and she stopped him, he kisses her.  One thing leads to another and clothes start coming off.  Remember that Little Miss Muffet is a virgin and that Alex is not the warm and fuzzy type.  April says she’s down, but when she hesitates, Alex snaps on her.  He yells that either she wants to screw or not, he’s not going to hold her “virgin hand.”  Ouch.  So that’s what April tells Avery, who feels like a big brother to the only friend he has left.  He hasn’t dealt with Percy and Reed’s deaths, and lashes out at Alex.  Alex was a jerk towards April, but that doesn’t mean he deserves to get pummelled by Avery.  Alex let him get one punch in (he deserved as much), but then Avery took it too far and had to be pulled off.

This was a pretty good episode, because we got to see depth of character and the writers have hinted at some interesting twists in the future.  Alex seems like a jackass, but he reveals that earlier he went back to his hometown to commit his brother to a mental hospital for treatment of schizophrenia.  He tried to kill their younger sister.  So, Alex is dealing with a lot in his personal life.  He doesn’t walk around in perpetual meltdown mode like everyone else, so you might not know what he’s going through.  He was wrong for the way he treated April.  But there’s more to it.  Another great episode.

Season 7, Episode 8: Something’s Gotta Give (originally aired November 11, 2010)

For more Grey’s Anatomy, click here.

Thursdays 9/8c on ABC

All photos courtesy of ABC and Ron Tom.

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Last week’s episode of Grey’s Anatomy saw some major changes.  We’ll begin with Dr. Bailey, who is desperate to find answers about what killed Mary, her patient that survived the mass shooting with her.  Mary died last week after a routine colostomy reversal.  Instead of waiting for the pathologist’s findings, Bailey decides to get her hands dirty and assist with the autopsy.  This is where her professionalism is evident, because she digs into Mary’s cavity methodically and without emotion.  If her actions don’t belie her feelings, her words most certainly do.  Bailey is anxious to cross every ‘T’ and dot every ‘I,’ while the pathologist is popping gum and chatting on her cell phone as she sifts through Mary’s organs.  When they conclude, Bailey is heartbroken to hear that the results are inconclusive.  She still doesn’t know why Mary died, and neither will Mary’s young husband.

Recall that Owen received the grant from Chief Webber for his trauma unit.  He begins by putting the residents through a drill involving dummies who the doctors are supposed to treat as live patients.  This is done outside in the rain, in the ambulance bay.  April and Alex prevail and Avery tells Owen to shove it.  Owen responds by telling him that he doesn’t get to “check out” just because his friends died. No quitting, period.  While all of this is going on outside, Cristina is inside trying to save her lung transplant patient, Roy.  Some lungs have become available, and Teddy is going to fly to get them.  In the meantime, Cristina is going to care for Roy.  He is having heart problems and may need a new heart as well.  Cristina has to put in some type of tube to sustain him until Teddy gets back.  Owen asks Meredith to babysit, and Cristina eventually lashes out at her, asking why she has been able to move on and she (Cristina) can’t.  She resents the fact that Meredith has rebounded from the same tragedy that has ruined her career.  Cristina manages to keep Roy alive and in good shape for Teddy, who successfully performs the transplant surgery.  She credits Cristina with keeping him alive, but it is becoming more and more apparent that Cristina has totally lost it.  I had hoped that her interaction with Roy would bring her back to the land of the living, but no such luck.  By episode’s end she tells the Chief she wants to call it quits.  Mercy.  That was the right thing to do, because she was becoming a liability.  She delivers the news to Owen, who is dumbfounded.  It will be interesting to see how everyone reacts to the new, foreign Christina.

Remember that Arizona won that prestigious grant to travel to Africa.? Callie is going with her, but before she leaves Mark has some sage advice.  He knows that Callie isn’t sold on going to Africa, but that she will need to be honest with herself about where she’ll be living for the next few years.  She’s been making snide remarks here and there, and Arizona senses that she is not crazy about the prospect of living in Africa.  To add insult to injury, Chief Webber laments to Callie that he would have some great opportunities for her in the near future.  But alas, she’s going to Africa. Darn.  Callie can barely hide her disappointment at what could have been.  All of this comes to a head in the airport as the supposed lovebirds are about to fly off and start a new chapter of their lives together.  Arizona tells her that she doesn’t want her to come to Africa; that she is ruining the trip for her.  It’s over. Right there in the airport.  It’s sad, because Callie pleads with her and Arizona seems rather cold and heartless.  She chucks up the deuces and gets on the plane.  Poor Callie.

Wow.  This episode had a few big surprises.  I didn’t predict the demise of Calzona, but those two were beginning to annoy me.  I’m glad that Cristina quit but I’m sad that such a great surgeon is a shadow of her former self.  The fallout should be interesting; I can’t wait to see what happens next and I’m glad that the writers are taking bold risks.

Season 7, Episode 7: That’s Me Trying (originally aired November 4, 2010)

For more Grey’s Anatomy, click here.

Thursdays 9/8c on ABC

All photos courtesy of ABC and Adam Taylor

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Comic Con 2010: Scott Patterson at The Event Press Room Comic Con 2010: Scott Patterson at The Event Press Room	Comic Con 2010: Ian Anthony Dale at the Event Press Session Comic Con 2010: Ian Anthony Dale at the Event Press Session	Comic Con 2010: Our writer Trisha Ziegenhorn interveiws "The Event" (NBC) Ian Anthony Dale Comic Con 2010: Our writer Trisha Ziegenhorn interveiws "The Event" (NBC) Ian Anthony Dale
Comic Con 2010: Our writer Trisha Ziegenhorn interviews Taylor Cole (NBC "The Event") Comic Con 2010: Our writer Trisha Ziegenhorn interviews Taylor Cole (NBC "The Event")	Comic Con 2010: Taylor Cole at NBC's The Event Press Room Comic Con 2010: Taylor Cole at NBC's The Event Press Room	Comic Con 2010: Jason Ritter grinning it up at NBC's The Event Press Room Comic Con 2010: Jason Ritter grinning it up at NBC's The Event Press Room
Comic Con 2010: Nick Wauters in NBC's "The Event" Press Room Comic Con 2010: Nick Wauters in NBC's "The Event" Press Room	Comic Con 2010: Our writer Trisha trying to get out the secrets from Nick Wauters, writer of NBC's "The Event" Comic Con 2010: Our writer Trisha trying to get out the secrets from Nick Wauters, writer of NBC's "The Event"	Comic Con 2010: Zeljko Ivanek opening up to Poptimal.com in NBC's "The Event" Press Room Comic Con 2010: Zeljko Ivanek opening up to Poptimal.com in NBC's "The Event" Press Room
Comic Con 2010: Clifton Collins Jr. chillin with Poptimal.com in NBC's "The Event" Press Room Comic Con 2010: Clifton Collins Jr. chillin with Poptimal.com in NBC's "The Event" Press Room	Comic Con 2010: Blair Underwood in the Press Room of NBC's "The Event" Comic Con 2010: Blair Underwood in the Press Room of NBC's "The Event"	Comic Con 2010: Jason Ritter at NBC's The Event Press Room Comic Con 2010: Jason Ritter at NBC's The Event Press Room
Comic Con 2010: Cast of NBC's the Event Comic Con 2010: Cast of NBC's the Event

Make way for the next big thing in serialized storytelling, NBC’s new fall drama The Event. The one hour drama stars Jason Ritter, Sarah Roemer, Blair Underwood, Laura Innes, Ian Anthony Dale, Scott Patterson, and Zeljko Ivanek, among others. The concept of the show came from the mind of writer Nick Wauters.

We were given the opportunity to watch the one hour pilot during the panel on Saturday, and it intrigued me. The audience sat silent and still, clapping in appropriate moments. As far as I could tell, we were all working hard to keep up. And you will have to keep up, people. This isn’t a police procedural following a formula. It’s not a nighttime soap in the vein of Grey’s Anatomy. It’s a show with a complicated premise and a huge cast of characters, with some science fiction thrown into the mix. You will have to pay attention. You will have to come back next week for your answers. This could very possibly be the show everyone’s talking about this fall.

I had the chance to sit down with several members of the cast, as well as the show’s writers and producers, and ask some questions following the public panel.

Ian Anthony Dale sat first at our table, and confirmed what we already knew: there isn’t much they can say about the show itself. He did talk a lot about the characters, how they are “rich, diverse, and rounded characters inhabiting these varied worlds…all are dealing with a  critical, personal dilemma.”

The writers have gotten through eight episodes but have a bible on the world and mythology for the entire series. The cast members are told only what is necessary to play that week’s dialogue and interaction. According to cast member Scott Patterson, the secrecy is like “James Bond on steroids.” He is impressed with the scripts and the “caliber of people in every department.”

The chats with the writer Nick Wauters as well as some of the producers proved interesting. They promise us that they won’t be “making things up as they go along,” but instead answering some major questions in each episode even as events lead to more questions. They would not, of course, tell us what “the event” is, only that the shocking happening at the end of the pilot was not the event referred to by the show’s title.

At the end of the pilot there is an event, however, that brings a science fiction element into the show. When asked about how big of a role that might play, he told us the original idea and script “had no science fiction or supernatural elements at all…the studio asked us to include it.” Interesting. I guess Hollywood is learning that supernatural sells.

What I liked most about the pilot is the feeling that none of the characters are exactly what they seem to be. Laura Innes is important enough to meet with the President of the United States (played by Blair Underwood), but in a flashback she’s shown in shackles. Leila Buchanan (played by Sarah Roemer) is just a girl on a cruise with her boyfriend. Until she and her young daughter disappear. Michael Buchanan (Scott Patterson) is a guy babysitting his granddaughter, but by the end of the show he’s on a path to take out the entire Presidential administration.

NBC has put together a great cast and a great crew for The Event, and they’ve obviously invested a ton of cash in this project. The writing and what they are attempting to do  is impressive for a television show. At the very least, it’s going to be interesting. Like every new show, you’ll have to decide whether or not to stick with it and hope the payoff is going to be worth it in the end.

The Event premieres on Monday, September 20th at 9 pm (EST) on NBC.

Image courtesy of nbc.com

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Check out our photos from the press room below.

Comic Con 2010: Scott Patterson at The Event Press Room Comic Con 2010: Scott Patterson at The Event Press Room	Comic Con 2010: Ian Anthony Dale at the Event Press Session Comic Con 2010: Ian Anthony Dale at the Event Press Session	Comic Con 2010: Our writer Trisha Ziegenhorn interveiws "The Event" (NBC) Ian Anthony Dale Comic Con 2010: Our writer Trisha Ziegenhorn interveiws "The Event" (NBC) Ian Anthony Dale
Comic Con 2010: Our writer Trisha Ziegenhorn interviews Taylor Cole (NBC "The Event") Comic Con 2010: Our writer Trisha Ziegenhorn interviews Taylor Cole (NBC "The Event")	Comic Con 2010: Taylor Cole at NBC's The Event Press Room Comic Con 2010: Taylor Cole at NBC's The Event Press Room	Comic Con 2010: Jason Ritter grinning it up at NBC's The Event Press Room Comic Con 2010: Jason Ritter grinning it up at NBC's The Event Press Room
Comic Con 2010: Nick Wauters in NBC's "The Event" Press Room Comic Con 2010: Nick Wauters in NBC's "The Event" Press Room	Comic Con 2010: Our writer Trisha trying to get out the secrets from Nick Wauters, writer of NBC's "The Event" Comic Con 2010: Our writer Trisha trying to get out the secrets from Nick Wauters, writer of NBC's "The Event"	Comic Con 2010: Zeljko Ivanek opening up to Poptimal.com in NBC's "The Event" Press Room Comic Con 2010: Zeljko Ivanek opening up to Poptimal.com in NBC's "The Event" Press Room
Comic Con 2010: Clifton Collins Jr. chillin with Poptimal.com in NBC's "The Event" Press Room Comic Con 2010: Clifton Collins Jr. chillin with Poptimal.com in NBC's "The Event" Press Room	Comic Con 2010: Blair Underwood in the Press Room of NBC's "The Event" Comic Con 2010: Blair Underwood in the Press Room of NBC's "The Event"	Comic Con 2010: Jason Ritter at NBC's The Event Press Room Comic Con 2010: Jason Ritter at NBC's The Event Press Room
Comic Con 2010: Cast of NBC's the Event Comic Con 2010: Cast of NBC's the Event

Who would have ever guessed that Gossip Girl would end with one of our favorite Upper Eastsiders bloodied in an alley somewhere in Prague? But while this ending felt like a random cop out, I actually did appreciate the predictability of the writers putting a kibbutz on all our pairings once again. They were all getting a little stale, and Chuck and Blair are always at their best when they’re loving to hate each other. B

How I Met Your Mother doesn’t seem any closer to finding out who the mother is, but I love the idea of Lily and Marshall thaaaat much closer to having a bun in the oven. The show needs change, and a new and improved group dynamic would be a start. Truthfully, I became hooked on HIMYM about a year ago, but many of the newer episodes have been hit or miss, and I felt the same about the finale. While I wished they’d saved a Doppleganger storyline for an episode where they could devote more funny, it was genius to use Ted’s foray into blond hair as the hysterical foil that stopped him and Robin from making a big mistake and hooking up again. B

Heading to Utah to screen Julian’s film gave One Tree Hill the chance to operate like that carefree show I used to adore. Remember when there were basketball games to fret over, love in the air and some ridiculous humor? (See: Quinn stomping through the mountain and Mouth dancing in a fur coat.) Then, they went a little cuckoo by leaving Quinn’s and Clay’s lives hanging in the balance after a crazed stalker shooting. Couldn’t they have just ended on a happy note? B-

90210 promised a dramatic closing, but compared to its sister shows, two of which ended with gunshots and blood, Naomi’s possible sexual assault by Mr. Cannon, the teacher she’d falsely accused of sexual harassment and Liam’s rage-boy beating of Jasper seemed tame. Then, there’s the Annie hit-and-run story which went absolutely nowhere. I’m sure there’ll be no consequences for her, in the end, and we’ll start next season wondering why we had to waste all that time with Ms. Mopey & Depressed. At least it’s still miles ahead of Melrose Place in quality. C

Grey’s Anatomy used to be my must-watch TV, but this year it was, sadly, relegated to computer viewing. But after getting wind about the killer finale, I caught up on three hours just in time for all the awesomeness. Everyone put on stellar performances as a gunman plowed through the hospital with bullets on a revenge mission against Derek, Lexie and the Chief. Meredith was pregnant, and then she wasn’t. Cristina operated on Derek. We cleaned out some of those Mercy West-ers, and the Chief was as sage as the good old days. I was on the edge of my seat for all 120 minutes. B+

After a near-perfect season of Modern Family, the finale left little to be desired besides more. Kobe Bryant! Being funny?! Julie Bowen was nuanced and so human as Type-A Claire trying to get the perfect family photo. Mitchell vs. the Indoor Pigeon made it clear how absurd I look after seeing a spider or any bug for the matter, ergo I was on the floor rolling. And after seeing Manny and Jay pair so perfectly all season long, I enjoyed Luke interviewing his grandfather for a school report and all of Jay‘s wild embellishments. So rarely is a season stellar from start to finish, but this show gets a much deserved A.

I’ve been consistently surprised by Cougar Town as it has found its footing along the way. Critics may hate how over the top the characters can be at times, especially Cox as the lead, but the heart of the show is the bond these characters have that makes them all family. I appreciated that the writers didn’t string out the Grayson-Jules hookup until the end. Instead, we spent our final hour easing Bobby into the idea of the two of them dating. The hard punches may stick out, but it’s the light touches that make me laugh the most. A-

For a mid-season show, Parenthood certainly left an impression. As a depiction of realistic families that mess up, struggle, yet are always there for each other, I turned to it when Brothers & Sisters started looking like All My Children. While I could leave behind the parental, cheating storyline, I relished the perfect Lauren Graham and Peter Krause as a brother and sister dealing with their warring daughters and everyone finally coming together in the end. B+

So much happened during this season from Cancer to surrogates to thieving boyfriends to miscarriages to repressed assault. Brothers & Sisters truly reached its soapy pinnacle. So, of course, nothing should change for the finale which included a massive car pileup, a not-so-shocking death and AIDS. (Whaaaaat? You say. My thoughts exactly.) I miss when this show was actually semi-realistic and award-worthily entertaining. C-

I’m not sure what drew me back to Desperate Housewives, but I remember why I left by the end. These mysteries of the season never end well, even if they start with some of the most intriguing and best intentions. Add having to tie up two mysteries while introducing a new, baby-switch mystery for next season, made all the wrap up seem rushed and anti-climactic. B-

As you can see, this season has had its fair share of successes and failures, and there are still more shows to report on. And yes, I realize that I grade on a curve. What can I say, scripted television will always make a softie out of me. How would you score the shows above, and be sure to look out for the second half of this report card which will dive into all those sci-fi/fantasy/spy shows you can’t get enough of.

For more television reviews, click here.

Photographs courtesy of ABC/Danny Feld, CBS/Monty Brinton, and The CW/Michael Desmond.

The writers have been subtly planting the seeds that would lead up to the finale, one that featured the returning character of Gary Clark, a mentally unstable spouse of a patient who died at Seattle Grace earlier in the season.  Clark lost his wife and blames the hospital and Derek in particular for murdering her.  Nevermind the fact that they were bound by a ‘do not resuscitate’ order signed by the woman.  There isn’t a hospital in America that would ignore such a directive, but this fact is lost on Mr. Clark.  When a hearing on the matter proves unsuccessful, Clark’s anger only deepens.  The writers have also been hinting at whether or not Derek has what it takes to be Chief.  His mettle is tested in the chilling season finale, as Clark resurfaces at Seattle Grace on a mission to avenge his wife’s death.

The ominous parental discretion warning is the first indication that the finale is going to be serious.  The terror starts when Clark enters the hospital and begins looking for Derek specifically.  After being rebuffed by a nurse, he finds Reed in a supply closet.  He asks her where to find Shepherd.  When she responds rudely to him he pulls a pistol out and puts a bullet in her head.  And so it begins, two hours of nail-biting tension.  Two seconds after he shoots Reed, Alex comes around the corner and becomes victim #2.  A feeling of dread and despair permeated the entire episode, and my emotions were tested several times as revered characters faced unbelievable terror and sadness.  It was painfully realistic to watch people plead for their lives while Clark methodically murdered his way to Derek Shepherd.  He stalked the halls, coldly dispensing with anyone whom he believed was responsible for his wife’s death, even if only tangentially involved.  The brilliant aspect of this episode was that Clark managed to directly interact with each main character in a way that held the episode together.  I’ll recount the most meaningful, heart-stopping moments.

Derek learns fairly quickly about the shooter and puts the hospital in lockdown mode.  Bailey is with a patient named Mary (played by Mandy Moore) when that happens, and she and Percy must remain where they are.  She steals a glance out the window and sees Clark approaching with the gun.  She tells Mary to play dead and orders Percy to hide.  Bailey is under the bed when Clark enters, and for a second it looks like they might pull it off.  Mary does a great job playing possum and Bailey is undetected.  And then Percy makes a noise and Clark finds him.  “Are you a surgeon?” he asks.  Percy says yes and then we hear him pleading before a gunshot sounds.  We don’t see their interaction, we only see Bailey waiting with her hand over her mouth.  Percy falls to the floor, looking into Bailey’s eyes and gasping for breath.  Bailey stifles a scream while Mary remains silent.  My heart drops when Clark drags Bailey from underneath the bed just like that scene in the movie Taken.  He asks Bailey if she’s a surgeon and she has the good sense to give a different answer than Dr. Percy.  She tells him he’s a nurse and he leaves the room.  Now Bailey must calm Mary and try to save Percy’s life with only gauze and tape.

While Bailey tends to Percy, Lexie and Mark discover Alex’s body in the elevator.  He managed to crawl on the elevator but didn’t have the strength to press a button.  While they attempt surgery on a very much awake Alex, on another floor Owen, Teddy, and Avery perform surgery on a critical patient.  They are insulated from the chaos and are oblivious to the danger around them as they continue to work on the patient.  Derek pulls Avery aside and tells him to apprise the others after the surgery is complete.  When he finally tells them, Owen rips him a new one for waiting so long.  He and Teddy agree to move the patient while the others remain behind.  When they are found by a SWAT team and ushered outside for safety, Owen decides to go back in, symbolically choosing Cristina over Teddy.

Clark’s intentions are to punish everyone who worked on his wife’s case.  This means Derek, Richard, and Lexie.  Damn, all the girl did was pull the plug like she was told!  This guy is a f*cking nutbag for sure.  He can’t get Richard because he’s celebrating 6 months of sobriety at a nearby café.  He’s looking for Derek but finds Lexie en route to his office.  She was getting supplies for Alex and ends up coming face to face with Clark.  But before he can ice Little Grey, SWAT lands a shot to his shoulder.  Which brings me to my only complaint with the finale: Clark manages to continue his rampage, even though law enforcement managed to locate and wound him.  To borrow a line from one of my Facebook friends, this was the worst SWAT team in the history of television.  I understand that they needed a way to keep the storyline going and they didn’t want to kill everybody, but let’s be realistic.  This guy was like the Terminator, the Golden Years.

Another recurring theme that I noticed in the episode was love, quite simply.  Not that “flowers and candy” kinda love, but that “baby imma jump in front of a bullet” for you kinda love.  Owen went back in for Cristina.  Meredith abandons her safe hiding space to find Derek before Clark does.  Owen threatens to kill Clark if he hurts Cristina, and last but not least: Meredith offers her life for Derek’s as true justice for Clark.  She gets the opportunity to do this because eventually Clark finds Derek and confronts the man he’s been searching for all day.  Derek tries to connect with Clark and appeal to whatever humanity he can find in his eyes.  Cristina and Meredith watch from a distance, helpless.  It looks like Derek might actually be finding a shred of hope somewhere beneath Clark’s crazy eyes, but then April makes her umpteenth blunder by bursting through the double doors at that exact moment and jarring Clark back into focus.  He strengthens his resolve and shoots Derek in the chest while Meredith stares in horror.

One of the few fortunate aspects of the finale was that they were in a hospital, which was useful for treating the gunshot wounds that Clark was giving everyone.  Derek is shot, but he’s surrounded by people and facilities that allow him to be treated immediately.  It’s a bit unrealistic that Clark would shoot Derek just once rather than finish him off, but I’ll play along.  Anyway, there are no Attendings on the floor to perform the surgery, so Cristina will have to operate on her best friend’s husband.  Later, Owen finds Meredith and tells her to remain outside the OR while Cristina operates.  Unbeknownst to her, Clark has made his way into the operating room and is ordering Cristina to stop working on Derek.  She tearfully refuses and by this time Owen has come in.  Meredith enters also and tries to offer herself in place of Derek.  Owen jumps in front of the bullet, which lodges in his shoulder.  Clark basically says that he can kill everyone or just Derek.  Avery stops working on Derek and tells Clark that he will bleed out momentarily and flatline.  Sure enough, a flatline appears and Clark is convinced that his mission has been accomplished.  Meredith collapses, bawling hysterically.  Her reaction reassures Clark that Derek is dead, and he leaves.  After he leaves, we see that Avery disconnected some wires but that Derek was never in danger.  They continue working on him.

The last scene I’ll talk about in detail is another involving Bailey, her patient Mary, and Dr. Percy.  Left with meager supplies, they must get Percy to an operating room or he will die.  Percy is a big boy, so they are forced to position him on a blanket and drag the blanket down the hall.  After fighting so hard to save him, Bailey realizes it is all for naught.  The police have cut power to the elevators, and there is no way to get Percy up to an operating room.  He will die right there on the floor, and there isn’t a damn thing Bailey can do about it as the life slowly drains from his body.  This has been a day from hell and Bailey can’t take it anymore.  After the shock of pleading for her own life, the frantic attempt to save Percy, and trying to calm Mary, now she comes to the realization that Percy will die.  And she loses it.  She screams hysterically, yelling at the futility and inevitable doom of the situation.  She has her moment of weakness and then gathers herself, summoning the courage and backbone we know she possess.  This time she tells Percy the truth: he is going to die.  But she and Mary will be with him every step of the way.  At this point I need Kleenex, which should be the official sponsor of Grey’s Anatomy.  He asks Bailey to tell Reed that he always had a crush on her and that he died brave.  *sniffle*

The episode was too intense and intricate for me to relay every detail, but I can say that Seattle Grace will never be the same.  Percy and Reed were killed.  Meredith found out she was pregnant, but the day’s heart-stopping stress was too much to bear and she suffered a miscarriage before she could tell Derek.  Owen was shot in the shoulder.  Alex was shot and nearly died.  Derek was shot in the chest.  These are the lives that were affected and will be changed forever.  This was easily the best episode of the season, and of the entire series, in my opinion.  I’ve never been so enthralled by a network television show.  I’m used to HBO giving me the realness, but not ABC.  Best. Episode. Ever.

Season 6, Episodes 23 & 24: Sensitive & Death and All His Friends (originally aired May 20, 2010)

For more Grey’s Anatomy, click here.

Thursdays 9/8c on ABC

Photographs courtesy of ABC and Danny Feld.

Pt. 1

We see Richard at a local restaurant with his six-month sobriety coin, Callie and Cristina both hysterically crying eating bowls of cereal at the apartment and learn that Meredith is pregnant! Meredith tries to tell Derek but discovers he is in a bad mood, so she decides to wait until that night.

Teddy is furious with Owen and tells him she “doesn’t want to hear him or forgive him.” Also, we meet Dr. Bailey and Charlie’s likeable patient, Mary (Mandy Moore).

Gary Clark, the man who blames Derek and other Seattle Grace doctors for his wife’s death, is in the hospital and searching for Derek. He questions Reed in a supply room and when she doesn’t tell him where Derek is, Gary Clark brutally shoots her in the head. Alex walks in and is also shot in the chest by Mr. Clark. Alex, who is obviously in severe pain, drags himself into an elevator.

Cristina declines to scrub in on Teddy and Owen’s patient. Owen runs after her and Cristina quizzes him, “do you love her or do you love me?” When he doesn’t answer, Cristina says, “I’m done. We’re done.” I held my breath during the entire scene as Cristina gets on the elevator with Gary Clark, who asks where to find Derek. Cristina gives him detailed directions to Derek’s office and Gary lets her live.

A distracted April trips over Reed’s body and freaks out. In shock and covered in blood, she runs to Derek’s office and tells him “Reed’s dead. Someone shot her.” Derek calls the police and puts the hospital under lockdown.

Many of the docs are questioning lockdown and believe it is a drill. Callie ends up in the pediatrics wing with Arizona while Bailey is on another floor with her patient, Mary.

Derek goes to the OR where Teddy and Owen are operating with Jackson. Derek calls Jackson aside and tells him “there is a shooter in the hospital. Tell them when the patient is stable.”

Meredith and Cristina meet up. Meredith shares that she didn’t tell Derek yet about the baby and then decides to tell him immediately. Cristina admits to breaking up with Owen and tags along with Meredith to see Derek’s reaction to the good news.

Lexie and Mark are talking by a nurses’ station when Gary Clark shows up and begins shooting, killing at least one nurse. Mark protects Lexie and takes her to the elevator to get her out of the hospital but when the doors open they find Alex lying in a huge pool of blood. They carry Alex to a room, examine him and realize the bullet is still inside. Mark must operate to retrieve the bullet while a distraught Lexie assists.

Police and SWAT arrive outside the hospital. Richard also makes it to the hospital, concerned for his people inside, and demands to know what is going on.

Derek sees Meredith and Cristina walking through the hospital and moves them into a supply closet filling them in about the shooter and tells them not to move. While in the closet, Cristina sees Gary Clark wandering with his gun and it dawns on her that he is after Derek, which she explains to Meredith. Cristina blocks the door but Meredith throws her out of the way to search for Derek.

A distracted Bailey is talking with Mary when Charlie rushes in the room exclaiming that, “the shooter is on the floor.” Bailey looks out and sees Gary Clark murder a security guard. She tells Mary to pretend to be dead, covers her with a sheet, tells Charlie to hide while she scurries under the bed. Gary finds Charlie in the bathroom, asks if he is a surgeon and when Charlie responds, “yes,” Gary shoots him. As I watched in a panic, Gary pulls Bailey out from under the bed and asks her the same question. But a quick thinking, even in these circumstances, Miranda responds, “I’m a nurse” and Gary lets her live. A distraught Bailey tries to pull herself together and enlists Mary to help save Charlie’s life.

Arizona and Callie are not getting along at all—Callie informs Arizona, “I tried being friends. I’m going the more traditional route of hating your guts.”

Owen is furious when he learns about the shooter and lockdown from Jackson. He insists on bringing his patient to ICU and Teddy insists on going with him.

Mark announces that Alex needs a blood transfusion. Lexie volunteers to go get the blood.

Unfortunately, Gary Clark manages to find Derek, stating he is there to avenge his wife’s death and points his gun at Derek just as Meredith and Cristina arrive to witness this. Derek attempts to talk Mr. Clark down by telling him he understands his loss because “two guys killed my dad for his watch in front of me.” Derek further explains that he “became a doctor to save lives not to play god.” Gary Clark begins to lower his gun but suddenly April runs toward Derek and Clark shoots Derek in the chest while Cristina holds Meredith back.

Pt. 2

April is able to talk Gary into letting her go. The SWAT team enters the hospital, which prevents Gary from shooting Derek again. Meredith shakes off Cristina and rushes to her husband’s side screaming, “I can’t live without you. I pick you. I choose you. You don’t get to die on me.”

As Lexie is returning with the blood for Alex, she runs into Gary Clark. Mr. Clark explains he came to the hospital to shoot Derek, Richard and Lexie because she unplugged his wife’s machine. We hear a gunshot and Lexie falls to the ground. At first, we think she is shot but it turns out Lexie wasn’t hit, instead SWAT shot Gary Clark. Lexie runs away with the blood and returns to Alex, who is now unconscious. Lexie pleads with Alex not to die and shocks Mark (and me) by proclaiming that she loves him.

Gary heads off in a different direction and ends up in the pediatrics wing outside the room where Arizona and Callie are helping a little girl whose appendix has ruptured. A fearful yet assertive Callie hands him some bandages and tells him to leave pediatrics. Remarkably, he does.

The police have identified that the shooter is Gary Clark and question Richard about him.

Meredith, Cristina and April are able to get Derek to an OR and plan to find Teddy to perform the surgery. However, Cristina can’t find Teddy, and after talking to Jackson, comes to the realization that she must perform the surgery herself.  She insists that Meredith wait outside of the OR.

Alex’s condition is deteriorating. He believes he sees Izzie (really Lexie) and begs her “please don’t ever leave me.” SWAT enters the room and tells them the floor is clear so Alex can be evacuated.

Meanwhile, Richard sneaks in the hospital. Also, instead of taking their patient to ICU, Teddy and Owen bring the patient outside to be evacuated. Owen realizes that Cristina is still in the hospital and Teddy tells him it is okay to choose. Owen makes his choice to go back inside for Cristina.

Charlie takes a turn for the worse so Bailey and Mary drag him on a sheet to the elevator to get him to an OR. However, the elevators have been turned off and Bailey loses it for a minute. She then sits down with Charlie, who asks, “I’m dying right?” In a tear-jerking scene, Bailey responds, “Yes, Charles, you are dying. Don’t be afraid. Mary and I are going to be with you the whole time. You are not alone.” As a final request, Charlie asks Bailey to tell Reed that he always loved her, which she agrees to. Charlie dies in Bailey’s arms.

Owen finds Meredith and goes into the OR to check on Cristina. And as Owen walks in the OR, we see Gary Clark with the gun pointed at Cristina telling her to stop operating on Derek. This was such a shocking scene! I totally didn’t expect to see Gary Clark in the OR. Cristina continues to operate and Owen threatens Mr. Clark saying, “She is the woman that I love. You shoot her and I will kill you.”

Meredith walks in the OR and proclaims, “You want justice. I’m your eye for an eye.” Gary Clark points his gun at Meredith but Cristina divulges that Meredith is pregnant, making Gary hesitate. Owen seizes the moment to try to apprehend Gary but instead ends up getting shot. Jackson then tricks Gary Clark by making it seem like Derek has flatlined and Clark leaves the OR. Cristina yells at Meredith, “I’m trying to save your guy, now try to save mine.” Cristina is able to save Derek. Meanwhile, Meredith, with April assisting, in the other OR is examining Owen and sees the bullet exited. However, in a heartbreaking moment, Meredith realizes she is miscarrying but continues to help Owen.

Richard finds Gary Clark, who explains that, “I was going to kill you and then shoot myself. But I only have one bullet left.” A very strong Richard tells him, “I’ve gone to hell and back. I’ve also known joy and passion. I had a great love. Death for me is not justice but the end of a beautiful journey. I’m not afraid to die. A life in prison or an afterlife with your wife? Me or you?” We hear a gunshot as SWAT is entering the floor. When we see Richard a few minutes later, we realize that Gary Clark has taken his own life.

Later on, Lexie enters a hospital room to see Alex. I assume he is stable but we don’t know.

Outside the hospital and after the ordeal, Callie and Arizona reconcile. Arizona even announces, “I can’t live without you and our ten kids.”

The finale ends with Derek asking to see Meredith and Meredith throwing out the positive pregnancy test.

Wow, what a finale. One of, if not the best I have seen this year, maybe ever. The episode has amazing writing & directing plus superb performances by the entire cast but especially by Chandra Wilson, Ellen Pompeo, Sandra Oh, James Pickens Jr. and Sarah Drew. Some of these performances have to be Emmy worthy.

A couple of reflections on this intense finale…Richard Webber, in my mind, is still the Chief and deserves his role back—it has always been his hospital. Alex made it pretty clear he still loves Izzie which doesn’t bode well for the Alex/Lexie relationship…could Lexie and Mark still have a shot? Way to go, Jackson Avery, another reason to love you!

The biggest thing that irked me from the finale—Meredith’s miscarriage. Come on, give us Mer/Der fans something! Yes, I love that they are happy and together but they didn’t have a real wedding and are married on a Post-It. My biggest fear is that Meredith will be all “dark and twisty” again next season. Sorry for the mini rant.

Where was Ben? How will Jason George’s role on Shonda Rhimes’ new show, Off the Map, affect ‘Ben’ on Grey’s?

Too many what ifs remain but that’s what finales are all about. So Grey’s fans, I think we’ll have to wait until next season to see how “game changing” this episode was and how many of our favorite doctors are still around or how they have been affected by this episode. Until season 7…

Season 6, Episodes 23 & 24: Sensitive & Death and All His Friends (originally aired May 20, 2010)

For more Grey’s Anatomy, click here.

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Photographs courtesy of ABC and Danny Feld.

Up Fronts are where new shows are introduced to the world by network executives, and old shows either make a triumphant return or meet their maker. Held every year in New York City on the third week in May, major networks host an Up Front meeting to reveal their fall primetime pick-ups. Press – including Poptimal! – and advertisers are invited to see clips from new series and meet the actors and crew involved with returning and upcoming shows.

Today in New York City, television network ABC unveiled its 2010-2011 Primetime Schedule set to start in the fall. Many changes come to the schedule as the network loses Lost this weekend with the series coming to an end. Along with the end of one of their biggest shows, ABC announced earlier last week that Romantically Challenged, Better Off Ted, Scrubs, and FlashForward would not be returning for another season. Let’s not forget that Ugly Betty, Hank, The Deep End, Eastwick, and the very recent Happy Town have all met the axe of ABC executives in the last year. So what does the network do when they are in need of new shows to fill in the spots? They emulate what works in their biggest shows.

With the reveal of the schedule its clear that comedy and drama are what ABC is aiming for in the upcoming year.

DAY TIME SERIES

MONDAY: 8:00 p.m. “Dancing with the Stars”

10:00 p.m. “Castle”

TUESDAY: 8:00 p.m. “No Ordinary Family”

9:00 p.m. “Dancing with the Stars the Results Show”

10:00 p.m. “Detroit 1-8-7”

WEDNESDAY: 8:00 p.m. “The Middle”

8:30 p.m. “Better Together”

9:00 p.m. “Modern Family”

9:30 p.m. “Cougar Town”

10:00 p.m. “The Whole Truth”

THURSDAY: 8:00 p.m. “My Generation”

9:00 p.m. “Grey’s Anatomy”

10:00 p.m. “Private Practice”

FRIDAY: 8:00 p.m. “Secret Millionaire”

9:00 p.m. “Body of Proof”

10:00 p.m. “20/20”

SATURDAY: 8:00 p.m. “Saturday Night College Football”

SUNDAY: 7:00 p.m. “America’s Funniest Home Videos”

8:00 p.m. “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”

9:00 p.m. “Desperate Housewives”

10:00 p.m. “Brothers & Sisters”

Many network favorites return in the fall including Brothers & Sisters, Castle, Desperate Housewives, Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, V, Cougar Town, The Middle, Modern Family, America’s Funniest Home Videos, The Bachelor, Dancing With The Stars, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Supernanny, and 20/20.

The biggest emphasis for new shows comes off the success of ABC’s original series Modern Family. With a newfound concentration to build on its comedies, the network has picked up three new comedies. Of the three new shows, Better Together will air in the fall Wednesday comedy block at 8:30 P.M.  Happy Endings and Mr. Sunshine will appear on ABC during midseason.

Based off the trailers shown for the three comedies, Better Together, starring JoAnna Garcia, Jennifer Finnigan, Josh Cooke, Jake Lacy, Kurt Fuller, and Debra Jo Rupp, was easily my favorite. The show follows a family of three couples, Maddie and Ben have been dating for nine years and haven’t married, Mia and Casey who have dated for seven weeks and are engaged, and Vicky and Joel, the parents, married for 35 years who have recently adopted a carefree attitude.

Happy Endings, starring Elisha Cuthbert, Elize Coupe, Zachary Knighton, Adam Pally, Damon Wayans Jr., and Casey Wilson, really didn’t set well with me. The show goes for a real feel with a group of friends and dealing with relationships and break ups.

Mr. Sunshine, starring Matthew Perry, Allison Janney, Andrea Anders, James Lesure, Nate Torrence, and Portia Doubleday follows the life of a self-employed manager of a second-rate San Diego sports arena, who begins to re-evaluate his life on his 40^th birthday. The trailer seemed witty and funny for the most part, but if the show does not form an audience behind it quick, I can see this ending just as quick as Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.

On the drama side, ABC revealed Body of Proof, Detroit 1-8-7, My Generation, No Ordinary Family, and The Whole Truth for the fall schedule, while Shonda Rhimes’ drama Off The Map, will appear midseason.

Body of Proof, starring Dana Delany, follows the aftermath of an accident that ends the career of the brilliant neurosurgeon Dr. Megan Hunt. Instead of giving up, Dr. Hunt continues her career as a medical examiner where she is determined to solve who or what killed the victims. My interest after watching the trailer was pretty low. The show comes off as another rehash of a forensic crime drama, but with more of a medical angle.

Detroit 1-8-7, starting Michael Imperioli, uses a documentary style to follow the Homicide Unit of Detroit’s finest. The cast of the show seems promising. In my opinion this show can take off if the characters are developed properly, otherwise ABC will have just another cop drama on their hands.

The Whole Truth, starring Rob Morrow, takes a unique approach on legal dramas. Following both the perspective of the defense and prosecution, the audience is left guessing till the final scenes as they try to piece together the truth to form their opinion if the defendant is guilty or innocent. I personally found this show interesting in concept, but ultimately the success will be decided with its execution.

Off the Map, from Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice creator Shonda Rhimes, brings viewers to a tiny town in a South American jungle where an understaffed and understocked medical clinic resides. Following the lives of young doctors, who are running away from personal demons, I found this trailer to be refreshing even though it is another medical drama on ABC. By moving the location to an anything can happen, worst case scenario location, where the doctors have barely anything to work with, and only each other to rely on, I found Off the Map on my to watch list when it airs midseason.

Aside from these shows ABC prepared a goodbye video for Lost cataloging the experiences the actors had throughout the last six years. With the end of Lost video, Matthew Fox took stage to introduce two new event shows to look forward to this fall.

My Generation, a documentary style show, follows the lives of graduation seniors in 2000 and comes back to catalogue their lives ten years later in 2010. The show delves into the hopes and dreams each graduating student had and where life took them instead. The show comes off as a bit experimental, but appears to have enough to draw in an audience. My hopes might be a bit high on this, but I can see this becoming a hit show for ABC.

The last show left to talk about is easily the show to look forward to this fall. No Ordinary Family takes the life of an ordinary family and gives them extraordinary powers. After the family survives a plane crash while on vacation each member of the family slowly begins to realize they have powers of their own. The trailer really brought back memories of Disney’s Incredibles. I would add this to your must watch list for the fall.

ABC’s Upfront showed off many promising shows. With an aim more towards comedy and drama it will be an interesting year for the network. Hoping to bank on the success of the new shows, ABC could really use a new network showrunner to pave the way Lost has created for it.

Meredith and Derek have a party where Owen asks Cristina to move in with him—and she agrees to. Later, Meredith confesses to Cristina that she thinks something is going on between Teddy and Owen but won’t tell her everything because she promised Derek she wouldn’t. Finally, Meredith confronts Owen exclaiming, “I know you tried to have Teddy fired and I believe it’s because you’re in love with her. You will tell Cristina, if you’re actually the good guy that she thinks you are.” Owen then confesses to Cristina about trying to get Teddy fired. He also says that he doesn’t know what he feels for Teddy because his memories of her are entangled with his war memories. While Owen and Cristina are talking (in a hospital stairwell), a pager goes off and they see Teddy, below them, who evidently overhead their conversation! At the end of the episode, Meredith and Derek are in bed talking about the new house when Cristina runs in. Derek leaves the girls alone and Cristina tells Mer that she is not moving in with Owen and Meredith replies by letting her know she has her own room “in the new house in the woods.”

Teddy is shocked when she goes to Mark’s apartment and walks in on Reed in his bed because she slept with Mark. Lexie overhears Teddy telling Arizona about walking in on Reed and Mark. Throughout the episode, Lexie tries to downplay that she is not upset that Mark slept with someone, although clearly she is, and not over Mark. Lexie also demands from Alex “I need to know what we are.” Alex responds, “We are a thing. We are together, whatever.”

Later, after being inspired by an older couple, both patients, who found each other at the hospital after not seeing each other for fifty years, Callie informs Mark that he must talk to Lexie because he still loves her. Plus, “you don’t want to let 50 years go by and then realize you let the love of your life get away.” Mark finds Lexie and tells her, “Lex, I’m still in love you with. I tried not to be, it didn’t work. Sloan’s gone. There’s no baby. I don’t want to sleep around. I want another chance.” Lexie is flabbergasted and stammers “I have a boyfriend.” My jaw dropped when Mark said, “I know, I’m saying you could have a husband.” Lexie tears up as she walks away with Alex.

On a side note, Alex deals with a teenage patient (guest star Demi Lovato who had a solid performance) who has been diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic but insists she is not crazy. Alex advocates for his patient and is able to diagnose a rare small hole in her inner ear that magnifies sounds on the inside plus outside her body. After a surgery, the problem is corrected.

Bailey and Ben finally sleep together! She makes him promise to keep their relationship a secret (no flirting or kissing) at the hospital. But Bailey’s happy mood disappears when she witnesses Ben flirting with a nurse. She even confronts Mark asking, “is one woman never enough for some men?” Later, Ben explains to Bailey he flirts, “bad lazy flirting” with the nurse because she makes his schedule and it makes his job easier. He clarifies that “For you who I actually like, I break out my good flirting. My A game.” “…I’m in this for real.” They get on the elevator and Bailey holds his hand.

Callie struggles with her break up with Arizona this episode. She tells Lexie, “all she wants is for her (Arizona) to change her mind (about a baby) and say yes.” They end up on the elevator together and kiss but Arizona gets off again before Callie can talk to her.

A lot of elevator scenes this week! Finally Mark! I was cheering him on as he gave his little speech to Lexie. Never thought we’d actually see the day when Mark Sloan used the word “husband” when referring to himself. Hope they work it out! Also, Bailey so deserves a happy ending and I’m hoping Ben (and the writers) can make that happen.

Looks like we are gearing up for one hell of a finale next week. Mandy Moore guest stars. If you haven’t seen the promos yet, check out these two links (Promo 1 & Promo 2). I’m bracing myself for what will happen and I am a little concerned about who will die. Any guesses on the shooter or who will get shot? I’m leaning towards Gary Clark as the shooter and maybe one of the Mercy Westers as the victim. Let me know what you think. I’ll leave you with two finale sneak peaks (one & two)! Counting down the hours…

Season 6, Episodes 22: Shiny Happy People (originally aired May 13, 2010)

For more Grey’s Anatomy, click here.

Thursdays 9/8c on ABC

Photographs courtesy of ABC and Ron Tom.

Before the arrival of a 700-pound patient with stomach problems, Miranda starts the episode with a brief sensitivity training for the staff so they can “rock their patients’ world.” Bailey expects extra sensitivity with the obese patient and Jackson and Cristina are kicked off the case almost immediately for insensitive comments.

The patient has a severe infection that is eating through his skin and is in need of a risky surgery. The doctors also learn that his wife is pregnant. The patient rejects the surgery at first, choosing rather to die so his child doesn’t have an opportunity to know who he is this way. However, Alex tries to talk some sense into the patient saying that he can’t just give up now for his wife and child’s sake. The pep talk is successful because the patient goes through with the surgery, survives and vows to make a serious lifestyle change.

Since Cristina was kicked off the case, she is told to take care of the young daughter of a heart patient. The girl seems to be driving Cristina crazy, but when the mom is taken in for emergency surgery and the daughter gets upset, Cristina surprisingly makes the decision to stay and comfort the little girl rather than participate in the surgery. Unfortunately, the mom does not make it and Cristina discusses the death of a parent, which sounds like it is coming from personal experience. Jackson offers to talk about it with her, but Cristina asks Meredith to find Owen. Cristina breaks down sobbing in Owen’s arms saying “I miss my dad,” who we learn was in a fatal car accident.

Derek lets it slip to Meredith that Owen “didn’t go to bat for Teddy about the job.” Meredith overhears Teddy thanking Owen for “putting in a good word” for her and a disapproving Meredith gives Owen an accusing look. Later, Owen freaks out at Derek for telling Meredith and expects more from him professionally. Although Meredith explains to Derek that she didn’t say anything to Owen, Derek says that her face must have given it away. He tells her “to do nothing” and not tell Cristina.

Chief Derek had both a busy and stressful episode. He attended a deposition about the wife of Gary Clark who he ordered not to be resuscitated. His lawyer tells him that Mr. Clark has no case. When Derek states that he made the decision in less than a minute, Gary Clark yells that Derek is a “coward and a killer.” After dealing with all of this drama, Derek ends up on the roof with Mark for some “no talking” and hitting golf balls into a dramatic nighttime Seattle skyline.

Lexie overhears Alex and Meredith talking about his divorce papers. Meredith tells him that Lexie cares about him and he should either “make it a thing (between them) or put a stop to it.” At the end of the episode, Alex has made up his mind—(perhaps from some inspiration from his patient), he quickly signs the divorce papers, kisses Lexie and then holding hands they go home together.

A good-looking female patient hits on Callie throughout the episode and gives Callie her phone number. Callie goes home to talk to Arizona and emotionally tells her that she “can’t stop wondering if she (the patient) wants a baby one day.” They both admit to loving each other but Arizona says, “I can’t be the one that keeps you from having a baby” and she goes to pack her things.

Not to worry Calzona fans, Shonda Rhimes tweeted after the episode, “Worry not about Callie and Arizona. This is just a blip in their relationship.” Great news, but I wonder how they will repair this relationship.

Way to go Sandra Oh! A very impressive episode filled with a multitude of emotion! Could this be the year she finally wins an Emmy? Each week goes by and the title of “Chief” seems to be weighing more on Derek. It also appears that he is enjoying his new role less and less. Will Richard be stepping in soon to fill his old position?

Next week: More relationship issues. Demi Lovato guest stars as a troubled teen, plus it looks like Meredith lets the cat out of the bag to Cristina.

For another take on this week’s episode, check out Warm and Fuzzy is the Way by Tanya Lane

Season 6, Episodes 21: How Insensitive (originally aired May 6, 2010)

For more Grey’s Anatomy, click here.

Thursdays 9/8c on ABC

Photographs courtesy of ABC and Danny Feld.

This week’s crisis involves a father and son who were injured in a boating accident.  The father arrives with a huge hook lodged in his torso.  The surgery is going pretty well until Teddy sneezes in the middle of the procedure, jeopardizing the patent’s life and her chances of landing a permanent gig at the hospital.  Meanwhile, Thomas Evans has managed to make everyone fall in love with him, especially Cristina who follows him around like an adoring puppy.  Teddy reminds her that Evans never let her touch the patient during the surgery she observed earlier in the day while shadowing him.  Conversely, Teddy recognizes that Seattle Grace is a teaching hospital and always involves Cristina in the surgery so that she can learn.  Forgetting her goo goo eyes for Evans, Cristina lobbies Owen to put in a good word with Derek so that he will give Teddy a permanent position.  Unbeknownst to Cristina, Owen and Teddy shared a moment in the elevator earlier in the day, nearly kissing.  He was trying to console her about the sneezing fiasco during surgery and reassure her about her job uncertainty.  They almost kissed, but they didn’t.  It looks like Teddy is now too close to comfort for Owen, and it wouldn’t be the end of the world if she left Seattle Grace.  Of course he doesn’t share this with Cristina.  He just gives Derek a half-hearted endorsement of Teddy and lets the chips fall where they may.  Ultimately Derek offers Teddy a permanent job, but only because Evans rejected the offer first.

While Teddy tries to hang on to her job, a few other folks have babies on the brain.  Mark’s daughter finally had her baby boy and is waffling about her decision to put him up for adoption.  Mark would love to raise his grandson, but Arizona (who helped the deliver the baby) strongly opposes canceling the adoption.  She and Callie don’t agree on a future that includes children, and I’m surprised that they are still hanging on to the relationship.  That’s a fundamental difference, and forget about being on the same page.  They aren’t even in the same book when it comes to having kids.  I think Arizona, unfairly, harshly projected her own issues when voicing her disapproval to Mark.  It’s really none of her business what Mark and his daughter decide to do about the baby.  Just because she’s dead-set against having children doesn’t mean everyone else has to be.  I was sort of hoping that Sloan would keep the baby because it would mean so much to Mark, but she was completely inept.  I’m sure most young mothers take a while to get the hang of the whole ‘parenting’ thing, but she seems like an especially incompetent case.  She thinks toy cars are an appropriate gift for a baby that can’t even sit up on his own.  She probably makes the best decision when she upholds the adoption agreement.

In one of the funnier moments of the episode, Bailey calls out Lexie for letting Alex treat her like a “scutmonkey.”  Women have a way of being blinded by good lovin’, and it seems like Lexie is letting Alex take credit for her accomplishments around the hospital.  Bailey encourages her to use her superpower to her advantage rather than giving her power over to Alex.  Lexie has a photographic memory, a gift that has served her well as an intern and helped make her an excellent doctor.  Why should she share findings with Alex and let him take the credit?

Callie thinks she makes a breakthrough when she figures out why Arizona doesn’t want children.  As a pediatric surgeon she watches parents mourn dead children all the time, and she also lost her brother when she was younger.  Callie thinks this is why Arizona doesn’t want children: she fears that she will lose them one day.  Arizona firmly tells her for the last time that she isn’t ”broken” and doesn’t need to be fixed by having children.  She doesn’t want them, period.  When the episode ends it looks as if Callie is abandoning her dream of a family, but I predict that this isn’t the last we’ve heard of the issue.

The writers make sure to contrast Derek’s decision making with Webber’s.  A few times I’ve noticed that they have disagreed about the way to handle certain situations, and I wonder if they are planting the seed that Derek will be proven unfit at some point.  Will Webber ever get his old job back?  Are Owen and Teddy going to ‘officially’ cross the line?  I hope ABC doesn’t make me wait another 2 weeks to find out!

For more on this episode, check out Decisions, Decisions by Allison Toner.

Season 6, Episodes 20: Hook Line and Sinner (originally aired April 29, 2010)

For more Grey’s Anatomy, click here.

Thursdays 9/8c on ABC

Photographs courtesy of ABC and Danny Feld.

Teddy delivers Little Sloan’s healthy baby in Mark’s apartment and then the baby plus Little Sloan are taken to the hospital. While there, Little Sloan surprises Mark by handing over the number of the adoptive parents and asks him to call them for her. Mark is enchanted with his grandson and Little Sloan asks, “maybe we could keep him?” Arizona is opposed to them keeping the baby and suggests that Mark should call the adoptive parents. Mark freaks out and yells, “This is my grandson. I’m not just going to turn him over to some strangers when I might have a chance at a family.”

Little Sloan may not be so ready to be a mother when she overreacts to her son’s crying and doesn’t feel comfortable feeding him his bottle. Derek reminds Mark that even if Little Sloan decides to give the baby up for adoption, she is his daughter and he’s not losing her. Ultimately, Little Sloan decides to give her baby up. Get your tissues ready to watch the scene when Mark gives his grandson some final advice before he hands him over to his new parents.

The well-known cardio surgeon Tom Evans is at the hospital for a surgery and Cristina is beyond excited calling herself his “groupie.” Since Teddy does not have a permanent contract, she talks to Derek about staying on and realizes that Derek is considering Tom Evans for her job. Since she is now competing for her job, it is bad timing for Teddy to have a cold. During surgery on a ship captain who accidentally fell on a shark hook, Teddy sneezes at an inopportune moment—which startles Owen when he is trying to pull the hook out and causes more damage. Later, Teddy breaks down in the elevator with Owen, who comforts her. The pair come very close to kissing but they stop when their beepers go off and the elevator doors open. Cristina is loving Evans and refers to herself as a “cardiothoracic whore” because she wants both Teddy and Evans as teachers. Mark implores Derek to keep Teddy. Plus, Cristina, after talking to Teddy, begs Owen to also encourage Derek to give Teddy the permanent contract. Surprisingly Owen tells Derek that Teddy will be okay if he doesn’t hire her because she has connections on the east coast. In the end, Derek offers the job to Teddy but only after Evans passed on the position.

Lexie and Alex are still sleeping together but a rude Alex is treating her pretty crappy telling her that she over analyzes everything and calls her names. Bailey advises Lexie that she is “handing her power over to a boy because he is giving you sex.” Alex is angry after Lexie diagnoses a difficult case—a highly contagious disease—in their patient, the son of the boat captain. Lexie tells him, “you can’t be an ass to me all day and then expect me to give you respect or sex.” Way to be assertive Lexie!!

Jackson clues Meredith onto the fact that April “thinks her husband walks on water.” April tries to assure Meredith that it is just professional and that he is only her mentor. Although Meredith is a little concerned because Derek became interested in her when she was an intern. Following some advice from Alex, Meredith shaves her legs, calls Derek “Chief Shepherd” and seduces him. Glad to see this couple is doing well!

We first see Callie and Arizona arguing about having a baby. Nothing Callie says changes Arizona’s mind. A frustrated Callie tells Mark that, “Arizona wants to go to Spain. She’s choosing suntan lotion over family.” However, Callie suddenly realizes that perhaps Arizona’s resistance has to do with her brother who passed away and the pain that her parents suffered afterwards. When Callie tries to talk to Arizona about her brother, Arizona exclaims that, “I’m not broken. My lack of wanting to have a baby is not some pathology that you can pat yourself on the back for having diagnosed. I like my life the way that it is. I thought I liked it with you in it. I hope I’m not wrong.” Later, Callie tells Arizona that she doesn’t need a baby but breaks down into tears.

I felt awful for Mark this week. It was a heart-wrenching scene when he had to hand over his grandson. Also, Derek is clearly not loving his role of “chief.” I wonder how much longer he will remain chief or if Richard may take back his title. Finally, April annoys me! How far will she take this crush on Derek or will she try to act on it? I was glad to see that Meredith didn’t totally overreact about April’s crush. It shows that Mer & Der have a solid relationship.

Overall, the episode was enjoyable. It was worth the wait. Season six only has four episodes remaining. I am curious to see how certain storylines will play out. How are Bailey and Ben doing? Will Mer and Der get pregnant or really get married before the season ends? What is the fate of Callie and Arizona plus the love triangle of Cristina, Owen and Teddy? Hang in there fellow Grey’s fans, there is much more ground to cover.

Next week: An obese patient visits the hospital and a certain case comes back to haunt Derek.

For another opinion on this episode, read Tanya Lane’s review here.

Season 6, Episodes 20: Hook Line and Sinner (originally aired April 29, 2010)

For more Grey’s Anatomy, click here.

Thursdays 9/8c on ABC

Photographs courtesy of ABC and Danny Feld.

A common theme on this show is loss, which is to be expected since it’s set in a hospital.  This week a patient had a tumor removed successfully, but before she could fully recover she suffered a stroke.  Before the stroke, but after the surgery, Lexie tells the patient’s husband that she has pulled through successfully and that he can visit her.  Before he arrives at her bedside, she has already suffered a stroke.  The man has been on an emotional rollercoaster, and we’re reminded that Lexie is still rather “green” when it comes to surgery.  She still gets emotionally invested in her patients, and as we saw with Izzie that can prove disastrous.  The woman had signed a directive not to be kept alive artificially, and Seattle Grace has every intention of honoring her wishes, despite her husband’s protests.  I would imagine this painful scene happens in real life quite often, as spouses have difficulty letting go when their husband or wife becomes incapacitated.  The woman’s husband begs the doctors not to give up on his wife, but there is nothing more they can do ethically or legally.  He tearfully waits at her bedside until Lexie “pulls the plug.”

While all of this is going on, young April is lusting after McDreamy, giving him the Psycho Eye.  Remember her?  She’s the one responsible for a patient’s death in the “Dark and Stormy Night Murder Mystery” Episode a while back.  When Derek was named Chief he gave her back her job.  I would’ve let her get some practice reps in on a CPR dummy before I let her touch a patient again, but that’s just me.  Lexie catches on to her and confronts her about crushing on her brother-in-law.  April promises to reign it in, but look for her to do something really psychotic in an upcoming episode, like getting busted sniffing McDreamy’s scrubs or something like that.  You heard it here first.

I didn’t forget about Owen, who once again has the most layered storyline in this episode.  While performing surgery on the cop he warns the team to be aware of potential “devastators,” which are bullets designed to explode on impact.  Cristina removes the bullet and before Owen can stop her it explodes, nearly killing the patient.  They begin to bicker and Owen really goes off on her during surgery.  It’s like there are times that he forgets he’s in a hospital and he thinks he’s on a military base somewhere.  He yells that Cristina should listen to him and Teddy because they know things that she doesn’t.  This is what I mentioned last week: that Owen and Teddy share a special and unique bond that no one else can really understand.  Teddy later explains that Cristina has to let Owen open up on his own and let him come to decisions on his own; a common personality trait in Alpha males.  In a subtle but powerful scene back at Cristina’s place, he reaches out for her and she reflexively jerks away.  “You’re afraid of me?” he asks in disbelief.  Cristina says that she doesn’t want to be, and in that moment Owen realizes that he must resume his therapy.

How can you go any higher when you’re already at the top?  Grey’s Anatomy is so good that each week I’m surprised that the writers can maintain this level of excellence.  I don’t know how they manage to do it, but my TV is sure better because of it.

For more on this episode, check out All Eyes on Alex & Babies by Allison Toner.

Season 6, Episodes 19: Sympathy for the Parents (originally aired April 1, 2010)

For more Grey’s Anatomy, click here.

Thursdays 9/8c on ABC

Photographs courtesy of ABC and Ron Tom.

Last week

Derek shocks Meredith by proposing that it might be time to have a baby. Meredith’s response—to go into the bathroom where Alex is showering and tells him “I need you to be a girl for me” so she can vent. Alex also confides in Meredith that Izzie sent official divorce papers. Their chat is interrupted by Derek who announces that Alex’s brother, Aaron, who Alex hasn’t seen in seven years, is downstairs. It turns out that Aaron has a hernia and needs surgery but doesn’t have insurance to cover it. Alex asks Bailey to do the surgery pro bono, which she agrees to.

Aaron begins to shed some insight on Alex’s past—17 different foster homes in five years, was in juvie at age eleven or twelve for stealing food because their Mom forgot to buy some. As Bailey later puts it and I agree, “Junkie Dad, Crackpot Mom. Somehow Karev still became a doctor, I’m impressed.” Unfortunately, Arizona and then Lexie spill the beans about Izzie. A furious Aaron confronts Alex telling him he is just like their father, which erupts into a brawl. Despite their fight, Alex sits by Aaron’s side until he wakes up from surgery. The Karevs make up and Aaron confesses that Alex was a “better parent than Mom and Dad were together.” We also learn that Alex sends money and his mom’s medicine each month. Later on after Aaron has left, Meredith tells Alex, “you’re nothing like your father” and Alex responds, “You’re nothing like your mother. You’re good, you’d be a good mom.”

Owen is still in “his dark place,” as Cristina called it, and is barely speaking to her and not going to see Dr. Wyatt. During a surgery on a cop who had been shot multiple times with “devastator” bullets, Cristina, by accident, sets one off causing more damage and Owen to harshly freak out at her. After the surgery, Teddy advises Cristina not to tell Owen what to do, in regards to therapy, and to just tell him how she feels. Back at the apartment, Owen becomes furious when he burns part of their dinner. He realizes that he frightened Cristina and it is time to go back to therapy.

Mark and Teddy both begin the episode by bragging about how fantastic the sex was that they had. However, Teddy tells Arizona that Owen is going through something that Cristina doesn’t understand and she is frustrated she can’t be there for him. Later on, while in bed with Mark, Teddy tries to be honest with him about something, (I can only assume her lingering feelings for Owen), but he asserts that she doesn’t have to say anything. Mark’s doorbell starts to incessantly ring and he answers it to find (much to my surprise) Little Sloan there yelling “the baby’s coming!”

Callie and Arizona have been avoiding the topic of “kids” and instead talking about random things like pound cake. After talking to Bailey about the perfect time to have kids (Bailey’s answer: “You wait until the perfect time to have kids, you’re never going to have kids.”), Callie tells Arizona they must stop avoiding the baby issue and talk, which Arizona agrees to.

Throughout the episode, Richard, April, and Lexie deal with a tear-jerking case with a patient who had a stroke post-surgery and must be taken off her ventilator in accordance with her wishes, despite her husband’s protests. However, what we notice is that April has a HUGE crush on Derek. Lexie confronts her about it but a humiliated April says to forget about it. My guess is it won’t end there…leave Meredith and Derek alone!!

What a fantastic episode! It only took six seasons but we finally have learned about Alex’s past! I always enjoy when we discover background information and see more character depth! Alex had a very crappy childhood and this definitely sheds some light onto his tough exterior.

More Alex and Meredith BFF scenes please—who knew they would be so cute together! Plus, I vote for Mer & Der to have a baby ASAP—it would add more dimension to their relationship.

Ok, totally didn’t see Little Sloan’s return coming…I thought it was going to be Lexie at Mark’s door. Now, I’m wondering if she’s changed her mind and will give the baby to Mark and Callie. No new episode next week—so we have to be patient for some answers.

For another opinion on this episode, read Am I My Brother’s Keeper? by Tanya Lane.

Season 6, Episodes 19: Sympathy for the Parents (originally aired April 1, 2010)

For more Grey’s Anatomy, click here.

Thursdays 9/8c on ABC

Photographs courtesy of ABC and Ron Tom.

Teddy has a terminal Cancer patient who wishes to commit medically-assisted suicide.  It’s one thing to have a philosophical or professional difference of opinion, but Owen adamantly opposes the notion.  The patient is resolute in her desire to end her own life, and Owen finally accepts her wishes after ordering more needless and painful testing procedures.  He would rather give the woman’s husband false hope about her condition than accept her right to die.  He becomes emotionally unhinged at the hospital, and shuts down whenever anyone asks him what’s wrong.  This includes Teddy, Cristina, and Derek – who finally sends him home.  Through flashbacks it is revealed that during his last tour of duty, Owen’s vehicle was struck by an I.E.D., killing everyone aboard except him and his Captain, a colleague and close friend.  The Captain is mortally wounded; it appears that his jugular vein has been cut and the only thing stopping the life from flowing out of him is Owen’s hand covering the wound.  He is in excruciating pain and the pair have been waiting for rescue for hours.  Owen refuses to let the man die, despite his protests.  The Captain tells him that help isn’t coming and orders him to mercifully remove his hand.  Eventually Owen obliges, and I know that as soon as he does so that help will arrive. I’ve seen The Mist, and something similar happened.  Sure enough, as the Captain gurgles his last breath, a floodlight appears and a chopper can be heard in the distance.  It’s Teddy, with a worried, relieved smile on her face.  I don’t think Owen ever revealed the details of his ordeal, and he’s carried this enormous burden for a long time.  No wonder he freaked out about Teddy’s patient – it thrust him back into one of the most devastating moments of his life.  Not only do the flashbacks reveal Owen’s pain, they also show the close and unique bond that he shared with Teddy.  I don’t know how Cristina can top that.  Owen and Teddy have literally been through hell together.  It was fascinating to see them together in a life they shared far away from Seattle Grace.

Owen was the focus of last week’s episode, but the other docs had their own issues as well.  Callie and Arizona may not be in it for the long haul if they can’t see eye to eye on whether or not children are in their future.  Callie appreciates the fragility of life more after treating a couple of thrill-seeking patients who have broken some bones jumping from a helicopter.  Their other friend (who wasn’t injured) confesses that he’s not an adrenaline junkie; he only participated to appease his buddies.  Callie spills the beans and the guys realize that none of them are into the whole “X-Games” thing.  Life is too precious to risk it unneccesarily.

Respect and appreciation for life were the themes of the show; but after Owen finally accepts the patient’s wish to die, he sagely narrates: “Living is better than dying. Until it’s not.”  The episode closes with Teddy reaching out to Mark, so it looks as if her and Owen’s connection has been permanently severed.  Can the same be said for Arizona and Callie?  I can’t wait to find out.

For more on this episode, check out Facing Challenges by Allison Toner.

Season 6, Episodes 18: Suicide is Painless (originally aired March 25, 2010)

For more Grey’s Anatomy, click here.

Thursdays 9/8c on ABC

Photographs courtesy of ABC and Ron Tom.

After an opening scene with Owen not being able to sleep, we see Teddy talking to Kim, her patient with stage four lung cancer. Kim wants to end her life through physician assisted suicide. To do so, the patient needs two doctor signatures and Teddy has asked Owen to sign off. Teddy is surprised and then angry when Owen refuses and goes to Derek behind his back about it. She even yells at Owen in the caf asking “what the hell is your problem?” Teddy then gets Mark to sign off as the second signature.

What Teddy doesn’t know is this situation hits a little too close to home for Owen and reminds him of his time in Iraq—which he begins having flashbacks of. First it is of playing soccer with Teddy and their superior officer, Dan. Then while transporting injured soldiers with Dan in a humvee (Teddy went in a helicopter), they hit an explosive device. The explosion kills everyone except for Owen and Dan, who is severely injured and in a lot of pain. In a tearjerking scene, Dan gives Owen his wedding ring to return to his wife, they recite a Hail Mary together, and Dan encourages Owen to propose to Teddy. Dan then begs Owen to let him die.

As Kim’s husband is returning to Seattle Grace with the barbiturates that will kill her, he sees Owen sitting on a bench outside the hospital. Owen tells him, “there’ll be a moment when she dies, her face will relax and all that pain will be gone. And you’ll know with absolute certainty you did the right thing.” Owen advises him to hang onto that moment. Later that night, Owen still cannot sleep and also can’t stop thinking about Teddy and their time in Iraq.

Meredith excitedly interrupts Derek’s meeting to tell him about a tumor that she diagnosed and will soon operate on, or so she thinks. An overwhelmed Derek is struggling to balance his responsibilities as Chief and feels he cannot eat in the cafeteria without being bombarded with requests. He also misses surgery and steals Meredith’s surgery to perform himself. Meredith is less than happy and makes her feelings known to Derek. Jackson cheers her up by explaining “the key is to think of yourself as one of the ‘Whos down in ‘Whoville.’ You know when ‘the Grinch’ came down and stole all of their presents, they didn’t let that ruin Christmas for them. Instead, they came out on Christmas morning and they sang. You’re going to go into that surgery and sing. Sing Cindy Lou, sing.” Jackson is such a cutie and my favorite “Mercy Wester!”

Meanwhile, Richard is feeling awkward and is not fitting in with the rest of the doctors now that he is no longer “the Chief.” No one will sit with him at lunch in the caf (mean!) and his “I’d hit that” conversation with the guys doesn’t go over too well. Mark tries to explain that it is a sign of respect because they still see him as “the coach” not a player.  Towards the end of the episode, Richard offers Derek some advice about being “Chief” and says they can eat lunch together.

On the relationship front…Mark instructs Callie (multiple times) to tell Arizona that she wants kids. Callie finally admits to Arizona, who at first thinks she is breaking up with her, that “I want to have a baby at some point in my life. I have to have a baby.” Arizona is obviously upset when she pulls her hands out of Callie’s.

Mark is amazed at what you can learn about someone by just talking and not having sex. No kidding! For example, “Teddy hates the word ‘moist’ and would really prefer people say damp.” But when Teddy shows up at his door, after her patient’s death, they do a little bit more than just talking…

This week’s episode was extremely moving. What a fantastic performance by Kevin McKidd! With Owen focusing on Teddy, I wonder if the end is near for Cristina and Owen? Also, it is amazing how the relationships have become intertwined and more complicated. We’ve seen Cristina & Owen, Teddy & Mark, Lexie & Mark, Lexie & Alex and we know that Teddy (maybe not after being with Mark) and Owen seem to be harboring feelings for each other.  Wonder what they will come up with next…

Last review, I mentioned I heard rumors that Katherine Heigl was leaving Grey’s. Well, if you haven’t heard, I can confirm this week that she is officially done, citing that she wants to spend more time with her daughter Naleigh, and her appearance in the January 21^st episode was her last as Izzie Stevens.

Since there are only a few more episodes left this season, I want to share one other tidbit I heard about casting. It has been confirmed that Dr. Jackson Avery (Jesse Williams) will continue on in season seven while Charlie (Robert Baker) and Reed (Nora Zehetner) have been let go. No word yet on April (Sarah Drew). I am thrilled to hear that Jackson will be back. As far as Charlie and Reed go, sorry but I just didn’t like them.

Next Week: A baby for Mer/Der? (A baby could be a fun addition to Grey’s!) Plus, Alex’s brother shows up at Seattle Grace Mercy West.

For another opinion on this episode, read Shell-Shocked Owen by Tanya Lane.

Season 6, Episodes 18: Suicide is Painless (originally aired March 25, 2010)

For more Grey’s Anatomy, click here.

Thursdays 9/8c on ABC

Photographs courtesy of ABC, Craig Sjodin, Scott Garfield, and Michael Desmond.

Richard and Owen compete for a complex surgery on a cancer patient and heated words are exchanged. Derek steps in and tells them both to draw up their own strategies for the surgery, with the help of Cristina or Meredith and he will pick the winner. Cristina volunteers to work with Richard and spy on him for Owen. However, this quickly changes because Richard catches on and offers to let her take part in his surgery. During Derek’s review of the two proposals, he calls Richard’s plan impressive but opts to go with Owen’s. Richard is furious and tells him,

“Let me tell you about your new job. You manage surgeons. Your job is to help them to do what they do, the way they do it, not the way you do it. It takes vision and you don’t have it.”

Ouch! When Owen runs into some trouble during surgery and asks for Richard’s help, Richard doesn’t hesitate and they work together to save the patient.

Mark reveals to Callie that he is lonely and she encourages him to find a “grownup” to date. Teddy and Mark work together for a patient and Callie believes that Teddy would be great for Mark so she pushes him to ask her out. Mark asks Teddy to dinner and she says no but has second thoughts after talking with Arizona, who tells her “Mark is like candy, eat and forget about it.” Teddy then agrees to what she thinks is drinks and sex but Mark wanted to take her to a nice Thai restaurant. An obviously jealous Owen overhears and tells Mark to leave Teddy alone which Meredith witnesses. Later on, Meredith warns Owen, “You were jealous. It took a long time to make Cristina happy and she’s finally happy. And if you mess with that, I will turn on you.”

Mark is a little down that Teddy refused to go to dinner with him, so Callie gives him a pep talk and tells him he is a “good guy worth getting to know.” After watching him in surgery on their patient, Teddy agrees to go to dinner with Mark. However, Mark tells her he will take her to lunch “because I want to build a life and a family and I’m not wasting my time on someone who doesn’t share that interest.” Wow, a mature Mark Sloan!

Throughout, Alex is still skittish around Mark because of how Mark was treating him after he found out Lexie was sleeping with him. Lexie is frustrated that Mark isn’t moving on. However, when Alex tells her that Mark asked Teddy out, Lexie breaks down sobbing on the bathroom floor.

Ben invites Bailey over to his place for dinner, which he will cook. It will be their third date and Bailey begins to freak out after Callie tells her the third date is the “sex date.” For the majority of the time Bailey has it together but this episode she is a mess and worries whether she is cut out for dating. Callie attempts to comfort her by hugging her and reassuring her that she can date. Later that night at Ben’s apartment (which by the way is awesome! I don’t think any of these doctors have ugly apartments), Bailey can no longer take it and announces, “I don’t do things because there is a timeline.” Ben makes Bailey have a conversation and they are on the same page about sex: the “3^rd date was a little early.” Bailey asks if he is concerned they will end up just friends. Ben’s response—“I don’t want to be your friend. I have enough friends” and he kisses her. They compliment each other very well!

Callie was the go-to person for relationship advice (for Bailey and Mark) during this episode. She enjoyed her new role giving “sane and healthy advice.” She tells Arizona they are the “stable couple” and can see them “ten years from now with kids.” Arizona’s response,  “I’m in it for all but the kids.” Callie looked devastated! So much for Arizona and Callie being the stable couple! My guess is there may be trouble in paradise very soon…

No Sloan and Teddy! I know I sound like a broken record but please put Lexie and Sloan back together! Obviously Lexie’s “not feeling” with Alex isn’t helping too much nor is she over Mark. Here’s another possible twist, I know it’s from left field but Callie and Mark getting together. They both want kids, they are best friends…could be an unconventional family.

Will Richard become Chief again soon or will he remain a surgeon? Curious to see how that will play out and how long they will wait before addressing it.

Did some research yesterday and saw a multitude of new articles on Katherine Heigl which stated that she is definitely done with Grey’s and has already filmed her last episode. She was supposed to report on March 1^st, at the end of her maternity leave, for filming and didn’t show up. Goodbye Izzie! I don’t know how much truth there was in the articles but had to share.

Next new Grey’s episode in two weeks (3/25)!

For another opinion on this episode, check out Tanya Lane’s review here.

Season 6, Episodes 17: Push (originally aired March 11, 2010)

For more Grey’s Anatomy, click here.

Thursdays 9/8c on ABC

Photographs courtesy of ABC and IMDbPro.

Although his method was not selected, Richard still gets to be a hero when Owen calls him into the surgery to help with an unanticipated complication.  He’s still one of the most brilliant doctors at Seattle Grace, Chief or not.  It’s funny to watch the interaction between him and the others, because they still defer to him, forgetting that he’s not in charge anymore.  I think Derek will end up being a good Chief; he just has to learn to manage the interpersonal dynamics better.  From scolding Mark about bedding nurses to keeping the interns in line, Derek seems more like a parent than Chief sometimes.

Another theme from last week’s episode was moving on from the old and opening yourself up to the new.  Bailey and her hottie anesthesiologist Ben are actually dating, and it’s funny to watch her give up the control she’s used to wielding around the hospital.  Callie convinced her that sex might be a possibility since the third date is coming up, and this sends Bailey into an absolute tizzy involving failed waxing and condom pilfering.  When it comes time to lay the cards on the table with her new beau, Bailey reverts back into boss mode, lecturing him about whether or not he should be expecting them to take it to the next level on the third date.  Ben astutely points out that she’s used to people fearing her and thus keeping quiet, but that he’s not afraid of her and won’t allow her to talk AT him rather than TO him.  This was a huge breakthrough for Bailey and I think Ben is just the kind of man she needs – one that can take charge and put her in her place if she needs it.

Mark is also looking for the right romantic balance in his life.  After his heart to heart with Callie last week he knows he wants a woman who is looking for a serious relationship with the possibility of starting a family.  Arizona has convinced Teddy to give Mark a whirl because he’s always up for a commitment-free good time, not realizing that Mark has actually turned over a new leaf.  Teddy assumes Mark is good for a roll in the hay but he lets her know he’s seeking something more real and substantial.  The episode closes with them agreeing to go on a date and really get to know each other to see if there’s a potential connection.  Of course nothing at Seattle Grace remains a secret for long, and Lexie hears through the grapevine that Mark is putting the moves on Teddy.  She dismisses it as Mark just trying to add another notch to his bedpost, but she eventually learns from Alex that Mark is actually serious about getting to know Teddy and seeing if they can form something real.  This crushes Lexie because it proves that he is really moving on in a meaningful way.  Here’s what’s really interesting though: it looks like Owen might be a little jealous too.  He made a big show of professing his love for Cristina and rejecting Teddy, but I began suspecting last week that he might have some residual feelings there.  Sure enough, when he finds out Mark is taking an interest in Teddy, he doesn’t like it.  He claims it’s because Teddy is a friend and Mark is a womanizer (certainly plausible), but Meredith isn’t buying it and calls him out.  She threatens that there will basically be hell to pay if he hurts her.

The episode ended with Lexie crying and Bailey and Ben smooching.  Strange new emotions for two different characters, proving that you never know what’s next on this great show.   Stay tuned!

For another opinion on this episode, check out Battle of the Surgeons by Allison Toner.

Season 6, Episodes 17: Push (originally aired March 11, 2010)

For more Grey’s Anatomy, click here.

Thursdays 9/8c on ABC

Photographs courtesy of ABC and IMDbPro.

This week the social commentary seems especially relevant. Laura Prepon (That 70’s Show) guest stars as Frankie, an avid blogger who doesn’t hesitate in sharing with her Internet audience every small detail of her life. This is something that understandably upsets her boyfriend, Taylor. Things start to get weird, however, when her face begins to bruise inexplicably and her gums start bleeding.

House & Chase

While the rest of the team treats Frankie, Wilson invites House to join him and Chase in a speed dating adventure. House and Chase have a bet going on: Chase believes women don’t base everything on appearance, House naturally disagrees. House challenges Chase to ditch the Aussie accent and act like a complete jerk to the women; he says Chase will still score a ton of dates regardless of his personality.

During the speed dating, poor Wilson is stuck talking about cancer when he lets slip what his job is; House diagnoses some of the women; and Chase stays true to his word and acts like a lazy video gamer. By the end of the night, despite his unappealing attitude, Chase still leaves with the most amount of dates. It’s a tough pill for him to swallow when he starts to think Cameron was only with him for his looks. He ponders this throughout the entire episode, and honestly, it starts to feel just a bit silly.

House & Wilson

House’s love of pornography is definitely not a secret. But you know what is? Wilson’s unintentional involvement in one! During his college days, Wilson helped a film major friend put together an innocent movie about cavemen – or something of the sort. This friend, however, never found any mainstream success and instead resorted to pornos by using old footage of Wilson and updating it with steamy scenes using another actor. Thus ‘Feral Pleasures’ was born. Oh, Wilson. He always gets the short end of the stick, doesn’t he?

There’s no way House will keep his discovery quiet, and before long the entire hospital knows and posters of Wilson in his cavemen gear are plastered all over Princeton Plainsboro. Wilson’s determined to get back at House and with Chase’s help he discovers that House has been reading a book filled with sermons by a Unitarian minister. What is up with that?!

The Finale

Poor Frankie has been misdiagnosed with one thing after another. First they tell her she has a year to live, and then it’s shortened to only a matter of days.  She continues having debates with her boyfriend about how much she should be blogging and how much information should be shared online. This isn’t the first time House has used the Internet as a source of conflict in the show – remember the patient who kept trying to diagnose himself using Internet forums?

Frankie’s condition is actually Whipple’s disease which caused a change in her bowel movements several months ago and primarily affects the small intestines. By the end of the show, her condition is no longer fatal and she and Taylor seem to come to an understanding regarding the blogging.

The great mystery about why House is all of a sudden reading a book of sermons is finally revealed: the author is actually House’s biological father. Say what?! Now that is what I call a twist! While having never met his father, House is instead trying to get to know the man through his book. Does this mean we might be soon introduced to House Sr.?

This week’s Houseisms:

“Privacy is a modern day invention.” -Taub

“Life is a beauty pageant.” -House

“It’s not about connection, it’s a performance. You’ve turned our lives into their entertainment.” -Taylor the boyfriend.

For another take on this week’s episode, check out Private Lives by Cameron Cubbison.

Season 6, Episode 14: Private Lives (originally aired March 8, 2010)

For more on House, click here.

Mondays 8/7c on FOX

Photographs courtesy of NBC Universal and IMDbPro.

This episode was full of surprises, namely the arrival of renowned surgeon Harper Avery, a man whose name is bestowed upon one of the most prestigious awards a doctor can receive.  The man is accompanied to the ER by his grandson, none other than resident pretty boy Jackson Avery, whom you may recall is one of the original Mercy Westers.  Obviously Jackson concealed his laudable lineage from his peers, preferring to own a reputation on his own merits.  Of course surgeons have super-sized egos, and Harper Avery’s ego is almost bigger than Seattle Grace.  After Cristina embarrasses herself in front of him the other residents stumble over themselves trying to please and impress the ailing genius.  Even Bailey and Webber succumb to his requests.  He insists that Richard Webber perform his procedure, and he demands to be kept awake for it.  He initially asked for Dr. Grey, but it was Ellis he was looking for rather than Meredith, who explains that her mother has passed away.  Richard ends up doing the surgery, and I’ve never seen anything so crazy.  The guy was literally barking instructions while they operated.  The only thing left for him to do was actually grab the scalpel and finish the job himself! Meredith was allowed in on the procedure because of her last name, and Jackson also assisted on his grandfather’s surgery.  It was Richard’s first day back as a surgeon working under Derek, and he would have preferred to ease back into surgery rather than roast on the hot seat under the glare of one of the most preeminent figures in American medicine.  Avery admires Webber’s testicular fortitude and praises him, while admonishing Derek’s reticence.  The surgery is successful, but when post-op complications arise Richard questions himself.  Derek takes charge, refusing to allow Avery to participate in the second surgery and reassuring Richard that he can handle the procedure.  He’s showing excellent judgment as Chief and eschewed competition in favor of friendship and loyalty to Richard.

Let me return to Lexie and the anatomical placement of her heart.  It seems no one can believe that sweet “Little Grey” can really handle a purely physical relationship with Alex.  Everyone thinks she is catching feelings for him, even Alex.  In the aftermath of their breakup both Mark and Lexie have been spreading the love around.  Lexie has Alex and Mark has the nursing staff.  Finally, Callie calls Mark on his crap and tells him that his daughter Sloan leaving can be the best thing that happened to him or the worst thing that happened to him.  The choice is his.  It looked like she made a breakthrough, but it’s all for naught when he sees Lexie’s post-coitus afterglow after a quickie with Alex.  Mark was just apologizing to Alex for kicking him out of surgeries when Lexie strolls out with her hair disheveled and skin glistening. Ouch.

Meanwhile Cristina makes up for her earlier stumble in front of Harper Avery by performing a totally kick-ass lung transplant with Teddy and Lexie.  Their patient was deemed undesirable by the Transplant Board, having only a remote chance of getting the organs he needed due to his bleak prognosis.  When a motorcycle crash victim cannot be saved, Owen and his team manage to keep his organs viable, and Cristina basically steals the patient’s lungs.  They were going to be discarded anyway, so it isn’t technically stealing, but it was definitely a risky move.  The transplant is successful, and it ends up being a good day all around at Seattle Grace.

I like the new dynamic between Richard and Derek.  Both of them are going to have to swallow their pride. Richard because he’s no longer Chief, and Derek because he doesn’t know nearly as much as Richard, as Harper Avery coolly pointed out. Another great episode!

For another opinion on this episode, check out Family Affairs by Allison Toner.

Season 6, Episodes 16: Perfect Little Accident (originally aired March 4, 2010)

For more Grey’s Anatomy, click here.

Thursdays 9/8c on ABC

Photographs courtesy of ABC and Eric McCandless.