Notes on Pop Culture: Dysfunctional Showtime Moms, Cancer on TV, Binging on 'Covert Affairs'

Dysfunctional Showtime Moms

When the Wall Street Journal ran a story this past spring saying that Showtime was cultivating a slate of shows featuring dysfunctional, strong women, building on the success of Weeds, I think they were underplaying it.

After watching the first few episodes of the new season of Weeds and the new Laura Linney cancer dramedy The Big C, on top of what they've with Edie Falco’s Nurse Jackie and Toni Collette’s United States of Tara the word "dysfunctional" doesn’t quite cover it. I wrote about Showtime's off-beat moms in my latest pop culture column this week.

Cancer on TV

Speaking of The Big C, watching Linney’s Cathy Jamison -- who’s upending her life in the wake of her stage 4 cancer diagnosis -- got me thinking about TV characters and cancer and how other characters dealt with the news.

As I thought about TV and cancer, for some reason, my mind kept going to Charlie Salinger from the 1990s show Party of Five. While Charlie didn't immediately shake things up in his life when he learned he had cancer, he did make some changes after he went into remission. (The video below features the scene where Charlie learned he'd gone into remission and shared the news with his family.)

My CliqueClack TV post looked at Charlie, Kitty Walker from Brothers & Sisters, Lynette Scavo from Desperate Housewives, Walter White from Breaking Bad and Izzie Stevens from Grey’s Anatomy.



Binging on Covert Affairs

I’d only seen a small number of episodes of USA’s new CIA drama Covert Affairs up until this week, when I decided to binge on them. It’s not Alias. Annie Walker is certainly no Sydney Bristow. But Covert Affairs is kind of light, kind of unexpectedly twisty and fun to watch, plus I get to see actors whom I've admired from other shows, like Anna Dudek (who’s fierce on Big Love, was conniving on House and is distinctly 60s suburban mom on Mad Men), Sendhil Ramamurthy (who was the mysterious researcher on Heroes), Peter Gallagher (of late from Rescue Me where he was an unconventional priest), Kari Matchett (who’d been turned into an alien but didn’t know it on Invasion and a political advisor on 24), plus I got to see D.W. Moffett. (Joe McCoy on Friday Night Lights)

Covert Affairs has been renewed for a second season.

Notes on Pop Culture: Heigl Reportedly Working on Exit, 'Grey's' Deals in Power Struggles & Jealousies, 'Private Practice' Love Triangles

*Warning, spoilers ahead from the recent episodes of Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice.*

No More Izzie Stevens?

Have we seen the last of Katherine Heigl as Izzie Stevens on Grey's Anatomy? Was that locker room scene with Alex Karev back in January at Seattle Grace, when she said she was looking for a job out of town, her last? Entertainment Weekly, quoting unnamed sources, says that Heigl is currently negotiating details with ABC brass so she can leave the ABC drama.

Izzie has been mysteriously absent for most of this season. First George O'Malley died. Then she miraculously recovered from cancer that seemed like it was going to kill her. She got canned from Seattle Grace and fled in shame, refusing to make contact with Alex or with her doctors. She popped in a few weeks ago for one episode but then disappeared again making vague statements about looking for work elsewhere.

We knew that in real life, Heigl took time off for a movie and to bond with the baby she recently adopted, but it wasn't publicly clear, until today, that Izzie may not appear on Grey's again. Wonder if the Grey's writers will concoct a story about Izzie dying -- maybe getting George O'Malley'd and hit by a bus? -- or if they'll just never mention her again, kind of like Erica Hahn who disappeared into a parking lot.

It's kind of sad what happened to the once interesting Izzie. (I know, there are plenty of Izzie haters, but -- excluding the Gizzie debacle -- I wasn't one of them.) I would've liked to have learned more about her trailer park background, about the circumstances which led her to give up her daughter for adoption. Her backstory made her interesting. I much prefer her to ANYONE from Mercy West.

Grey's "Push" episode

The latest episode of Grey's, "Push" -- about which I blogged over on CliqueClack TV -- focused largely on a power struggle between Richard Webber and Owen Hunt, Richard and Derek Shepherd and the jealousies experienced by Owen over McSteamy's interest in Teddy Altman (for whom Owen still harbors feelings) and Lexie over McSteamy moving on.

After watching this episode I'm willing to climb out on a limb and make these three predictions. By the end of the season, 1) McSteamy and Callie Torres will be trying to have a baby (given Arizona Robbins' bombshell at the end of "Push") 2) Owen and Cristina will be kaput or circling the drain and 3) Derek will no longer be chief.

My favorite part of the recent episode: Bailey's rant about how she saw no need to wax her "surgical area" and that if her male friend couldn't handle a little "nature" and "God," then he wasn't worth her time. That, and her embarrassment at the prospect of having to pick up condoms for her date, were fantastic.

Private Practice keeps being romantically ridiculous

I'm really growing weary of the romantic storylines on Private Practice this season. I really wish the characters would heed Sheldon Wallace's advice to "grow the hell up" -- including Sheldon.

The sophomoric "I love you . . . No, I love you now . . . No, no, no, YOU'RE my soul mate" blather has gotten really old. I'd much rather see these late thirty- and fortysomething characters start acting like mature professionals who hold people's lives and mental health in their hands, not like teenagers in heat governed solely by their hormones.

It's not that I'm hoping they'll all get married and enjoy placid, loving relationships, but, as I said in my CliqueClack TV review of the latest episode "Triangles," I'm starting to think we need a who's-sleeping-with-whom scorecard in order to figure out Private Practice these days.

Image credit: Michael Desmond/ABC.

'Nurse Jackie' Trailer Makes Me Realize How Off-Track 'Grey's' Has Gone

While watching the season two trailer for Showtime's Nurse Jackie, I kept thinking that, aside from the fact that Edie Falco kicks butt in this series, Nurse Jackie shares a whole lot of DNA with Grey's Anatomy, which, while it used to be one of my weekly guilty pleasures, has been in a creative rut. Some might argue that it's been that way for quite a while.

When Grey's first premiered in 2005, it was edgy for a network TV program. It featured characters whose moral centers sometimes couldn't be located even if they had both a flashlight and a compass in each hand. It raised provocative questions and didn't always answer them. Its leading character, Meredith Grey, was polarizing (though I always liked her) as a self-doubting, self-loathing and smart surgical intern who had serious mommy and daddy abandonment issues. Grey's constellation of characters worked insanely intense hours and, while they were (mostly) great at their jobs, in their personal lives they were almost always in a state of free-fall as marriages failed left and right. Made for great TV for a while.

Then things kind of caved in on themselves. I can't pinpoint exactly when it started. For some people, it was the hugely over-hyped, three-part ferry boat crash storyline where Meredith almost drowned in what was believed to have been a half-hearted suicide attempt, along with the "Is-or-isn't-she-dead" episode entitled, "Some Kind of Miracle" where Meredith consulted with the ghosts of Denny Duquette and Dylan -- (Friday Night Lights' Coach Taylor) otherwise known as the bomb squad guy whose remains coated her after he exploded along with the bomb in season two -- about whether she should continue living.

For others it was the two-headed monster known simply as "Gizzie," the combination formed after George and Izzie hooked up in season four. Some said that the moment Izzie began having sex with Denny's ghost in season five (for a dead guy, he sure got around), that was it, they were outta there.

I was co-hosting a podcast with Erin Kane (one of the two Manic Mommies) this week and Erin, once a huge Grey's fan, said she's given up on the show we used to gab on and on about. Same goes for one of my best college buddies with whom I used to vigorously debate whether McDreamy was a callous, selfish user.

Kim Raver on 'Grey's Anatomy,' Humanizing of The Chief, All Good Things

*Warning, spoilers ahead from the recent episode of Grey's Anatomy.*

I’m not big on trying to revive an occasionally creatively sagging TV show by haphazardly tossing a bunch of new characters -- particularly of the young and sexy variety -- into the mix just to see if the chemistry changes.

In the "absence" of its lead actress and beating heart of Grey’s Anatomy, Ellen Pompeo (she wasn't a vital part of storylines because Pompeo was pregnant and then on maternity leave) -- as well as the absence of major original cast member Katherine Heigl (who’s going to be taking another leave of absence from the show for a maternity leave) -- Grey’s spent several weeks this season trying the let’s-throw-a-hospital-merger-and-a-whole-mess-o-new-doctors-into-the-show to see if sparks of the dramatic and romantic kind ignited. And I hated it. Hated the Mercy Westers versus the Seattle Gracers. Hated the ER-ish tone. Didn’t – and still don’t – like the crop of new characters because they haven’t been fleshed out. They’re like fresh new moving parts of the scenery, akin to remodeling a kitchen when there’s something not quite right about the house surrounding it.

However last night, both Pompeo and Heigl were back, full-time (at least Pompeo was walking around instead of having to passively lie in a bed) on Grey's, though I thoroughly and vigorously don’t buy that Izzie would just abandon her new husband Alex because he supposedly “got her fired,” not after Izzie recovered from what should’ve been fatal cancer diagnosis, not after her emotional wedding ceremony to Alex as he married a woman whom he wasn’t sure was going to live out the year, not after Izzie died in his arms and was brought back to life by her now former colleagues. Alex even went to live in the woods in Derek’s trailer for her. And Izzie would leave Seattle and cut off all contact with her friends and husband because her job was the “one” thing she had left? What about the mere fact that she had a life to live? And a husband?

Izzie seemed ready to heave her career overboard after Denny died and she spent some quality time in that pink prom gown, but now her job at Seattle Grace is everything to her? She willingly risked her job for Denny with the whole L-VAD wire business, but her marriage to Alex doesn't mean as much? Sorry, I just don’t buy Izzie’s current behavior which seems out of character for someone who’s always valued relationships.

However there were two strong elements going for Grey’s last night: Kim Raver and, at long last, the humanizing of The Chief.

I was not a fan of Kim Raver when she played Audrey Raines in 24. I found her to be a whiny tool. But as a high-powered magazine editor on Lipstick Jungle, who had a philandering college professor of a husband and then she had her own affair with a much-younger, budding photographer, Raver was a perfect fit. I was saddened when the Lipstick Jungle was canceled, in part, because I wanted to see more of Raver’s Nico Reilly.

Last night Raver was introduced on Grey’s as Teddy Altman, a cardiothoracic surgeon extraordinaire who left a promising surgical practice after her best friend was killed in one of the Twin Towers on 9/11 and signed up to be an Army surgeon serving in Iraq, where she met Owen Hunt. Close friend and erstwhile love interest of  Owen's, Raver’s character seemed more fully human in a single episode – admitting to weaknesses, demonstrating strengths and an emotional range – than all of the Mercy Westers combined over the course of recent episodes. When Teddy celebrated the rain (because she’s been in the desert for so long) and then kept her cool while a child coded on the table and she waited for Cristina Yang to make the right choices in surgery, I crossed my fingers that she’ll be in this for the long-term.

Then there was Chief of Surgery Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.). For weeks and weeks, he’s been an automaton, acting rashly and emotionally closing himself off to everyone, alienating his former friends and his wife. Last night we learned that it 's because he’s started drinking again. The Chief has always been a complex character, particularly with his relationship to Meredith Grey and his lingering guilt over his extramarital affair with Meredith’s mother which was a contributing factor to Meredith’s lousy childhood. But too often, The Chief's stories get pushed aside for newer, younger, sexier characters. But I like characters, multi-dimensional ones with whom you can empathize or at least somewhat understand on a number of levels. I’ll take those kind of characters over McSexy drones any day.

Do you like Kim Raver's character? Any predictions about The Chief? Think Izzie's actions are out of character?


Image credit: Randy Holmes/ABC.

Latest ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Ep Felt a Lot Like ‘ER’

*Warning, spoilers from recent Grey’s Anatomy episode ahead.*


With Ellen Pompeo and Katherine Heigl sidelined for personal reasons (Pompeo just had a baby and Heigl just adopted one), Grey’s Anatomy writers have had to come up with ways to explain their absences. For Meredith Grey, it’s that she felt guilted into donating some of her liver to help save her alcoholic father, and she needs time to recuperate. For Izzie Stevens, she was fired for making a bone-headed decision at work at the same time when the Chief needed reasons to fire people as his hospital merged with another Seattle Hospital. Now she’s taken off. And is . . . somewhere.

Ever since then, Grey’s Anatomy – which I’ve liked because it’s largely been a character-driven, not necessarily action/plot-driven show – has turned into ER. Especially the latest episode. While cleverly written so that you, the viewer, felt as confused as the Seattle Grace administrators about what led to the death of a mother of a young boy who’d been in a hotel fire, there was precious little in the way of character or relationship building on a smaller, individual scale, with the exception of Lexie reacting to a teen burn victim and Arizona telling her to toughen up. The episode was almost all based on chaos in the Emergency Room – as Derek told the Chief at the end – and the hostile relationship between the two groups of competing hospital staffs. Between the groups, not the people. As individuals.
 
Back in Grey’s first season, the focus was on a group of interns, but it took the time to take each character and really examine him or her. We saw what their lives were like, personally and at work and how those affected one another. We learned their backstories and why they interacted the way they did. They felt like fully fleshed out characters, not cardboard characters about whom I don't care what happens. (I simply didn't care about the Mercy Wester getting fired last night.) The medical cases on Grey's were used as dramatic tools by and through which you could get to know the characters better. (Yes, the ferry boat accident a few years ago was over the top, but it led to the heart-breaking exploration of whether Meredith Grey was suicidal and depressed.)


Last night’s theme of “chaos” was well executed and snappy, I'll give it that. The actors were convincing. But that “I Saw What I Saw” episode, along with the one that preceded it called “Invasion,” felt much more like ER, than Grey’s. And I wanted to watch Grey’s.

Image credit: ABC.

How Many Days of Mourning on the Too-Long 'Grey's' Premiere?

*Warning: Spoilers ahead from the season premiere of Grey's Anatomy*

Yes, I sniffled while watching Callie's reaction to her ex-husband's death. I also teared up when each of George's friends -- in his or her own time and in his or her unique way -- came to terms with his passing. I'm not one who shies away from five-hankie TV shows (or else I would've stopped watching not only Grey's, but other shows like Private Practice a long time ago), but the two-hour Grey's season premiere, primarily focused on two hours of mourning, was too long and seemed to drag.

I understand that the writers were attempting to dramatize how long it takes for some people to give themselves permission to feel something as awful as the loss of a friend. In Cristina's case, it took 40+ days and she only let herself react after she and Owen slept together. For Meredith it also took several weeks and her emotional reaction was triggered by the cleaning out of George's locker. And I understand the writers were likewise trying to illustrate how Izzie's near-death in Alex's arms on the same day that George died, had a lasting impact on Alex, chiefly that he was trying to protect himself from losing the woman he loves by pushing Izzie, now an out-patient (and living in Derek's TRAILER?!) away.

Ditto for Lexie and Mark, as Lexie, initially rebuffed Mark's invitation to live with him, to shield herself from being hurt. Only the repeated appearances of Callie, Mark's neighbor, in various states of undress and walking in on Mark while he was showering, prompted Lexie to get with the program and bring some of her belongings to his apartment.

All of this, I thought, could've been handled more succinctly.

The woman who George heroically saved was sitting on the bench outside the hospital, every day, day after day. Did we really need all those scenes? I say, "No," unless she was going to somehow be folded into the show as a regular character. I was more interested in the grieving the regular characters were experiencing.

Beyond George's death, there was the business about the Chief being ousted in a potential coup by the hospital's Board of Directors. This was interesting and has potential, but the tension between Derek and the Chief didn't warrant several curt scenes that did nothing to move the story forward: Derek was offered the Chief's job, said he needed time to think about it as a strategy to get the Chief more time to strategize about how to stave off his firing. The twist at the end of the episode, where it was announced that Seattle Grace would be merging with Mercy West -- the place where Callie, filled with grief and rage, abruptly secured a new job in short order -- has long-term dramatic potential, especially in this economic climate where not only are people losing their jobs, but health care costs and the impact of cuts on patients is being debated in Washington. Could provide excellent topical commentary, should the writers choose to go there.

What did YOU think of the Grey's Anatomy season premiere?

Trashy Celeb Dirt: Jon . . . Plus Galpals, Jack Bauer is Free, Mouthin' Off May Make Izzie Sick Again & Arnett Channels Judy Blume

Jon . . . Plus Galpals

I tried to give Jon Gosselin the benefit of the doubt. Really I did. I tried to sympathize with him and his soon-to-be ex-wife Kate Gosselin and the terrible predicament they're in. I imagined that, years ago, the money dangled in front of them by the cable network to follow them and their eight children with cameras must've been a lot, must've offered their family with some financial security in an insecure world. I imagined that the Gosselins thought the TLC folks would be kind to them, treat them like family, not exploit them or any difficulties that might crop up in the future. (Jon and Kate likely never imagined when they started this thing that they'd be getting divorced.) Then I further tried to put myself in their places -- marriage falling apart while the world is watching and judging, the paparazzi in ruthless pursuit -- and that Kate realized that if she and Jon divorced, they'd still need an income to support all these kids.

Then Jon "I'm only 32 and I just want a life so I can screw around and act like I'm not the father of eight," started appearing in public with different, much younger women, including a woman who says she wants to work with him to launch a children's clothing line and who told People Magazine about the cool, fun things she and Jon do together. The New York Daily News has even taken to calling the new Gotham resident, the "octodad playboy."

Jon Gosselin, man, you're freakin' tryin' my patience. Is it too much to ask that you just be discreet for a little while? For a guy who didn't seem to like being in the spotlight, it doesn't appear as though you're doing much to turn off those klieg lights.

Jack Bauer is Free

Assault charges against Kiefer Sutherland for head-butting of a fashion designer in New York were dropped this week. Jack Bauer fans -- who feared the probationing Sutherland could do more jail time following the months he spent incarcerated after his DUI conviction -- breathed a sigh of relief. However fashion designers were left quaking in their boots, forewarned never to commit any wrongdoing in the presence of Jack Bauer.

Mouthin' Off May Make Izzie Sick Again

*Spoiler alert for Grey's Anatomy's new season*

Kathering Heigl will be back as Izzie Stevens on Grey's Anatomy, after a 12-hankie, manipulative season finale that left it unclear whether she and T.R. Knight's character George O'Malley had died. It appears as though Izzie did not die. And Heigl -- whose famous complaining about the lack of juicy, Emmy-worthy material for her character was believed to have led to her character developing a near-fatal case of skin cancer -- was on David Letterman this week complaining about her first day back on the Grey's set. "It was -- I'm going to keep saying this because I hope it embarrasses them -- a 17-hour day, which I think is cruel and mean." She was snarky about the working conditions and joked that they're "very Oliver Twist." Apparently Heigl's angling for Izzie to be massively disfigured in a sudden, brutal car crash. No wait, that was Knight.



Arnett Channels Judy Blume

I don't know how Jimmy Fallon convinces celebs to do these things, but he got comedian Will Arnett -- hubby to the awesome Amy Poehler -- to read aloud a section of Judy Blume's classic, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. (Reminded me of when he got Michael Emerson -- aka, Ben Linus -- to recite an ominous rendition of Little Boy Blue.)



Image credit: INF photo via ABC News.

'Grey's' Finale: A Mixed Bag of Touching Sweetness and Manipulation

*Warning: Spoilers from the Grey's Anatomy finale*

I wanted to wait a few days before I wrote something about the Grey's Anatomy season five finale because my initial reaction to the last few minutes of it was negative, very negative. Made me feel manipulated. I was ticked off.

Thus I decided to chill for a few days, put a little distance between me and the finale so I could think about it and blog after my shock had worn off. But I remain annoyed, not by the bulk of the two hours, though, which featured wonderful scenes including Paris Gellar and Matt Saracen as inspiring patients, the beautifully complicated Cristina and Owen love story, the blue Post-It Note wedding with the simple yet moving vows ("No running away." "To take care when old, senile, smelly." "This is forever."), the agonizing thought process that went into deciding whether Izzie should have the brain surgery and then her signing the DNR, the reaction of the staff to the notion of George serving in the Army (particularly Arizona's backstory about the importance of Army trauma surgeons). I'm simply annoyed with the conclusion and it's coloring my reaction to the entire finale.

Grey's fans of course knew that Katherine Heigl, who plays Izzie, and T.R. Knight, who plays George O'Malley, have had creative and professional disagreements with the show's execs/producers/writers for some time. Heigl complained that she wasn't given meaty material last season and made noise like she wanted to leave the show. Knight, according to news reports, wanted out of his contract because his character's storylines had all but disappeared. Given all of that, I couldn't help but feel as though the season finale was more about the off-camera antics than the natural, creative flow of the ABC drama.

Yes, I could see it as plausible that Izzie could die from her cancer and her risky surgery. That makes sense, no matter how upsetting it was to see Alex clutching her in his arms as she started coding. But deciding to have George hit by a bus and mangled beyond recognition? While it's true he was heroic ("a hard-core hero" as Meredith said) and that he saved a woman's life in the process, but the symbolism of being hit by a bus seemed like payback to Knight. And to have BOTH Izzie and George code simultaneously, and then feature Izzie in the same prom dress she donned when she was boarding the elevator to visit her fiance Denny who, unbenownst to her, had just died . . . this was all way too much for one finale, for five minutes of TV.

I'm not alone in being unhappy with Grey's final minutes. Here's a sample of different folks' responses to the finale, in which the fate of Izzie Stevens AND George O'Malley were left in limbo (Are they both gone? I'm not convinced.):

New York Magazine's Emma Rosenblum, in a post whose headline called the finale "A Betrayal," wrote:

"T.R. Knight's George . . . got little to no screen time this season until the finale, where he signs up for the Army and is promptly hit by a bus. This plotline really disappoints: [Show Creator] Shonda Rhimes claimed this episode would be true to the characters, but if you're familiar with George's five-season arc, his Army enlistment seems mighty suspect. He had just started his hard-won residency at Seattle Grace after failing his boards the first time around, so why would he leave now? And then he gets hit by a bus. The only believable thing? No one notices George's absence (since he was never around this season). The five minutes from when Meredith finally realizes that the no-faced man is George to when he shows up, ghost-like, in an Army uniform, is certainly not enough time to ready our tear ducts for the final farewell. No weepy goodbyes? No musical montages?"

The Baltimore Sun's David Zurawik wrote:

". . . [T]he ending for O'Malley feels excessive to me. There was . . . an expectation that T.R. Knight, the actor who played O'Malley, would be leaving the series as well, but they deftly wrote him out in Thursday's finale by sending him off to Iraq as a military combat trauma surgeon.

Was it surprising when he appeared to be the victim of a fatal traffic accident -- hit by a bus after saving a woman by pushing her out of the way of it? Yes, it was surprising. And while I suspect some will say it was a cleverly done ironic twist and even a comment on the battlefields that America's streets have become, to me it was mostly about shock value.

And while some longtime fans are arguing that there is wiggle room for the two 'dead' to return, I believe that is mostly a matter of denial on the part of those fans. But even if they are right, it is only further of evidence of the ways viewers' feelings are abused by the producers. If either of these two characters show up in any form next year -- even as ghosts -- I am going to wail away for days on this blog about the cheap and low-down way the show exploits its fans."

The web site Double X called what happened a broken contract with the loyal viewers:

". . . George's death was a big ol' eff you to the actor and to the audience. Last night George, who has been noticeably and woefully underused all season, enlisted in the Army as a trauma surgeon, which would have been a perfectly acceptable, if totally lackluster way to send him off. But getting shot at in Iraq was too good a fate for George, who instead became 'roadkill' (as one of his doctors put it) after pushing a stranger out of the way of a bus. His friends only realized it was him underneath all the swollen damage a few seconds before he coded.

George is a character Shonda Rhimes has spent five years making us care about — and she didn't even give him his own death scene. Instead he got a brutal, shocking, expedient death he had to share with the show's real star (Izzie). His violent end wasn't necessary to the plot, the character, or the story. It was just some grizzly afterthought."

However the Los Angeles Times' Mary McNamara said she thinks that the ending is indicative that Grey's Anatomy's future might on the uptick, creatively speaking after what she saw as an underwhelming season:

"All I have to say is: They better both be dead.

Grey's Anatomy limped to its season finale . . . with a two-hour episode that looked very much like one-hour episodes pushed together as we all waited in less than breathless anticipation to see if the endless and increasingly monotonous rumors were true and both T.R. Knight . . . and Katherine Heigl were leaving the show.

. . . For a moment, it seemed Knight would be deprived of even a picturesque death scene -- Izzie collapsed in Alex's arms (causing even the jaded TV critic who saw it coming to sob mildly) but George, of course, had no face. But creator Shonda Rhimes is anything but heartless and so we followed both into the Afterlife, which turns out to be an elevator, where Izzie in her prom dress met George in his dress uniform (which actually he cannot have actually received yet but whatever). The two looked at each other enigmatically and lovingly."

As if you need reminding, below is a clip of the last five minutes that everyone's STILL talking about:



What did you think of the finale? Do you think the touchingly poignant moments outweighed the shock and the uncertainty of the fates of Izzie and George?

Image credit: ABC.

'Grey's Anatomy' Hits 100 Episodes with Big Wedding (?) & Sick Izzie

I've been with Grey's Anatomy since day one. I've hung in there through a series of obnoxiously preposterous storylines, like dead Denny having sex with Izzie, George/Meredith, George/Izzie, Callie living in Seattle Grace's basement even though we later learned that she has a giant tru$t fund (was that ever explained, by the way, why she was living in the basement because she was rich?).

I stuck with the show because I have a soft spot for the dark and twisty Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo). And not because we share the same first name. Unlike those who despise her character, dismiss it as whiny, indecisive and narcissistic, I've seen her as an emotionally embattled survivor who doesn't see the world quite the way others do. And that's what I like that about her, particularly given her circumstances.

Meredith had an absent and borderline emotionally abusive workaholic mother who never seemed to believe in her daughter. Meredith's father also abandoned her after he divorced Meredith's mother, and instead chose to love and raise his second family and blow off his only child from his first marriage. When her mother got sick with Alzheimers, Meredith had to care for her until she death. The man with whom she fell in love conveniently forgot to tell her he was married, until his unfaithful wife confronted the two of them. Then the love of Meredith's life chose to try to patch things up with his wife, all the while giving longing looks to the heart-broken Meredith who was working in the hospital. Meredith then had a bomb squad guy -- Coach Eric Taylor! -- blow up in front of and all over her. Her father, who lapsed into alcoholism, blamed Meredith for the accidental death of her step-mother. Meredith then attempted suicide and nearly died.

From the ashes of all of that, Meredith Grey emerged as a semi-sane, fiercely loyal, talented physician who still adores Derek "McDreamy" Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey), the man who jerked her around, became impatient with her emotional distress and toyed with her emotions. I respect Meredith's character and find her interesting. I've always felt that McDreamy was just a sideshow with hair gel. Meredith is the real deal, hence the show being called GREY'S Anatomy, not Seattle Grace.

However as we approach the show's 100th episode Thursday night -- which is supposed to feature Meredith and Derek's wedding -- I do so with great trepidation, fearful of more melodramatic dead Denny scenes, Izzie dying right after/before the ceremony (so Katherine Heigl will get some Emmy-worthy material) or some weird medical crisis I can't even imagine . . . yet one more thing or incident that will detract from Meredith's desire to lead a low-keyed life with her friends beside her. I'm hoping, sincerely, really hoping that the episode is not over-the-top.

'Grey's' Spoiler on the Dizzie 'Romance'

*Fair warning*: Do not read this entry if you don't want to read any spoilers about upcoming episodes of Grey's Anatomy.

You've been warned.

All of the debating over whether Grey's has been trying to concoct a 21st century version of Ghost can, apparently, come to an end, at least according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Aussiello who reports that the appearance of Denny Duquette to Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl) -- and all the "mindblowing sex" the two of them have been having when Izzie's supposed to be working -- is a manifestation of a brain condition, though not a fatal tumor as had been rumored earlier:

"According to multiple sources, Izzie's hallucinations are health-related -- and brain-related. And although the specific name of the ailment is being kept in the safe underneath of [show creator/runner Shonda] Rhimes' desk, I'm told it's similar to an aneurysm. And every time it flares up, she sees Denny. And sometimes when it really flares up, she shags him."

(Gives new meaning to "mindblowing sex.")

Many of the commenters on the EW web site were scathing with their Grey's criticism. One commenter wrote: "I used to love this show. Never missed a single episode. Now I don't think I can bare [sic] this 'ghost' any longer . . . Denny is starting to make me hate this show. I love Denny and Izzie but let the dead RIP regardless of an ailment or not!"

Meanwhile, the Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan, in a blog entry entitled, "I'd rather stick a scalpel in my eye than watch 'Grey's Anatomy,'" wrote:

"That's the problem with Grey's -- and the reason I still complain about it. I'm not fond of all the actors on the show, but I certainly feel sorry for the good ones. This program used to have so much promise and has trapped the good cast members in a series of outrageous developments that are not just stupid but insultingly stupid. When daytime soaps seem like Frontline documentaries by comparison, there's a problem."

I don't think that all of Grey's stories have devolved to the point where a comparison with daytime soaps is apt, but now that I know that Denny's appearance represents a medical ailment, I'll be able to enjoy Grey's and Izzie's character more thoroughly, feel sympathy for Izzie rather than annoyance at feeling as though I was being strung along in some fashion . . . provided the medical explanation is actually something that seems remotely plausible.

House, which I watch for the characters not the medical cases, does this well. During most episodes of the medical drama, I'm willing to skeptically suspend belief when truly insanely complicated cases arrive at Dr. House's doorstep if the cases can be explained to my satisfaction. If the character subplots are particularly riveting, I'm sometimes willing to overlook an over-the-top potentially fatal ailment which seems ludicrous.

If Grey's offers a somewhat plausible explanation for the hallucinations, will that make any difference to you?

Image credit: ABC.

'Grey's' Dizzie Love Story: Yea or Nay?

I'm not so sure what to make of this . . . this ongoing Izzie/Denny thing on Grey's Anatomy. Is the Ghost-like sex between Izzie and her dead fiance a symptom of Izzie's mental illness or unprocessed grief? Is it supposed to be a real supernatural encounter?

Whatever it is, it's creeping me out, particularly the recent scene where audible moans were coming from Izzie's bedroom when she was having "sex" with "Denny."

The "Dizzie" storyline is turning out to be very controversial and, according to Entertainment Weekly, is inspiring some Grey's backlash, particularly in light of the announcement from show creator Shonda Rhimes that Denny's appearance to Izzie -- and only Izzie -- is not indicative of a brain tumor.

"In a preposterous new low, her once-popular character, Izzie Stevens, is sleeping with her dead lover, Denny — as in, actual carnal relations with a spirit — and now, we've learned, ABC is audience-testing a love story between the two," Entertainment Weekly reported.

Commenters on EW.com had mixed responses to the story.

One pro-Dizzie advocate wrote, "i love denny - the storyline seems a little weird, but i trust the show to make it payoff in the end and i like seeing those two actors work together."

An anti-Dizzie commenter responded by saying:

"Just when GA was getting its groove back with a great blend of humor and drama and the addition of the fantastic Dr. Hunt for Christina, the writers mess it up with Denny's return. He's dead, Izzie got over it, now let's please move on! It made sense for her to feel guilty about the guy whose heart she stole for Denny, but that should have been the end of it. GA used to be quirky but grounded in reality; now, it's just going off the deep end. The only way to clean up this mess is to reveal that Izzie had a psychotic break from reality and then show her struggle with her sanity in the psych ward."

Over on the official blog for Grey's Anatomy's writers, called Grey Matter, writer Joan Rater tried to explain the time Izzie spent "in bed" with "Denny:"

"Tonight why can’t [Izzie] just let miracles happen, turn off her scientist brain and just be in that moment, the two of them, finally alone together? And by the way, I don’t think she thinks it’s cheating on Alex. I really don’t. Because Denny’s dead. Whatever this is, whatever he is, Izzie knows this isn’t real, she KNOWS that, but it feels real and she just . . . closes her eyes and, you heard the sounds coming from the room, as Meredith said, it sounded kinda porny, so whatever’s going on with the dead guy, the sex is good at least."

What do you think, thumbs up or thumbs down on the Dizzie development?

'Grey's' Channeling 'Ghost?'

Way back in 1990, Ghost was a very popular film. Starring a pixie-cut sporting Demi Moore, the movie was a supernatural love story about Demi's boyfriend (Patrick Swayze) who was killed in what appeared to be a robbery gone wrong. Only Demi's dead boyfriend/fiance didn't leave earth right away. He could still see her and walk around the apartment they once shared, although he could only communicate to living people through a medium, who happened to be played by Whoopi Goldberg.

In one creepy yet touching scene, Whoopi's character allowed Patrick's ghost to use her body so he and Demi could feel one another's embrace. It was only at the end of the film, when Patrick was about ready to ascend to heaven after he'd saved his lover from danger, that Demi was able to see him with her own eyes and say a tearful, "Goodbye." (Still chokes me up, even though it was a ridiculous premise.)

Why am I bringing this up? Because Ghost was all that was on my mind while I was watching the latest episode of Grey's Anatomy where Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl) continued not only to see and talk to the ghost of her dead fiance Denny Duquette, but could touch and embrace him. The whole Denny story was resurrected (pun intended) after Izzie met the man who was supposed to get the donor heart that Izzie "stole" for Denny two seasons ago. Ever since then, she's been seeing Denny everywhere, even after she said her goodbyes to him and had current boyfriend Alex Karev burn Denny's favorite sweater.

So either Grey's is going all supernatural (ghost sex anyone?) or Izzie is going to be the second consecutive girlfriend of Alex's who is in need of psychiatric services.

By the way . . . loved, LOVED the Big Grey, Little Grey, Little Sloan, excuse me Big Sloan bit. Cracked me up.

Image credit: ABC.