The first three episodes of Grey’s Anatomy's sixth season have officially been shot, and original cast member James Pickens, Jr., says he is pleased with what looks to be an interesting season coming up for his character, Dr. Richard Webber (a.k.a. the Chief).
“He has to do a lot of soul-searching to do and has to make some decisions that might change the direction of hospital and/or his life," the actor told TV Guide.
"It is going to have the interns and residents on pins and needles, because they don’t know where their careers are going to go from here.”
“When we left off last season, the hospital was struggling. It had lost its good rating, and [the Chief] spent a good part of the season trying to woo new doctors, getting fancy new machines, and accepting headline-grabbing surgeries," adds Pickens.
"Seattle Grace hospital is his baby, and we know that he’ll do whatever to get that rating back up. Some of his methods will be conventional and some not so conventional."
"We will see that continue to play out over the course of this season.”
Like everyone else on staff, James Pickens, Jr., echoed previous statements when he explained that the Chief will be greatly affected by George O'Malley’s passing.
“The atmosphere has been a little heavy, somber, because they lost one of their own," Pickens said. "His death affects each member of the staff differently."
"Everyone feels responsible in some way. In typical Chief style, he will try to hold the place together and keep a stiff upper lip, but it affects him quite deeply.”
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70 Comments
August 19th, 2009 2:28 PM
Time for a rebirth for SGH. I think that the Chief should step back and have someone else to bring the missing factor, so the hospital could go back to No.1.
I want to see the human side of him, not the usual Chief-like. More Adele too! I think that she'd like for him to step back as well.
In other words: New Chief. ;)
August 20th, 2009 6:26 AM
NOOOOOOOOOOO I love the chief. He is awsome. He is cute and sweet and a good man. I also love his scenes with Adele. They are great together.
August 20th, 2009 8:35 AM
I also like the chief, but I definitely want Adele to stay far, far away from SGH... She's the most annoying character ever to have been on Grey's (even more annoying than Ava/Rebecca and Ghost Denny). I hate how she always tries to manipulate Richard, playing on his guilty feelings because of his affair, not having children and working too much. She knows who he is by now, so she should stop complaining...
August 20th, 2009 9:43 AM
He respected George? was that when he treated him like some slave or when bailey told him he should be more like George and he said disdainfully "You want me to be more like O'Malley"? Yes you jerk, you should tajke some of the niceness George had.
I love JP but the chief is a big loser bully who cheated on his wife for years and treated George and treats Bailey awfully.
August 20th, 2009 1:34 PM
From what the show has told, Adele never complained until she asked the Chief to step back in late season 2/early season 3. It was about time. She has a right. She knew about it for a long time.
Also, I meant that the Chief should stay in SGH but there should be a new chief. That'd be hilarious.
Lynne, ouch. Is it necessary to find out how EVERY character in GA was mean to George?
He gave George a second chance at his test when he normally wouldn't do it. I think that the Chief DID respect him. George made his case and the Chief saw he was right. George spoke up.
The Chief can also be nice.
August 20th, 2009 3:25 PM
The chief did care about George and was most often nice with him. The comment he made to Bailey was totally OOC but then I think the chief was totally OOC and mean to just about everyone this season.
I saw many people commenting on that and stating there were doing a character destruction on him. But yeah it did bug me when he was mean to George, Bailey and Mer, but I chalked it up to another OOC writing mistake.
I do think he cared about George. When George passed his exam, the chief had a big happy smile on his face.
A lot of people were often mean to george though, Anuflas, and the George fans have the right to be angry about that.
Callie was the only one justified to be mean to him, and she wasn't, but George was so nice to everyone else, it made me cringe how some people there treated him.
He sure didn't deserve it.
I do think the chief was mainly nice with him.
August 20th, 2009 10:55 PM
At some point everyone is going to be mean to someone. I just don't think this should be the defining strike in a character, as I interpreted from Lynne's post. That's all. :)
Aside from Mark, Alex, and Cristina, not everyone else has been 'mean' to George. He did earn at the end the respect of everyone (except Mark), IMO.
There was a new promo tonight? Did someone catch it? I've read what happens but need to watch it...
August 22nd, 2009 12:43 AM
In regards to Lynne's post, first, George was an intern. It isn't the Chief of Surgery's job, nor is it anyone else's (i.e. Bailey season 1 through 3) to be "nice" to interns. Essentially, an intern is a slave. They do scut, they do lab-work, they do all the minute little things while the actual surgeons perorm surgery. With that said, as mentioned earlier, probably no one respected George moreso than Richard Webber. Just his "I see you" speech to George during Season 4 evoked volumes of how much Webber respected O'Malley.
Webber created the Intern to the Chief of Surgery for George, granted it wasn't completely altruistic at the beginning, but he let George know it was an important position. Not only that, but as mentioned earlier, he allowed a retake of the intern-exam; Webber had no obligation to allow that, but he did it anyway.
In regards to the comment he made to Bailey, it was moreso the fact that his star general surgeon who was supposed to succeed him is now going off and specializing in pediatric surgery. The man, in addition to losing his hopsital's coveted position, was irrational, and undertandably so. Irrationality does facilitate things being said out of context. Also, you could look at it from another perspective, "you want me to be more like O'Malley?" meaning, Webber, being an accomplished general surgeon, Chief of Surgery of a major metropolitan hospital, years and years of experience, performing surgeries when the residents were in diapers, is being compared to O'Malley, a barely 2nd year general surgery resident. Factor in irrationality, and Bailey saying that to the Chief would be an insult.
The Chief is no bully. It's a gross misinterpretation of his character. He has flaws, he's human, and he's genuinely gone through changes seeking his own redemption. Adele and Meredith forgave him for past discretions, so I think Lynne, you should as well.
And Hannah, the meaness was exclusive to George. EVERYONE was mean to EVERYONE. George wasn't the only one picked on throuhgout the show. EVERYONE was mean to EVERYONE; this is surgery, this is the game: not everyone is going to play nice. Of course no one deserves to be treated, but this is a hospital, these are life/death situations: it's why pecking orders are established in this type of employment.
It wasn't an OOC writing mistake. It's the fact that his hospital dropped down to 12, his "chosen one" in general surgery just pulled a Judas and flocked towards pediatric surgery, he can't seem to keep a head of cardio on staff, and his hospital is falling apart with floods and false alarms and bombs. It's not an OOC-error, it's human frailty, it's flaws. It's not right to blame others irrationally or project unnecessary, but it's part of being human. He loses control, and he needs to wrap around some rationalization over it, and the consequence of that is irrational action. Everyone is prone to it... even the Chief.
And I'm so tired of people drinking the George-koolaid. George wasn't nice to everyone. He was just as catty as everyone else at one point or another. Wasn't it George whose first reaction was to make fun of Alex when Alex failed his medical boards? Wasn't it George who irrationally blamed Meredith knowing full well she couldn't return his emotions? Wasn't it George who was mad at, in Harold's words, "Dr. Hahn, Dr. Burke, Dr. Bailey, Dr. Yang, and Dr. Torres"? Wasn't it George who isolated Christina for protecting her boyfriend? Wasn't it George who, considering his past with Meredith Grey, was no blind to the affections of Lexie? Wasn't it George who asked Callie to marry him and then cheat on her with Izzie?
Yes, George was kind and decent, but he was far from perfect, just like everyone else. He was just as flawed, just as imperfect, and just as human as everyone else. He made mistakes just like everyone else. Yes, he was kicked around, but then again, so was everyone else. Everyone else was in the hot seat at one point or another, George wasn't exclusive to that.
August 23rd, 2009 8:01 AM
Good job Ace. I agree!!!!!!!!!!!
August 23rd, 2009 2:17 PM
Ace!!, I agreed with the part of the chief and when you said that everyone is mad with everyone, but the rest?, about what you said about George?, NO. Because you are taking things out of context.
George was human, he made a lot of mistakes, just like everyone ulse. And what about to said it's not for defend him.
Yes, George was mad,according to Harold's words, "Dr. Hahn, Dr. Burke, Dr. Bailey, Dr. Yang, and Dr. Torres", but it was his father and he was dying, he wasn't fine!!. And what Dr. Yang and Dr.Burke were doing it wasn't fine. Dr. Burke was going operating George's dad and Cristina wasn't going to do anything. I will mad too!. And he was mad with Callie because she sleep with another man, righ after they apparently broke-up. And she always complaining about his relation with Izzie so, when George want to be next to his best friend, who was suffering because her fiance died, Callie made a big scandal and broke-up with him, she was totally exaggerating, that why she felt so bad after she sleep with Mark. And George probably was too inocent and didn't realized that she broke-up with him, but called me inocent too because I didn't realized either. So that is why he was mad.
And I repeat what Cristina was doing was wrong, that's why she told everything to the Chief.
And about Lexie thing, it wasn't George fault, that belong to season 5 and he didn't do anything in that season, we didn't know anything about him. So it's not George fault, the writers dicided that and made George a different person, that wasn't the George that we all know.
And yes, she asked Callie to married with him but that because his father died and George knew that his dad wanted to be with Callie. Many people made a lots of mistake when a beloved person died or when is suffering, if you don't believe me see Mer. And because of that and the constant jealousy of Callie and because she lied to him about his life, George sleep with Izzie, it was just a lot of things and he coldn't handler.
And yes, he make fun of Alex, but just because he was a Jerk, who believed that he was better than everyone ulse. But, rememered in this 5 YEARS, who was the person that always make fun of George and in repeat of situations: ALEX and little bet Cristina. Just rememered in season 4, the elevator part when Alex make fun of George in front all interns.
And yes, he sleep with Mer knowing that she didn't felt the same, but he still said beautiful things about her to his fathers. He was mad with her, but come on, she cried when they were having sex, any person will felt so bad if the person who thinks that your in love cried in that moment. But after everything he apoligized with her and in many situations said that he made a big mistake because he wasn't in love of her.
So I agreed when you said that in same point or another he was as catty as everyone ulse, but you don't need to write everything he did wrong, because all have an explication and it's not fear, he was not the person who make more mistake than others, and he was human. In your message, you don't should write all George's mistake, is the only thing that I don't liked.When you write what people made wrong, you have to said why, beacuse peolple like me don't liked.
I think that the chief did respet George more that the rest of the fab 5, except for Mer but only because she is Ellis's daughter. If you star to count there are many people in SHG that are going to be so, so sad for George' death, like Izzie, Mer, Bailey, Callie and even Cristina, Alex, the chief and Hunt, and we don't know about the rest, why you thinks that will happen?. You think that the death of any other character will have the same effect???. I don't think that.
George realized about all his mistake, and fixed, appeared of everything that he did wrong (like any human) he was sweet and kind with his friends and patients. He was loyal, and a great doctor, he knew handler situation of risk and he was the person who can always count. He wasn't perfect just like everyone ulse ( we agreed)
So George, can't fix anything, he died. He was one of the most person who suffered in the show and he didn't deserve that death, nobody deserve it. But with that death show us, something that we already knew that he IS a heroe.