Have you heard about the online petition that’s been sent to ABC and Shonda Rhimes?

Disgruntled fans are demanding “something to be done to fix the mess [the show] has become.” They’ve apparently become disheartened by “dark and depressing” story lines - and the 400 people who have signed the document (at the time of this posting) are meticulous in describing their problems with the show.

“The most affected would have to be Derek,” the petition reads. “In season 1, we were introduced to the perfect man. He was that guy that everyone wanted to find, everyone wanted to be with. Now he’s a shell of that man. The fans are wondering how someone who would always show up, someone who called Meredith the love of his life, who understood her and wanted a lifetime with her became the man he was on our screens January 10, 2008.”

(Many on the staff of Grey’s Anatomy Insider would point out how difficult it’s become to date the self-involved, wishy washy Meredith and wonder what, exactly, Derek did wrong on the aforementioned date, considering his previous warnings and Meredith’s reaction to his house plans).

The petition writers, profoundly, ask: “WHO is McDreamy? A question none of us should be asking four seasons into a show.”

In short, petitioners explain the reason for their protest as follows:

“We want to know that we’re valued, that our feelings and opinions do matter to the people who run the show. We would like to stop feeling alienated and start to feel like they are actually writing for us.”

Do you agree with these complaints? Do you think Derek has become lost as a character, or has he simply been forced to adapt to the ever-wavering Meredith? As always, discuss it all now in our FORUM.

One could almost feel the battle over the TV remote between men and women on Thursday night. When the dust settled, ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy seems to have won the ratings battle over Game Two of the World Series on Fox.

The fifth new episode of Season Four of Grey’s Anatomy, “Haunt You Every Day,” pulled a Nielsen preliminary 7.4 rating/15 share - more or less on par with recent ratings for the show - the best-rated programming of the night.

A close Red Sox-Rockies game (won 2-1 by Boston, who clinched the title last night) pulled a 5.1 rating/14 share, down a bit from World Series numbers in Wednesday’s Game One, but still higher than last year’s second World Series game.

While Fox was behind Grey’s Anatomy’s “Haunt You Every Day,” the baseball game was tops in the other parts of prime time. Fox won the night overall - just ahead of ABC - with 4.8/14 statistics compared to ABC’s 4.6/10.

Grey’s Anatomy aside, ABC mostly kept its audience against the Fox sports event - only down two share points from a week ago as a whole. The ratings for both Ugly Betty and Big Shots were in line with its numbers versus a week ago.

In the face of heavy male-oriented programming from Fox, CBS took its power CSI out of harm’s way, offering a rerun. On a positive note, Without a Trace was a full rating point better than the disastrous Viva Laughlin debut a week ago.

NBC’s comedies had a better night this Thursday - My Name Is Earl grew to 3.6/10 from a 2.7/8 of a week ago; 30 Rock also showed gains, with a 3.1/8 from a 2.6/7. NBC’s best performer of Thursday - The Office - put up a comparable 4.7/11.

But this didn’t do much for the season debut of Scrubs, which earned a 3.8/9. NBC had a 3.8/11 for the night. CW’s Smallville was down at a 1.8/4, and Supernatural was up a bit at a 1.3/3. For the night, CW’s 1.6/4 was just behind Univision’s 1.7/4.

Melanie McFarland of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer writes that lately, her conversations about Grey’s Anatomy tend to kick off in the same way.

Try asking someone other than the most hard-core fan what they think about a recent episode, or how a former regular feels about the series itself. In response, you’re likely to get more of a pause than praise.

“I don’t dislike it,” a friend said, sighing heavily. “It’s just not must-see viewing anymore.” That doesn’t bode well for a Thursday night stalwart.

In some sense, Greys Anatomy producers should take this as a sign they’re doing something right. Viewers haven’t left. It’s just that Seattle Grace’s surgeons, new residents and their romantic entanglements seem to sometimes inspire more of a passive-aggressive stance among viewers than before.

In terms of ratings, Grey’s Anatomy is still holding its own, with the premiere and the subsequent two episodes coming in a close second behind CSI and winning the all-important top slot in the 18-to-49 demographic.

But what about fans’ feelings? Well … we don’t hate you, Grey’s Anatomy, we just don’t like you as much as we should. We won’t leave you, but we need to let you know in the gentlest way possible that you’re harshing our mellow.

With only three new episodes aired, people are still ready to forgive Greys Anatomy for serving up a Season 3 that many felt was so … so-so.

There’s no reason the steamiest hospital in prime time, with its armada of hot residents and internsw, messy romances and a dramatic felony in George and Izzie, can’t right itself by sweeps. But that requires a few minor surgeries.

Continue reading this article in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer …

The second Thursday of the season saw CSI and Grey’s Anatomy battle to a draw among adults 18-49 on a night when most of the top shows declined by double-digit percentages vs. their premieres the previous week.

On Thursday, ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy (7.6/19 in 18-49, 18.51 million from 9 to 10:02 p.m.) once again stood as the night’s top program among adults 18-49, opening up a bit of a cushion over CBS’ CSI (6.4/16 in 18-49, 20.97 million).

In a reversal of the previous Thursday’s premiere week, Grey’s Anatomy moved ahead in adults 25-54 (8.3/19 to 7.9/18), while CSI was the night’s most-watched program overall for a second straight week.

NBC’s The Office held tough with another hourlong episode (4.6/11, 8.66), moving up to a tie with CSI for the slot lead in men 18-49 (5.0/13).

And USA’s original episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent helped the cable channel gain a larger share of the night’s 10 o’clock pie.

In the opening hour, CBS’ Survivor: China (4.5/13 in 18-49, 14.14 million) was an easy winner, with ABC’s Ugly Betty (3.4/10 in 18-49, 9.90) and NBC’s combo of My Name Is Earl (3.3/10, 7.98) and 30 Rock (3.4/9, 7.33).

In fact, 30 Rock, in its season premiere and featuring guest star Jerry Seinfeld, achieved a series high in the 18-49 demo but still placed third.

Closing out the night was a tight three-way demo battle between Without a Trace (3.7/10 in 18-49, 14.20) on CBS, NBC’s ER (3.7/10, 9.09) and ABC’s Big Shots (3.6/10, 8.24), with Trace the easy leader among total viewers.

Seeking to reignite a ratings turnaround that faltered last year, ABC won the first week of the new broadcast season as the No. 1 U.S. network in prime time, figures from Nielsen Media Research showed Tuesday.

Buoyed by such hits as Grey’s Anatomy and Dancing with the Stars, ABC came in as the most watched network overall for the week ending September 30 and tied with NBC for first place among viewers aged 18 to 49.

The 18-49 ranking, signifying the group most prized by advertisers, was important in particular for NBC, which has struggled to shake off its own three-year long ratings slump. It comes with an asterisk, however.

NBC benefited from a Nielsen rule change that allowed it to add viewers to last Monday’s season premiere of Heroes from a Saturday replay of it.

The return of Grey’s Anatomy ended up as the week’s highest-rated single show in the 18-49 demographic. Going head to head with ABC’s hit medical drama, the premiere of CBS cop series CSI garnered the week’s biggest total audience.

ABC had the most watched new series so far this season with Private Practice, but NBC’s sci-fi action remake, Bionic Woman, was No. 1 in the 18-49 race.

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Reviews of last night’s season premiere of Grey’s Anatomy have been strong, but the show fell significantly in ratings compared to a year ago, when Season 3 premiered amid a Meredith-Derek-Finn love cliffhanger.

With 24.9 million viewers, CSI outperformed its own 2006 opener by some 13 percent, and in doing so, trumped ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy, which garnered 20.5 million (down from last fall’s 25.15 million).

Although Grey’s Anatomy fared better among advertisers’ key demographics, this is Gil Grissom & Co.’s biggest margin of victory over the ABC titan. The Office (9.67 million) also bested its previous premiere by 670,000.

Here’s a funny tidbit from today’s Wall Street Journal that relates to the show we know and love - about a new “sport” on the Internet: coming up with the best examples of how Wikipedia is skewed towards popular culture.

For instance, the West Wing of the White House merits a 1,100-word entry on Wikipedia - an online encyclopedia anyone can edit - while The West Wing, the seven-season TV smash, has an 6,800-word write-up.

Check out a few examples cited by the Wall Street Journal in the graphic below… including a picture of Ellen Pompeo and the annihilation of Gray’s Anatomy, the medical text, by ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy …

The doctors of Grey’s Anatomy and ER have devoted fans, but USA Today asks whether any would want to be their patients? Below is the newspaper’s fun article on now hot TV M.D.’s can be hazardous to your health:

MISMANAGED CARE

Grey’s Anatomy

• Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) saves a woman with a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order, the result of mislabeling during a nurses strike.
• An inebriated anesthesiologist becomes a literal McDreamy, falling asleep during surgery.
• During the Code Black crisis, a cowardly doctor abandons a patient who has a large unexploded shell in his chest. It later blows up a member of the bomb squad (Kyle Chandler).
• During a huge ferry accident, Meredith nearly drowns, drawing the attention of the whole moping staff, despite dozens of other victims. Is there a patient in the house?

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America voted and American Idol rules - at least in the office where about half of the workforce thinks talking about TV improves camaraderie.

But Meredith Grey (right) and the rest of her Seattle Grace cohorts finished a strong second.

A survey by Spherion Corp. released on Tuesday found that the hit reality television talent show American Idol is the most talked-about TV program in the workplace for the second consecutive year.

A whopping 37 percent of 2,800 U.S. workers named the Fox network program as the show they most often discussed at work, up from 35 percent last year, and compared with 17 percent who named Grey’s Anatomy.

The shows 24, starring Kiefer Sutherland, crime investigation series CSI, and another medical series, House, rounded out the top five.

Both Grey’s and Idol continue to enjoy massive popularity and ratings.

The survey found about 1 out of 5 employees engages in some chatter about either American Idol or Grey’s Anatomy on company time, with women more likely than men to bring up the shows or discuss their personalities.

The popular reality TV program is approaching its season finale on May 23, when a new American Idol will be named. The Season 3 finale of Grey’s Anatomy is currently slated for Thursday, May 17.

The survey also found 44 percent of U.S. workers think talking American Idol or other TV at work increases office camaraderie with 54 percent of younger workers, aged between 18 and 39, backing this.

That should ease employers’ concern about wasted time, said Nancy Halverson, Spherion’s vice president of talent management.

“As long as employees aren’t belting out tunes from their cubicles, or having heated arguments about their favorite contestants, it’s difficult to believe that any harm is done,” Halverson said.

But older workers disagree, the survey found.

A majority of those over 65 think TV talk doesn’t improve camaraderie, and almost half - 47 percent - said they don’t talk about TV during work hours.

Nielsen Media Research’s new ratings that incorporate college students have been a boon for ABC - particularly Grey’s Anatomy, which has gained steam among the 18-to-24 age group that is translating into growth in the key 18-to-49 demographic.

Since the January 29 launch of the ratings, Grey’s Anatomy has added just over one rating point in the 18-to-49 demo, a bump that can be directly attributed to student viewing, according to a new report issued by Magna Global.

Before so-called college viewing - which takes viewing done by kids while away at school and aggregates it with their families’ viewing back home, as if they are still a member of the household - Grey’s Anatomy posted an average 8.7 in the 18-to-49 demo, which is now up to a 9.8.

Magna Global suggests that’s partly because of a rise of 2.6 rating points in the 18-to-24 demo due to college kids.

Of the top-five (two are tied for fifth) shows with average gains in the 18-to-24 demo due to college kids, ABC has all but one: Grey’s Anatomy, powered by a strong Season 3, with an additional 2.6, then Fox’s “House” with an added 1.4, followed by ABC’s “Lost” with 1.1, and its “Ugly Betty” with 1.0, and its “Men in Trees” and “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” with a 0.7 addition each.

Still, it’s uncertain whether the bumps among the 18-to-24 set are having an effect on a show’s ratings in the coveted 18-to-49 demographic.

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