Viewpoints News (Page 10)

Thursday nights are about to get a bit more competitive for Grey's Anatomy -- and the producers of the series that will oppose it are well aware of what they're up against.

Last week, Bill Lawrence, creator of Scrubs, poked fun at the quirky comedy entering the same Thursday time slot as Grey's, saying how he wants to re-name star Zach Braff "McWeenie," or "McCheesy."

Now Josh Schwartz (right), creator of The OC, has done him one better.

According to an interview Schwartz did with the Boston Globe, one of the male characters will leave Orange County -- for a job at Seattle Grace Hospital -- the fictional medical center where Grey's Anatomy is set.

Now that would be fun to watch -- if it weren't on at the same time as Grey's. You know you've become a staple of popular culture when both series going up against you simultaneously poke fun and pay tribute to you.

Imagine this: A gorgeous, smart and witty man shows up in your living room, or perhaps even your bedroom, once a day or several times a week.

He doesn't leave dirty dishes in the sink or wet towels on the bathroom floor. He never looks anything other than incredible every time you see him. And unlike some of the guys you know in real life" he never makes wisecracks about your mom, your shoes or your weight.

Thing is, he doesn't know you're alive.

He's your TV Boyfriend.

The Chicago Sun-Times recently asked its readers to tell us which guys on the small screen make them swoon -- and inspire them to move heaven and earth just to catch them on TV. We probably don't have to tell you who was high atop the list.

It's no surprise that TV doctors were big favorites, with both Mekhi Phifer and Goran Visnjic of ER, and Patrick Dempsey and Eric Dane (a.k.a. McDreamy and McSteamy) from Grey's Anatomy leaving their mark on viewers.

Perhaps because they took votes away from each other, none of those TV docs claimed the top spot. Thorsten Kaye, the dark-haired cutie who plays rich casino owner Zach Slater on All My Children, was the top vote getter.

Readers also flip for Comedy Central's Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, 24's Kiefer Sutherland and CSI's Carmine Giovinazzo.

When inviting readers to choose their dream TV boyfriends, the Sun-Times didn't ask women whether they were single, married or otherwise involved.

This is pure fantasy, ladies.

"Part of what people like about TV and entertainment is it takes them out of their lives [so they can] be in another world for a while," says Sarah D. Bunting, who co-wrote Television Without Pity: 752 Things We Love to Hate (and Hate to Love) About TV.

"Being in a world where you work with Patrick Dempsey [of Grey's Anatomy] is not a bad state of affairs for a lot of people. A woman's TV boyfriend might be a bad boy who she wouldn't be into in real life. There's an escapism element to it."

Many women pick their TV boyfriends based on actual boyfriend attributes, such as being smart and having a sense of humor.

But, Bunting says, "some people just do want to gaze upon this man for 47 minutes. It's like watching a bad sitcom, but not asking too many questions.

Starting this Monday, our very own SeattleGirl will be providing her take on the events of the previous episode. Since there was no episode last week, she focused on the Season 3 premiere, "Time Has Come Today," which aired again Thursday. Below is the first edition of our Monday Grey Chatter.

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This first episode of the new season was promising in many ways. It wasn’t as jam-packed with the drama and medical cases as we’re used to, but the major things that we were looking for happened.

Derek told Meredith that he loves her.

Really, does anything else from the episode even matter?

He told her he loves her. And she didn’t say anything back. She stood there, first letting Finn go on and on about his hat being in some kind of ring. And then she stood there and listened to Derek profess his own love, verbally kicking himself for choosing Addison to begin with. And Meredith doesn’t say a word.

Maybe she’s regretting the decision she made last night, or maybe she’s overwhelmed with the two nearly perfect men who have just declared their devotion to her. Either way, her silence tells us that she’s beyond just indecisive -- she’s also dark and twisty.

The underlying theme, and the episode title, have to do with time. Time flying, time not waiting, time to let go, time to move on. To drive this point home, the episode itself flew from present happenings to intermittent flashbacks, usually in a whirlwind of emotions and events.

• We see Derek leaving Addison, throwing her clothes and her crying form out into the rain.
• We see Meredith starting to piece together the details of her mother and father’s separation.
• We see Izzie and Alex meeting for the first time, as well as Meredith and George and Meredith and Derek.

These are important things. We’re seeing into the past lives of the people we have come to know at Seattle Grace. Now that we’re all a few episodes wiser, we can also pick out the foreshadowing that occurs in this first episode.

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Okay, so there's no new episode on tonight. After we stopped crying, we pulled it together and took the time to reflect on the five episodes of Season 3 that we've been treated to thus far.

Then we found three burning Grey's Anatomy questions in People magazine and thought we'd share them with you. Let us know what you think -- and pose ongoing questions of your own by clicking on "comments" below and sharing your thoughts!

1. Is Izzie milking it? Or losing it?

The thing about Izzie (Katherine Heigl) is that you're expected to always be worrying about her, and that gets exhausting. It's an Izzie tizzy!

She's almost literally paralyzed by grief over the death of Denny Duquette (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) -- understandable, since they made a great romantic team. Now she's worth $8.7 million and dreamily wondering how to use it.

As of last week, though, no one could quite persuade her to deposit the check. "I'm fine," she kept saying, with a smile, but also with a faraway look in her eyes. She's probably seeing Denny's spirit somewhere on the horizon. Feel like going back to work at some point?

2. Has Dr. Bailey gone soft?

The staff still refers to Miranda as The Nazi, but since she had her baby, has she become too much of a softie? And is that a bad thing?

In the season premiere, "Time Has Come Today," she actually wept along with a patient. In "What I Am," she had an inspiring talk with a salesman whose face had been burned severely. This shows us a different side of Miranda, but is it the kind we want to see?

Chandra Wilson is too clever an actress not to suggest that Dr. Bailey must have been bluffing, to some degree, when she told the salesman how love and respect were what mattered in his career, and not his face. It's just that Bailey used to boast such conviction and bluntness.

She hasn't done a complete 180, but at times, she's close.

3. Can we move past Washingtongate?

It's unfortunate (not to mention frustrating and annoying) that reports of Isaiah Washington's real-life fight with Patrick Dempsey disrupted the show's free-floating romance. Grey's Anatomy is more about the invisible chemistry of love and friendship than the clinical practice of medicine.

T.R. Knight is a very good actor in a very good cast, and his character, Dr. George O'Malley, was always more of an underdog -- an unsung everyman, rather than a McDreamy-style hunk.

There's no reason any true fan won't be behind Knight 100 percent of the way, and pulling for O'Malley sort out his feelings for Drs. Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) and Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez), as usual.

But it may take a few episodes to get past all the distraction, especially if some members of the media keep beating it to death.

People. Can we please move on?

Proving that some publications are determined to bring others down and exacerbate tension at all costs, the cover of the newest Us Weekly (below) features our favorite cast members -- and centers around the infamous dispute that has been amicably resolved as of yesterday.

Number one, we will never know, word-for-word, what went on during the on-set disagreement earlier this month. Number two, Isaiah Washington took responsibility for his actions and received the full, public backing of creator Shonda Rhimes. Just drop it, already. It's over.

Last week saw T.R. Knight make a surprising, very personal announcement. Fans have been overwhelmingly supportive. Can't we all focus on this great program instead of letting needless Grey's Anatomy gossip and rumors drag on -- and drag everyone down?

While Grey's Anatomy has become TV's top show by transferring the "all for one, one for all" mentality of Friends to the arena of fictional Seattle Grace Hospital, some aren't convinced that's a good thing.

In real life, a Fox News article by Peter Brown asserts, friends don't always look the other way when crimes are committed and rules are broken.

In fact, the columnist finds profoundly disturbing the show's message that it is normal, and to some degree acceptable, for people in a position to decide who lives and who dies to give their own emotions preference over the law and medical ethics.

Of course, it's only TV. But given the series' popularity and the topic's seriousness, Brown finds himself offended by a major story line of the hit show -- which he admits to finding extremely entertaining.

He's talking about when a surgical intern, Dr. Isobel "Izzie" Stevens (above), broke the law and medical canon to manipulate the way a heart transplant was allocated to save her fiance, Denny Duquette.

The show's failing, in this writer's opinion, is the inaccurate impression that the transplant process is capricious, can be easily manipulated, and if so, there's no real harm, since it's to help a friend.

Brown was lucky enough to receive a liver transplant in 2002. He became acquainted with the arduous process by which organs are allocated.

Organ transplants are the ultimate zero-sum game. For every patient saved, someone else is not. Many more eople need hearts, livers, lungs and kidneys than there are available organs. Thousands of Americans die each year waiting for a transplant.

Everyone connected with the transplant process -- doctors, nurses, donor families, or recipients and their families -- understands this.

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We've talked about how Izzie's grief has been one of the central themes of Season 3 so far, and how actress Katherine Heigl (right) continues to warrant and draw rave reviews with a raw, emotional portrayal of the intern.

She may not have the most lines, but Izzie, in her response to the tragic death of Denny Duquette, is stealing the show.

Here's what the media and Katherine's own producers are saying about her efforts in last week's episode, "What I Am," and about her commendable achievement of playing a character enduring such heart-wrenching pain throughout the season:

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"Again, Katherine Heigl is amazing here. She sits, cradling the phone, tears silently streaming down her face. Katherine Heigl is doing such an excellent job making Izzie look lost and numb. It’s heartbreaking."

-- The Arizona Daily Star

"Katherine Heigl, in her quiet way, owned this episode: She didn't have so many lines, but has she ever been better? Something interesting and gloomy was washing over her face throughout the show. This was Heigl's best, most convincing grieving of the series."

-- Entertainment Weekly

"... This episode for me was really a chance to deal with the things that had been haunting me all summer. Especially Izzie. I’d been pretty worried about her, you see. She was in such pain when we left her. And let me tell you, I watched that final scene in Denny’s room where she wouldn’t get out of the bed more times than is probably normal for someone who WROTE the thing. I couldn’t help it -- Katie Heigl’s amazing performance sucks me in every single time."

-- Shonda Rhimes, Grey's Anatomy Creator & Executive Producer

"... I love Katie’s performance -- like she hasn’t slept in days. Like baking has replaced sleep and it’s all she can do to move her facial muscles and form words. 'Cause in my experience that is what it’s like when people you love suddenly die. I love that she’s not afraid to go there. You just don’t find that many beautiful actresses working in prime time TV willing to spend an entire episode without any makeup -- know what I mean?"

-- Krista Vernoff, Grey's Anatomy Producer & Writer

Many fans have noted that throughout Season 3, a grieving Isobel Stevens has been without makeup, and wearing the same sweater.

While it hasn't been explicitly stated on any Grey's Anatomy episodes this fall, it is widely rumored that the sweater she's wearing belonged to Denny (one fan observes she said it smells like him), and represents a part of Izzie's life that is gone, but not forgotten.

It turns out this is true, according to one of the show's writers, Debora Cahn, who confirms it in the show's official blog. She also offers some anecdotes about the scenes in which Katherine Heigl (who plays Izzie) was forced to stand outside all day long.

In Seattle, this might not have been a big deal. But in Los Angeles, where most of Grey's Anatomy is filmed, it's considerably hotter. Below is Cahn's take on both the lovely Katherine and her struggling intern character:

"Izzie’s trying to get on with her life too, in an incredibly valiant way.  But she can’t. It was heartbreaking, watching her standing outside that hospital all day. It was 95 degrees out when we shot it, and she’s wearing Denny’s sweater, so on top of the emotional devastation, we were a little worried Katie Heigl was going to pass out.

Katie was fine. But Izzie was wrecked. She thought that she could take back her life, through sheer force of will, but it’s too much. We all wanted her to walk through that door. We all wanted to believe that she could bounce back. Still be a doctor. Be a superhero. Step out of the wreckage, brush herself off, and walk on. But she can’t."

At least not yet. Maybe after her empowering visit with Denny Duquette, Sr., during last week's "What I Am," she'll finally summon the courage needed to walk through those doors. 

Thursday night's episode, "I Am a Tree," was a stellar one, marking the return of the Grey's Anatomy we know and love. We thought you'd like to read an excerpt from episode's writer, Krista Vernoff, who talks about it on the show's official writers blog.

Specifically, we were fascinated by the fact that the episode's memorable, brutally honest brain tumor patient, Benjamin, was played by Peter Paige (pictured below), one of Krista's best friends in life. Peter is also directing a new play written by Krista. See below!

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Finally, I have to take a moment to write to you about Benjamin. Oh my God, he broke my heart -- and not just because the actor who played him, the brilliant and multi-talented Peter Paige -- has been one of my very best friends for the last 20 years.

When they had to shock his heart on the table, I burst into tears -- and not just cause I’m four months pregnant and everything makes me cry and it almost killed me to see my Peter looking like he was maybe dying.

I love Benjamin because he makes me laugh. And he really made me think, just like he made Meredith think, about how much we should really run around all day controlling every impulse we have in favor of being "polite."

I mean, life is short, people die. If your hair conditioner isn’t working, don’t you want some to tell you? I know my Peter Paige tells me, which is why he’s my best friend.

Finally, I’m going to take this opportunity for a moment of unadulterated self-promotion. A play I wrote, "Me, My Guitar and Don Henley" is opening in New York on October 7 in a tiny little theatre in the East Village.

If you are an East Coast dwelling theatre-goer and you like my episodes of Grey’s Anatomy and you like my rambling and over-sharing, I think you will like my play, which is, coincidentally, directed by Peter Paige and includes a large amount of over-sharing.

If you don’t like my rambling and over sharing? Like, if you’re about to write to me and go, "Stupid Krista! Why do you think we CARE about you and your stupid life? GEEZ -- we wanna hear more about Meredith cause you’re stupid, you dummy" -- then you probably shouldn’t come see my play.

NOTE: If you do, here's the link.

Below is the perspective of Meredith... Goldstein, that is. She's a Boston Globe columnist, and we thought you'd like to see what she has to say about her namesake and the Grey's Anatomy protagonist:

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I hate Meredith.

I have my reasons.

She whines incessantly and puts y's on the end of words that don't need them (after all, she's "dark and twisty").

She can't be alone, she only talks about her love life, and an entire hospital staff orbits around her.

She got her job because of her mom.

During the 15 seconds she was single, she met a perfect veterinarian who cooks.

She used a sick dog to perpetuate adultery.

She slept with a million guys and never freaked out to her roommates about whether she got an STD.

I hate her because McDreamy is a stupid nickname.

I hate Meredith for the same reason someone posted this note on a blog last winter at 2:20 a.m.: "I think Meredith's character needs to gain about 20 pounds and stop crying." And for the reason someone posted this one on a blog just a few months ago after last season's finale: "Meredith looks like some skeleton someone found on an archeological dig and did a voodoo spell on to bring her back to life. Someone get her a Twinkie, a pizza and a Luna Bar and fast."

At least Ally McBeal sang sometimes.

I hate Meredith because sometimes she has a lisp and sometimes she doesn't.

I hate her even more because the lisp is cute.

When Meredith is doing her job, which involves cutting people open and exposing their organs, I'm pretty sure she's thinking about boys. She breathes loud to be dramatic. She probably doesn't even have asthma!

She thinks she's unique -- everybody's parents get sick and divorced.

I hate Meredith because she wants what she can't have.

Because she's probably going to get her way.

Because if she doesn't get her way, I will feel incomplete.

And because tonight, against my better judgment, I will tune in and root for her just like everybody else.