Viewpoints News (Page 11)

Often when we're watching Grey's Anatomy, it's like we work at Seattle Grace Hospital. Seriously.

That's the impression Associated Press columnist Carrie Osgood comes away with, and the Insider staff certainly concurs.

We're not surgeons and we never deal with patients, but frequently we feel like the stories on the show eerily reflect our own lives in the way that every Grey's Anatomy medical case mirrors a character's personal struggle and inner turmoil.

Through the hospital staff's professional and extracurricular exploits, the show strikes such a relatable chord that it has become a vernacular for how we deal with our own lives.

For example, Osgood recalls, around the time Meredith and George hooked up, she briefly dated her own "George," a beautiful soul who would have given her the world, if only I was physically attracted to him.

Several months back, she had an ill-fated connection with a "McDreamy," a chemical force of a man who could knock me off my feet with the slightest glance, and who remains the occasional awkward presence in her life.

When caught under her "McDreamy's" spell, all she could think of was the show's line, "I hate how into you I am." This line was not said about Dr. Derek "McDreamy" Shepherd. Rather, Callie was talking about her feelings for George, demonstrating in true Grey's Anatomy fashion that someone's "George" is someone else's "McDreamy."

The appeal of Grey's Anatomy goes beyond traditional relationship hurdles of finding, holding onto and losing one's "McDreamy." It also reflects the common struggles contemporary women face professionally.

Continue Reading...

"And you must be the woman who's been screwing my husband."

With that line, the striking Dr. Addison Shepherd entered TV infamy. It was at the close of the first season of Grey's Anatomy that Addison marched toward her estranged spouse, Dr. Derek Shepherd, and his intern/lover Meredith Grey, in the halls of Seattle Grace Hospital.

Played brilliantly by Kate Walsh, Addison (right) presented an unexpected face from Derek's not-too-recent past. With the addition of Walsh, Grey's Anatomy established a signature love triangle -- and then got some unplanned-for results, a New York Daily News column says.

Instead of being just a black-clad, wronged wife with her hair coiled tight, Addison became a thinking woman's heroine.

Addison, too, had guilt issues -- she had previously slept with Derek's best friend - but was also sympathetic; a dedicated prenatal OB-GYN, she had come to Seattle Grace ready to make amends.

While the character flits between steely and humane, alternating some biting put-downs with a comforting bedside manner, the woman who plays her breaks the mold in a very Grey's kind of way.

"Originally, I knew very little about this character other than the fact that she supposedly had an affair," says Walsh, who joined toward the end of the show's debut half-season.

Continue Reading...

Oddsmakers are saying Grey's Anatomy is the heavy favorite to win the coveted award for Outstanding Drama Series award at Sunday's Emmy Awards.

If Grey's were to take home the crown, it would dethrone the newly-departed The West Wing in its bid for a record fifth term as prime time TV's best drama.

In addition to the classic presidential series, Grey's faces stiff competition from the critically acclaimed Fox network spy thriller, 24. Thus far, critics and fans like Grey's chances. The two remaining nominees are considered long shots in this year's Emmy drama race -- the Fox hospital show House and HBO's gangster hit and past Emmy winner, The Sopranos.

Sunday's Emmys are being closely watched by the TV industry as a test of new nomination rules designed to give newcomers, lesser-rated series and smaller networks a better shot at the major categories.

One group of TV critics taking part in an odds-making poll posted on the Los Angeles Times' entertainment site, The Envelope, picked Grey's Anatomy to narrowly edge out 24. The two shows lead the way in total nominations this year, with 24 snaring an even dozen and Grey's 11.

The most our beloved show could possibly win is nine, however, with Sandra Oh and Chandra Wilson (left) both up for Outstanding Supporting Actress, and Grey's creator Shonda Rhimes going up against fellow writer Krista Vernoff for top scribe honors.

Adding an extra bit of drama to the show is the fact the ABC plans to air the blockbuster film Pirates of Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl opposite the NBC telecast, even as its medical drama looks poised to claim the top prize. Some have criticized the move, though ABC Entertainment President Steve McPherson insists he scheduled the film before the Emmy nominees were revealed.

Not that we advocate you bet money on Grey's, but here are the official odds for the Outstanding Drama Series category, according to docsports.com:

• Grey's Anatomy -- 5/14
• 24 -- 4/1
• House -- 13/1
• The West Wing -- 33/1
• The Sopranos -- 33/1

According to this oddsmaker, a $10 bet on 24 would win you $40. You'd have to bet $14 just to win $5 on Grey's Anatomy, however, making it the prohibitive favorite. Here's hoping this prediction comes true -- maybe our poll isn't that far off the mark after all!

Count ESPN's Bill Simmons, a.k.a. The Sports Guy, among the growing number of Grey's Anatomy fans. Sort of. In his recent mailbag, the popular sports and pop culture aficionado answered a bizarre e-mail from a fan who recently dreamt that he attended a Saved By the Bell fantasy camp. Really.

In this demented dream, campers got to act out their favorite episodes as the SBTB cast looked on. And we thought we were weird.

The reader proceeded to ask Simmons what TV show fantasy camp he wishes he could attend, and the writer opted for none other than Grey's Anatomy.

The reasoning? "So I could grab my fake girlfriend, look into her eyes, take a dramatic pause, then belt out a line like, 'I don't love you for who you are.... I love you for who you're not.'"

We think Bill is a closet fan of the show, at the very least. The guy is married, after all. He can kid all he wants... he's not turning it off!

The New Zealand representative of an international nursing group is taking Grey's Anatomy to task over its portrayal of nurses.

Anita Bamford, Senior Lecturer at Auckland University of Technology, and a member of the U.S.-based Center for Nursing Advocacy, says that the show portrays nurses in a way that is damaging to the profession.

"Nurses in this series are nothing more than a pathetic foil to the god-like doctor heroes," she said. "They are typically presented as marginally-skilled physician subordinates, usually faceless and mute -- like wallpaper."

The series, which is up for 11 Emmy awards this year, including best drama, has been criticized by some for its inaccurate presentation of medical situations. In New Zealand, the Season 2 finale aired last night.

The nursing group is urging the producers of Grey's Anatomy to incorporate nurses as skilled professionals who play a central role in patient care.

"The show presents an inaccurate and damaging portrayal of nursing. You frequently see surgical interns performing key tasks normally done by nurses - like patient monitoring and psycho-social support. Mostly, the nursing characters are restricted to menial tasks," Bamford said.

The non-profit organization, which monitors the depiction of nursing in the news and entertainment, says research shows that Grey's Anatomy has a real effect on the public's healthcare views and actions. It is making similar cases against popular shows ER and House.

The Insider feels this criticism of Grey's Anatomy is overblown. Have these people seen the episode "Break on Through," in which George refuses to cross the picket line and helps the nurses campaign for better hours and wages? Of course, George also got syphilis from a nurse, Olivia (below), but that was all Alex's fault in the end. We're not sure what the problem is!

The Emmy Awards will be handed out this Sunday and TV's best will be on hand to compete for top honors. Grey's Anatomy is up for 11 of them, one of which is Outstanding Drama Series. According to our recent poll, many fans believe it's got a pretty good shot. But then again, there's probably just a little bias involved in those figures.

In a slightly more objective breakdown, Newsday polled its five-person "Review Crew" to find out their picks for TV's top drama and comedy. Among these critics, Grey's Anatomy fell short of the 94 percent it's currently getting in the Insider's fan poll, but still got the Best Drama nod from two of the five.

Sure, these aren't voting TV critics, just like the rest of us -- but it's cool just the same. Of the Best Drama nominees, Grey's Anatomy picked up two of the panel's five votes, while The West Wing, The Sopranos and 24 each got one. In the comedy department, three of the five chose The Office. One person opted for Arrested Development, and another for Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Of Grey's Anatomy, Review Crew member Catherine Dunbar, 22, of Floral Park, N.Y., perhaps said it best: "Most guys will probably call this a 'chick pick' (seeming as though characters named 'McDreamy' and an irresistible emo soundtrack don't really appeal to them) and vote for 24 or The Sopranos instead. But I am a chick. And Grey's is awesome. So there."

Dr. Zoanne Clack's cell phone ring is the theme from I Dream of Jeannie.

"I'm a TV person," she tells the Dallas Morning News.

She didn't used to be, pursuing medicine for 10 years -- medical school at UT Southwestern in Dallas, residency in Atlanta, a job with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that took her to Tanzania and Palau. But she still wasn't feeling a sense of fulfillment. What Clack, 38, wanted was to break into the entertainment field.

"I wasn't finding my niche in medicine. It wasn't where I thought I wanted to be... I was pushing down that other urge," said the native of Missouri City, Tex., the Houston suburb where Grey's Anatomy star Isaiah Washington once lived.

That urge took her to Hollywood in 2000, where she signed up for anything she could -- acting, producing and writing classes at UCLA. In 2002, she landed a staff job on the short-lived series Presidio Med, based on spec scripts she'd written for Without a Trace and The Shield.

After working as a consultant on ER, she was hired as a writer for Grey's after ABC picked up the pilot. What a ride it's been. Now a co-producer of Grey's Anatomy, Clack was just awarded the Scroll of Merit by the National Medical Association, the largest organization of black doctors in the country.

Continue Reading...

ABC wants you to know that Grey's Anatomy is up for 11 Emmy Awards, but would prefer it if you didn't actually watch the broadcast.

Even with the breakout medical drama positioned to rake in the hardware at the August 27 gala, ABC will be broadcasting the immensely popular firm Pirates of the Caribbean when NBC hosts the awards ceremony.

While this appears to be a perfectly logical move from ABC's standpoint -- regardless of what shows are up for awards, TV is still a business, and you don't necessarily want people watching other networks -- NBC Late Night host Conan O'Brien (left) called the move by ABC a slap in the face of Grey's.

"It just isn't done. ABC is pretty much saying, 'No one watch the Emmys! Screw you, Grey's Anatomy,'" O'Brien told TV Guide, adding that he guesses "[ABC Entertainment President Stephen] McPherson is already regretting what he's done."

Personally, the Insider hopes that Grey's Anatomy wins as many awards as it can on August 27. Despite being up for 11, it can only take home 9, as two categories have multiple Grey nominations (Supporting Actress nominees Chandra Wilson and Sandra Oh will compete against each other, while Shonda Rhimes and Krista Vernoff are both up for top writing honors).

Still, it's hard to see why ABC wouldn't want to get its own slice of the ratings pie at any time. Isn't that what TV is all about? Come on, Conan. No one takes a knee... except during the Super Bowl, perhaps.

Rumors of on-set dissension are flying as Grey's Anatomy gears up for a third season. While no credible source has come out with real evidence of the events below, there's certainly no shortage of Grey gossip on the web these days. Are the accounts below the truth, or just the byproducts of increased fame and tabloid speculation? We're not sure.

Reports of Ellen Pompeo requesting preferential treatment have surfaced all summer, and now the tabloids are reporting regularly that the woman who puts the Grey in Grey's Anatomy is irritating cast members with behavior suggesting she is the real star of the ensemble cast.

It all started on a cast trip to Monte Carlo, where Pompeo was interviewed separately from her co-stars. Tabloids speculated that she arranged this out of disdain, but her publicist countered by stating that it was the interviewers who made the request. There have also been reports of Ellen fighting with boyfriend Chris Ivery, and wanting more money per episode than her current contract allots.

Meanwhile, online sources are also reporting that for all her success and brilliant writing, series creator Shonda Rhimes has become increasingly challenging to work for and with.

Usually, shows work around an actor's schedule if they are busy during production, but rumor has it that Rhimes insists her cast takes on no other work during Grey's Anatomy filming.

Sandra Oh, for one, is named as being upset at missing an opportunity because of Grey conflicts.

Who knows whether these accounts are even rooted in truth, but tensions rising on set when a show gains popularity is hardly a new phenomenon.

Particularly in the case of a talented, diverse ensemble cast, there are often more demands for screen time and money, along with other career opportunities that arise given the show's popularity, which in turn lead to conflict. Here's hoping the problems get resolved in time for Season 3.

If a recent column in the Ottawa Citizen is any indication, Grey's Anatomy is winning over audiences north of the border as well as here in the U.S.

The proliferation of fine programs such as The Sopranos, Rescue Me and The Shield on pay-TV and such specialty cable channels as HBO, FX and Showtime -- and in Canada on TMN, Movie Central and Showcase -- has raised the bar in terms of what viewers expect from dramas.

Audiences have gotten smarter and forcing networks to pay closer attention to what viewers really want. This past year, what they wanted was Grey's Anatomy.

It's easy to see how much the program has evolved, even since the episodes which aired last week, "If Tomorrow Never Comes" and "Shake Your Groove Thing." In its early stages, Grey's Anatomy was a long-shot, a temporary mid-season replacement for Boston Legal, following the smash hit Desperate Housewives on Sunday nights.

It was the dreaded "serialized drama," a show that demands faithful viewers tuning in every week, lest they be lost in the plot lines.

Continue Reading...