Viewpoints News (Page 2)

Grey's Anatomy returns tonight with "Where The Wild Things Are."

To mark the occasion, a woman who needs no introduction - Grey's Anatomy creator and executive producer Shonda Rhimes - has some words for all of you regarding the show's return tonight in her guest column for TV Guide ...

I like to call these five upcoming episodes Grey's Anatomy, Season 4, Part 2. Because for us, for the stories, it really does feel like a whole separate season. I came back to work after the strike with a whole new purpose, a new dedication. And a sense of hope.

My best friend, Oprah... OK, in my head she's my best friend, but in reality she barely knows me. But, secretly, I like to pretend I'm Gayle King because Gayle is the person who makes Oprah laugh, and who doesn't want to be the one to do that?

Also, I secretly wanna be Angelina Jolie. Because of the babies and the Brad and the fabulousness, but I don't have the legs. I lost my point. My point is that Oprah would say I have renewed my spirit. For me, that means I'm starting to enjoy this again.

Really enjoy this. Feel the rich possibilities.

So this season - Grey's Anatomy, Season 4, Part 2 - is the season of hope. For Meredith and Derek. For Izzie. For George. For Bailey. For Callie.

Shonda Rhimes previews Grey's Anatomy "Season 4, Part 2."

Hopeful things are happening. Meredith and Derek are going to get together for good. That's right. For good. Now, if you think I'm going to tell you how it will happen, you're crazy. 'Cause it is yummy stuff. It is special. I spent a lot of nights lying in bed awake thinking about this.

These characters are my friends. They are people I know well who happen to live inside my head. I worry about their shortcomings and I celebrate their victories and I so, so want them to be happy. But more than happy, I want them to be brave. These Grey's Anatomy episodes are about bravery.

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Grey's Anatomy finally returns tomorrow, for what will be the last episode we'll see until the writers' strike comes to an end. It's extremely sad, but at least "Lay Your Hands On Me" is shaping up to be rather interesting.

One reason? Rose. The character introduced a few episodes ago, and played by the lovely Lauren Stamile, has done nothing but spark controversy. Here is an interview Lauren recently did with E! Online's Kristin Veitch ...

E!: I heard your mom and dad met just like Rose and McDreamy.
Lauren Stamile: Yes! My mom is a nurse, and my dad is a doctor, and it's actually kind of cute, because you know how they wear the surgical masks? Well, my dad saw my mom's eyes, and that was it. Very romantic.

Lauren Stamile (Rose), Patrick Dempsey (Derek), Ellen Pompeo (Meredith).

E!: So, what was it like the first time you met Patrick Dempsey?
Lauren Stamile: I met him in my last meeting [with the producers], and I didn't realize how nervous I was until I met him! He's definitely one of the most charismatic and charming people I have ever met. I wasn't ready, I don't think. I was laughing and red and embarrassed and probably ridiculous looking.

E!: How very Rose-like of you!
Lauren Stamile: Yeah, I was so very much myself during that audition. I wasn't sure at first if that was good or if that was bad. I guess it wasn't too bad.

E!: So, how jealous are your friends that you're smooching McDreamy?
Lauren Stamile: Very! [Laughs] I would be, too, if I were them. My family is very excited. I can't quite believe that's really my job!

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With Grey's Anatomy characters struggling with various issues these days, what remedies would work best? To help answer that question thought, we'd thought we'd ask a local professional and avid Grey's Anatomy fan! Yes, it's a slow news week!

Campbell Phelps, MSW, LCSW, possesses a Masters in Social Work and a certification in Urban Leadership. She has a clinical background in treating co-occurring disorders, mood and anxiety disorders, and severe persistent mental illness. Campbell is also on the inpatient Psychiatric Consultation Liaison Service at a prominent hospital int he Northeast.

We could continue Campbell's professional bio for another three paragraphs, but you trust she's an expert by now, right? And, as with one of our previous medical experts, we're intimidated by her credentials. Alright, let's get to our interview ...

Grey's Anatomy Insider: What medications would you prescribe for various characters? Name the medication, character and reason for recommending it.

CP: Unfortunately I cannot prescribe any medications but if I could... I would get an emergency psychiatric evaluation on Meredith Grey. She probably suffers from a personality or psychotic disorder with how often she talks to herself! She would benefit from Thorazine - usually prescribed for people with severe disruptions in thought and perception. Maybe we could get her to stop twitching her lips a bit too....

Even Meredith Grey herself would admit she needs help!

Dr. Alex Karev is just too darn angry... he needs something for his poor impulse control, whether it be sexual or aggressive. He needs to stop just wanting to have sex with everyone without a commitment. Recommend Seroquel, to help stabilize his mood.

Cristina Yang... she needs valium or some other type of muscle relaxant. She is way too up tight and needs to chill out or else she may seriously (there IT IS) crack.

And lastly... poor little Lexie Grey. She should probably just borrow some of her sister's medications, as psychotic disorders are usually hereditary.

The rest of the bunch are fairly normal ...

Grey's Anatomy Insider: How often do you and your co-workers say the word "seriously" on a daily basis?

CP: We seriously say seriously all the time. Seriously. No, I'm dead serious (this is another common phrase).

Grey's Anatomy Insider: What celebrity should make a guest appearance on Grey's?

CP: So I took a poll on this one. Most votes went to Brad Pitt or George Clooney. Although one vote was for Colin Firth (random?). We think Brad would just jell with the rest of the cast and possibly give them a reality check. Plus we are hoping that he will get it on with Izzie or Miranda.

Grey's Anatomy Insider: You're also a fan of MTV's The Hills. So we gotta ask: Are you on Team Heidi or Team Lauren?

CP: Team Lauren all the way! Are there even people on Heidi's team?

Meredith was right in a lot of ways, writes Entertainment Weekly's Jennifer Armstrong, when she summed up this week's episode by saying that sometimes the world rights itself. Sometimes Grey's Anatomy rights itself, too.

Such was the case with last night's "Crash Into Me, Part II," the long-awaited and solid conclusion of the Thanksgiving cliff-hanger.

We've been waiting two weeks to find out what happens with that paramedic stuck in the ambulance and with Nick (Seth Green) and his gushing artery. It was nice to see the Grey girls in action on both fronts, with Meredith climbing under the ambulance and Lexie trying to stop Nick's bleeding (and calling a controversial code blue).

Dr. Bailey, meanwhile, was stuck operating on that Nazi man while her husband, Tucker, pouted in the waiting room. A flustered Miranda kept sending poor George back and forth as her messenger, which was unfortunate for him but probably better use of his character than watching him mope over Izzie some more.

"You tell him that if he's thinking about leaving right now, he might find himself hurt and wounded and needing an operation, and he may not get a surgeon who is as married to her vows as I am," Dr. Bailey told George.

Apparently the only good personal-life story-line option for the married Seattle Gracers is to give them a neglected spouse. Dr. Hahn, meanwhile, definitely needed a little of that humanization Grey's Anatomy can be so good at.

Continue reading this commentary in Entertainment Weekly ...

As the anonymous narrator on ABC's Pushing Daisies often says, "The facts are these." The number of TV shows with voiceover narration has risen in recent years.

Exhibit A: Meredith Grey quotes.

While the writers' strike may temporarily halt the yapping from characters across various TV shows, it's a trend that appears to have staying power.

New series beginning this autumn with lots more narratives, according to the Ventura County Star, include Pushing Daisies and The CW's Aliens in America and Gossip Girl. These shows join veterans My Name is Earl, How I Met Your Mother, Everybody Hates Chris, Grey's Anatomy, Scrubs, etc.

Meredith Grey has narrated Grey's Anatomy since its 2005 inception, with some notable exceptions, in which other characters have narrated specific episodes.

Of course, Desperate Housewives, made omniscient narration a popular device in 2004 with dead Mary Alice telling us tales of Wisteria Lane from the beyond.

"It clearly worked in literature forever, and I think there are ways to use it intelligently" in TV, NBC Entertainment Co-Chairman Ben Silverman said.

He brought up the many funny Sex and the City quotes over the years as a use of narration as a device of "relaying the humor back to the audience. I think within the comedy, those voices are great ways to connect to the audience."

On the flip side, CBS has few, if any, narrated series. CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler said she has concerns about its effect on viewers.

"I'm not a fan of voice-over narration. A lot of times it co-opts an audience's ability to follow the action of the story by having somebody tell them what to feel, what to think," she said in July. "I like it when it counterpoints what's going on. You have to be really sensitive as to how and when and where you use it."

Andy Dehnart, the writer and editor of RealityBlurred.com, thinks that the rise of reality TV shows in recent years has been a major instigator.

"Because reality shows only have real footage to work with, sometimes in order to craft a narrative arc, you have to substitute with a narrator to connect scenes that otherwise might not have film to connect," he said. "Some reality shows overuse this, so you're being reminded of things you're actually seeing on the screen."

Continue reading in the Ventura County Star ...

Change is hard, as Meredith Grey has observed more than once in her narrating Grey's Anatomy quotes. After the show's strange slide late last season, the Los Angeles Times notes, everyone, including Shonda Rhimes and Patrick Dempsey, said a certain creative downturn, an earnestness, would be rectified.

"We're bringing the fun back," Shonda Rhimes said.

Indeed, the first episode of Season 4 was entitled "A Change Is Gonna Come." And millions of fans breathlessly waited ... and waited.

Eight episodes in, things have happened, of course. George (T.R. Knight) told wife Callie (Sara Ramirez) that he cheated on her, so the marriage is over and George is officially in love with former best friend Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl).

Single Callie moved in with jilted Cristina (Sandra Oh). Derek (Dempsey) and Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) continue their dance of longing and leaving.

But the only real change so far is that Isaiah Washington is gone, and the fabulous Brooke Smith, playing the dynamic Dr. Erica Hahn, has taken his place.

Dr. Erica Hahn is a terrific character, sassy and professional, with an appropriately acerbic view of the various romantic shenanigans at Seattle Grace. She also seems to be a carefully considered stand-in for viewers choking on the soapy silt of last season, a way to move forward without messing with the brand.

Don't get too nervous now, Brooke Smith, but the future of what was once TV's highest-rated drama may be resting increasingly in your hands.

Changing a big hit TV show is a tricky business. It's easier to tinker, if often not as effective. And while Grey's Anatomy remains a big hit, its ratings continue to slide; a few weeks ago, they hit an all-time low.

A major concern? While viewers like the romance and character development, they need to have their medical shows rooted in, well, medicine.

Continue reading in the Los Angeles Times ...

You've watched "Kung Fu Fighting" and shared your thoughts with us, as well as with fellow fans, via comments and forum topics. Now it's time to read what the episode's head writer had to say about this "extended" Grey's Anatomy event.

On the show's writers blog, Stacy McKee posted some thoughts on "Kung Fu Fighting." Follow the link at the bottom for her full entry. Excerpts below...

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Let's talk about Meredith. She ended the last episode by finally putting her mother to rest by washing Ellis' ashes down a scrub sink.

And now she's reeling a little bit. Starting to reevaluate why she is where she is, why she's being haunted by her past, why - after experiencing death and coming back - she's still too scared to really move forward, to go after what she really wants ...

Meredith wants nothing more than to be strong and brave and... hardcore. And, in this episode, she comes so close. She's lying there in Derek's arms, and she starts to open up, to let him in. And, you can see it in Derek's eyes. You can almost hear what he's thinking in that moment, that this is it.

He put himself out there two episodes ago, told her that he wants a future - a real future - and wants it with her... And finally, Meredith is about to answer him. With something other than sex in an on-call room. She's about to let him in and admit life is short, so short. She wants that same future with him too. And yet…

She doesn't. She stops short of actually letting Derek in and - as usual - shuts down. Just shy of really putting herself out there. Almost hardcore, but not quite. He knows it. She knows it. Which is why she's so messed up in the end.

Ah, the end. When Meredith opens the door to find Alex and Lexie getting sexy in the hallway. Love it. In fact, I pretty much always love  - whether he's heckling George or stifling laughter as they all watch the skydiver video. Alex is kind of the epitome of hardcore - he's a bad ass without even trying. He was with Ava last episode, he's with Lexie in this one... and he makes no apologies.

He calls it like it is - Alex couldn't have been more clear. Lexie may get laid, but she isn't getting a boyfriend. Not from him. Which she is okay with...

... At least she must think she's okay with it. Lexie Grey is struggling to be hardcore herself. I don't know if I'd go so far as to say, perhaps, this kind of struggle must run in the family, but... Okay. Fine. It must run in the family, because Lexie, though she's very different from Meredith in many ways, seems exactly alike in this case.

Meredith and Lexie both want to succeed. They want to be strong. They want to feel normal. They want, so much, to be whole. But it's a struggle â€" a genuine struggle for them. Being hardcore doesn't come naturally. Sometimes, they have to fake it.

Which, in Lexie's case, means getting sexy with Alex.

Follow the link to continue reading Stacy McKee's blog ...

You've watched the episode and shared your thoughts with our site, as well as with fellow fans, via comments and forum discussions. Now it's time to read what writer Allan Heinberg has to say about the newest Grey's Anatomy drama.

On the show's official writers blog, Allan has posted his thoughts on "The Heart of the Matter." Follow the link at the bottom for the full column. Excerpts below...

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Not long ago, one of my smartest and most soulful friends found herself in the middle of a brutal divorce at exactly the same time my own ten-year relationship imploded. We were both wrecked, but we got through it by convincing ourselves and each other that with time and therapy, we'd be able to let go and move on.

A year and a half later, it still wasn't happening.

I mean, even if I was able to let go of all my anger and be grateful for the 10 years we had together, how was I supposed to get in touch with him after 16 months of terrible silence and say, "I forgive you"? What the hell does he care if I've forgiven him. He's probably already moved on and doesn't feel he needs it.

So what did I do? I did what most television writers do when they need the answer to one of life's unanswerable questions: I wrote a Grey's Anatomy episode about forgiveness and hoped to learn something along the way.

George cheated on Callie. He did. He didn't mean to, exactly. George has proven himself to be a principled, loving person in the past. But in a moment of angry, drunken weakness, he fell into bed with his best friend and apparently fell in love with her, too. Then George lied to Callie about it. For a long time.

When he did finally tell Callie about his infidelity, he didn't say he was in love with Izzie. He told her he'd slept with her. Maybe because he didn't want to hurt Callie any more than he already had. Or perhaps because he was hoping she'd be the one to end the marriage so he wouldn't have to?

Instead, George got a response he'd never considered. Callie forgave him. For Callie, that's what you do - especially when you've made a lifelong commitment to someone - you forgive him. No matter what. That's what love's about, right?

So Callie forgave George. And George suddenly found himself paralyzed - unable to move - until it became clear that Callie, in fact, did not forgive George.

In spite of her best efforts, she'd been hurt, betrayed, and humiliated to the point where forgiveness was impossible. And she had no forgiveness for Izzie - even if Izzie seems to have finally realized that, while she and George may be the heroes of their own love story, in Callie's story, they're the bad guys.

Follow the link to continue reading Allan Heinberg's blog ...

You've watched the show and shared your thoughts with us, as well as with other fans, via comments and forum discussions. Now it's time to read what writer Mark Wilding says about the most recent episode of Grey's Anatomy.

On the show's official writers blog, Wilding posted his thoughts on "Let the Truth Sting." Follow the link at the bottom for her full column. Excerpts below...

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The truth. We like to think there's only one version of it. Namely, our own. But then someone else comes along and they insist on giving you their (generally wrongheaded) version of the truth. The truth is... there's all sorts of truths. The varnished truth. The unvarnished truth. The naked truth. Half-truths. Whole truths. And what we addressed in this episode. THE PAINFUL TRUTH. The kind we don't always want to hear.

We all have these ideas of ourselves - of how we are - so when somebody else actually weighs in about us, well, it can be a shock. I'm going to quote the Scottish poet Robert Burns right now because I've always wanted to quote him. Also, it might lend this blog a little more class: "If only God, the gift he gee us/To see ourselves as others see us."

Even famous Scottish poets wrote about the painful truth.

Anyway, just about everyone at Seattle Grace has to face the painful truth about themselves in this episode. Bailey when she has to stand in front of Callie and admit that she's been having trouble with the pecking order. Callie, who is, my God, hiding from the truth because she can't bear to hear what she just KNOWS is coming. Okay, she doesn't know 100 percent KNOW, but she suspects and that's enough to drive her underground - into the Residents Lounge.

Anything to avoid her cheating husband.

How about Lexie and Meredith? Meredith's served a painful, unwelcome dollop of the truth when Bailey tells her that she hasn't said a kind word to her sister since she arrived at Seattle Grace. And after that fact settles on Meredith, she decides she has to give Lexie the painful truth about her mother.

Meredith has been so cold to Lexie Grey - in Lexie's mind at least - that it's even got her to wondering about the level of care that Susan may have received on the last day of her life. And that scene where Meredith sits down with Lexie and starts to lay out the facts of her mom's death - where we see Lexie finally getting the painful truth - well, let's just say it's one of my favorite scenes.

Follow the link to continue reading Mark Wilding's blog ...

You've heard from our staff in the Grey's Anatomy Insider round table, and you've exchanged views with other fans via comments and forum discussions. Now it's time to read what writer Debora Cahn says about the most recent episode.

On the official writers blog, Cahn posted some thoughts on "Love/Addiction." Follow the link at the bottom for her full column. Excerpts appear below.

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Addiction. Who doesn't love a good addiction? I do. You try something. You like it. You try it again. You build a little ritual around it, make it a special part of your day. You tell time by it. "Must be noon, cause I'm jonesing for another cup of English tea!" or "I know it's morning cause I'm awake and ready for a hit of crystal meth!"

DON'T DO METH, KIDS.

See, here's the thing: anything can be addictive. And it's not always easy to spot when something slips down that slippery slope from experiment to habit to addiction. Derek and Meredith thought they'd ended it. Cold turkey. White knuckle. Over. So over. Well, it wasn't totally over.

There was a bit of a hang-over. A little no-strings-attached sex. Just for old times sake. No harm, no foul. But the thing is, there is harm. Derek doesn't like it. He wants to talk. He wants to sleep over. He wants lunch, with the woman he loved, or loves, or has some impossible to define love related interaction with. He's settling for just sex, cause that's all she's willing to indulge. But that's hurting him. It's just enough of the drug to keep him hooked. Never enough to satisfy him, only enough to make him want more. He knows it, too. But he can't walk away.

Love. It's like crystal meth.

DON'T DO METH.

Even Callie's strung out. Callie Torres, who always seemed stronger than the rest. More together. Less at the mercy of her emotions George's on-again, off-again commitment made her kind of nuts, but she always seemed like she was handling it. Now she's walking around the hospital like a crazy person. Falling down on the job, which she NEVER does. Unable to concentrate on anything other than the sneaking suspicion that her husband's having an affair. She knows it, in her heart she can't deny it.

That's a pretty serious drug.

Follow the link to continue reading Debora Cahn's blog ...