Viewpoints News (Page 6)

Race relations are taking a starring role in several new TV series this fall. Fox's "K-Ville," ABC's "Cavemen," CBS' "Cane," and the CW's "Aliens in America" and "Life Is Wild" couldn't be more different in incorporating cultural flavor.

"Cane" examines the criminal dealings of a loving Cuban family, whereas "Aliens in America" is a satirical look at the prejudice met by a Pakistani student in a small town. "Life Is Wild" follows a white family that moves to Africa.

Even "Cavemen," which premieres this week, has been labeled by ABC President Steve McPherson and that network's marketing department as a funny commentary about race relations with a "new minority group."

In one respect, the new shows are different from series already on the air, such as the acclaimed "Grey's Anatomy," that take place in a "colorblind" world, in that they will confront race, cultural pride and conflict directly.

Grey's Anatomy has won rave reviews for featuring, as crucial parts of its amazing cast, Asian, African-American, Hispanic and homosexual cast members.

But despite its multicultural cast, Grey's Anatomy does not - and according to its producers, will never - take on racial or ethnic issues overtly.

Interestingly, with all five new shows named above, it's not a person of color who will be steering that vision - the series have white, male show runners.

The lack of minority prominence in the creative process of these shows illustrates prime-time network TV's continuing uneasiness with embracing diversity, even as some of the most popular series (Lost, Heroes) feature diverse ensemble casts and two of TV's top series are run by people of color (Shonda Rhimes of Grey's Anatomy and Silvio Horta of Ugly Betty).

Whether it signals just a coincidence, or a setback in TV's avowed commitment to reflecting multiculturalism in front of and behind the camera, is uncertain.

The forces behind all of the shows other than Fox's "K-Ville," particularly ABC, CBS and their affiliated studios, declined to address race in the new shows and forbade producers from answering questions.

"There's just no upside for us to participate in that kind of discussion," said one executive. Another suggested that the issues of creative control, ego and racial sensitivities made the topic more delicate.

Continue reading this article in the Los Angeles Times ...

It's so great to have the Grey's Anatomy cast back, and so far, the critics seem to agree - "A Change is Gonna Come" - has been received positively by most.

We've read many reviews since the premiere aired. Here's an interesting one from Jennifer Armstrong of Entertainment Weekly that sums up the feelings of fans who really love their favorite show despite its many perceived faults.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So here we are, back again at Seattle Grace Hospital. Our first few scenes back made it clear â€" with a Shonda Rhimes-penned script, no less â€" that there would be no dark Sturm und Drang to match that very emotional finale.

Shiny new interns! Happy opening music! A sunny establishing shot of Seattle! It feels like the first day of school â€" a brand new day, to borrow from a certain omnipresent promo ABC has been running for a certain spin-off show on Wednesdays.

The back-to-basics vibe stuck throughout "A Change is Gonna Come," which, while not exactly life changing, did successfully deliver a very strong message right from the source: Classic Grey's Anatomy is back, viewers.

Yes, we can totally do the addictive combo of banter, soap and metaphorically resonant surgeries without Isaiah Washington and Kate Walsh, dammit!

All the trademarks of old-school Grey's Anatomy were there:

• Alex and Izzie and Cristina and Meredith traded mildly witty barbs while sitting on that one gurney in that one hallway where they like to hang out.
• A mid-level disaster (car accident) provided a variety of surgeries (pregnant lady with severed arm, dude who seemed dead but wasn't).
• A quirky twist (the deer from the car crash must be saved)!
• A string of preposterous coincidences popped up to wreak havoc on our characters' already complicated personal lives.

Continue Reading...

Over the second half of last season, Grey's Anatomy went from being the TV pal with whom every get-together feels like a giddy first date, to something more along the lines of a house guest who constantly gets on your nerves.

That's the assessment of the Contra Costa Times, and while it may seem a hit harsh, there's no doubt that many fans grew frustrated in Season 3.

The same with the cast members, who squabbled over the Isaiah Washington situation off screen, while on screen, a dark cloud hung over SGH.

Death, destruction and personal devastation reigned.

And oh, those creative missteps: Best pals George O'Malley (T.R. Knight) and Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl) making booty calls? Ugh.

By the time the season of discontent was over, two key cast members were gone �" Washington and Kate Walsh, whose spin-off series, Private Practice, debuts tonight.

Gone, too, was much of the good will the show had built up.

As Grey's Anatomy returns for its fourth season tomorrow on ABC, its vital signs are strong, but still we wonder: Can this show get back to being the funny, frothy, intoxicating guilty pleasure it once was?

Fortunately, creator Shonda Rhimes is saying all the right things: It's time to lighten up, sex it up and have a blast!

"I came back to this season sort of mandating that we have a lot of fun," she told TV writers this summer. "I felt like Season 3 was a dark season. It just is. I mean, Meredith's (Ellen Pompeo) mom dies. George's dad dies. Meredith's stepmother dies. It was a bloodbath. But I want to get back to us enjoying it and having fun."

Still, Shonda Rhimes by no means cops to creative mismanagement.

While she admits the behind-the-scenes drama of last season was difficult, she stands by the direction of the show's storytelling: "It felt like the journey these characters needed to take" - and even the George and Izzie plotline.

"I understand it," she says of negative reaction to the unexpected couple. "I think, when Meredith and Cristina (Sandra Oh) and Alex (Justin Chambers) find out, they are going to have some pretty vitriolic reactions as well. I think that's part of what makes it interesting. The characters are flawed. They are really human.

And I'm not necessarily saying that George and Izzie are the love story of the century. People make mistakes. And perhaps this is a mistake. Perhaps it isn't. But I think it's an interesting thing to explore - that a best friend is your soul mate."

Continue Reading...

Better, stronger, faster. There's a new breed of heroines on TV, and while there has always been something about a hot chick in a latex jumpsuit, the female heroine has been undergoing a spectacular renaissance.

From suburban protagonists such as the ladies of Wisteria Lane or the wicked Nancy Botwin (Mary-Louise Parker) of Weeds, to serious super-chicks such as Alias' Sydney Bristow or the cheerleader from Heroes (Hayden Panettiere), and a dearth of doctors (Ellen Pompeo, Sandra Oh and Kate Walsh of Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice), the sisterhood has never been so strong.

And now an old favorite joins the ranks as Jaime Sommers â€" a.k.a. the Bionic Woman â€" makes a triumphant return on October 4.

Indeed, while all the networks are generously endowed with wonderful female leads at the moment, ABC's is particularly rich. With Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy, Brothers and Sisters and Ugly Betty, what's not to like?

"These leading ladies are very strong characters, they're jumping through burning buildings, saving the universe, saving lives, burning down the neighbors' house, living double lives, and looking immaculate â€" all in a day's work" said one exec.

"It's pure action, adventure, escapism."

And it's something audiences, male and female, have always responded to.

As some shows, such as Desperate Housewives, do tend to attract bigger numbers of female viewers, others, such as Heroes or even Grey's Anatomy after its first of three seasons, actually attract a pretty even gender mix.

Continue reading this article here ...

Without question, Grey's Anatomy pushed the envelope in its third season, resulting in the cavalcade of kudos from the lords of the Emmys - and more than a little criticism from fans.

As it comes into Season Four, Grey's Anatomy sits on the verge of what has become a fad for drama series exiting their sophomore years, BuddyTV notes.

The show is heading for a reboot.

Grey's Anatomy will now be shifting into a whole new dramatic space, a new chief, a flock of new interns, and, of course, a bunch of newly upgraded physicians.

As with all the other shows making changes to their dramatic architecture this year, Grey's Anatomy seems poised to either sink or swim:

• The Preston (Isaiah Washington) and Cristina (Sandra Oh) histrionics that helped form the path to the Season 3 finale are over.
• Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) and Derek (Patrick Dempsey) have fallen apart, or almost fallen apart, so many times that their dangling over the edge of shattered romance seems more held back by rubber bands than the viewers' empathic heart strings.
• O'Mizzie, the disastrous pairing of Izzie (Katherine Heigl) and George (T.R. Knight) has reportedly been nixed. But did we detect a gleam in George's eye when he spotted Meredith's sister, Lexie Grey?

Rumors have it that Jane Doe (Elizabeth Reaser) will, thankfully, return to challenge Alex's aversion to attachment, but beyond that, no one knows what this "reboot" holds for Grey's Anatomy.

A change in structure and authority suggests an attempt to create a blend of some of the resident drama from the first three seasons mixing with a faculty drama that was confined mostly to the over-40 set.

If one thing is clear, it is that Shonda Rhimes and the Grey's Anatomy writing team have always handled everything, even their failings, with a sensitivity and inventiveness that is uniquely Grey's.

The beauty of the reboot will be not knowing what to expect, but knowing it comes from some of the best in the business.

Technically, actor Isaiah Washington isn't Shonda Rhimes' problem anymore, and yet the hypocrisy over the controversial star continues, according to an opinion piece in Utah's Deseret News.

Washington's contract on Grey's Anatomy was not renewed; he has a deal at NBC that begins with a five-episode arc on the new Bionic Woman.

Shonda Rhimes, the creator/executive producer of Grey's Anatomy, and its forthcoming spinoff, Private Practice, is moving on.

But some of her own words are coming back to haunt her.

In the midst of the controversy over Isaiah Washington's slur - which, regardless of its true intentions, was widely understood as being aimed at gay castmate T.R. Knight - Shonda Rhimes kept her mouth shut. For the most part.

Except when she then tried to turn an incident of homophobia (or, at the very least, great political incorrectness and insensitivity) into an incident of racism aimed at Isaiah Washington.

Responding to rumors almost no one had heard until she refuted them, Rhimes came out swinging at reports that Washington would be dumped from his role as Dr. Preston Burke and replaced with former ER co-star Eriq LaSalle.

She called the rumors "not only ridiculous but offensive that we would consider replacing a member of our family."

"And also the (idea) that one black man was interchangeable with another seemed disturbing to me."

Continue Reading...

Season 3 of Grey's Anatomy began with Meredith helping an emotionally wrecked Izzie out of her prom dress and ended last night with Meredith helping a bawling Cristina out of her wedding gown.

Shonda Rhimes, as she puts it, likes symmetry.

Below are excerpts from her blog, in which she discusses the events of last night's finale, "Didn't We Almost Have it All," and what's in store for us in the fall when Grey's Anatomy returns for Season 4, now that she's "burned everything to the ground" in the third campaign ...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This season was very important to me. It wasn't as light as Season 2 and for good reason. Our characters were in a darker place. I needed to put Meredith's mother to rest, Izzie's grief to rest, and the race for Chief to rest. George needed to grow up on a monumental level and then come full circle to where he was when we first met him in the pilot.

Meredith had to finally try to face the fact that she's damaged when it comes to relationships. I wanted to put Bailey on a path of questioning her standing as The Chosen One. Both Burke and Derek needed to hit a relationship wall, each in their own ways. Then there's Cristina.

Oh, the Cristina of it all.

What Season 3 is about most of all - for all of our women - is the idea of "having it all" is a myth. And that was true for Cristina more than anyone. Slowly, over the course of the season, we've watched as hard-nosed Yang sliced off little pieces of herself to accommodate Burke.

From helping Burke hide his tremor to Colin Marlowe telling her she's not the woman he knew to prepping for the wedding, she slowly morphs from kickass surgeon-girl into a woman we don't quite recognize in that wedding dress with penciled eyebrows.

I wanted you to have the feeling in the finale that she's become this painted doll - beautiful, everyone's fantasy bride, but a painted doll all the same. No longer our Cristina Yang. There's that wonderful moment where she begs Bailey to let her cut because a part of her knows she's becoming someone she doesn't recognize.

Continue Reading...

In her official blog, Grey's Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes discusses what's going on in Seattle... and Los Angeles. Below are excerpts from her post, in which she talks about the idea that became Private Practice (it's NOT a spin-off, she says), and what's in store for us next.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was sitting in the editing room one day watching Mer and Burktina and the gang doing all the stuff they do. I love the editing room - it's like this cocoon where I'm alone with the characters (and the editor) and it's where I get a lot of my ideas.

And for the first time ever since working on this show, I got an idea that was Grey's Anatomy but... not Grey's Anatomy.

It was something else.

It was Addison driving down the freeway with her hair blowing all over her face. So I started writing it down, this not Grey's Anatomy idea.

I started writing it down in secret because I knew Betsy and Shoots With No Script would very gently explain that I had lost my mind and then send in the guys with the strait jackets.

Because we are very busy here at Grey's. We don't have time for non-Grey's ideas. We are a hard-working people.

Except I had this idea and it had already worked its way under my skin and I had to write it down. Or else I'd get in one of those moods. Things happen when I'm in those moods. Things like Meredith drowning.

And I love Mer and wanted to keep her away from the water. So I wrote it down. And I gave it to the studio and the network.

It became something. A script that was part-Grey's, part something else. It became news around town and suddenly my tiny little written down something was being paid a lot of attention by the outside world. Next thing you know, they're calling it a spinoff.

This episode, it's NOT a spinoff.

"The Other Side of This Life" is Addison going down to L.A. to complete the story we've been laying out for her for two seasons. It's the culmination of Meredith's family story. It's Burktina and the wedding and Izzie, Callie and George and that hideous triangle they are stuck in. It's the beginning of the end of Season 3.

Continue Reading...

The Grey's Anatomy spinoff, Private Practice, appears to have a strong heartbeat, writes Chuck Barney of the Contra Costa Times.

Plenty of viewers have panned the new series, even questioning its ability to be picked up (though our exclusive poll shows at least 50 percent of respondents either liked or loved the debut).

In any case, here's a positive review of the Addison-driven series, which began last week as part of "The Other Side of This Life."

Who knew that Seattle Grace's resident neonatologist had a burning desire to be a mother? Or that she had a best friend from medical school named Naomi? Or that she looked really hot in a little red sports car?

Funny what you can find out about a character when she gets fleshed out for a proposed spinoff series.

Last week, fans of Grey's Anatomy got their first peek at Private Practice, which promises to be one of next fall's most buzz-laden shows.

Embedded within the highly rated two-hour episode was the conceptual setup for a proposed new drama pegged to San Jose, Calif., native Kate Walsh.

This writer liked what he saw. Mostly.

He liked the chemistry Walsh's Addison had with Naomi (Merrin Dungey from Alias). He liked the all-star cast (Taye Diggs, Tim Daly, Amy Brenneman), the setting (sunny Santa Monica), the eye candy and even the sex-on-the-brain approach that we've become accustomed to with Grey's Anatomy.

However, the who's-the-father story thread tied to a pregnant surrogate mom was hopelessly lame.

Most of all, what impressed many was how Kate Walsh seemed very much up to the challenge, displaying the ability to smoothly shift from a strong sense of humor to poignancy and keeping us engaged every step of the way. Any doubts that she can carry her own show should have been greatly eased.

Addison Montgomery (Kate Walsh) left Grey's Anatomy last week, ostensibly for her own spinoff show, tentatively titled Private Practice.

Now it's up to ABC to decide if that spinoff is justified.

From a numbers standpoint, it's an easy decision. Last Thursday's two-hour episode, "The Other Side of This Life," in which Addison left Seattle Grace for a new start and new pals in Santa Monica, Calif., drew over 21 million viewers.

But from a critical standpoint, it's, well, a Grey area.

The spinoff was greeted less-than-enthusiastically by many Grey's Anatomy fans, who voiced their displeasure on online forums and message boards.

"It was the first time that Grey's has been on ABC that I went to bed before it was over," one fan wrote.

"Addison will never make it on her own show. The characters were not very good on the new show and it was annoying to watch."

"Awful is an understatement," replied another. "I had two phone calls from friends after the first hour and we all had the same opinion - it sucked."

ABC officials, so far, have been quiet regarding the spinoff, the fate of which will be clear Tuesday when ABC unveils its upcoming fall schedule at its "upfront" presentation.

One network insider yesterday described ABC officials as "thrilled" with the show's ratings and "very happy" with its content, which was supplied by show creator Shonda Rhimes (who wrote the two-hour episode).

Continue Reading...